Good bleaching is key to going blonde.
But many people are really afraid of the damage that bleaching might cause.
And as a result they are afraid to use bleach, and use it incorrectly.
But the kind of blonde result you see above is achievable, provided you do it right.
In this article, we will show you how.
Note: we only recommend you do this if you are a trained cosmetologist with at least some basic coloring knowledge.
Step 1: Prepare your supplies
Before you begin bleaching your hair, you should gather all the supplies that you need.
You will need:
Coloring tools:
- A pair of rubber gloves
- A plastic bowl to mix the bleach in.
- A good quality coloring brush, with soft bristles.
Bleach:
- A good quality professional bleach which has good lifting power.
- We suggest you use Ugly Duckling Brilliant Blondexx with Bond Protect.
- The Bond Protect inside will minimize hair damage.
- Brilliant Blondexx produces a white creamy mixture when combined with developer.
- You will find that the mixture this bleach produces s more comfortable on the scalp as compared to ordinary bleaches.
Brilliant Blondexx with Bond Protect
Developer:
- Depending on the lift required you will need 20 or 30 Vol developer at hand, and sometimes both.
- Use 20 Vol for 2-3 levels lift and for near the scalp.
- Use 30 Vol on the lengths for more than 3 levels lift.
- If you are working with very dark hair, you may need to apply first with 30 Vol, and then make a new mix with 20 Vol.
- Which is why having both developer strengths handy is a good idea.
Step 2: Preparing the hair
You should never wash your hair with shampoo and conditioner prior to bleaching.
The natural oils and even the dirt from your scalp will help prevent damage to your hair and also prevent scalp irritation during the bleaching process.
The dirtier the hair, the better. So give it a few days without shampooing before attempting to bleach for the best results.
You can even rub some argan or coconut oil in to the scalp (not the lengths of the hair) half an hour before bleaching.
But don't overdo it. Otherwise you could interfere with the bleaching process.
Step 3: Make your bleach mix
The rule for mixing bleach is 1 part bleach to 2 parts developer.
The bleach tub will come with a scoop, so you can use that to measure both the bleach and the developer.
Alternatively, you can use a kitchen weight scale.
Our recommended mix of 1 +2 will make sure that your mixture has the consistency of gravy.
This will allow you to apply the mix quickly and most importantly, allow you to really saturate your hair with the mixture.
This is what your bleach mix should look like
Step 4: Apply your bleach to hair
Where you start applying depends on what type of bleaching you are going to do.
For full head bleaching, you should start where the hair is the thickest, which means at the back.
Avoid the root part, returning to it only at the end.
The reason for this is that the root part always processes the fastest.
This is so for 2 reasons: first, it's virgin hair, and second, it gets the heat from the scalp which makes it process faster.
If you are bleaching the regrowth, on the other hand, and not doing full head bleaching, you need to apply bleach straight on to the regrowth area first.
Later, you can extend to any parts which are too orange, and which may not have been sufficiently lifted in the past.
The idea is always to end up with hair that has been consistently lightened from roots to ends, with no banding or lines of visible demarcation.
WATCH THIS VIDEO ON HOW TO APPLY THE BLEACH MIXTURE ONTO VERY DARK ROOTS LEVEL 2:
HAIR BLEACHING WITHOUT DAMAGE: WATCH THIS:
Hair by Elona Taki
Step 5: Let the Bleach Process on the Hair
Processing time for the bleach will vary according to at least 6 factors:
- First, the thickness and quality of the hair, and the amount of lift that you are targeting.
- Second, the quality and quantity of bleach that you are using.
- Third, the developer strength.
- Fourth, how well you have saturated the hair with the bleach mixture.
- Fifth, whether you have used foil or not: foil will keep the heat in & speed up the development.
- And sixth, whether you have used some heat to speed up processing.
We do recommend that you saturate the hair very well with your bleach mixture. Don't be a scaredy-cat and make half-hearted jabs or pokes with your brush to the outside of the hair. You need to really whack the bleach mixture in, fearlessly.
The more you drench the hair with your bleach mixture faster you will get your lift.
We do also suggest that you use foils. This will also speed up the development time.
Regular kitchen foils cut up in advance, to save time, will do the job perfectly.
Wrapping the head up in plastic after application is also a great idea. So is using gentle heat from a hair dryer.
After around 15-20 minutes, start checking the hair by peeling back the mixture and examining the hair closely.
While you are checking the lift, you need also to check that the hair is still elastic and strong.
If at this stage, you can see the mixture drying up, make some more mixture (using only 20 Vol this time), take out. the foils and reapply.
Remember that your aim is take the hair all the way up to level 10.
So do not rinse too early. That is the no 1 mistake that many stylists and colorists make.
Rinse only when the hair is a very very pale yellow: almost white.
As opposed to canary yellow.
If 30-40 minutes have elapsed after you finished applying the bleach and the hair is still orange, you will need to go ahead and rinse it out.
Then you will need to do second application. Make a fresh mix and apply, this time using 20 Vol.
Check once again and rinse once the hair is all at a consistent level 10.
Step 6: Rinse with an acidic shampoo or mask.
After you have reached level 10 very pale yellow, it is time to wash it all out using a very good quality shampoo.
People often say that you should only use professional hair products and they are right.
But people often forget to say that you should use professional acidic hair products.
Why acidic?
Because acid-based hair care products will help close the hair cuticle and return the hair to its natural position.
Acid-based hair products also return the hair to its natural, normal pH level.
If you are serious about avoiding hair damage, using acidic hair products to close the bleaching process is absolutely necessary.
Don't take half-hearted measures here. It will make a difference we promise you.
Ugly Duckling has two acidic hair care ranges you can use.
Brilliant Blonde Purple Shampoo & Mask.
Brilliant Blondexx Shampoo & Mask with Bond Protect.
We will talk about these products in greater detail a little later.
Whichever product you choose to use, apply generously and once again saturate the hair.
When using the mask, leave the product to sit in the hair for around 10 minutes.
Then rinse out with tepid water.
Step 7: Hair toning
A hair which has just been bleached will always tend to look too yellow and too warm.
So now you will need to tone.
Luckily, Ugly Duckling has a very good choice of hair toners to use.
Ranging from pearl and silver blonde toners, to blue based ash blonde, to very fashionable colors like silver grey and purple grey and violet blonde.
Ugly Duckling cream toners can be mixed with 20 Vol developer in a ratio of 1 to 2.
Or you can opt for one of Ugly Duckling's new Blondify liquid toners.
They come in natural ash blonde and natural violet blonde.
You can use them with 10 Vol or 20 Vol developer, and their mix ratio is 1 + 1 mix ratio.
You use an applicator bottle for these liquid toners, not a plastic bowl.
Then just pour into the hair and rub the mixture really well into the hair.
Wait 10 minutes and then rinse.
How to tone using Blondify Natural Ash Blonde Toner- WATCH VIDEO:
Step 8: How to look after & maintain bleached hair
If you have followed our instructions well, you should have ended up with a stunning ash blonde or cold blonde look without compromise.
In order to look after your hair, and maintain the color, we would recommend that you use either or both of the 2 hair treatment products we talked about above in your regular hair care and treatment regime.
If you decide to use both, alternating between them during the week is a good idea: purple on the weekends, bond treatment during the week.
Both are acidic products and sulfate free. Both can be used as often as you like.
Our first product is Brilliant Blonde Purple treatment products.
These products contain intense purple toning ingredients which will help keep you blonde hair white and stop it from getting yellow.
Brilliant Blonde Purple Shampo & Mask: Apply to Keep Bleached & Toned Hair White.
Brilliant Blondexx is the second product we would recommend all blondes to use for blonde hair maintenance.
It contains a special ingredient (it's called Malic acid) which will strengthen the hair, make it thicker and stronger and prevent hair damage.
Which makes it essential hair care for all bleached and blonde hair.
Blonde hair strengthened with Bond Protect Shampoo & Mask.
Follow these 8 steps and you should have no problem bleaching your hair and getting it to a beautiful, consistent white blonde.