Emily MacCulloch has been bleaching her hair for 16 years. She’s learned a hair care trick or two along the way
I very clearly remember the first time I had my hair fully bleached. It was 2008, I was 26 years old, and I’d been wanting to go platinum for years. It was love at first lighten. I was thrilled that my new blank white canvas allowed me to dabble in any pastel or rainbow colour I wanted in the years that followed. But maintaining bleached status takes its toll on strands. I had breakage, rough texture, dullness and split ends, plus the looming fear that one day my strands would simply snap in half.
Eventually, I started to wonder if I’d need to go back to my (literal) roots, but I was also noticing changes in the hair care industry. In 2014, Olaplex launched its in-salon treatment that helps minimize damage during bleaching, and at-home leave-ins and masks were getting makeovers to include super hydrating ingredients like argan and avocado oils that actually made a difference for suffering strands. These product innovations are a big reason I’m still bleaching my hair 16 years later, but there’s more to it when it comes to caring for a fragile, damaged mane.
WHAT CAUSES HAIR DAMAGE?
Think of hair damage as starting with a beautiful, thick rope — and then taking a hacksaw to it (as in, bleach, flat irons, blow dryers, etc.). That’s the image Harry Josh, celebrity hairstylist and Kerasilk brand ambassador, described to me at a recent Kerasilk event in Montreal. “You basically have the integrity of something great and then you ruin it to make it look better,” he said, gesturing to my bright-white hue. “Yes, it may look better, but the hair is now weaker.”
This story is from the May 13, 2024 edition of Toronto Star.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 13, 2024 edition of Toronto Star.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
She sold cookies as a teenager to pay for film school
Now she’s back in Toronto for her feature film debut
A tale mistold
What the controversial Amy Winehouse film gets wrong about the late singer and why it matters
Dukes has some big shoes to fill
Replacing banned star Kelly at QB won't be easy job
Looking for a Phil Good moment
Vancouver b-boy Kim heads to the Paris Games as a breaking medal favourite
New clubhouse leader emerges
Ace starter Berrios steps to the plate in a time of need for ballclub
'The one missing link' has arrived in Toronto
Expansion team will help fill void
Worker accuses CBC of systemic racism
Indigenous videographer gets human-rights hearing over claims he was denied work because of his race
Hearing into snow washing must look beyond TD
The Parliamentary finance committee will soon consider holding hearings into the money laundering crisis at the Toronto-Dominion Bank.
Many homeowners are in for shock, banking watchdog warns
Canada’s banking watchdog warned that many homeowners who took out mortgages when rates were near zero during the pandemic will soon face a reckoning as those loans renew.
CPP takes hit from empty offices
Changing workplace trends following pandemic have taken bite out of pension funds' portfolios