From the Beauty Closet
Bleaching It
8 years ago by
I’ve been talking about bleaching my hair for about a year now and I haven’t been able to pull the trigger.
Just so you get the idea, I want to go from Veronica to Betty. I’m talking like Aymeline Valade blonde. The tricky part is I have naturally thin curly hair and I’m dead scared it’s just not going to be able to handle it.
Have any of you completely bleached your hair? Do you have any suggestions on how I can prepare it for bleaching and how to maintain?? Or perhaps you have a horror story that I need to know about?!?!?!
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I have been a platinum blonde for a few years ( fine hair) Used to be a nightmare, despite every hair treatment known to (wo)man, my hair was dry and resembled straw. Then – Olaplex, the magic bullet. Find a hairdresser who uses it.
I took the plunge and went platinum blonde and after a week or so of gasping when I looked into a mirror, I can confidently say I am here to stay!
I have found myself much more eager to try bolder lipsticks, embrace messy hair days, and look for a few more striking wardrobe pieces.
And..the right people love it on me. Those who know me and my style rave.
I totally agree with Cara; find the hairdresser who uses Holaplex. Condition well and don’t wash too much.
I’ve decided to try and stop coloring my black hair and go grey. Sometimes I wonder if I should just dye over the biggest grey sections to get past the growing out part.
I’ve been bleaching my hair for 6 years now. Well, technically, half of my hair: I’ve gone the Daphne Guinness route. The key is to find the right colourist. Rendering a nice platinum blonde is a difficult skill to master; he/she needs to get the bleach right AND the toner right. The latter is especially tricky.
My best advice is, find a person whose hair colour you admire and ask her/him where (and with whom) they gets it done.
And pictures help. Hair colour tones are hard to describe in words.
I just made the big switch from naturally curly dark hair to platinum blonde. My hairdresser used Curaplex. I wash mine (once a week)with ‘purple’ shampoo and conditioner, and also treat my hair. To avoid heat styling, i wrap my hair in a silk scarf everynight before i go to bed , which brushes out nicely in the morning. I use dry shampoo every second or third day just to refresh it.
Olaplex all the way.
PS: you can also use it just as a treatment for your curly, brown hair…it will thicken and look gorgeous.
I went blonde this summer. My hair is partly grey, so I needed also to cover these parts. As I have very dry hair, and fine at the same time, also thinning somehow, my hairdresser took the matter into her hands and decided to mix real hair color for grey hair with some toner (?). She also navigated me to Kevin Murphy hair products – shampoo and conditioner for hydration. I need to say KM is great! I also stopped using common hair spray and it helped my hair a lot.
I try to wash my hair only when needed, not too often. Also I use some kind this from Schawrzkopf after washing:
https://www.google.sk/search?q=Schwarzkopf+Professional+BC+Bonacure+Repair+Rescue+Spray+Conditioner&client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdvumx26nOAhWDwBQKHY8_DBkQsAQIOw&biw=1280&bih=841#imgrc=rCL8lJzoeKy18M%3A
I went from ginger to blonde in almost a year, and I am here to stay :) My hair is fine so I took it real slow and with care. From time to time I dyed my hair at home which turned into a real nightmare, my hair went dry and resembling straw! I highly recommend finding a good hairdresser who uses Olaplex or Fibreplex, as well as using shampoos and/or conditioners with Keratin for daily care. Once you get there there are plenty of pastel shades to spice up your look especially in the summer! My choice is currently the strawberry blonde/sand groove. I agree with Kathryn, I also am more eager when it comes to make up. Good luck and enjoy the process!
I’ve been dying my hair for years and am now regretting it.
The cost, the time, the upkeep.
It’s great to experiment with your look and style when you’re young but I am now of the age where I want to embrace what God gave me.
Think carefully.
You’re already perfect as you are.
Questions to ask yourself – can you afford to spend money on the upkeep for a while – the bleach and coloring EVERY month? It’s a lot of money and time to spend at the hairdresser – you gotta budget for it;) You need olaplex to make it last and purple shampoos and so on. If you want to bleach it yourself be prepared to cut it really short when you are over your blonde fase – because that will kill it.
il faut aussi que la couleur aille au teint…
In my experience of being a platinum blonde (bleached from my natural almost black/now salt and pepper) finding an experienced colorist is essential. One who understands not only how to get the correct lifting with the bleach but how to tweak the toner to achieve the desired color. It takes a few months to get it right and you have to be patient. A good colorist will take photos each time you leave the salon to compare to the change in color when you return the next month. Once the desired color is achieved you really need to have monthly touch-ups. Salon quality shampoo (esp the purple one) with pH in the 4-5 range are also really helpful. Lastly, wash your hair as little as possible and condition as often as possible. Good luck…I love my platinum and so does everyone else!
Honestly? Why spend the time and money? If you are younger and have your natural hair color and need a change get a tint or gloss or highlight but the thought of putting all those chemicals on your head, much less the maintenance and cost: pain in the neck and so much time wasted. Also, it is my contention that putting those chemicals on your head for years, if not decades is ultimately, REALLY bad for your body much less the environment. We already live in a cloud of chemicals, why add more directly onto your skin?
Also, as a blonde who went stark white prematurely, which is not that flattering to begin with, I resent having to dye my hair. Trust me, you have to if you are middle aged, single and work freelance. I am not a star in my field and I did let my hair go white. Jobs, much less men do not want white haired women, it is subtle but it is there. Yes, there are successful white haired women who are stars (but not in Hollywood except for La Mirren of course) but they always seem to have their own business and/or partners who help pay the bills. Just being realistic here as I struggled against the dye for so long. Ultimately, why put chemicals on your head when you are younger when, with the way society views older women, you will be dying your hair for decades when you are older?
Feel like I could write editorial on this subject for the NY Times. Think before going with the next tend put out by the beauty industrial complex (to borrow from Eisenhower’s phrase regarding the military industrial complex) which just seems to dominate our lives now in NYC. All about the look but ultimately often, no substance. (But hey, I love Garance, she is both looks and substance.)
I’d echo the poster above – if you’re young and don’t NEED to dye your hair, think hard about it, and maybe do streaks or a glaze rather than the whole shebang. I am a brunette with lots of grey and and I have to dye my hair now, every 6 weeks what a pain. I truly wish I had appreciated and loved my lovely natural deep brown color more when I had it. I think blonde is a really hard color to get right, and most people DON’T. Just because its fashionable doesn’t mean it’s flattering- here in NYC I see LOT of people with really bad hair colors for their skin tone- like ashy fried grey/ blue tones with olive skin, which seems fashionable but ugly Bleaching not only changes tone but reflectivity – makes your hair more matte, which can throw off your whole look. However you only live once- so go for it, but I’d say have an exit plan. Maybe a pixie cut?
I have short hair, almost a pixie cut, and I bleached my hair in the beginning of the year (I have dark brown hair naturally). I had heard horror stories about scalp burns but my experience was very positive, the whole process took about 5 hours but I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort. The texture of my hair changed lot, but for the better in my opinion, it is less oily and has more volume.
I’m very happy with my look, but I’m ok with having dark roots. If that is not your case, you should budget the extra money and time you will spend at the hairdresser, because you will be there every month, or at least every 6 weeks. And keep in mind that platinum/white/grey hair is very difficult to maintain, you will have to invest in toner, blue shampoo and conditioner. I’am a big fan of Shade Variation Care Nutritive Mask – Baby Blond by Christophe Robin.
I just bleached my (mostly) naturally grey hair from red to ashy light blonde. It took five hours and my hairstylist is the best. Two days before, I spent three hours with a heavy coating of coconut oil on my hair for three hours. The day of, he bleached the back (in foils, just like highlights). Washed that out then foiled all the rest. Not enough of the red was removed to suit him to he slathered on the bleach again and waited until it was right. He did the roots a dark ashy blonde then applied that and four other colors to my whole head. Coating every strand and foiling. I am thrilled with the results; everyone says I look better and younger (I’m 60). I’ve had the roots redone once, with an ashy toner and keratin applied all over. My hair is naturally curly and is frizzing more than usual because of the dryness. I continue with coconut oil once a week and use Kevin Murphy shampoo and treatment for blonde hair (the purple stuff). I don’t have to have the roots retouched as often because the natural silvery grey looks just like part of the plan. I LOVE it. But would only ever do it with someone I trusted completely – an artist.
Olaplex. Don’t let anyone talk you out of it.
Exciting! I loved my platinum hair…agreed with all the comments on the upkeep and time. But it is a fun experiment. One thing I would consider is what your platinum exit strategy is. At some point, you will no longer be blond and it is good to figure out how you will get out of it gracefully.
I had dark brown hair with a helping of silver, went platinum for a couple of years as I was growing my hair out of a very short cut. After two years, I was ready to return to my natural color, but wasn’t ready to have dark rocker roots for two more years as I let my hair grow out. I just felt like it would look too messy on me. I ended up dying it black and then growing out from there after about a year. And let me tell you, it was a pain and a process. I’m still growing out my natural color (including a lot more white hair than I was expecting).
After all that, I still would have done the platinum, but I probably would have committed to cutting it short again or growing out dark roots.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Hairstory products and since you’re in New York, look in to getting cut and colour done there. I would if I could.
I’ve had blond stripes for about 15 years. Stripes are easier to maintain while they grow out. Looks more natural. The overall look is blonde not stripy.
I love it. I’m too old to go dark (I’m naturally quite blonde anyway) and if I don’t color I’d have grey stripes!!
So I don’t see many options.
I’m not platinum blonde, though.
I prefer stripes any time! It’s a good way to start and looks natural!
https://sofaundermapletree.wordpress.com
I’m actually in the process right now, I’ve hard dark hair my entire life, so this is all new to me. I decided to just do it myself, I also have really thick hair that is mid length. I’ve just bleached once, and been using toner. My hair is a ginger color right now. I’m waiting to bleach again to give my hair a break. My hair is actually super soft and healthy still, I’ve been using argan oil and I swear by it.
Here was my process: http://www.smuug.com/hair-lightening-part-1/
One day I am going to do that ;)
My natural color was a very dark brown (almost black) sprinkled with a bit of white (now there is a lot more). About 10 years ago I decided I wanted to try bleaching my hair white, and, living in the Philippines, could not find a hairdresser who would agree to do it (they were all used to covering white, not creating it). Except for one fellow, who, after a few missteps that left me a brassy blond for a few days, got it white. There was not purple or blue shampoo available locally, so I looked for any shampoo that was not yellow, sticking to clear and white shampoos, to avoid accidentally going yellow. It worked quite well, and after the hairdresser emigrated, I started bleaching my hair myself, then tinting it slightly with a “silver” dye from Japan. Now, I have to point out that I have worn my hair very short all my adult life, which makes the growing out actually rather fun! Especially when my white hair really started to come in and kinda blended with the bleached parts. At one point I buzzed off the sides and back, leaving me with a mostly white top and dark sides — the results were very stiking, and, as the top grew, the white bits looked more like highlights. I stopped bleaching and dyeing a couple of years ago to let my scalp get a bit of rest — and now I see the kids are all bleaching their hair and the hairdressers are into it too! I’m debating whether to bleach again, but am reconsidering it since at 53 I do not want to look like I am trying to copy the 20 year olds (even though I did the whole thing first!). Tips: Don’t shampoo too often, avoid yellow-colored shampoos, condition a lot, and, for some odd reason adding a couple of tablets of artificial sweetener to the bleaching solution takes out much of the sting.
pour les déco tète entière la recherche a énormément avancée. Si tu rajoute du smart bond (loreal) ou olaplex dans ta déco chez ton coiffeur aucun problème normalement et résultat sublime !
I love bumble & bumble’s color-minded line to keep moisture in the hair. My hair always feels so soft after. Kevin Murphy blond angel wash and rinse are good to keep the yellow out. I tend to alternate between the 2 depending on what the hair needs. Choose your colorist wisely, especially to get the right shade for you!
I have very thin, VERY dark hair and i tried to go silver/white ON MY OWN… AT HOME. but i took it easy and used hair masks between each bleach. it worked and my hair wasnt too badly damaged. If i could do it at home, then a good hair dresser should be able to do it without destroying your hair.
I’m Asian, and I’ve had platinum blonde hair for about 5 months now. While I love the change and would to keep it for a few more years, I don’t think I can do it for these reasons:
1.) It is SOOO high maintenance if you want to keep it looking healthy. While you will wash your hair less for the sake of your hair (maybe 1-2 week), it will take you FOREVER each time (stepping in and out of the put on hair masks or toners).
2) It is SOOO costly. You need to go every 6 weeks in order to maintain the color because after a certain amount of time, it will be difficult for the stylist to match the color (has to do with the heat from the scalp). If you’re not making THAT much money, you need to budget your hair in. Not only that – the experimentation process of trying different shampoos, conditioners, toners, hair products, oils, etc…
Tip: If you do it, don’t trust Davines Silver Alchemic. I thought a more expensive product was sure to be better, especially since Into the Gloss mentioned it in several posts. It did a terrible job at toning my hair – keeping it brassy instead of white. Right now, I’m really enjoying my Schwarzkopt and Evo Fabuloso.
If you are ready to also change the Rest of your style and to have to learn again from scratch what suits you? Last year I changed the first time in my life my haircolor fromger to blond e dip dye . It was only then that I realized how versatile my natural strawberry blond has been matching with colors of my wardrobe. Blond is very restriktive not even a third of my wardrobe was marching. Though the bleach lokked very natural and did do less harm to my hair I had feared