I’ve just done something that most people have told me not to do: I bleached my hair. It’s a big risk to bleach your hair and probably something you should think twice about. It’s a harsh chemical procedure that can permanently change the structure of your hair. There’s also a good chance you’ll do a crappy job if you bleach your own hair at home, but if you do your research, take all the precautions and have a helping hand, then there’s a good chance you’ll do a fantastico job! (If you’d like step-by-step instructions on the actual bleaching process then this is the perfect article for you.) I think I read over 20 different articles on bleaching and so I thought I’d share some things you should know before taking the plunge.

DO’S:

A skin test. The bleach and peroxide you buy should have instructions on how to do this. Normally you’d mix each product with some water and apply a small spot of it on the inside of your elbow. If after 48 hours there’s no irritation, then you’re good to go!

Wear protective clothing and gloves. And not just an old shirt, but try wearing an old outfit. As I learnt, bleach will go everywhere, even on your new trousers or shoes! I also spilt some on my carpet, but if you do that, make sure you quickly wipe it away with some household cleaning products (I tried to rub it off with just a towel, but now I have a giant white stain on my floor!).

Prepare everything before you begin. That may seem obvious, but think of things like opening your water bottle or opening a door; you don’t want to be turning a door knob with bleach all over your gloves (yep, I learnt the hard way…). You might even want to dedicate a towel purely for all your future bleaching/dyeing shenanigans.

After bleaching, do regular deep conditioning treatments. Bleach really dries your hair out, so this is vital in giving your locks some life again.

Work out your colour combinations. You’re probably not going to get white hair by using bleach and peroxide, you’ll most likely get a very light orange or yellow (depending on your original hair colour). So if you add blue dye to your newly bleached orange hair, you’re going to get a weird shade of green. If you want your hair as white as possible, you need to re-bleach your hair (which should be done 1-2 weeks after the first bleaching process), and also use a toner. This is kind of dangerous though, as re-bleaching your hair totally fries it! Ask your salon if you’re unsure about re-bleaching.

This is a really important step: Because your roots are healthier, the bleach works faster here compared to the rest of your hair (plus the heat from your scalp speeds up the process). So you should apply the bleach to your hair, leaving about 1-2cm away from your scalp, let it sit for about 10-15 minutes, and then apply bleach to your roots. Bleach penetrates the hair quite quickly, so keep an eye on the time. (The maximum time bleach works on hair is 60 minutes, but you would probably need to go to about 30-40 minutes, depending on your desired result.)

DON’T'S:

Don’t bleach your hair when you’ve just conditioned it. Bleach works best when the hair has only been shampooed and has been dried naturally.

Avoid blow drying, using a hair straightener or any other sort of heat treatment for at least a week after bleaching. Doing so will make your hair brittle, dry and weak, which leads to breakage.

If you don’t like your bleached result, don’t dye your hair darker straight after. This is going to damage your hair and may lead to severe breakage (or worse!). You should wait about a week before doing that.

This is the result of about 35 minutes into the treatment on my almost black hair.

I decided to bleach my bangs too. This is the moment when reality set in. I’m thinking, ‘Oooohhh shit… What have I done!?!’

Although I got over the initial shock when I added some colour! I used Special Effects’ Virgin Rose which I bought from T-H-R-E-D-S. It was actually cheaper to buy online, including postage costs, than to buy it here in Australia - go figure! I just left it on for 20 minutes, rinsed with warm water and then shampooed with baby shampoo (as it’s gentler). Special Effects is the best brand to buy as it lasts the longest.

I’d bought Fudge’s red corvette hair dye about 10 years ago, and I hadn’t used it until now. So I dyed my bangs with it, but as you can see, the colour’s more of an orange than a red. This is because my bleached result was a yellowy colour: yellow + red = orange. But I’m actually quite happy with it! Although I kind of feel a bit like Drop Dead Fred.

Some helpful reading: How to Bleach Hair Blonde - the perfect step by step instruction guide, You Want an Unnatural Hair Colour, Bleaching and Blonding 101, Beeunique Hair Dye gallery, Special Effects Hair Dyes, Wildilocks, Hair Crazy

Big love & Goldilocks,