It’s not a wives’ tale that chemically produced blonde hair is more fragile and brittle than natural blonde hair. The fragility is due to the lightening, or lifting, process which changes the protein structure of the hair, causing it to weaken. In order to strengthen the hair, you want to invest in products that contain keratin, amino acids, and hydrating agents to keep your hair in tip-top shape. Essentially, once you start “bleaching” your hair, your focus is going to change from simply cleaning your hair to also retaining its moisture and keeping it strong. For better or for worse, this requires specialized products for blonde hair that cannot be accomplished with most drugstore brands.