How to Refresh Your Signature Blonde Highlights

There is a reason blonde highlights are a timeless favourite—they instantly brighten your complexion and add a gorgeous, sun-kissed glow to your hair! If you’ve been happily loyal to your signature highlights for years, you already know the confidence that great colour brings. But even our favourite looks can benefit from a modern refresh to enhance depth, movement, and shine.

To help you explore the beautiful new ways to elevate your color, we are thrilled to welcome Get The Gloss Deputy Editor Kerry Potter as our guest editor. In this journal update, Kerry shares her expert guide on how to subtly change up your beautiful blonde.

I first started having blonde highlights in the ’90s as a student. Thirty years, countless hairstylists and many, many thousands of pounds later (I daren’t add it up), I’m still having those same highlights. 

Until this year. I reached the point where my hair was almost entirely yellow-y blonde and frazzled by the bleach. It was a catch-22 situation: the colour was so solid that the regrowth was horribly obvious, so I would have highlights done, then within weeks the roots were back. I’d book a new highlights appointment on autopilot and it’d get even lighter and more frizzy.

Time for a new approach. I let them grow out for five months – as long I could bear – to work out a plan and save some money. But I was left with unbearably frizzy ends and dank, flat roots. Not a good look. 

It’s something that Richard Draude, Haug London Haus’s Technical Director, sees a lot with women like me. We rebook that default half-head of highlights appointment without much thought. But this time I’m ready for a change – although not too much of a change as Richard steers me away from anything too dramatic. “You’re so used to being blonde so it’s best to take baby steps,” he advises. “Go on a journey with your hair, rather than changing everything all at once.”

We decide on ‘lived-in blonde’ – still some highlights, but not taken through to the damaged ends, some ‘naturalising’ darker strands achieved with balayage, and two different shades of toner, hand-painted rather than just plonked all over the hair. This, says Richard, means a far more natural look that require less upkeep – and no dreaded harsh line of regrowth. 

Time for the big reveal?

Well, more a low-key evolution, which is exactly what I wanted. I still feel and look blonde rather than brunette, so it’s not a scary change. But the finish is much more natural, flattering (super-blonde can look harsh as you get older) and, yes, lived-in. 

And as I write this, 8 weeks on, the colour still looks perfect. Polished but not too formal. There’s no obvious regrowth and it hasn’t gone brassy, thanks to Richard schooling me in exactly how to use purple shampoo (scroll down for that). I have a feeling it’ll still look good 5-6 months in, which will save me time and money. Rethinking my blonde ambition has been a revelation. 

Half-head on repeat? Richard’s 7 tips for embracing colour change

Do your research

Spend some time before your appointment researching the look you’d like and show your stylist those images. Don’t just say buzzwords and hope for the best – ‘balayage’, for example, is technique, not a look. “You won’t find one image that’s spot on,” says Richard. “Maybe you like the fringe in one picture, the tone in another. Show us everything – it helps us see what’s in your head.” Beware of impossible-to-achieve AI imagery though.

Big change = big shock

Unless you’re feeling super confident, be careful about making dramatic colour changes, says Richard: “You’ll look in the mirror and panic. Err on the side of caution. Sometimes tiny tweaks to your colour can make a really big difference.” Richard points out that often we jump from hairdresser to hairdresser and if you ask for something dramatically different from a new stylist, you may not be happy with the results: “They don’t know you, they don’t know your hair. You need to build a relationship.”

Your appointment outfit is more important than you think

Arrive at your appointment looking like yourself. Whether your vibe is casual chic or full glam, your everyday style gives us great visual cues. As Richard explains, “We love seeing a glimpse of your usual style, like your favourite jewelry or how you wear your makeup, just so we can craft a look that feels uniquely you.”

Learn how to use purple shampoo properly

If you apply purple shampoo correctly, it’ll keep your colour looking fresh for longer. First up though, ask your stylist for the right colour shampoo for you – there’s a huge range (including blues and violets) and you may not actually want the ashy look that purple gives. And many people aren’t aware of this: purple shampoo is not to cleanse, it’s to add pigment back in. So wash with a normal shampoo first, then apply your purple one, every three washes or so. And technique is important: “Don’t just plop it on the parting,” says Richard. “It needs to go on the mid-lengths and ends, otherwise they won’t get toned down. Apply it like you would conditioner, rather than shampoo.”

Forget the 3-month cycle

There’s no law that you must have your colour fully done every three months. If you choose a ‘rooty blonde’ and it’s done by skilled hands, you can easily push your appointments to every 5-6 months. “You can just go in for a few face-framing highlights to freshen up your look,” says Richard. “It’s quicker and costs less.”

Go on a journey (it’s fun!)

Don’t just automatically book a half-head of highlights because that’s what you always do. “Every third appointment have a chat with your stylist about updating – what’s working? What’s not? What might you tweak? Leave the salon with a plan for the next time,” says Richard. “Don’t get stuck in a rut but also don’t think ‘I need to do something drastic because I hate my hair’. Go on a journey towards a new look.”

Kerry Potter is deputy editor of Get The Gloss.

Richard Draude has over two decades of colour experience pairing his expert techniques with a passion for helping clients completely reinvent their look.

Your journey to flawless, custom colour starts right here. Book a consultation with Richard or one of our Haug London Haus colour experts, and let us help you achieve your ultimate hair goals.