PDA

View Full Version : Sun-bleach without damage, possible?



Lockoptimisten
January 6th, 2014, 01:15 AM
I will go to a really sunny country for ten days and I would love if my hair got some natural highlights but off course I'm scared off damage. I have been really careful with my APL hair so there is no damage to talk about but my lengths have some old dye that is slightly darker than my natural hair. What do you think? Bad idea to let the sun do it's trick? Maybe put some coconut oil in it?

Dragon
January 6th, 2014, 01:21 AM
I think the sun is quite drying as I'm in the sun a lot and it defiantly makes my hair dry. If you do decided to sun bleach, the coconut oil would probably be a very good idea.

clioariane
January 6th, 2014, 01:38 AM
Discoloration from the sun IS damage so it's not possible to go totally damage-free when you lighten your hair. I would use a sun treatment with SPF and cover with a hat or scarf to avoid direct sun damage.

Nini
January 6th, 2014, 01:56 AM
Go, enjoy your vacation, see what happens, no stress. It's only ten days after all:)

Ambystoma
January 6th, 2014, 02:29 AM
Also bear in mind that sun fading of your dyed hair and sun lightening of your natural hair may not produce similar colours!

Firefox7275
January 6th, 2014, 08:05 AM
Impossible. UV light breaks down the melanin pigment blowing holes in the cortex, that is how all lightening occurs. UV also destroys 18-MEA which is a lipid (fat) which costs and protects the cuticle. The only way you can stop that happening is not expose your hair.

There is no such thing as products with an SPF for hair, sunscreen sgents are next to useless in the amounts and frquency you would apply.

clioariane
January 14th, 2014, 03:53 AM
There is no such thing as products with an SPF for hair, sunscreen sgents are next to useless in the amounts and frquency you would apply.

A lot of professional brands seem to have products with SPF and UVA/UVB filters, is this a marketing ploy? http://thebeautydepartment.com/2013/06/hair-spf/

Exodus
January 14th, 2014, 06:31 AM
A lot of professional brands seem to have products with SPF and UVA/UVB filters, is this a marketing ploy? http://thebeautydepartment.com/2013/06/hair-spf/

Well think of it this way: for the sunscreen you put on your body to work, you need to apply a thick (most people don't apply enough) even layer to the whole body, which needs to be re-applied during the day (even physical sunscreens). The same would apply to putting sunscreen on your hair; applying a thick enough layer to the whole hair, make sure it's evenly coated, and re-apply it during the day. Technically this could work if sunscreens for you hair were developed as those for your body (and you could stand your hair looking like a greasy mess, because you would need a lot of product). But they are not. The are regulations for sunscreens for the body, since they are supposed to protect a living a organ: the skin. The SPF in hair products is hard to measure and there are no standards for it, in the end a leave'in spray with SPF is like other hair products; just cosmetics.

So yeah, technically a marketing ploy. A waste of money.

meteor
January 14th, 2014, 11:30 AM
I agree with Exodus. Of course, there are rinse-out conditioners and masques with UV protection, and it's a bit easier to coat those all over the hair than leave-ins. But UV protection protects the dye from fading, not your natural color. Hats and scarves are a lot more protective.
Apparently, it takes a long time to get visible UV damage on hair - 200 hours in this study: http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc2008/cc059n04/p00303-p00315.pdf
But I think it probably depends on the type of hair. I suspect that the only advantage to sun-bleach (as compared to conventional bleach) is a very "natural" look.

Firefox7275
January 14th, 2014, 11:40 AM
A lot of professional brands seem to have products with SPF and UVA/UVB filters, is this a marketing ploy? http://thebeautydepartment.com/2013/06/hair-spf/

SPF = Sun Protection Factor, it is a numerical figure (say 10) denoting how many times longer you can stay in the sun without burning your skin. I've never seen one on a hair product and it would be nonsense if so because hair does not burn like skin does. You need to apply a specific (large) amount frequently to get the specified level of protection, nobody applies an egg cup full of conditioner to their hair every few hours.

UV filters are NOT the same as an SPF. They are next to useless in products which you apply a small amount of as a one off such as haircare and many cosmetics (eg. face powder, tinted moisturiser). Chemical sunscreen agents often found in haircare break down in the presence of UV light so need to be reapplied frequently, physical ones (titanium dioxide, zinc oxide) are much more stable but you don't see them in leave on haircare products.