This Hydrating Hair Mask Is the Only Thing Keeping My Blonde From Getting Brassy

For some reason, I choose to live my life managing the delicate balance of double-processed bleached hair. Since claiming platinum as my home-base hair color for nearly a decade now, I’ve tried more than my fair share of at-home toning products in an attempt to maintain my hair’s cool tone until my next salon appointment.

I’ve tried $6 shampoos that left my hair icy cool but stripped entirely of all hydration and feeling like straw. I’ve slathered on pricey custom-made conditioners that left my hair toned but blotchy and uneven. In true Goldilocks fashion, I finally landed on the one purple toning product that’s secured a spot in my haircare routine for good: Christophe Robin Shade Variation Mask in Baby Blonde.

Earlier this year, I asked my colorist at Brooklyn-based salon Whiteroom what she’d recommend as the ultimate purple toning product and she called out this Christophe Robin mask. Despite years spent working in a hair salon in college and nearly a decade as a platinum blonde, this was one product I hadn’t yet tried. So, I took it home with me.

Unlike other more temperamental shampoos and conditioners, which can leave you looking like a grape Fanta if left on for a moment too long, the mask is designed to sit on hair for up to a half hour while it works to neutralize brassy and yellow tones. Its secret lies in a specially formulated acidic pH of 4.5, which helps to minimize hair’s porosity so the color-correcting pigments are evenly distributed each use. I was immediately impressed.

Besides restoring my hair back to its post-appointment brightness, the mask works as a deep-conditioning reparative treatment I rely on on days when my hair is feeling dry and unmanageable. Because it’s formulated with almond butter, shea butter, and buriti oil, the nourishing blend always leaves my hair feeling hydrated and replenished. Plus, its floral notes add a bit of luxury to my morning routine.

Despite being a veteran double-process blonde, I plan on letting my hair do its thing and embracing my dark roots until the day I can be back in my colorist’s chair. Until then, however, I’m going to keep my grown-out platinum hair brass-free by using this holy-grail purple toning mask once a week.

Shop now: $53; dermstore.com