Whether you want to be a dark blonde or a light-haired beauty, there’s nothing quite like bleach. But bleaching at home requires specific critical steps and precautions. To learn how to bleach your hair at home is not the only point. You also need to know how to care for your freshly colored hair.
Whether you’re looking to go deep blonde or rose gold, know that you will require hair bleaching first. If you start with a darker base, it could take multiple sessions to achieve the required color. To make a drastic change from brown to platinum blonde, you need to use the right tips discussed below.
The first thing you need to work on is a bleaching kit. Hair bleach is designed to work on dark, light, or medium brown hair if it is bleach all over. This type of equipment comes with a developer cream, lightening cream, bleaching powder, anti-brass conditioner, instruction sheet, and safety gloves.
Then, there are also one step lightening systems or kits that can be used for naturally blonde hair. Some packages are for lightening dark and medium brown hair in one step, too.
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Nothing is more counterproductive than trying to lighten your hair and ending up with an orange or green-shaded mess. It happens even to the most seasoned and experienced hairstylists, forget coloring at home! Using chemicals to bleach hair requires careful usage. Take care, and you have all the supplies you need before starting the process. Opt for a checklist and ensure you go over it a couple of times. This leaves less likelihood of mistakes and errors.
For effective bleaching, you need rubber gloves, old towels or cloth, dye brush, mixing bowl, powder/cream bleach, clips to section the hair, bond builders, peroxide or developers, toners and sulfate-free conditioner and shampoo. Check the instructions each time hair is bleached, primarily if products used before are employed. Read the instructions carefully before bleaching your hair.
Each box kit comes with different instructions. Moreover, the same product does not remain the same. Read instructions to avert crazy hair colors or hair loss. Remember to carry out a strand test, before bleaching your entire hair, so that you can be sure your hair reacts effectively to the bleach. The strand test prevents allergies from being triggered. It shows the integrity or health of the hair. Strand tests ensure hair responds appropriately to the bleach.
[Read: Remedies for Orange Hair after Bleaching]
Do not leave on the bleach for a more extended period than the instructions state, for this can damage your hair or worsen its coloring. Leaving the bleach longer on than advised can permanently damage the hair and burn the scalp(1).
Remember that the amount of time to leave the bleach on depends on your present hair color, the color you need, and the thickness and texture of the hair. Check on hair every 10 minutes to ensure over-processing during the bleaching process does not take place.
According to some experts, no lightener or bleach should be left on for more than thirty or forty minutes without restructuring additives or similar products. The integrity of your hair must be the key priority, and you need to proceed slowly, even if it does take multiple highlights to achieve the effect you want.
[Read: Natural Remedies for Dry Hair]
Deep condition your hair the same day hair is bleached. It ensures that some of the nutrients return to your hair, making it healthy and manageable. Deep conditioning the hair in the weeks up to bleaching it at home builds the strength of your hair. It also undoes the damage caused by the bleaching process.
When your roots grow, or you need a touch-up, never re-bleach the already bleached hair. Hair, no matter how strong it seems, can only take on limited exposure to chemicals. Over-processed hair can be a real problem.
Those with darker hair may need more bleach. But to avoid damaging hair, you need to wait weeks before every bleach. Don’t bleach damaged hair ever, and seek a professional’s help if your hair is losing its natural shine.
Focus on pampering damaged hair by applying for leave-in or deep conditioning agents. Sometimes, the damage needs to be cut off. A series of deep conditioning and hair rebuilding treatments can work. Once hair is hydrolyzed, or there is damage to the alpha helix(2), a hair cut is the only way out!
If you are bleaching your hair, do apply deep conditioning masks and oils in preparation for this.
[Read: Home Remedies for Frizzy Hair]
Another mistake made by those using hair dye at home is that if the hair looks yellow, you disregard it. Remember that toner is essential for bleaching, especially if you are trying to get the right shade.
Toner counteracts the yellow color, making hair light blonde. It redeposits hair color after the bleaching process impacts the strands. Bear in mind that you should use ammonia-based toners with care, as these can be harsh on bleached hair.
Colored hair requires additional care. Use a system of conditioner, shampoo, and hair mask for colored hair. Once or twice, you can even use a hair balm with hair masks. While washing your hair, use lukewarm water, because super-hot water can strip strands of valuable essential oils, resulting in dull, dry hair.
[Also Read: Essential Oils for Your Dry Hair]
Take the time to do a touch-up. Embrace textures that suit you and avoid using excessive heating or perming tools. If you need to style your hair, use a heat protectant before heat styling.
So, watch out for hair issues and bleach your hair carefully at home following these steps and procedures. Blonde or bleached hair is natural to accomplish at home, provided you don’t get too adventurous or use excessive bleach.
Be careful about over-processing, as this can damage the hair. Watch out for small things like adding a conditioner to your hair care regimen or using toners for diluting the shade of vivid bleached hair for best results.