How to bleach your hair without damage
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How to bleach your hair at home
So, you spent two hours carefully choosing that blonde tone for your dark brown, reddish or orange hair, and another two hours dyeing it, following the instructions. You probably thought: 'hey, I'll finally get that awesome beige/ashy/golden tone for my hair; it will look exactly as in the box, yay!'
How many times did you think that, before seeing how your hair ended with a horrible red/gold, this weird pumpkin orange (?!?!) or in the worse, rare and extreme cases a completely unknown green/gray color? But don't worry, with the info in this troubleshooting guide you can prevent the chances from happening again.
This page will be permanently in construction as it gets updated with new info and techniques. Enjoy! :-)
The contents you'll find here...
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This guide will help you understand how the hair bleaching process works and prevent hair damage due to misuses of bleach. Information is prevention, especially here :)
This guide will help you understand how the hair bleaching process works and prevent hair damage due to misuses of bleach. Information is prevention, especially here :)
Get to know your natural hair coloring and undertones
You can often define this by observing carefully the way your hair shines in a setting with broad daylight. On the other hand, bulb lights can be misleading; they can make ashy tones look gold! Seriously!If your hair is brown, dark brown or black, you may notice a reddish glow. How much apparent is it? Too much? Too little?
If you are going for lighter colors, say, you want to dye your hair red or blonde; this can determine how hard it could be to get to that color.
Of course, if your hair is already treated, you would have to pay attention to the roots, AND the way the rest of your hair reacted to the chemical substances.
This may have sounded redundant or silly, but I insist: knowing the true natural coloring in your hair and the way your hair pigments work against the chemical reaction that is basically the process of coloring, is the KEY to get the results you want!
ALSO DON'T FORGET TO CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL'S OPINION TO BACK IT UP
The following article offers more detailed, yet concise information on how the color wheel chart works, and how you could use ashy (cold), gold (warm) and natural (neutral) tones in your favor so you can find the right hair color:
The Color Wheel Chart Explained
So, as a conclusion note: green kills red and viceversa, the same as violet kills yellow, as also blue kills orange. The sum of all these basic colors gives us gray.
Check out Wella's Special Mix Color Chart
It's definitely a game of complimentary colors, like in painting, just that the canvas is your hair :-)
When it is really necessary to use bleach?
do you have to bleach your hair to dye it?
Okay. Your hair is black, brown or red and you want to go light brown or blonde. You probably got to the point that, in order to get what you want, bleaching your hair is necessary, if unavoidable, because you already used lightening home based tones such as L'oreal's 5L1 or 6L1 and you weren't satisfied with the results.And I'm talking about the case in which you have to get rid of the majority of red/orange pigments, leave yellow pigments and balance them with the right amount of blue/violet to get any shade of light brown, dark blonde and the lightest blondes (golden, ash, beige, platinum, etc).
We all know the effects of lightening powder (bleach); if used improperly, it can burn, fry, break and even cause partial/total loss of hair due to breakage itself..
If your hair is thin, coarse, dry (not oily), curly, or extremely soft and wavy, it is highly recommended that you consult your preferred salon expert and get it done there.
Otherwise, if your hair is thick and oily, then you can take your chances at home, with the help of a friend or relative in-the-know.
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT IF YOUR HAIR IS TOO DARK AND TOO MUCH RED/ORANGE NATURAL PIGMENTS, YOU'LL PROBABLY NEED A PRE-LIGHTENING PROCESS TO GET THE LIGHTEST BLONDES. You can use a lightening tone 11 or 12 to help you get to at least an orangey tone before you use the proper lightening powder to lift it to a pale yellow blonde.
In that case, you should wait at least 15-20 days between each lightening process, to condition, repair and prepare your hair for the next bleaching procedure. You must get it first to orange, then to yellow, and then to a pale yellow in order to tone it with the color you want, in the case of blondes. It'll take some time, sure, but it's certainly the safest way. You won't like your blonde hair to look fried, opaque and therefore unnatural, will you??
3 classic mistakes you should avoid when bleaching your hair
Bleaching: Doing it Wrong This great article describes the top 3 mistakes every beginner makes when applying lightening powder.
MISTAKE NUMBER 1: DYEING THE ROOTS FIRST: you always have to start from the ends, then the roots. Applying the lightening powder must be a quick but effective action.
MISTAKE NUMBER 2: STARTING FROM THE FRONT: you have to start from the back, then the sides and then the front.
MISTAKE NUMBER 3: USING SEMI-PERMANENT DYE AS A TONER: semi-permanent hair dyes are NOT toners, period. A solid result is a permanent hair dye used at 10 vol, and it is only after that you use semi-permanent tones.
how to get blonde hair from brown
Garnier's tutorials
This is a series of truly informative videos on how to bleach your hair at home safely and get the blonde tone you want in a two-step application process for brunettes and redheads. The only thing is that, at the end, she should have toned it with an ashy tone instead of neutral or gold. :-/ But that's me.
curated content from YouTube
What are the best hair color products?
best hair color product reviews
Davines: It's stunning how their blonde tones look natural, yet at the same time preternaturally shiny.Unfortunately, this line of products can only be acquired at professional salon stores, if they're available, or salon products retailers, like Sally's. They can be a bit hard to find, but it's completely worth the effort.
And it helps that their site here is awesome. Lots of ideas for coloring and avant-garde hair cuts.
L'Oreal: for blondes, the Majirel Professional line is 100X better that what you can find at the nearest pharmacy/drugstore. Although some Dream Blonde (Preference) tones can do the job as well.
I'm not sure about Preference per se. I think these hair dyes are only meant to work with what tones are already there in your hair (cold, natural, or warm), so it can be tricky to obtain the exact results as shown in the box. Excellence keeps being the best at covering grays, though.
However, Feria and REDKEN tones are the absolute best for browns, reds, violets and those truly intense and beautiful colors you want to achieve. They can make great lowlights due to the variety of tones and their quality.
The best ash blonde toners
get rid of brassy blonde
They make great toners and a guarantee of killing any red/orange undertones left. Remember that you can use almost any shade as a toner as long as you use 10 or 20 volume developer:1.- Davines 7.11 Dark Deep Ash Blonde (7AA)
2.- L'oreal Preference 7 1/2A or 7.5A
3.- Couleur Expert 7.1 Vanilla Ice
4.- Couleur Expert 8.2 Iced Merengue
5.- Majirel 7.11 Deep Ash Blonde
6.- L'oreal Excellence 8.1 Light Ash Blonde
8.- Clairol Nice N Easy 008A Medium Ash Blonde
The following videos describe well the steps to bleaching your hair at home, with the proper care:
How to get rid of orange highlights!
Orange highlights can look very good with certain tones of brown and a pale complexion, like the pic here.But with our blondes and reds, not so much. :-/
The least you can do is to resort to violet/blue toner shampoos to turn down the dull orange.
Other option that has worked wonders for me, is to use Majirel or Davines' 7.11 Deep Ash Blonde, THIS WILL DEFINITELY KILL RED/ORANGE TONES, especially in roots, in addition to a natural (neutral) tone, such as a 8 or a 9, as it will help to light the tone and maintain the ash.
And yet another combination I tried recently was Davines' 7.11, with 20% (6 vol) oxidant with 11.1 Extra-lift Silver Blonde from the same brand in a 1:1 proportion. The results were spectacular as my hair turned this sort of ashy pearl blonde I've never seen before. Not even a trace of red or yellow undertones.
Other technique that lasts depending of the volume of the developer you use (the higher the volume, the more likely it lasts) is to use intensifiers.
Intensifiers are pure tones such as yellow, blue, violet, red, green, etc that when added to a particular tone, it either intensifies it, mixes with it, or substracts from it, according to the complimentary colors rule.
For example, if you add blue to a red/orange tone, you will be left with an ashy/greyish tone.
If you add blue to a greenish/ashy tone, it will add to its cool nature.
In that sense, the Special Mix tones from Koleston perfect are the ideal to achieve an unique, intense tone that doesn't fade easily. Just make sure you follow the instructions accurately in regards to measures and proportions.
Which brands of lightening powder are the best?
Actually, there's not that much of a difference. Wella's Blondor works fine, though it can make it difficult if you want to get to the lightest blonde or platinum tones. You truly require heat in order to make it work more effectively; otherwise, it'll mostly turn your hair yellow after 40 minutes and will not go beyond that, which is not bad is you use a toner. I'd recommend it if you don't want to go extreme, if your hair is very dark but maybe you'd want to get a nice medium ash blonde or a certain shade of strawberry blonde.Clairol's powder is pretty good for that lightest blonde result you're looking for.
And, aside from Goldwell's bleach, L'Oreal's Platinum line and Davines' are among the best. They can be hard to find on the internet since they're only sold to professional salons (especially in Davines' case), but that doesn't mean you can't go to the nearest salon products store and buy it individually.
Goldwell Oxycur Platin Lightening Powder 2 lbs. Toners and blue/violet shampoos
toning hair after bleaching
Clairol Shimmering Lights Shampoo and Conditioner are the.single.best.product you can find in the market to turn down any brassy/reddish/orangey tones in case you mess up a bit.
Remember that a shampoo per se doesn't fix any tones, whereas a toner does. That is the difference.
Remember that a shampoo per se doesn't fix any tones, whereas a toner does. That is the difference.
L'oreal Professionnel Expert Serie Silver Shampoo review
Being a L'oreal product, you would think that it's an excellent product by default, and I was proved that it isn't always the case.
This shampoo, aside from having violet depositing pigments for gray and white hair, (thus also serving for all shades of light or platinum blondes to avoid fading or orange undertones), has also Amino acids that look to protect the hair and keep it shiny.
But the actual results are below standard if you compare it to other brands. Its substance is thick and heavy, and it's not easy to handle when you put it on the hair. You just have a feeling that you need a lot of water to wash it out, something that never happens with Clairol's Silver Shampoo or similar products, for that matter.
After blow drying it, my hair felt heavy and it really didn't do anything to turn off yellow or brassy tones. I was surprised since I thought that I would get better results. I'd definitely recommend that you don't use this brand when it comes to this shampoo. Trust me, there are far better silver toning shampoos out there.
Maintaining the color
L'oreal Professional Expert Series:
If you want your color to last, Vitamino Color shampoo and conditioner and mask would be a good option for fixating the color.
For highlights, Lumino Contrast with Nutriceride enhances the tones, and prevents fading. "A radiance shampoo designed to target highlighted hair; helps combat lipid loss without weighing the hair down. Microemulsion texture enriched with nutrients, a UV filter for hair and derivatives of vitamin E and Magnesium." If you have blonde hair with lowlights, this is THE product for you. You'll definitely notice the difference.
Also, their finishing gloss serum is perfect for dry ends, leaving them silky almost instantly.
If you want your color to last, Vitamino Color shampoo and conditioner and mask would be a good option for fixating the color.
For highlights, Lumino Contrast with Nutriceride enhances the tones, and prevents fading. "A radiance shampoo designed to target highlighted hair; helps combat lipid loss without weighing the hair down. Microemulsion texture enriched with nutrients, a UV filter for hair and derivatives of vitamin E and Magnesium." If you have blonde hair with lowlights, this is THE product for you. You'll definitely notice the difference.
Also, their finishing gloss serum is perfect for dry ends, leaving them silky almost instantly.
Restoring/reconstructing hair after bleaching
repair hair after bleaching
AG Hair products : the single best line available right now. They're not that expensive and they can last a lot, with very specific products for each type or hair, whether it's curly or fine, balanced or too greasy, dry or damaged, etc.
Their Deep Reconstructing Treatment is the best single thing that can happen to your hair to minimize the impact of using bleach powders, hair dyes, or straightening treatments.
AG Hair Conditioner Deep (select option/size)
Matrix Biolage: a line of products designed specifically for hair care and repairing after coloring, and highly recommended after a keratin treatment. It leaves truly stunning results for each type of hair.
L'Oreal Series Expert: this line also has the Absolut Repair Shampoo, Conditioner and Mask with Neofibrine, a type of restorative ceramide combined with natural wax, which is also perfect for hair that has lost structure, volume and strength.
Kerastase always a must. My mom has used it for 20 years now. The Resistance treatment is best if you dye your hair frequently and it's too dry and broken. The problem is that it contains sodium chloride, therefore making it incompatible with the use of keratin treatments.
Natural conditioning masks: some natural-based products can be very effective. Aloe Vera conditioners, for example, are THE BEST for their restorative properties. If you leave it on for 15-20 minutes and use it every two or three days, not only will it enhance your ashy tones, it will prevent fading, open ends and that sometime 'fried' look if you have light blonde tones and use bleach frequently.
Nature's Gate Aloe Vera Moisturizing Conditioner
Bed Head Dumb Blonde Reconstructor: this is protein packed moisturizer that includes wheat, soy, keratin, and Pro-Vitamin B-5 complex. Used as a pH balancer, daily conditioner or as a hair mask. Protects & retains hair color, repairs hair damage from sun, smoke, pollution and chemical treatments.
>Bed Head Dumb Blonde Reconstructor, 25.36 oz
Keratin treatment: an excellent, relatively faster, life-saver option for recovering extremely weak hair. Your hair will look as it if were brand new, born again if you wish. You can check out my lens on this subject! :-)
Learn the benefits of Brazilian Keratin Treatment for Damaged Hair.
Their Deep Reconstructing Treatment is the best single thing that can happen to your hair to minimize the impact of using bleach powders, hair dyes, or straightening treatments.
AG Hair Conditioner Deep (select option/size)
Matrix Biolage: a line of products designed specifically for hair care and repairing after coloring, and highly recommended after a keratin treatment. It leaves truly stunning results for each type of hair.
L'Oreal Series Expert: this line also has the Absolut Repair Shampoo, Conditioner and Mask with Neofibrine, a type of restorative ceramide combined with natural wax, which is also perfect for hair that has lost structure, volume and strength.Kerastase always a must. My mom has used it for 20 years now. The Resistance treatment is best if you dye your hair frequently and it's too dry and broken. The problem is that it contains sodium chloride, therefore making it incompatible with the use of keratin treatments.
Natural conditioning masks: some natural-based products can be very effective. Aloe Vera conditioners, for example, are THE BEST for their restorative properties. If you leave it on for 15-20 minutes and use it every two or three days, not only will it enhance your ashy tones, it will prevent fading, open ends and that sometime 'fried' look if you have light blonde tones and use bleach frequently.
Nature's Gate Aloe Vera Moisturizing Conditioner Bed Head Dumb Blonde Reconstructor: this is protein packed moisturizer that includes wheat, soy, keratin, and Pro-Vitamin B-5 complex. Used as a pH balancer, daily conditioner or as a hair mask. Protects & retains hair color, repairs hair damage from sun, smoke, pollution and chemical treatments.
>Bed Head Dumb Blonde Reconstructor, 25.36 ozKeratin treatment: an excellent, relatively faster, life-saver option for recovering extremely weak hair. Your hair will look as it if were brand new, born again if you wish. You can check out my lens on this subject! :-)
Learn the benefits of Brazilian Keratin Treatment for Damaged Hair.
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How has been your hair coloring experience?
Did you like this lens?
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UKLady
May 27, 2012 @ 3:27 pm | delete
- I live in the Uk, is there any way I can get hold of Davine's Deep Dark Ash 7.11 here?
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Michele
Apr 26, 2012 @ 6:58 am | delete
- I have dark blonde hair and i want to go lighter to a cool silvery tone blonde. How would i get this colour???
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pinky
Apr 20, 2012 @ 10:31 am | delete
- What would happen if violet tone correcting shampoo is used too often on highlighted hair or full dyed hair???
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Matie
Apr 21, 2012 @ 5:52 pm | delete
- it can make your hair look opaque due to saturation. If your hair is dyed, it's best to wash it once or twice a week with the color correcting shampoo.
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Claire
Apr 18, 2012 @ 8:43 pm | delete
- The Davines 7.11 Dark Deep Ash Blonde (7AA) looks pretty dark from the online photo. How does it compare to real life application? Is it a solid color or just a toner? Thanks!
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