Wella Professionals Guide: Repair Care, Blonde Toners And Salon Styling

After the Second World War, the Stroeher family lost their factory in East Germany when the authorities seized it. They did not give up on the company. The family and twelve loyal employees started again in Hunfeld, in Hesse, and rebuilt the business from there. Starting over with a small crew is a good way to end up with strong opinions about what hair professionals actually need.

The company started long before that, in 1880, when Franz Stroeher set up a company making tulle, the fine net that wigs are built on. In 1924 the family filed the name Wella, from the word for wave, as wigs faded and permanent waves took over. The brand says Koleston, launched in 1950, was the first cream colourant that nourished the hair, and that Color Touch in 1988 was the first demi-permanent colour. That is a salon history, and I think it shows in the shelf: everything has a job, and the job is usually named on the bottle.

The trick is to start with the care line, not the color. Ultimate Repair has a shampoo and a mask, and the brand says the shampoo is vegan, color safe and built around AHA and Omega-9. Fusion Intense Repair comes as a shampoo and a mask too, for hair that has been through more. Invigo Brilliance is the shampoo for normal hair, and the Invigo Nutri-Enrich mask is what I would pick for dry ends. For finishing, Oil Reflections Luminous Smoothing Oil and the Ultimate Smooth Miracle Hair Oil Serum are the two glossy last steps.

Here is a habit worth borrowing: figure out whether your hair needs repair or just moisture before you buy anything. Damaged hair from bleach or heat feels rough and stretchy when wet. Dry hair just feels thirsty. Bond builders are for the first kind.

Olaplex is the name most people know, and it shows up twice here: the No.3PLUS pre-shampoo mask and the No.5 strengthening conditioner. K18 comes with a leave-in molecular repair mask and a molecular repair hair oil. L'Oréal Professionnel's Absolut Repair molecular line has a mask and a shampoo, so you can build a whole routine inside one range. Living Proof's Triple Bond Complex is a leave-in treatment, and Not Your Mother's Curl Talk Bond Building leave-in is the one written for curls.

A pairing I like: a pre-shampoo mask on dry hair before you wash, then a leave-in on damp ends afterwards. That gives you repair at both ends of the shower, without a long mask session you would skip anyway.

What I would skip: layering three bond products in one wash day. Pick one that suits your routine and be patient with it.

One rule for blonde hair: a toner is a color service and a purple shampoo is maintenance. Do not ask the shampoo to do the toner's job. Brass comes back, and the shampoo is what keeps the gap between appointments comfortable.

For the toner, Colorcharm Permanent Liquid Toner is the one to know. the brand says it is the number one permanent toner in the US, going by 2020 Euromonitor data, and the page carries the usual warning that hair colorants can cause allergic reactions, so patch test first. Then the purple shampoos. Invigo Blonde Recharge is the house's own. Olaplex No.4P adds a bond-minded toning angle, and Pureology's Strength Cure Blonde is a purple shampoo with a strength angle. Moroccanoil's Blonde Perfecting has argan oil, Davines' Alchemic Shampoo comes in silver, and amika's Bust Your Brass is the cool-blonde one with a strength-repair pitch. dae's Violet Hour is the newer-name purple shampoo of the group.

A habit that helps: leave purple shampoo on for two minutes, not ten, and use it once a week. Then go back to a normal shampoo.

What I would skip: purple shampoo on hair that is only a little warm. It can leave a dull, lilac cast.

Try this before you buy: apply the volume product to damp roots only, then dry your hair upside down for the first minute. That single trick does most of what a big product promises.

The EIMI line is the house's styling side. Extra Volume Mousse is the strong-hold volumizer, Sugar Lift is a sugar spray for voluminous texture, and Stay Firm is the workable finishing hairspray I would keep at the back of the drawer. On the other side, Kenra's Volume Spray 25 is a super-hold finishing spray, and Kenra's Root Lifting Spray 13 is a root volumizer. Bumble and bumble's Thickening Go Big is a plumping treatment spray, Drybar's Rum Punch is a strong-hold volumizing spray, and Redken's Root Lifter is a spray foam.

A pairing I like: mousse on damp roots, then a light mist of hairspray once the style is set. The mousse gives the lift, the spray keeps it there through a commute.

What I would skip: a strong-hold spray on freshly washed hair right before a windy day, where the spray tends to clump. Wait until the hair is fully dry.

I think the best move with Wella is to treat it as a professional brand you bring home in pieces. Begin with the Ultimate Repair pair, add a purple shampoo only if your color asks for it, and keep one styling product for the days you want lift.

Start with the repair shampoo and mask, live with them for a month, and let the rest of the shelf earn its place. Hunfeld was a family and twelve people starting over. Your bathroom shelf can start smaller than that, and it will still be a fresh start. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Vaseline Lotion and Hair Lightener Guide.