Everything You'll Ever Need to Know About Going Platinum Blond

POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

The night before my first appointment at Sally Hershberger Downtown, I examined my dark mane closer than I ever have in all my years as an Asian (that's a lot of years). The way the small lamp on my nightstand bounced off my crown, creating a half-circle glow that starkly contrasted with my black hair, like a halo above my visage, almost moved me to tears. Was I getting cold feet? Maybe. Was I being dramatic? If you say so. But what was certain was that I was going to miss my natural hair color. We'd never been apart from each other before (aside from a failed at-home bleaching attempt at age 13), not even for a Clairol Summer fling.

Luckily, the trepidatious moment was fleeting and I quickly remembered my mission. I was going to become a completely different person the next day. Tomorrow, I would start my two-session transformation from a regular ol' Asian to a platinum blond one, which, barring cosmetic surgery, is probably the most dramatic change an Asian girl can make. Sure, only my hair was being overhauled, but it does make up about 40 percent of me.

Since childhood, I've marveled at the likes of Debbie Harry, then Courtney Love, followed by perennial platinum Gwen Stefani, and most recently Sky Ferreira. I've been coveting their punk-inspired, white-blond manes as something I could only ever dream about, but never have. But as hair technology continued to advance, something miraculous happened: Asian women, who for the most part had only been able to go orange, started to go platinum successfully.

Models Soo Joo Park, Ai Tominaga, and Daul Kim (RIP) set a new bar in the fashion industry by going platinum. Fashion host Amy Pham helped introduce the look to a more mainstream audience, and now throngs of regular Asian girls who had similar dreams of experiencing the yin to their hair yang are following suit. And I was next in line. As quickly as it came, my apprehension evaporated and once again I was eager to finally fulfill a lifelong dream. Only one more night of sleep stood in my way.

Having said all that, going from black to platinum is no joke. It is a serious process. When I met with my brilliant, sweet, devastatingly handsome colorist, Daniel Sanchez (who has worked on Karlie Kloss's mane) at Sally Hershberger for our consultation, he immediately assessed that making my hair platinum would take two sessions and at least eight hours.

After experiencing what ended up being 15 hours total in the salon chair, I can say with confidence that the longer the process, the better the results. Unless you want your hair to go into shock and become straw or, even worse, fall out in clumps, you'll want your colorist to take his or her time and go as gently as possible on your strands. So, armed with my cell phone charger and a pantry of snacks (crackers, pretzels, hummus, beef jerky, and Kind bars), I ventured to Sally Hershberger the next day poised and ready to go platinum.

If you, too, are considering stepping into the light, but are still trepidatious of the process, keep reading to discover exactly what to expect during a black-to-platinum hair color transformation.

Session 1: Before
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: Before

This is what I look like with natural hair — a standard Asian with a slightly derpy expression (bad news, guys: I found out that making over my hair does not make my face any less derpy).

Session 1: Before
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: Before

My hair clearly desperately needed a trim too. Luckily, after the first session, which would focus on lifting as much color as possible, I would be getting a trim in the second session.

Session 1: Before
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: Before

When I tried to gauge what color I'd be walking out of the salon with after the first session (strawberry blond, auburn, Fanta orange, etc.), Daniel was vague but realistic. He emphasized that it normally takes days — "not hours, days" — to make an Asian platinum blond. Though it's pretty much the same process for dark-haired girls of any ethnicity, it often takes longer to turn Asians blond because Asian hair is thicker in diameter and often has a higher level of melanin (that is, your natural pigments).

Session 1: The Process
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: The Process

Daniel and his lovely assistant Gloria began by applying the bleach mixture away from my roots. As they went to work, I asked Daniel to give me the lowdown on the whole process. "We're going to start half an inch away from your roots," he explained. "We're going to apply color half an inch away all the way to the ends. Then we'll process until we have the desired color, then we go back and do it again."

The bleach Daniel uses is a blend of Clairol 7th Stage hair lightener, an industry favorite. He describes it as an oil-based lightener that is on the gentler side but strong enough to get the job done. In other words, it's excellent for this kind of double process.

Session 1: The Process
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: The Process

The next formula added to the bleach was Olaplex, which is to color-treated hair like sunscreen is to sensitive skin — aka, it's very important.

From the moment I sat down, I began hearing this product's name on every colorist and client's tongue, each time with emphasis and never with nonchalance. The girl in the next chair over beamed with pride to her colorist, "I've been putting Olaplex in my hair every day for a month, just like you told me to," she said like a student trying to impress her teacher.

So what exactly is Olaplex? The seemingly miracle treatment is broken down into three formulas. Olaplex Bond Multiplier No. 1 is the salon-only formula that colorists blend into the bleach mixture to rebuild the bonds in your hair as they get broken down during a chemical treatment. Adding Olaplex to bleach slows down the lightening process, but is so worth it to have healthy strands.

Olaplex Bond Perfector No. 2 is a cream treatment used in salons after the bleach is rinsed out and the hair is shampooed and conditioned. Gloria let my hair soak in it for about 10 minutes.

Olaplex Hair Perfector No. 3 is an at-home treatment that users are recommended to use once a week. Incidentally, once a week is also how often Daniel and other colorists advise one should shampoo after bleaching or coloring in order to not aggravate newly treated hair. However, both Daniel and Gloria wanted me to play it even safer and instructed me to treat Olaplex No. 3 like hair sustenance and use it daily as a leave-in conditioner and strengthener.

Session 1: The Process
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: The Process

The actual bleaching process was a little more painful than I expected, and that was entirely my fault. Daniel had told me to not shampoo my hair before the appointment, which I thought meant I just could not wash it the day of the appointment. Really, I should have kept it away from water for as long as possible prior to bleaching.

Shampooing makes your scalp more sensitive, so because I shampooed the day before my session, it felt like there was a four-alarm fire on my head. I tried to throw myself into social media and texting to take my mind off the pain.

When I looked up from an intense Whatsapp conversation with my friends over whether "retired rapper" was an OK everyday look, I caught a glimpse of blond underneath the pounds of plastic and squealed. I may or may not have accidentally spit some of my cracker out. I couldn't believe it — after only a few hours, my hair was already looking extremely blond.

How was it possible that I had gone from black to blond in only half a session? Daniel also commented that there was orange-yellow undertone, which was a "good sign" that my color would come out correctly.

Session 1: The Reveal
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: The Reveal

Even before Daniel lifted out the rest of the yellow to give me a cool white-blond, I was overjoyed with my new light mane. I wanted to put on a cone bra right then and there and dub myself the Asian Madonna circa 1991.

Session 1: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: After

Bam! There it is. My new platinum locks, after just one session! Immediately, I was called "sexy Gandalf" by someone else in the salon and my heart fluttered.

Session 1: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: After

The lilac tint you see in the blond comes from a purple-tinted shampoo
that Daniel used to eradicate any lingering brassiness. In the next
session, he would go one step further to tone down the yellow and
brighten the platinum.


Session 1: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: After

One of the few reservations I had about going platinum is whether it would work with my skin tone, and after the big reveal, I am relieved to say that my new hair complements my complexion perfectly.

Session 1: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: After

After about one minute of being blond, I couldn't imagine being anything else.

Session 1: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: After

This is the face of one happy client.

Session 1: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: After

It's not a complete hair photo story without some hair flipping.

Session 1: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 1: After

I couldn't believe that this was just the interim shade and that in two weeks, I'd be coming back for Daniel to perfect my mane even further. If this was the in-between shade, then I had to wonder if the final results would cover my hair in diamonds or something.

Session 2: Before
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: Before

Afer two weeks, my roots were starting to come in strong and the yellow undertones were peeking through. I was eager to have Daniel put his finishing touches on me.

Session 2: Before
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: Before

I also had many, many questions about maintenance, because, as you can see, I didn't excel in this area. Daniel and Gloria had given me a brief rundown on the upkeep during my first session, but this time I would ask for a very detailed and thorough step-by-step.

Session 2: Before
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: Before

My tresses were looking a little less sleek magical elf and a little more Kelly Bundy.

Session 2: The Process
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: The Process

Daniel went to work on my roots straight away.

Session 2: The Process
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: The Process

This time, I made sure not to shampoo my hair for a week, and the difference was palpable. My scalp still tingled, but it was not the searing pain that I had experienced in my first session.

Session 2: During
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: During

Hey, guys, what should my hair metal band be called?

Session 2: During
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: During

All this pampering made me feel warm and fuzzy, but that water was cold. Which leads me to another important maintenance tip the experts gave me: use water that is as cold as you can stand when washing your mane, because hot water will agitate the hair bonds and impede healing. As you can see, the color of my hair is now the whitest shade of blond.

After rinsing, Daniel and Gloria applied Wella Service Post Color Treatment that deactivates the bleach after the color is done lifting. Then, they ran the same Olaplex No. 2 treatment through my strands. It was followed by gloss to enhance the color, deep-condition my hair, and add extra shine. Final step: a trim and a blowout.

After, my mane felt soft and nourished, as if it hadn't just gone through its second all-day process at all.

Session 2: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: After

Ta-da! I am now fully platinum blond. If it were any lighter, my hair would be clear.

To say I was in love with my new hue color would be a staggering understatement. Everyone I knew, upon seeing me for the first time after my transformation, was astounded — honestly, I've never seen so many dropped jaws in my life. I could really get used to being marveled at.

What was even better than other people's reactions was how being blond made me
feel. It gave me a brand-new confidence and driving force that has been leading
me to make gutsier decisions, at least aesthetically. Now I shop with a fresh perspective and choose pieces that will complement my hair, which results in outfits that are inherently edgier and more creative. For example? A long rosé pink slip dress with a black leather moto jacket and black booties. I would never have considered such a confectionary color with my regular black hair.

Cooler outfits aside, my new blond mane had a more fundamental effect on me: it made me feel less like one in a million — or 4.3 billion, to be exact. With so many Asians inhabiting this Earth, it feels distinctly and delightfully aberrant to be a platinum blond Asian. Did you know that two synonyms for "special" in Merriam-Webster are "fair-haired" and "white-headed"? True story.

Session 2: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: After

Now, it was all about maintenance. Daniel's advice was to nourish, nourish, and then nourish some more.

"To keep your new hair color healthy and vibrant, I recommended a deep moisturizing and protein treatment every week," he told me.

And, as I mentioned before, only wash your hair once a week at the most. The longer you can go without shampooing, the better. Why? "Because the new texture is dryer, you'll need more natural oils," Daniel explained. "I recommend using leave-in conditioners and also argan oil or Moroccan oil. When you wash your hair, brush it wet with your conditioner. Then rinse well and let it air dry naturally."

Session 2: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: After

As for touch-ups and trims, Daniel recommended getting a trim every six to eight weeks and a hair color touch-up every two weeks.

And if you're thinking of dyeing your hair crazy colors now that you have a beautiful white canvas, he advised to hold off until your hair texture is healthier and stronger. "It can take four to six weeks. The porosity will determine how much you can change your hair color."

Session 2: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: After

There are also things you should absolutely avoid, like hot tools (blow dryer, curling iron, and straightening iron). Similar to hot water, the heat from these tools will break the bonds in your hair and counteract all your maintenance efforts to restrengthen it. If you need to style your hair, use the blow dryer on medium heat with a natural bristle brush, which is gentler. Also, try to avoid using hair bands because any object touching your hair will contribute to agitating it. Instead, tie it up with a soft ribbon or just leave your new mane free flowing!

Session 2: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: After

I couldn't believe how healthy my strands felt when I ran my fingers through them.

Session 2: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: After

My hair felt weightless, as this photo suggests.

Session 2: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: After

It's always been a dream of mine to star in my own hair commercial.

Session 2: After
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

Session 2: After

Daniel Sanchez and Sally Hershberger have essentially turned me into a Kpop star meets '70s surfer.

With the Color Master Himself
POPSUGAR Photography | Benjamin Stone

With the Color Master Himself

There he is, the Michelangelo of hair color. To me, Daniel is not only a genius, but a miracle worker. Thank you for changing my life.