Hair dye/bleach question

[HazelBug]

Typically I'm all for avoiding damage. But recently I decided that the black hair dye wasn't my thing anymore. So I started the process of going blonde again. Obviously that means damage and bleach. It has taken a bit of processing to get to the yellow stage. But I kind of want to try for a ridiculously light blone color. My natural hair is a dark blonde, so I feel that keeping the roots lightened will be no problem. But I'm not really sure what to look out for to tell me when my hair has had enough. I want to try one more bleaching to get it lightened the rest of the way before toning it. My hair is about hip length at the moment. I feel ok with potentially losing a few inches of length since my hair does grow faster.

I'm just not certian how to tell when my hair is at the limit before it just breaks off a ton. I'm alright dealing with some damage if it means not having black hair anymore. I just don't want to go bald in the process or something.

[AJNinami]

I would do strand tests every 5 minutes with the bleach on this final one:
1. Wipe off bleach to check color
2. Pull on the strand to see if it breaks in half/pulls out of itself
3. Reapply bleach and put it back, try on a different part of your head

Repeat every 5 minutes (If you aren't so worried, every 10 minutes might be okay)

To protect the hair:

Before:
- Use level 10 or 20 developer only (this will take a lot longer but is better)
- Thoroughly soak the hair in coconut oil up to 24 hours but at least 2 hours before bleaching

After:
- Make sure to have an SMT or powerful deep conditioning treatment on hand for immediately afterward
- You will probably want to use cones from now on
- Microtrim like no other
- You will want to invest in a satin/silk pillowcase if you have not before
- Only comb/fingercomb

Here is a video on over-processed hair. I don't think you'll reach that point, since I'm assuming you are nice to your hair and know when enough is enough, but it's still interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoIQElEG9c8

I wouldn't try to go for white with the bleach. I tried and my hair still had a yellow tint to it (golden, medium blonde naturally). Toner is your friend! Also, good luck! :)

[HazelBug]

That was a crazy video! Thank you for all the tips. I will do a strand test before I process my hair again. I don't want it crazy short again. So I would rather not get quite as light as I was hoping for and still have hair.

[MeganJoan]

I definitely second the strand test. And also to use the lowest volume that you can get away with.
If you're only wanting to go down another shade or two then it may also be worth doing a bleach bath instead of straight up bleach. Which means mixing your peroxide developer with conditioner and then with your bleach powder.

I have fine hair and I've found that there isn't a warning sign with my hair. It seems healthy and fine, then one bleach too far and it's jelly. So I've just given up lightening all together because I don't want to risk it.

Ensure you're waiting a good length of time before the final bleaching. It can take a month for the damage to show itself fully. Personally, I'd wait at leat 8 weeks between bleaching so you can pamper your hair in between and try to reduce damage. If it were me I would be tempted to do two mild bleach baths at least 8 weeks apart rather than one normal bleach.

I know it has mixed reviews and ideas on LHC but if you can get your hands on Olaplex I recommend it. They use it at the salon I used to go to for colouring, and it really does have the potential to decrease damage. Both during the processing and with it's ability to somewhat repair hair when used on a weekly basis afterwards. I don't colour my hair anymore but plan to use the rest of my no.3 bottle just to help the ends of my hair that have bleach underneath the dark dye.

[Horrorpops]

I agree with everything PPs have said regarding bleach and strand testing. However I wanted to add that if you're really committed to this try a colour remover before bleaching your hair. Best case scenario it removes a lot of the black colours, worst case it does nothing but often it helps lighten black dye at least a little with a lot less damage than bleach. It depends how long you've been dying your hair black (the more overlapped colour the harder it is to remove) but that's what I did to remove dark brown dye before bleaching blonde.

Side note - rinse like crazy with colour removers! They shrunk dye particles so you need to rinse a lot to get the particles out of your hair. Also Coconut oil before bleaching, many people swear this reduces (but not eliminates) the bleach damage.

Hope this helps! :)

[khryz]

Use a color remover to get rid of as much black dye as possible. I found that Colourb4/ColorOops worked best for me than the other brands in removing black dye. Coconut oil before you bleach, and maybe you can try to do a bleach cap (mix 1 part of bleach : 2 parts shampoo) to see if you can get it to lighten enough. You may have to do it several times over the course of few weeks, but probably way less damaging/riskier than using bleach. I also found that the bleach cap helps me to even out patchiness. And yes... please give it lots of TLC after the whole process :)

[lapushka]

In the past, I had 2 full strength bleach sessions to get rid of henna as best as possible, then had chemical dye over it (light brown because there was still henna in there), then after a month again the light brown. It turned out a soot color (processed the right amount of time, but my hair was apparently so porous it soaked the dye right up), broke off (chemical cut) and my scalp got burned (chemical burn). After two big sessions where you take it from black to the lightest blonde, I'd be extremely careful!

[HazelBug]

My hair is pretty resilient and also tends to resist color change. It's just not very porous. I did a test and am trying it again. I think my hair will hold up. Even though it would make me sad to have short hair, I want to risk it a little. My natural hair is blonde, so processing it lighter at the roots shouldn't be a problem. Every time I get the black out I tell myself that I will never go back. I never seem to learn my lesson. :)

[*Stella*]

Don't try and bleach out permanent black dye if you want light blonde eventually.
Start by using colour removers to take the black dye out. It will make bleaching much easier and save you a ton of damage.
Also use a top quality professional bleach powder, they give a lot more lift and can be used with lower volume peroxide, again preventing damage.
My main advice though is to take your time. It took me around a year to go from dyed black to light blonde safely.
Remember that bleach damage can take several weeks or months to fully show. I have never had my own hair feel stretchy or mushy directly after processing, but have definitely experienced a lot of damage and breakage in the following months. (Years ago, when i used to abuse my hair, before i knew better. )

[meteor]

Did you already start bleaching out your dye? If not, please consider the alternative :flower:: peroxide-free Color Removers : e.g. Color B4/Color Oops. This should remove most of the dye pigment. You can do it up to three times, if it doesn't remove all the dye right away. Rinsing *very thoroughly* is critical, and longer/thicker hair requires more than 1 box per treatment.

I noticed your goal length is terminal, so I just wanted to add that it's hard to grow all the way to your genetic potential with something as damaging as bleach, simply because bleach breaks disulfide bonds and causes serious protein loss, the hair will no longer be as strong and resilient as your virgin hair, so it's something to consider. :flower: Would it be possible that a light blonde wig or blonde Halo/Crown extensions might be an alternative, since you are already naturally a blonde? :)

If you do decide to bleach:
- research treatments like Olaplex,
- bleach over a heavy coconut (or coconut+argan) oil soak,
- lift only to the *level* you need and leave the toning job for peroxide-free deposit-only dyes,
- avoid overlapping bleach when doing roots (or else hair has potential for breaking off right at the overlap sections),
- go as long as you can between root applications (because at least minimal overlap is almost impossible to avoid),
- chelating washes, regular oiling sessions and hydrolyzed protein treatments are important elements of after-care.


My hair is pretty resilient and also tends to resist color change. It's just not very porous.
It's important to remember that this will change with bleach. The more the hair is processed with things like bleach, perm/relaxers, etc, the more porous it becomes. I wouldn't look for signs before beginning treatments - the earlier you start giving your hair TLC, the better the outcome. Invest in a good quality protein treatment (e.g. Aphogee 2-Step - which is very strong so don't overuse it, Joico K-Pak Reconstruct, Redken Builder Plus, DIY gelatin masks, etc) and do regular pre-poo oil treatments with penetrating oils (e.g. coconut). Ceramides and 18-MEA in conditioners/deep treatments help, as well, since these natural components are depleted in hair with chemical damage.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do! :D And happy growing!! :cheer:

[MeganJoan]

My hair is pretty resilient and also tends to resist color change. It's just not very porous. I did a test and am trying it again. I think my hair will hold up. Even though it would make me sad to have short hair, I want to risk it a little. My natural hair is blonde, so processing it lighter at the roots shouldn't be a problem. Every time I get the black out I tell myself that I will never go back. I never seem to learn my lesson. :)

I've been the same way. Yo-yoing between black and blonde for years. Always swearing I won't do it again. I've now realised that if I want long, healthy hair that I have to forego bleach entirely. I'm also giving up chemical hair dyes and starting to henna.

I agree with Meteor that if you want terminal hair you really should try and give up bleach altogether. Bleach does damage hair, not matter what we do. And even a small amount of chemical processing is going to take away much needed strength and health that you'll need years and years down the track.

ETA: Not trying to say don't bleach, just that you may have to weigh up your different goals and decide which you want more, because they may not be compatible.

[Agnieszka]

I really wouldn't do it at home... I've done it myself ages ago and it was not only patchy but I ended up with green hair :-( I would try dye remover first and then made an appointment for highlights. I hope it will work out ok for you.

[naturalambition]

You could try the Colour B4 colour remover. But be warned, it could slightly lighten your virgin hair too. I used it to get rid of dark dye, but it also lightened my dark blonde roots to a golden blonde shade. The customer service people had never heard of this reaction before. It worked on the dark dye, nonetheless. I see that this is an old thread, but I just wanted to throw this is here too. :)

[HairPlease]

A friend of mine dyed his hair black with permanent hair dye. I used color oops on it, it took two treatments. His hair was then a brassy red-light brown/dark blonde. I applied quick blue with 20 volume developer to the hair to get him to his normal light blonde. After a couple moisture treatments and a couple weeks using ApHogee keratin restore, his hair was silk again.
Please do what I did. Don't bleach all the way up from black, you'll kill your hair unnecessarily.

Aaaaaand it's way quicker this way. If you can stand the 80 minutes of rinsing total for the color oops. Haha.

[Llama]

Good luck.