40 Vol Bleach, hairstylists advice...

**sunnydays** · June 15th, 2011, 02:54 AM

When would you use 40vol bleach? I am curious as I was going brown to blonde, I had 30vol used which took it to a dark blonde/brown colour. Then next time I went I had a diff stylist as my original one wasnt there, she used 40vol bleach, why it went white? I wanted a natural blonde and I took in plenty of photos, why did she use 40 vol? When would you normally use a 40 vol bleach?

Many thanks in advance....

**longhairdntcare** · June 15th, 2011, 03:12 AM

My hairdresser used 40 vol when I was a VERY light blonde, almost platinum at times.

**sunnydays** · June 15th, 2011, 03:17 AM

I have never been a platinum blonde so I am wondering why she used it? She said it was to clean it up to give a clean blonde colour, but I have never been a baby blonde or platinum blonde and I have always had a darer blonde going through as well as my own natural dark brown colour which always looked nice. I have no idea why you would use a 40vol bleach unless you wanted the platinum/white blonde look which I have never had.

**sunnydays** · June 15th, 2011, 09:54 AM

Does 40 vol only give white hair then?

**kwaniesiam** · June 15th, 2011, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by sunnydays

When would you use 40vol bleach? I am curious as I was going brown to blonde, I had 30vol used which took it to a dark blonde/brown colour. Then next time I went I had a diff stylist as my original one wasnt there, she used 40vol bleach, why it went white? I wanted a natural blonde and I took in plenty of photos, why did she use 40 vol? When would you normally use a 40 vol bleach?

Many thanks in advance....

I would never ever use 40 vol bleach on hair unless it was extremely resistant and we were trying to achieve several levels of lift. When you say bleach, do you mean a powder bleach or a regular high lift hair color? Those are two different things, 40 vol acts differently when mixed with a color than it does an actual bleach.

**sunnydays** · June 15th, 2011, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by kwaniesiam

I would never ever use 40 vol bleach on hair unless it was extremely resistant and we were trying to achieve several levels of lift. When you say bleach, do you mean a powder bleach or a regular high lift hair color? Those are two different things, 40 vol acts differently when mixed with a color than it does an actual bleach.

Regular powder bleach, I am surprised you say that as my hair was quite damaged and they used this 40vol on my hair!!! I am really angry reading that you have said this as they basically did completly the wrong thing then, she said she needed to do that to get a "clean" blonde. It was straight forward bleach, she said she didnt want to use a highlift even though i said i wanted her to use that as that as what my previous stylist at the same salon used, she said no that she didnt like them so used a different ash blonde colour, which was rubbish as it was really warm so i had higjlights of 40vol bleach next to an ashblonde, it looked so stipy and awful!!!! I am really angry as maybe if she had used a highlift like i had told her and a 30vol bleach as well i would have had nice highlights as apposed to stripy grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I am really angry as she knew how upset I was, why didnt she just do what she was supposed to do!!!

**kwaniesiam** · June 15th, 2011, 01:17 PM

Originally Posted by sunnydays

Regular powder bleach, I am surprised you say that as my hair was quite damaged and they used this 40vol on my hair!!! I am really angry reading that you have said this as they basically did completly the wrong thing then, she said she needed to do that to get a "clean" blonde. It was straight forward bleach, she said she didnt want to use a highlift even though i said i wanted her to use that as that as what my previous stylist at the same salon used, she said no that she didnt like them so used a different ash blonde colour, which was rubbish as it was really warm so i had higjlights of 40vol bleach next to an ashblonde, it looked so stipy and awful!!!! I am really angry as maybe if she had used a highlift like i had told her and a 30vol bleach as well i would have had nice highlights as apposed to stripy grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I am really angry as she knew how upset I was, why didnt she just do what she was supposed to do!!!

Unfortunately many stylists are not trained well enough when it comes to advanced color

Color is my thing, I'm a total nerd when it comes to formulations. That kind of thing isn't taught at beauty school, usually you learn that sort of thing from field experience or the salon you're working at will train you further.

It sounds like what should have been done was using a much gentler bleach or a high lift color and a toner. The toner would neutralize the brassy shades and give you the true blonde without compromising your hair's health. A "clean" blonde is BS, all that means is they wanted to skip the toning step that is nearly always required to neutralize the brassiness that is usually unavoidable with bleach. I would definitely not go back there again.

If your hair is feeling really damaged, try picking up Aphogee two step protein treatment from Sally's. That stuff saved my hair when I was bleaching WHITE. Not just blonde, but snow white. It really works, especially in combination with a moisturizing treatment after.

**UltraBella** · June 15th, 2011, 09:08 PM

I second what kwaniesiam has said. I am a huge fan of 20 vol or 30 vol and a nice toner. In fact, I LOVE TONER ! If you want your color to look natural, toning it is the way to go. My highlights are done with 20 vol and a lovely toner.
I cringe at the thought of putting 40 vol on someone's head and I avoid it at all costs. Was your scalp okay ?

**Freki** · June 15th, 2011, 09:13 PM

I use 40vol developer when bleaching my bangs. My hair is extremely dark and bleach resistant, so I need the 40vol to get my hair light enough to put jewel bright colors in.

It's pretty harsh stuff, I wouldn't use it on the length of my hair.

**jaquelines** · June 16th, 2011, 06:47 AM

i would never use 40% bleach. i have some friends with ash blond hair, some of them almost white-blond, they were all dark before and noone used 40%. it will definitely destroy your hair. i am not an expert, but from experience, i would never ever use more than 12%.you should try it slow. use 12%, let hair regenerate, nourish, condition, and than re-apply. until you reach your desired color. the result will be the same, if not better, and your hair will not be as damaged.