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“.