Could Kim Kardashian's Blonde Ambition Cause Hair Loss?

Kim Kardashian chose Paris Fashion Week to unveil her latest look as she ditched her signature dark hair for a platinum blonde look on Friday. It seems the dramatic change wasn't enough for the reality star though, as her hair has been getting progressively lighter ever since. Given her history of hair loss, could all this colouring cause more damage?

Kim Kardashian West Debuts Blonde Look

Mane makeover

The 34 year old credits her husband, Kanye West's friend and collaborator, Madonna with influencing her increasingly lighter hair look, saying, "'I’ve always had this image of Madonna with platinum hair in my references folder on my computer and I’ve been waiting a long time to try the look." Although she also revealed it was a "really last minute decision" to make the change.

The first step of her mane makeover was a fresh haircut whilst still in California, where the first part of the colouring process also took place, before Kardashian jetted off to the French capital.

Kardashian's colourist gives advice on going platinum

Kim Kardashian's initial colour transformation was carried out by the colourist Lorri Goddard who also tends to the famously blonde tresses of Reese Witherspoon and Kate Hudson.

Goddard said of the task, "It is extremely difficult to take dark hair to platinum as it shifts the condition of the hair but hair can be kept strong if the proper conditions are taken."

...then takes it from yellow-blonde to a creamier platinum

She advised anyone planning on trying a seismic Kim-style hair shift, "Always start with a strand test to establish if hair is strong enough to take the platinum journey and begin the hair process away from the scalp working with ends first as the scalp exudes heat, which quickens the process." Adding that carrying out this type of colour process works best on newly-cut hair that has not been colour-treated for three to six months prior.

Kim has used a French hair colour specialist, Frederic Mennetrier at Paris salon L'Atelier Blanc, for her recent tonal updates, taking her from a slightly brassy pale blonde, through to a cool platinum and now - after a further three hours in the chair - light ash blonde.

History of hair loss conditions

As a hair product spokesperson with her own hair care range, Kim knows the importance of looking after her locks. She claims to wash her hair once every five days, take supplements, similar to Hair Vitalics, to help boost her hair's condition, and avoid hair extensions which have caused her noticeable hair loss in the past.

Selfie fan takes snap during colour session

Although these actions, along with regular cuts and thorough conditioning, will help the condition of her hair, they will not protect against hair loss - something Kim has reportedly struggled with.

Following the birth of her daughter, North, Kim is said to have experienced post-partum alopecia, a common, temporary hair loss condition that affects new mums, and has more recently been said to have noticed thinning hair believed to have been caused by stress.

Could going blonde cause hair loss?

As she seems particularly prone to shedding, this slow approach to achieving the desired shade seems sensible and it is likely that sulphur may have been used to lift her hair from its trademark dark brown to the first yellow-blonde shade.

Hairdressers say sulphur treatments are gentler than bleach in these kinds of transformations, although they can leave an unpleasant smell, like rotten eggs.

Three days later, Kim is sporting her latest, lightest ash blonde look

It is common when taking hair from very dark to very light to start with a sulphur solution and then leave the hair for up to a week before using bleach and toners to get to the final colour result. This allows the hair time to recover from the initial lightening between colouring sessions, and reduces the chances of chemical trauma.

As long as Kim is keeping up with her hair care routine and adding in extra, intensive conditioning treatments to put protein and moisture back into the stripped hair, it should not put her at risk of triggering female pattern hair loss, or shedding from hair breakage.

It may, however, still feel and look drier than normal but this is due to the change in the hair's texture caused by colouring chemicals. Hydrogen peroxide in bleach is particularly at fault as this strips the colour from the hair and, if used in large quantities or too frequently, can make the hair dry and brittle to the point where it can snap, as Lady Gaga found during her peroxide blonde phase.

If Kim starts to notice she is losing more hair than normal, but doesn't want to return to her natural hair colour, she should reduce her bleaching frequency and seek professional help from a hair loss specialist. They will be able to provide her with advice on how to get her hair back to health as well as recommending the most effective hair loss treatments to aid regrowth.