When it comes to hairstyling, there are trends, and then there are trends that become everyday fashion. If we are to look at some of the most resilient and returning color hair trends, it has to be the platinum or pale yellow blonde. From major Hollywood stars to your BFF next door, everybody is sporting this color and for all the right reasons. However, bleaching can be a very damaging process to your hair if you do not learn how to bleach hair at home safely and correctly.
If you fail, you will have to learn how to make your hair grow faster and healthier again. Luckily, we have here a short but comprehensive guide on how to rock the look without endangering your hair’s health. Let’s follow the steps and get an amazing look!
If you want to go blonde the easiest way to do it is by bleaching hair. When you want to achieve that classic Hollywood-like style, loose blonde curls are a great option. However, if your natural locks are dark, it can be a dramatic change. Before deciding something, you should gather as many details as possible regarding this procedure. If it is not done correctly, it could create a lot of troubles for your hair. Let’s see which are the pros and cons of bleaching hair and how you should do it safely.
1. Learn if you are a Good Candidate for Bleaching
Unfortunately, not all women can safely bleach their hair. If you are a natural blonde, you are in luck. The process will last shorter amounts of time. Women with darker hair need to use more product and spend a lot of time with it to get the desired results. However, if you have dry, very thin or damaged hair, you should not bleach at all, at home or the salon. Moreover, if you have a short, pixie cut, you will be able to bleach your hair faster and more efficiently.
2. Prep Your Hair before Bleaching
Your hair needs to be in perfect condition before you even think about bleaching. Treat your hair with conditioner, moisturizer, hair masks, and hair toners a few weeks prior to the bleaching session. A night before the actual bleaching process, treat your hair with healthy oils to keep it safe while the bleach removes color.
3. Follow the Instructions Carefully
According to hair specialists, hair has 10 different levels of decolorization. The darker your hair is, the longer it will take you to bleach it to a pale yellow. This is one of the reasons why women with darker hair go through some red, orange, and brassy gold color stages before they achieve their desired nuance. You may need to repeat the process next week, but make sure your hair does not suffer. Knowing this, you should get a bleach that comes with detailed instructions on how to bleach hair at home and for how long.
4. Do a Test Run
Do not ever start bleaching your entire hair at once. Firstly, perform a test on a hair strand. Bleach the strip from the roots to the ends. Wrap the strand in foil and look at it every ten minutes to see how long it needs to reach your desired color. Make a note of how long you have to keep the product on the hair and rinse the test strand. You should not keep the bleach on your hair more than an hour – it will burn the hair or damage it tremendously.
5. Apply the Bleach and Take Your Time
Now that you know how long it will take to bleach your hair, apply a generous amount of bleach and cover your head well. Bleach works best when you keep it warm and moist. It can take you 30 to 40 minutes until you get the desired pale blonde shade so be patient. As we said, if it takes more than an hour, you should give up on bleaching altogether or try a professional salon.
Bleaching hair can be fun. After all, you will have a completely different look which can make you stand out in the crowd. However, bleach can damage your locks and scalp. This is why you must be careful how you do it. This procedure has both pros and cons. Therefore, make sure to follow our recommendations to maintain yourself on the safe side.
6. Rinse the Bleach Well
You may not achieve the desired results on only one sitting. It does not matter. Instead of keeping the bleach for hours, stop and rinse your hair. You can treat your hair and wait for a week to resume the process. Make sure you rinse your hair well with cold water.
7. Care for your Hair
This is the moment where many women fail in their attempts to get a safe bleach. Once you finished rinsing the hair, it is time to care for it. Your hair went through some serious damage and now you need to treat it. A deep conditioning mask, hair toner, and cutting down on heat styling are your first steps to preserve your hair’s health. Wash your hair less frequently for a few days post-bleaching and treat it with nutritious masks and healthy hair oils.
If you want to dye your hair at home after you bleached the hair, you need to prep your hair carefully, pick a safe and high-quality dye and follow the instructions to a tee. Otherwise, the dye on bleached hair can damage it beyond recognition.
Picking up the strands…
…Do you have other tips on how to bleach hair at home? Do you use post-bleach toners or hair dyes? Do you use natural hair treatments for damaged hair before you start bleaching? Just leave your thoughts in the comment section below. We would love to hear from you.