My results of the year: from cold blonde to pink hair. Should you be afraid of a short haircut. Secrets of beautiful hair: toning after lightening and the best Kérastase products

My hair has undergone a transformation this year. It’s been an interesting journey for me to go from a cool blonde to playing around with bright pink tones! I’ve picked up some important tips about taking care of dyed hair along the way, particularly about keeping the color and shine.

The adoption of a short haircut was one of the largest adjustments. I was anxious at first, but I’ve since realized how liberating it can be. Not only can a shorter haircut alter your appearance, but it can also unexpectedly increase your self-confidence.

Maintaining my hair’s health has been essential, particularly since lightening it. In order to maintain the color vibrancy, toning has become a crucial part of my regimen. I’ve found a few Kérastase products that have significantly improved my hair’s texture and appearance.

My results of the year	From cold blonde to pink hair
Should you be afraid of a short haircut	Secrets of beautiful hair: toning after lightening
Best Kérastase products	Maintaining hair health and shine

A bit of statistics

Additionally, even though I signed up for the website in 2020, I didn’t begin actively posting, participating in discussions, and leaving comments until the previous year. And it seemed to have been a very fruitful outcome.

Observing the figures, then:

• In a year, I entered the marathon 3 times
• I wrote 3 times about how my blond coloring is going
• 3 posts about hair care
• 8 posts reviews of products
• And described 21 products that she tried.

And in total, I received 20 posts. What is the cost of this? Absolutely, in my opinion. I’m not the type of person who writes long reviews, but I also don’t know how to sign a picture on social media. The network was the root of all issues. It’s also a big step for me that I was able to start writing and step outside of my so-called comfort zone.

And these are my top posts:

What goals and plans did I make for 2025

Thus, 2023, who had blonde hair, 43 cm of length, and a 7 cm lower tail circumference, was the person I met.

Naturally, the aim was to grow the ideal blonde for as long as possible, with a global focus. My care was not fully formed at the beginning of the year, and I also hoped to address this during the year.

Looking at the above photo, I find it hard to believe that I had such decent quality and length for a blonde. Furthermore, at that time, I would not have chosen to have a haircut that short.

Naturally, though, I thought my hair was far from perfect at that particular moment. If only I could predict how my hair would look in half a year. However, after seeing this picture, I realize that I did not value my hair because I was chasing the perfect look. I was going through what I called "beginner’s hunger" at the time, and I was also making my first attempts at developing a care regimen.

When I made my first purchases, I occasionally neglected the needs of my hair and made mistakes in places where I did not understand the outcome. Additionally, even though I now have less unsuccessful products, I can’t help but be happy about that.

In addition, I wanted to make improvements to and add new guidelines to my diet. However, this plan was doomed to fail, and I once again came to the conclusion that PP is not for me. I simply adore fried, salty, spicy food from the Caucasus, and I make a lot of coffee with chocolate and cook all the time. For instance, I begin getting ready a month ahead of time for the New Year’s celebration. I plan a menu, make grocery lists, and gradually make purchases. This is how my family has always observed the holiday: they set up a big table, served a variety of foods, and everyone gathered to eat and chat.

And since December 30th, I’ve spent my entire day in the kitchen, where I cook, steam, and chop. However, on December 31st, I cheerfully laid out the festive table, which includes three to five different kinds of salads, two hot dishes, a variety of snacks, and a plate of meat and cheese. I even baked a cake shaped like a New Year’s tree one year. I therefore decided that this was resolved for me and gave up on PP.

The fight for color and quality

When I thought about color, I always imagined myself as a level 10-11 cold blonde. And I used my 2019 photo—just in the right length and color—as inspiration.

However, the canvas had a different lighting background and was severely damaged from my previous, failed attempt at coloring. And having only gone to the hairdresser once, I attempted to handle everything myself.

I liked everything, even though the hair color wasn’t exactly light, so I started dying my hair at home after writing down the dye numbers. You can read my post about it here. I wrote one about this.

And everything was going well until I realized that I was becoming more noticeable with each toning. This state of affairs did not satisfy me, so I started paying closer attention to the lightening and toning process to try and identify where the mistake was.

I was happy with the quality of my hair, though, so I used the jars that came with the care instead of looking for stronger products. until I observed that the root zone was extremely brittle.

In an attempt to salvage the situation, I purchased Qtem ampoules and ordered Kérastase Therapiste shampoo and mask; however, because my order was shipped from Spain, I was only able to test this line during the summer. I didn’t understand the ampoules, and even though I followed the manufacturer’s instructions to the letter, they didn’t do anything except make my hair feel dry. I started adding them to the coloring mixture to shield the hair because I was sick of arguing with them. But the wow effect failed even in this instance.

The pigment was almost completely retained in the shampoo, which is probably because the shampoos were gentle and didn’t contain SLES. And without altering the colors, I gradually moved from tone 10 to tone 9, which really irritated me. I started looking into different solutions after realizing that this needed to be fixed in some way so that the shade would return to normal. Additionally, I discovered an intriguing method for lightening the canvas and achieving the desired color in the theory of alkalinity.

Naturally, working with 12% oxide made me a little nervous, but my desire to try this method outweighed my fears. At that point, I realized that I had to burn the hut since there was nothing left to lose if the barn burned down. I bought everything I needed to lighten the length and tint my hair because I was no longer happy with the quality.

I’m happy to report that everything went according to plan and my hair stayed on my head. I was thrilled with the outcome and at the time wrote a thorough post explaining the toning recipe I used as well as the steps I took in the lightening process. Read more about it by going here.

When I finally got my hands on the highly sought-after Kérastase in June, I instantly fell in love with it. The brittleness started to lessen and disappear because of the shampoo and mask, and the hair looked absolutely stunning.

However, the duration of the burn and the frequent, intense exposure to the SHGO were effective. Even though it didn’t grow, I could clearly see the hole in my hair. I started to feel uneasy wearing my hair down. It was so funny that I felt like everyone could see the hole, so I started wearing my hair in a ponytail more frequently.

And I tried to hide it, running away from the issue, believing that if I cut off 15 centimeters of the ends, the gap would not be as obvious. I was blind to the fact that none of these strategies were effective, like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand. My husband gave me a lot of support when I decided to cut my hair, and in less than a week, I chopped off the hair that could not be saved.

Haircut and how it was

I still want to go into more detail about the haircut even though there is a thorough post about it where I explain why I chose to get it. After almost five months, I can categorically state that I have no regrets about my decision to make this move.

Naturally, the question of why I chose to grow my hair at that particular time comes up.

I had not intended to stroll around looking like this for a long time when I first started thinking about getting a haircut. In addition, my goal was to grow out as much of my blonde hair as I could. However, the quality of the hair on my bangs did not appeal to me, so I chopped off even more length after a month. Additionally, I much preferred the new haircut.

Furthermore, I was fully aware that my hair would not regrow quickly. I will need at least a year to grow my hair to shoulder length, and during that time, I will wear a short haircut. Naturally, I have a sporting interest as well. I’m particularly curious about how long it will take me to reach the original length.

Naturally, I felt bad for pushing my hair to the brink of insane fragility and drastically reducing its thickness. However, the haircut really made me mature, as I realized that taking care of my hair doesn’t have to be so complicated after all. However, you must reach adulthood before then, or else you may regret the centimeters you lost.

Naturally, as my hair grows longer and becomes more difficult to style, there are moments when I wish I could cut it shorter again. However, I’m hanging on for the time being, making an effort not to even consider getting a haircut, and I have a philosophical stance against poor styling. Additionally, I’ve started wearing my hair up more frequently, and I like this look.

To be honest though, I do get depressed sometimes because of the length. Ultimately, having longer hair allows you to experiment with a plethora of hairstyles; having short hair has prevented me from taking advantage of this opportunity. However, I always remind myself at these times that my short hair is only temporary and that it will grow back much longer and of higher quality than before.

And it was during this time that I understood that my hair’s quality, not its length, is what matters most to me. And it doesn’t matter how long it is—I just want gorgeous, well-groomed hair. Shorter is preferable as long as the ends are not broken or brittle.

How my hair care has changed over the year

My hair care routine has changed four times in the past year. And this has to do with both the haircut and the capacity to comprehend the needs of the hair. At first, I had no idea what was required to enhance the canvas’s quality and appearance. I occasionally forgot that the author of a review had entirely different hair when I purchased jars based on those reviews. It so happened that I took the manufacturers’ promises at face value.

For ease of reference, I recommend reviewing the products I used at various points in time as well as the mistakes I made.

The start of the year

A little higher, I already mentioned the quality of the canvas I had and what I met the new 2023 year with. Additionally, if you look closely at the masks, you’ll see that I made my biggest error—using silicone-free wash-off care.

Naturally, not everyone should use silicones for hair care; however, my damaged blonde hair suffers greatly when left without them, becoming brittle and splitting. Additionally, this causes the cut to thin and slows down hair growth. Even leave-in products didn’t work for me; naturally, I didn’t realize this at first, and I gradually lost thickness.

Spring or summer, prior to getting cut

I had a ton of new products in the spring, a few of which I think rank among this year’s discoveries; I’ll tell you more about them later. However, it is undeniable that hair care has advanced to a new level.

I tried to make friends with Angel and bought Barex and Kérastase to replace Kaaral, and I generally did everything I could to give my hair a second lease on life. However, I became aware that I was losing this battle when I looked at my hair. Despite all of my efforts, the thickness was melting more and more and my hair was breaking with an awful force. The most offensive aspect was that the gaps were 5–10 cm from the roots rather than at the ends.

And that’s when I realized the most crucial reality:

Even the most expensive care cannot restore damaged hair. But without using carefully selected products, it is also impossible to maintain good quality on a dyed surface.

After balancing the benefits and drawbacks, I concluded that I cannot live without a haircut.

Summer-fall following a hairstyle

After cutting off all of the damaged hair, I felt lighter—not just morally, since broken hair is difficult to take care of and does not provide enjoyment.

Lightweight schemes like "shampoo – leave-in product" have taken the place of the more substantial "shampoo – mask – conditioner – sandwich of leave-in products." After putting the masks aside, I came to the conclusion that shampoo is crucial and wrote a comparison post about it, which you can read here.

That was most likely the exact "turning point" that occurred. I came to the realization that I was done spending an hour shampooing my hair, dancing with a tambourine over a mask that didn’t work, and constantly looking for the one product that could bring my hair back to life.

I made the decision to reevaluate how I approached shopping—not to buy things on the spur of the moment because there was a great deal, but to consider how much I actually needed each product and how to incorporate it into my regimen for hair care. That being said, I gladly tidied up the cosmetics shelf, giving away items I wouldn’t use anymore.

Right now

My last haircut was four months ago, and my hair has grown significantly since then. And whereas I used to use masks and conditioners roughly every two weeks, my hair seems to be begging for rinse-off care these days.

For this reason, I started using conditioners more frequently starting in December—two to four times a week—and so far, this is sufficient for my hair. I currently only use one mask—Vieso Perrila—multiple times a month. And this is how my care appears now:

I’m happy with the jars I currently have, but I want to update my shampoos, add a few masks, and hunt for conditioners—which I haven’t tried on their own until after getting my haircut. And when I compare the care, I can tell that I’ve made great progress: I started peeling my hair, picked the best leave-in products for me, and started to better understand what my hair needed.

The best of 2025 in hair care

In addition, I would like to specifically highlight the outstanding students and the products that I personally discovered and fell deeply in love with in 2023.

Thermal hygiene

This is Kérastase Ciment Thermique, naturally. With any length, any color, and any season of the year, this is just my absolute favorite and a must-have. And in two posts, (here and here), I declared my love for this magic jar.

For me, thermal protection is a crucial part of hair care because I virtually always use a hairdryer and brush to style my hair. After using Kérastase Ciment for almost a year, I decided I wasn’t ready to stop using it yet and got a repeat for myself. I can now rest easy knowing that I won’t be without my favorite.

Cream with leaves in

And Kérastase Soleil Crème UV Sublime, everyone’s favorite, is in this position. This cream doesn’t seem to need an introduction, in my opinion, as many people still associate it with "Red Valentine" thanks to Masha Magnay’s post.

In this post, I discussed how well the product worked on damaged blonde hair. Furthermore, I can confirm that short hair with regrown roots responds just as well to this cream. There is no weighting, but the hair is shiny, silky, and nourished enough to hold its style well.

I save the rest of my Valentina for the summer and don’t wear it too often right now. Because this cream is like a sip of cold water for hair during the summer, when the air temperature is above +40. Furthermore, the fact that it can be renewed during the day just kept my strands—which have been bothering me for a while—from falling out entirely.

Nighttime nursing

I never gave night care much thought since I felt that applying oil was sufficient if you really wanted it in your hair routine. However, a single casting (Elechka ElleLaFlower, many thanks for that) had the power to completely contradict all of my assumptions. I consequently purchased Kerastase Nutritive 8-Hour Magic Night Serum.

And now I’m willing to retract any statements I made in this post about the serum’s suitability for me as a leave-in treatment. The serum is really exquisite. I can use it on damp or dry hair, and the outcome is fantastic. A memorable scent, shine, and smoothness are all assured.

Scalp treatment

However, there are two winners in this category: the Vieso Perilla relaxing Scalp Mask and the Vichy Dercos Ultra soothing Dermatological Shampoo.

My scalp rebelled, and I didn’t know why. I had never experienced sensitivity, itching, or a tight feeling in my skin before, and when I experienced all of these things on my own, I was willing to try anything to relieve the discomfort. And if the purpose of the shampoo purchase was to lessen discomfort, then this side of the mask unintentionally showed itself to me.

I wrote about my thoughts on this pair in this post, and I continue to use these schemes in the event that hypersensitivity symptoms arise.

The most effective duo

Even when the products are from the same brand, selecting a shampoo and mask for the perfect look can be really challenging at times. Sometimes the mask does not work as well as I would like, and the shampoo either weighs down or does not cleanse well enough.

However, I was fortunate to locate those items that function flawlessly both in tandem and apart. I won’t keep you wondering too long; Kérastase Therapiste is the greatest duo for 2023.

I already declared my love for these emerald jars in a post. And I’m still positive that I was able to put off getting a haircut because of them. Since the product worked wonders on my hair, I am confident in recommending it to anyone with severely damaged hair. I have never had such heavy, nourished, and silky hair without a mask and a 10-minute exposure. And because Helen Helen_M explained everything to me in such detail, I was able to avoid having to think of any schemes and save time researching all the potential pitfalls.

However, I have set aside Kérastase Therapiste for the time being because I don’t think using these products with my length of hair is worth it. However, I will be happy to take back responsibility for this couple once my hair grows a bit.

This is a short, open list I came up with. And even though I’ve tried a lot of different products, these specific jars have shown to be much more effective at taking care of my hair, so I want to keep using them.

Project Pan and the minimalism I strive for

Since the PP wave is currently engulfing the website more and more, I naturally made the decision to try to stick to decluttering. Impulsive buying and "beginner’s hunger" produced a lot of products, but very few of them are effective.

It’s quality, not quantity, that matters to me. Having a lot of products makes me feel more at ease, but what matters most is that they all consistently produce stable results for me. Currently traveling to this.

As for me, my main objective is to create a skilled care that will always function flawlessly, not to reach a certain number of products on the shelf.

In other respects, too, I am anything but a minimalist. I have a lot of supplies in the decorative cosmetics and perfumes categories because I love these things so much. I own about nine perfume bottles, and even though I use them all differently depending on my mood, I adore them all and am not ready to part with them. Even though I’m scared to count the makeup palettes, I get so excited when I discover an intriguing eyeshadow color that I had forgotten about.

I’ll talk about my year-long hair transformation journey in this post, including how I went from being a cold blonde to trying out pink hair and how getting a short haircut wasn’t as scary as I thought. I’ll also share my best hair maintenance advice, such as the value of toning after lightening and which Kérastase products I love the most for vibrant, healthy hair.

Setting new goals in the new year

In addition to giving a recap of the previous year, I also want to talk about the plans I have for the coming year. But I gave up on having distinct boundaries, like a particular hair color or length of centimeters. We don’t always have control over the circumstances because, as experience has shown us, not all plans work out as planned. My objectives will therefore be more ethereal.

• Learn to love and appreciate what we have

Though it happens infrequently, most of us probably compare our outcomes or outside data with others. Someone has longer, thicker hair, someone has better styling, and so on. I make an effort to combat that rather than make comparisons or minimize my accomplishments. And to embrace my current situation, which is mine even though it isn’t perfect.

I’m trying to accept my forced refusal to color my hair for the time being, and if I don’t like the way my hair looks, then I should at least learn to live with it. Or wait until the length is suitable for dying.

Even though I’m almost past the "beginner’s hunger," occasionally my mind shuts off when I read posts about a new product or just a great product. It’s not necessary for me; better yet, "wrap two." Occasionally a purchase proves to be extremely profitable; following Mashulya’s stunning post on Magnay, I purchased the identical "Red Valentine," but more often than not, I made the purchase purely for its own sake. I simply didn’t consider if the product would fit me or not. And then the hamster reserves started to frighten me. Since many products exist, none of them function the way I want them to.

I now consider every purchase thoroughly and am extremely cautious about them. Moreover, there are fewer jars. This method worked out to be more practical for me, and I’m hoping it will help me avoid making the same mistakes again.

• Bring beauty to jars

I’m not giving up on organizing the care product shelf. These days, hair demands vary rapidly, grow longer, and require more careful maintenance. For this reason, I give myself a year to figure out how to take care of my hair and to understand what it needs.

This is a small list of the things I want to achieve. Sure, it might not be much, but I hope it is doable.

This year has truly been a journey of hair-based self-discovery. I’ve learned to let go of my fear of change, from the audacious choice to go from icy blonde to a playful pink, to accepting the freedom of a short haircut. With every change came renewed hope and self-assurance.

It was crucial to keep gorgeous hair after these adjustments. My go-to technique for maintaining the vibrancy and health of my color was toning after lightning. It’s a simple step that has a significant impact on the way your hair feels and looks.

Kérastase products eventually became my preferred choice for hair care. They really did wonders for my hair, nourishing it, bringing back its shine, and maintaining its best appearance even after several color treatments.

Video on the topic

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