Kim Kardashian on her new hair upkeep: 'Blonde is high maintenance'

Kim Kardashian debuted a new hair hue in early September, when she showed up to New York Fashion Week with silver-blond locks. The 36-year-old reality star knows what she’s doing when it comes to creating shock value for fans, and her move delivered, leading to immediate debate over the Khaleesi-inspired look.

Although first glances at Kardashian’s hair led many to believe that it might have been a blond wig that she was rocking, she later took to her website to confirm that it was her natural hair that was bleached. And now she’s admitting that it’s difficult to keep up with.

“Blonde is high maintenance,” Kardashian wrote in a Snapchat in which she displayed a plethora of hair products being used to keep her bleached blond on point.

In her post about how she achieved the light locks, the KKW Beauty mogul gave credit to her hair stylist, Chris Appleton, for spending a total of 17 hours to transform her naturally dark hair. She called the super-intensive process “SO worth it” and hopefully still thinks so after having a taste of the upkeep.

Expert colorist Rebekah Nash tells Yahoo Lifestyle about Kardashian’s touch-up process, explaining the products and tools used to maintain both the health and color of her hair. While Redken’s “Up to 7” product (used to lighten hair up to seven shades) is available for salon use only, a protectant like Olaplex is something that Kardashian, or anyone looking to achieve her hue, can use in her at-home care.

“Olaplex is a three-step system used to protect the hair at a molecular level. In this photo, the Olapex oil is used, which is step one,” Nash explains. “Think of it as an antibiotic that heals previously damaged hair while preventing further damage. When becoming a bleached blonde, you can use the step three for at-home maintenance to prolong the treatment.”

Another at-home treatment that Nash recommends is Redken pH Bonder, which can be used in the same way as Olaplex’s step-three product. But she also suggests using a hair mask about once a week. Taking care of Kardashian’s colored hair, both in-salon and out, is definitely time-consuming. But whatever the cost of the star’s upkeep, fans are all for the look.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• The triple Kardashian baby news gives birth to great Kris Jenner memes

• This is why Kim Kardashian’s makeup artist goes makeup-free

• It seems Kim Kardashian has adopted a uniform

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