♡ What color hair do you have? This determines the strength of the peroxide developer you will be using.
If it’s already blond this wont be too difficult. But if your hair is dark… Get out the camera, you are going to want documented proof of what happens…
♡ Have you ever dyed your hair before. Yes it matters. Especially if you’ve dyed it red. Because not only does the bleach have to cut through your own color, but it also has to cut through the chemicals you have put on it.
RED is the hardest color to strip.
I know all you bottle redheads are saying: “I don’t know what she’s talking about. I have to try like hell to keep my hair red.” But that is because all those wonderful warm tones have faded. I think you will all recall the lovely brassiness that stays behind. That, my little trainables, is the enemy. You should wait at least a month after your last red dye-job before bleaching. If you don’t you will end up with Orange hair. No matter how hard you try: ORANGE.
You could Bleach your hair all night long and while your hair is melting off your scalp you can admire the lovely orange filiments going down the drain. I kid you not!
When you do get to your bleaching, finally, use my directions for dark colored hair. You’ll need the bleaching strength.
♡ Have you found a trustworthy friend? If not, STOP! Even if you think you are a seasoned pro at dyeing your hair with standard hair dye kits, you are still nowhere near prepared for the hassle of bleaching. So get your ass away from the computer and find a friend!
Don’t have a friend? So sad. I’ll be your friend.
I won’t lie to you. I bleach my hair solo all the time. But my hair is super short. For hair past your chin you really should recruit help.
Bleach for hair is essentially composed of two different products you will buy: Activator Powder and Peroxide Developer.
Most powders are more or less equal, so I won’t spend much time talking about that… if I spend any time at all. So although you may be faced with many options and feel overwhelmed, you can pretty much feel secure in your decision to purchase any of the powders presented to you.
What you do need to know something about is the Developer.
Developer comes in two “types“. Creme and Clear.
For our purposes I recommend a Clear developer. Creme developers require a slightly longer processing time than Clear developers.
You don’t have to worry about brands or quality. You are just bleaching. A generic bottle (and I buy the large ones) of Clear Developer will do the job fine.
The second thing you want to take into consideration is the Volume rating.
The “Volume” is the lightening power or strength of your peroxide. The thing that gives your bleach powder umf.
Now, don’t ask me why they call this scale “volume.” I don’t know and I don’t care either. So please don’t email me with an explanation.
Virgin/non-chemically treated hair:
If your hair is blond to a medium brown I recommend 20 Vol developer. Natural redheads also fall into this color grouping.
If your hair is dark brown to black I recommend 30 Vol developer.
Particularly stubborn dark ethnic hair sometimes requires 40 Vol developer. But I would recommend bleaching the hair twice with lower volumes and a resting period than to risk damage and possible injury with a 40 Volume developer.
Previously dyed hair:
If your hair is dyed dark brown or a shade of red I recommend 30 Vol developer.
If your hair has been bleached and then dyed a fun color like blue or pink I recommend 20 Vol. It takes less effort to lift the color off of previously bleached hair unless hair has been re-dyed black.
If your hair is dyed black then I recommend a two stage process which involves color remover followed with bleaching w/ 20 Vol.
If you really want to play it safe, just stick to 20 Volume developer. It may take longer to lighten, but is “safer“.
bleach vs. color removers
In most beauty supply stores you can find products labeled for removing hair color. These products lift the color that you have previously applied to your hair to generally the lightest stage it was at prior to applying the dye.
Since most commercial dyes work by bleaching your hair slightly while depositing pigment the end result may be hair that is lighter than you expected.
color removers are considered a bleach alternative, but it should be noted that most of these do actually contain bleach.
The process by which they strip synthetic color from your hair is less damaging than using bleach. So I recommend that if you have dyed your hair black, a color that is notoriously difficult to lift, that you use a color remover first. Then apply bleach to lighten to the level of blond you want.
You will almost always want to follow the color remover with a bleaching session, because the results are seldom pretty. So if you go this route please pick up bleaching supplies while you are purchasing these products. Or have a good hat or unibomber hoodie available to hide your hair.
Time to go buy bleach! Horray! um… read this so that you are sure you haven’t forgotten anything.
Unlike commercial hair dye packages, when you buy hair bleach all you get are “ingredients” unless you buy a bleaching kit. I’ll just assume you aren’t buying one of these kits.
there are two methods of application: brush and bottle. I don’t list them as an either/or option in the shopping list. It’s the difference of a couple dollars, so just buy both you cheap bastard.
shopping list:
Bleach:
♡ packets of bleach
OR
♡ tub of bleach
OR
♡ Wella Wellite
When buying bleaching powder I prefer to buy in bulk so you always have enough to do all your hair. For short to shoulder length hair you should have approx. 4 oz. of powder.
My personal favorite is by Wella Wellite and comes in a box. Mixing instructions are printed inside the box.
♡ Developer
I buy large bottles. try to have on hand about twice as much developer as you have powder.
Mixing Supplies
♡ Applicator bottle
♡ Tint Brush
♡ plastic Mixing Bowl
Preferably a bowl marked to aid in measuring ingredients
Miscellaneous Items
♡ gloves
you can buy these in small packages. I prefer the box of vinyl gloves in size medium. Repeated exposure to latex can increase your chances of developing a latex allergy. And Medium is a good size unless you have really large hands.
♡ disposable shower caps
♡ cotton coils
These also come in a box. And while not TOTALLY necessary, they come in handy when bleaching longer hair. I’ll explain that later.
♡ Sweet ‘n Low
Instructions for Bleaching hair
Your bleach, when purchased, should come with mixing instructions. If you buy a tub of bleach they sometimes put these instructions inside the tub on a piece of paper that is easy to lose. awesome. So try to use the instructions that came with your bleach.
If you don’t have instructions they generally say something like:
mix one part powder to two parts developer.
It’s really not too complicated.
the scoop included in most bleach tubs measures out 1 ounce of powder. The individual packets indicate on them how many ounces they hold. And if you bought a good mixing bowl or application bottle at the beauty supply store, they should also have measuring guidelines printed/molded on them.
Mixing Instructions:
(to be repeated as needed)
or
Sensitive Scalp / Bleach Burn
If you have a sensitive scalp that itches or burns uncomfortably when you bleach, here is a tip to eliminate, or at least reduce your discomfort.
Add a packet of Sweet ‘n Low to your bleach mixture.
It’s not a modern day wives tale or some sort of trick I’m trying to pull on you.
As strange as it sounds, a packet of Sweet ‘n Low added to your bleach will help reduce bleaching discomfort.
It is recommended that at least 24 hours before bleaching your hair, you do a patch test to determine if you are going to have a reaction. Newbies to bleach and dye would be well advised to do this. You just mix up a small amount of bleach and apply a dab to your wrist area and let it set on there for about 20 – 30 minutes. Rinse it away. Observe this portion of your skin to see if you have an adverse reaction to the chemicals.
I never do a patch test, but then again I have impulse control problems.
Applying bleach
The hair on the back of your head takes the longest to bleach, and your roots bleach the fastest. For that reason we start at the back of the head and at least and inch from your scalp.
As you bleach in sections and the layers of saturated hair build up eventually the bleach will bleed onto your roots. So this is where the cotton coil come in handy.♡ Starting with a section of hair at the base of your neck, approximately 1 inch thick by 2 inches wide, and starting at least an inch away from the roots, apply bleach to your strand of hair.
♡ repeat this across the base of your hairline until you’ve completed applying bleach to that row.
♡ Directly above the row you’ve completed, start sectioning and bleaching again.
♡ After you’ve bleached a section, tear a piece from your Cotton Coil and place the strip between the bottom and top layer. If you continue doing this as you as you stack your layers, the hair will stay lifted from the roots and less bleach will bleed down onto your roots.
If you have really short hair you can omit this step entirely, since most of your hair would be considered “root growth”.
♡ After saturating the length of your hair put on your shower cap and go about your business.
♡ After about 20 minutes check your hair to see how much it has lightened. From this point on check your hair often. The goal is to reach a light Orange color .
♡ When the bulk of your hair is at that hideous orange stange it is time to apply bleach to your roots, so whip up a new batch, remove the cotton coils and get to work.
♡ When your hair reaches a lemony yellow it is time to stop bleaching your hair. This is the absolute lightest you are going to get it. If you want Platinum hair that will require the use of a toner, which I don’t cover.
♡ Go rinse the bleach out of your hair. Notice I said “rinse”, not “wash”. Do Not shampoo or condition your hair. Get the bleach out with plain old water.
♡ gently towel dry your hair.At this point you look a mess. But you’re done with the bleaching.
I know your hair is ratted and feels like straw. But that’s okay. It is to be expected. You are right on track with everything.
good job.
Tips and tricks for bleaching
- add a packet of Sweet ‘n Low artificial sweetener to your bleach mixture to ease bleaching discomfort.
- You can buy home bleaching kits in most regular stores, but they generally aren’t as strong and if your hair is longer than chin length you may need two kits.
- Be sure to buy more bleach than you think you need. If you screw up, you don’t want to high-tail your ass to the store with funky hair.
- Bleach your hair in a well ventilated area, free of anything you DON’T want bleach on. If your favorite shirt is anywhere in the room it will somehow get bleach on it.
- If you are bleaching for the first time then please be sure you have a competent friend help you. Srsly.
- Wear clothes you don’t care about so that when your bleach gets on them you won’t be phased. I wear a white boy-beater and boxers.
- Don’t try to bleach your hair any lighter than a lemony yellow color.
- Try to bleach your hair at the beginning of your weekend so that you if something should go wrong you have plenty of time to fix it before having to go out into the real world again.
- Heat accelerates the bleaching process, but also accelerates the damage that bleaching does. So if you find your bleach is behaving sluggishly, you can use your hair dryer on a low setting over your shower cap to give the bleach a boost. DO NOT use high heat. You will burn yourself before you realize it.