Safe bleaching: tips from professionals and basic methods

Are you considering lightening your hair, but you’re concerned about possible harm? You’re not by yourself! You can look younger and more vibrant with bleaching, but it’s crucial to do it correctly to protect your hair. Acquiring the desired results without jeopardizing the health of your hair requires understanding the proper way to bleach your hair, regardless of your desired look—a subtle highlight or a dramatic platinum blonde.

We’ll provide professional guidance on safe bleaching techniques in this guide. We’ll guide you through crucial tips to ensure a gentle process, from selecting the appropriate products to styling your hair. Additionally, you’ll discover the fundamental methods that experts employ to produce stunning, long-lasting outcomes.

You can enjoy your new hair color with confidence if you follow these tips, because you’ll know that you’ve taken the necessary precautions to protect your hair. Now let’s dive in and begin safely creating that gorgeous look!

What is hair bleaching?

The color of hair can be entirely or partially removed through bleaching. Hair that has been dyed or is natural can undergo the procedure. The emerging lightening background may cause the hair to take on a yellowish tint right after bleaching. The only way to get a platinum blond or any other shade is to correct and tone your hair after the procedure.

What does bleached hair look like??

The distinctive white or yellowish hue of bleached hair is typically an intermediate coloring stage.

What is the difference between bleached and discolored hair?

Bleaching is a process that lightens the color of hair by up to four shades or changes its current tone. Usually, these paints are referred to in the manufacturer’s lines as special series, meant for lighting. Compared to light coloring, they exhibit a more pronounced effect, though not as much as bleaching products. The latter can alter the hair’s color by up to seven or eight shades.

Hair bleaching: your questions – answers from professionals

We asked stylists and colorists at SalonSecret to respond to frequently asked queries from our users regarding bleaching.

What happens to hair during coloring?

The bleaching agent lifts the curl’s scales and the solution gets into the deeper, oxidizing natural or synthetic pigment to remove the color from the hair’s structure. Consequently, it is preferable to perform the process in tandem with an expert who will oversee the lightener’s operation and skillfully shield the hair using conditioning agents and softening agents.

What will happen as a result of bleaching?

Since each of us has a unique combination of pigment in our hair, the final result is unique. Generally speaking, light brown and light brown hair types are the only ones where bleaching the hair in one sitting works. It will take multiple steps to process darker hair.

Is it possible to bleach hair after a perm?

Hair that has been dyed or treated chemically (perm, Botox, lamination, etc.) may react negatively to bleaching.D.) over the previous half-year. A bleaching product reacts with other substances on the hair, which frequently ruins the outcome.

Debunking popular myths: why you shouldn"t be afraid of bleaching

Myth 1: Bleaching causes more hair loss There is a belief that bleaching products have such a potent effect that they can harm hair follicle health. However, it’s important to realize that active ingredients only affect the hair shaft; they have no effect on hair loss.

Daily hair loss is common; getting your hair professionally colored won’t cause it to fall out more than usual. It breaks rather than falls out if the hairdresser bleached extremely damaged hair, which is not advised.

MariaArtemkinaColorist, Matrix technologist

Myth 2: It is not advised to use a high percentage of oxidizer because it is extremely damaging to hair. The intensity of the lightning increases with the oxidizer percentage. There is a belief that powders and pastes literally burn the color out of the hair and damage the scalp because of this product feature.

Depending on the coloristic objective, using a high percentage of oxidizer may be required or even possible. The oxidizer by itself won’t harm skin or hair; nevertheless, it needs to be properly mixed and stored while following technical instructions.

MariaArtemkinaColorist, Matrix technologist

Myth 3: Using dye to lighten colored hair makes it safer Really, you can use hair dye to lighten your hair, but only if it’s natural. It turns out that when it comes to colored hair, one chemical process is layered on top of another, and the combined effect is unpredictable. Because of this, colored hair is never "filled" with a new shade; instead, it is first bleached to produce the illusion of a "clean sheet."

The hair can become very weak as a result of the repeated chemical process, which is why its previous color fades quickly. In other words, rather than lightening the hair, the dye "breaks the shell" of the hair. I would advise against using such techniques. Professionals use bleaching mixtures for a high-quality outcome.

MariaArtemkinaColorist, Matrix technologist

How to prepare hair for bleaching?

• Make sure your hair is in good condition

Preparing healthy, lustrous hair for lightening is the best way to achieve the desired results. Hair should have a consistent structure and very little porosity.

Elexir Ultime Bath and Shampoo

Kérastase

Kérastase, Elixir Ultime multipurpose oil

Kérastase Elixir Ultime Rinse-Off Milk Care

Kérastase Elixir Ultime hair mask

You should start a care regimen a few months in advance and use nourishing masks and oils on a regular basis if your locks split and break. Kérastase offers a unique line of products called Elixir Ultime that primes hair for bleaching.

• Use natural products in your care

Sulfate-free shampoos are your best friends when your hair is getting ready to lighten. If you can’t immediately make the switch to natural products, try avoiding products with alcohol in the formula as it dries out hair a lot.

Sulfate-free shampoos are available in professional brands’ color-treated and anti-breakage product lines. As for products that are equally gentle, we will go into more detail below, but colorists from the SalonSecret expert group suggest Matrix Keep Me Vivid, Biolage KeratinDose, and some others.

Hair dryers and straightening irons in particular severely damage the structure of hair; either use them less or use high-quality heat protection.

It is important to proceed cautiously when bleaching your hair because it can be dangerous if done incorrectly. This post will go over basic techniques and expert advice to help you have a successful and safe bleaching experience. You can attain the ideal look you want while protecting the health of your hair and avoiding common mistakes by listening to professional advice and learning basic techniques.

Basic methods of hair bleaching

Hair lightening techniques using tonics or sprays, as well as lemon and honey, have nothing to do with professional bleaching. These techniques target subtle tones and, if applied improperly, may result in an undesired red tint.

Only products based on hydrogen peroxide and ammonia or other oxidizers can bleach hair. Manufacturers mix these substances, since separately they can act unstable and lighten slowly.

Bleaching powders and powders

The only product available that completely bleaches hair and is used in salons. consists of variously sized granules. Before using, shake the powder and transfer it from the bag to the jar because they have a tendency to stick together during storage.

Never dilute the powder with water when bleaching; instead, mix it only with an oxidizer, regardless of percentage.

Consider the action description when selecting a bleaching powder. Such a powder will put a lot of stress on the curls, especially if they are already weak and damaged, if the product does not shield the cuticle during the process. Choose powders that are less abrasive.

Therefore, Light Master Bonder Inside by Matrix, the new generation of the Light Master line, has a unique bonder that, even when raised to tone level 8, instantly restores the opened scales following bleaching, negating the need for additional bonding.

Paint in the eighth or ninth tone depth—the palest shades of blond—or gentle toning agents without ammonia can be used for subsequent toning following powder lightening. These paints require a low-percentage oxidizer to be blended with them.

Lightening dyes (special blonds)

A dye that has more ammonia in it than the primary color palette. These products should only be used with an oxidizer that is 9 or 12 percent.

Experts continue to disagree on which products—powder or special blonds—damage curls less. Powders are thought to have a more intense effect even with low-percentage oxidizers, whereas lightening dyes have a more subtle effect. However, it’s important to realize that the dyes are only meant for naturally occurring hair—never dyed hair. In other words, they work well with curls that are completely natural or with regrown roots.

Basic safety measures

• Always use gloves when dyeing. Lighteners contain chemically active substances that can leave a burn.
• It is also better to additionally protect the scalp. To do this, add softening components to the lightening powder. For example, a barrier agent, or, as it is also called, an oil transformer. Light Master from Matrix minimizes discomfort and allows you to reduce the amount of oxidizing cream, which will additionally protect the hair.
• Do not allow the bleaching composition to come into contact with metal objects – jewelry and tools (spoons) that you will use to mix the solution, give preference to plastic.
• When bleaching, open the windows, chemicals that you need to work with are not the most useful thing for breathing.
• Before bleaching, conduct an allergy test. To do this, apply a small part of the composition to the area behind the ear and monitor the skin reaction.

How to properly bleach at home?

While going to a salon isn’t the most affordable option (though it is the safest and produces the most predictable results only there), people have been bleaching their hair at home for decades, and you can too! Professional advice is always recommended to our readers, and SalonSecret experts disapprove of amateur performances. However, you have to admit that it’s interesting to know how the process actually looks and what order its steps go through.

1. Apply an oil barrier product to the entire length of the hair to protect the curls. Mix the developer and lightening powder in the required ratio using a coloring brush.
2. Leave the composition for the holding time. During the bleaching process, the hair will become reddish, and then yellow. This is normal. After the time specified by the manufacturer, the curls will become the desired color.Important! Colorists are required to follow the exposure regulations, violation can lead not only to severe drying of the hair, but also to an unexpected color result.
3. The composition is washed off with a cleansing shampoo, specially designed to remove powder particles from hair.
4. The master stops the reaction. The action of the oxygen and powder is an alkaline reaction, so it needs to be neutralized with an acidic environment. For these purposes, a neutralizing shampoo is used, which contains a low pH level, or a regular solution of warm water with lemon juice (in its pure form it dries hair, so we cannot recommend it).

Toning is important after bleaching because the voids in the hair cause porosity. They must be filled to prevent accumulation of unnecessary materials in our hair, such as dust from the air, metals from the water, and other materials.

Crucial! You shouldn’t tone and dye your hair on the same day if you’ve bleached it all the way through. After a day, or better yet, a few days, let your scalp recover before continuing with the treatment.

Tip	Description
Choose Quality Products	Use professional-grade bleach and developer for better results and to minimize damage.
Do a Strand Test	Test a small hair section to see how it reacts to the bleach before applying it to your whole head.
Follow Instructions	Always adhere to the timing and mixing instructions on the product to avoid over-processing.
Moisturize Beforehand	Apply a deep conditioning treatment a few days before bleaching to strengthen your hair.
Monitor Processing Time	Check your hair regularly during the process to avoid over-lightening or damaging it.
Use a Toner	Apply a toner after bleaching to neutralize unwanted yellow or brassy tones.
Seek Professional Help	Consider consulting a hairstylist for the best results, especially if you"re unsure about the process.

Although bleaching your hair can be a great way to switch up your appearance, you must do it carefully to protect your hair. It can be very beneficial to heed the advice of experts. To find out how your hair will react to the bleach, always start with a strand test. This easy step guarantees that your hair can handle the process and helps prevent unanticipated results.

It’s crucial to use reputable products and pay close attention to the directions. Don’t rush the procedure; allowing your hair to fully absorb the bleach lowers the chance of damage and results in a more even color. Recall that using conditioning treatments and taking good care of your hair both before and after bleaching will keep your strands vibrant and healthy.

Safe bleaching ultimately comes down to patience and preparation. You can enjoy your new look with confidence, knowing that your hair is well cared for, if you are knowledgeable and heed professional advice. Accept your new look, but keep your hair’s health first at all times.

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