Peroxide vs Bleach

**Lemur_Catta** · May 11th, 2011, 12:26 PM

As far as I know, bleach is essentially made of peroxide + developer. But is peroxide alone enough to lighten hair significantly?
Sun In or other things like that have about 3% peroxide, which is the equivalent of 10vol, and they lighten over time.
But if someone were to use, for example, 30vol or higher peroxide on hair, would it lighten the hair a lot, in just one session?
Or would it be better and easier to use bleach? Besides, which one is more damaging?
I think peroxide alone should lighten less than the same peroxide mixed with developer, but what I don't have any idea of is if it is more damaging to use, for example, 20vol peroxide + developer or 30vol peroxide (or even 40vol) alone.

If I wanted to lighten my hair to light brown, what would be the easiest and safest way to do it? (assuming I use coconut oil for protection prior to the lightening)

I hope to get responses from the nice hairstylists in this forum

Thank you a lot!

ETA: I just thought this should go in the Conventional Products and Accessories board. Mods, if you agree, could you move the thread?

Thanks!

**Lianna** · May 11th, 2011, 01:44 PM

I'm no expert but once I tried just 30 vol. peroxide for about 30 minutes: very small change.

Then I tried a mixture of shampoo + the bleach mixture: again, barely a change, but better. Also for 30 minutes.

5 minutes with bleach powder and 20 vol. peroxide lightens my hair to yellow blonde (worked with level 5 light brown dye or 2 applications of henna), so that's what I choose to do.

I don't have any damage, but my hair lightens fast.

**curlymarcia** · May 11th, 2011, 02:19 PM

If your hair lighten fast or you want a subtle change, use peroxide. Othewise, use bleach. Is better one only chemical process, instead of using only peroxide and then using bleach. Good luck and take care of your hair.

**oktobergoud** · May 11th, 2011, 02:34 PM

Peroxide won't do a thing. Bleach is actually just bleach powder + developer. The developer = the peroxide

So putting just the developer on your hair won't do anything, since it still needs something to 'activate' it, which would be the dye or bleach.

I'd suggest you could use the soap cap technique (bleach + developer + shampoo/conditioner) it's just diluted bleach so less harsh for your hair, but it will still lighten your hair! But not crazy much

**Lemur_Catta** · May 11th, 2011, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by oktobergoud

Peroxide won't do a thing. Bleach is actually just bleach powder + developer. The developer = the peroxide

So putting just the developer on your hair won't do anything, since it still needs something to 'activate' it, which would be the dye or bleach.

I'd suggest you could use the soap cap technique (bleach + developer + shampoo/conditioner) it's just diluted bleach so less harsh for your hair, but it will still lighten your hair! But not crazy much

That's good to know

I had no idea the peroxide was actually the developer.
Do you think it would be better to appy bleach + developer + conditioner, or to apply bleach + developer on coconut oiled hair? Or maybe both?

**Anje** · May 11th, 2011, 02:51 PM

Well, adding conditioner is going to decrease the relative amounts of powder and developer. I'd follow the directions over coconut-oiled hair. Actually, I'd consult kwaniesiam before putting any of it on my hair.

**oktobergoud** · May 11th, 2011, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by Anje

Well, adding conditioner is going to decrease the relative amounts of powder and developer. I'd follow the directions over coconut-oiled hair. Actually, I'd consult kwaniesiam before putting any of it on my hair.

It is decreasing, but that's the whole point, I think. By decreasing the amount of actual bleach and peroxide, it will make it less harsh! It will also make it work less good, so it really depends on what you want. I have used that technique before and it turned out fine! Again, it only works if you want to go just a few shades lighter (and when you have dyed your hair before, I think, I'm not sure if it will work good on virgin hair!)

I have no experience with bleach and coconut oil so I have no advice on that! I heard that coconut oil can fry your hair when it gets really hot. I'm not sure if that is true, but if it is, I wouldn't put it on my head before a bleach application! Bleach can make your head BURN... Again, I'm not sure, could be that heat is actually good with coconut oil but you guys probably know more about that :P

**Lianna** · May 11th, 2011, 09:31 PM

Originally Posted by oktobergoud

It is decreasing, but that's the whole point, I think. By decreasing the amount of actual bleach and peroxide, it will make it less harsh!

I have no experience with bleach and coconut oil so I have no advice on that! I heard that coconut oil can fry your hair when it gets really hot.

That's why I tried the shampoo method, I saw an YouTube video first and the girl had really good results, like 2 shades lighter.

I think coconut oil fries hair when used with a hot tool. I've learned in this forum that protects from peroxide so I always use it before I bleach or dye. That's pretty much the only use I have for it, because it makes my hair crunchy.

What I meant by "my hair lightens fast" was using bleach (since 5 minutes isn't a lot). Some people use sun-in which is just peroxide and other things (I don't know what, but not bleach) and have nice lightening, I don't think I would.

**kwaniesiam** · May 11th, 2011, 09:41 PM

Originally Posted by Lemur_Catta

As far as I know, bleach is essentially made of peroxide + developer. But is peroxide alone enough to lighten hair significantly?
Sun In or other things like that have about 3% peroxide, which is the equivalent of 10vol, and they lighten over time.
But if someone were to use, for example, 30vol or higher peroxide on hair, would it lighten the hair a lot, in just one session?
Or would it be better and easier to use bleach? Besides, which one is more damaging?
I think peroxide alone should lighten less than the same peroxide mixed with developer, but what I don't have any idea of is if it is more damaging to use, for example, 20vol peroxide + developer or 30vol peroxide (or even 40vol) alone.

If I wanted to lighten my hair to light brown, what would be the easiest and safest way to do it? (assuming I use coconut oil for protection prior to the lightening)

I hope to get responses from the nice hairstylists in this forum

Thank you a lot!

ETA: I just thought this should go in the Conventional Products and Accessories board. Mods, if you agree, could you move the thread?

Thanks!

Do not use just peroxide on your hair.

As has been stated, peroxide is the developer that activates the bleach powder in order to form a paste to lighten your hair. Putting developer alone on your hair will not do anything other than soften the cuticle, which can damage your hair while causing little to no color change. Also, just stating the obvious but you must buy a cream or liquid developer from the beauty supply store. Peroxide found in the pharmacy is NOT the same thing.

Lightening your hair can be tricky and very damaging if you don't know what you are doing. Personally I would suggest seeing a professional. If you use bleach, you're very likely to end up with a brassy orange or yellow. 20 volume maximum if you're going to try a powdered bleach. You'll still likely end up needing a toner after that. The soapcap that was mentioned, use shampoo instead of a conditioner. Using a conditioner will be counter productive and will not protect your hair any more than if you had straight bleach. The idea behind diluting bleach in shampoo makes it easier to emulsify and does slow the lifting process. Conditioners contain moisturizers that will coat the hair and counteract the bleaching action.

Alternatively you can try color, but you may not get the results you want since your hair now is so dark. Level 8 with 30 vol. developer should result in a shade around level 6. Most dyes however are not able to give you more than 2-3 levels of lift. There are such things as high lift colors, but those are very fussy to work with and I do not think are even available to purchase without a cosmetology license.

ETA: Thanks for the rec, Anje. I didn't even see your post when I was writing this up.

**Lemur_Catta** · May 12th, 2011, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by kwaniesiam

Do not use just peroxide on your hair.

As has been stated, peroxide is the developer that activates the bleach powder in order to form a paste to lighten your hair. Putting developer alone on your hair will not do anything other than soften the cuticle, which can damage your hair while causing little to no color change. Also, just stating the obvious but you must buy a cream or liquid developer from the beauty supply store. Peroxide found in the pharmacy is NOT the same thing.

Lightening your hair can be tricky and very damaging if you don't know what you are doing. Personally I would suggest seeing a professional. If you use bleach, you're very likely to end up with a brassy orange or yellow. 20 volume maximum if you're going to try a powdered bleach. You'll still likely end up needing a toner after that. The soapcap that was mentioned, use shampoo instead of a conditioner. Using a conditioner will be counter productive and will not protect your hair any more than if you had straight bleach. The idea behind diluting bleach in shampoo makes it easier to emulsify and does slow the lifting process. Conditioners contain moisturizers that will coat the hair and counteract the bleaching action.

Alternatively you can try color, but you may not get the results you want since your hair now is so dark. Level 8 with 30 vol. developer should result in a shade around level 6. Most dyes however are not able to give you more than 2-3 levels of lift. There are such things as high lift colors, but those are very fussy to work with and I do not think are even available to purchase without a cosmetology license.

ETA: Thanks for the rec, Anje. I didn't even see your post when I was writing this up.

Thank you very much

I want to avoid going to a hairstylist because I'm afraid he would think I'm crazy...because, apart from applying coconut oil before bleaching, what I really want to do is henna over it...would I need a toner anyway, or would henna take care of that?
So, if I used 20vol peroxide and powdered bleach, what color should I optain?