7 things to consider before you bleach your hair at home….
It is a long winding road of video and written research that has lead me to this point, mostly late-night YouTube binges and the obsessive compulsion of a natural brunette who always wanted to be blond.
It all started in my youth, as the second of four children and the only brunette I have always had a thing about my hair. Firstly I thought I must have been adopted, which is perfectly fine, I just couldn't fathom how I fit in with the rest of my sibling's bright blonde locks and my almost jet black-brown mane. I just simply didn't make sense.
Throughout my teen years, I did try to go blonde, but no hairdresser would take me seriously. “With your dark hair and brows it just wouldn't look right”, was the answer I got everywhere along with the outright refusal to bleach it. The closest I ever got to my blond ambitions was a measly head of brassy, overpriced and underwhelming highlights. Faced with the realization that my blonde dreams were precisely that, dreams, and that no hairdresser would do what I wanted, I turned to the only place that would. The Internet. So here we are years later, still obsessed with the idea of going blonde, still brunette but I am now equipped with almost every snippet of information related to frying your hair comfortably in your own home.
So if you're like me with the attitude “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than to beg for permission.” and interested in the idea of home bleaching instead of shelling out hundreds of euros to a salon please read on.
Tools you'll need.
- Old clothes, no need to destroy something you actually like!
- Blonde powder bleach
- Crème developer (20, 30, or 40 volume)
- Toner
- Purple/Silver shampoo
- Hydrating conditioner
- Plastic bowl
- Gloves
- Tinting brush
- Fine tail comb and wide tooth comb
- Foils
№1 — Your hair level on the colour scale
First and foremost if you're going to do this, let's try and do it right or at least as well as an untrained hairdresser with iffy youtube information can.
Hair comes in many shapes and forms. the particular colour and texture of your hair will affect the outcome of this daft science experiment. As you would see on the back of any bleach/ blonde dye box it will show the levels of hair colour and what you should expect after the first lift. Hairdressers refer to colours as levels, there are 12 levels the darkest starting at 1 and the lightest(blonde) is twelve. o the darker your hair the lower the level. I have dark brown hair so I'm a level 5 which Is more difficult to lift. Whereas a level 8 dirty blonde could achieve platinum in one lift session.
Essentially what I can gather is that the lighter the hair the easier it is to bleach which seems pretty obvious.
№2 — Hair texture and strand thickness.
Let's talk about strand/cuticle thickness first. This is basically how thick a strand of your hair is. If you looked in the mirror now, would you say you had thick or thin hair? Is there quite a bit when you tie it in a ponytail or would you say it's wispy and fine? silky even?
What I have noticed is that sometimes the thicker hair strands take longer to lift. Thicker hair strands are also a little less prone to complete destruction from bleach (breakage etc)so if you have fine hair be aware bleach may work a bit faster. But just to clarify none of the above matters if you leave the bleach on too long. All hair will be equally destroyed.
Next is Your hair type, eg. curly, straight, long, short, wavy. You can bleach any texture of hair but you might want to tread a little more carefully if you have quite curly hair. Curly hair tends to have a finer texture than straight, there is also the likelihood that your curls will lose bounce and elasticity once you bleach them. But if your okay with that then go ahead, the blonde world awaits!
The most disastrous bleaching videos on the vault of modern human history that is youtube, feature the brave souls that have spontaneously decided to splat a load of bleach on their hair with no method whatsoever and you can guess how that turns out. But if not I’ll tell you. Plonking copious amounts of strong bleach on your head without a plan will most likely result in patchy colour at best, dark spots, and probably a burnt scalp. So to avoid these issues I recommend using foils or even regular aluminum foil. Take your hair in strips and make sure each one is covered in bleach for a more even do. This also makes bleaching curly hair a lot easier as you have a base for the hair to adhere to so it doesn't bounce away and leave you with stripy weird looking hair colour.
№3- Colours and products that may interfere with the process.
Okay, so this one is fairly important. I have witnessed complete and utter hair devastation with these issues. People in a rush to be blond will confidently stride off to a salon, lie about whether they've had any colour or treatments including perms, permanent straight, hair colour remover, etc. and then halfway through the process, their hair will melt off( that actually happened) or maybe it will turn a delightful shade of green.
Chemical interaction between products is so important so if you've had any treatments please do not try and bleach your hair at home and inform your stylist that you have treated hair. Usually, if you have colour already on the hair, most people do, hairdressers will strip the colour out before they bleach it. The hair stripping process can be damaging to the hair as well so I recommend waiting for a little while after stripping before bleaching it. There is one particular video of a lady who had used black box dye on her hair and then decided, Nah. think I’ll go blond in the same week. She proceeded to use hydrogen peroxide to strip the colour from the hair (which I do not recommend at all) basically fried it, and then used 40 volume bleach. It was orange, then it broke off. Enough said.
№4- Hair and scalp protection before you bleach.
Bleach can burn the scalp and make the whole process quite uncomfortable. A lot of people have used a layer of coconut oil massaged into the roots and scalp before they apply the bleach. It's also a good idea to use nutrient masks or conditioning treatments in the weeks leading up to dying your hair. New protective products include Olaplex and Wellaplex which claim to protect the integrity of the hair while you bleach. You can use these products before, during, and after the process. Many people swear by them but be warned, they can be pricy.
№5 — Bleach and developer strength
The bleach is the powder part of the kit and then you have your cream developer. When you combine the two you get your bleach mix. If you have “virgin hair” meaning never coloured or treated with any chemicals then your hair should lift just fine with 2 rounds of bleach and a toner. Even less is needed if you have naturally light hair.
There are levels of developer and they correspond with lift strength,
level 10- Doesn't actually lift the hair but opens the cuticle to receive different hair dyes.
level 20- This will lift 1 shade lighter then your current colour, people usually use this in their second round of bleaching if they have dark hair.
level 30- The most common strength used. this will lift the hair 2–3 shades lighter than your current colour.
level 40- Provides the most lift but is not recommended as it more often then not is very damaging to the hair structure. Basically what I'm saying is 40 vol seems to fry everyone strands. Maybe best to stay away.
The most popular route is 30 vol for the first bleach and then 20 vol for the second. People leave it on for anywhere between 15–40 minutes, any longer and your hair may be at risk, a handy trick is to test a section of your hair every ten minutes. Do this by wiping the bleach off a few strands. that way you can see how far along it is.
If you have dark hair your hair will probably look pretty yellow maybe even orange after the first round but that’s normal. Rinse out the bleach with cooler water (no shampoo, you want to keep those protective oils), dry the hair fully, and apply the next batch. Repeat rinse and then we’re on to purple shampoo and toners.
№5 — Toner and purple shampoo
Toner is a godsend. Toner has saved so many almost blond disasters from the brink. It is a semi-permanent dye that comes in many shades and essentially neutralizes the brassy/yellow tones in the hair after bleaching. you apply the toner after rinsing the bleach out of your hair. It can look quite dark going on but do not fear, you won't have purple hair at the end…hopefully.
Purple shampoo is a shampoo with purple pigment. It uses this to cancel out the brassy/yellow tones in the hair. You can use it anywhere from once a week to once a month. But be warned, using it too often could potentially turn your hair purple…
№6-Aftercare
You are going to want to invest in some high-quality hair masks and hydrating conditioners. It’s easier to bulk buy these from Sallys or Amazon. Heat tools and hairdryers are your new enemy. The heat will further damage your new blond hair and can lead to breakage and dryness. Using a cooler setting on your blowdryer or letting your hair air dry when you can is best. or if you can afford it buy the fancy Dyson hairdryer. It allegedly works miracles.
Silk pillowcases are a good call as well. They are less porous than traditional cotton and keep the moisture and oils locked into your hair. They also reduce friction on the hair strands as there is less grip on the silk which reduces breakage.
№7-When to cut your losses and admit defeat by the hair gods
Okay. So you’ve applied the 40 vol, after stripping your hair, left it on for an hour, your hair is orange and you decided to bleach over the damaged hair. Your hair has now started melting off and your scalp hurts like hell. MIght be best to just shave it off and call it a look.
Final note(disclaimer)
I am not a hairdresser nor do I pretend to be, I am just a keen observer and lover of blonding hair culture. I hope some of my snippets were helpful and that if you are brave enough to try bleaching your hair at home that it turns out fabulously. Best of luck!
