Healthy way to Bleach?

[LittleOgre]

I have been thinking about bleaching my hair... Researching as much as possible. To find the most healthiest options for my hair. I will probably start off with the honey lightening treatment I saw on this thread just to get it as light as possible naturally. But I was wondering if there is any pretreatment that will protect my hair. Oleplex? Coconut oil? Do you think using a 10 developer will cause less damage if I do it slowly or it doesnt matter regardless. If i was 10 or 40. I just dont want permanently damaged hair lol

[Rowdy]

It's been a long time since I last read through these but these 2 threads have a lot of good info that address some of those questions.

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=125938
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=21256

I think a fair few found that coconut oil soaks before, and oleplex during/after helped. I think there was also something about bleach baths as well in there.

[lapushka]

I think it would be best going to a salon, and talking about the color you want to achieve. They will give you a time-frame and how many sittings you need.

I wouldn't do this myself. If you go too low with the developer, you are going to have orange/brassy hair. This needs to be done right. A mistake with bleach = damaging, so hence why you can't take a chance.

Get it done at a salon, see how they do it, and then you can probably do your root touch ups from then on.

Even though... No, I wouldn't do it myself.

Salon all the way.

[Ylva]

Definitely go to a salon. I don't know how bleaching natural hair (which I think I remember you have) differs from bleaching hair like mine. They will know to use the correct developer on you. Ask for Olaplex.

[lapushka]

Definitely go to a salon. I don't know how bleaching natural hair (which I think I remember you have) differs from bleaching hair like mine. They will know to use the correct developer on you. Ask for Olaplex.

Yes 4c hair can be thick to manage, I would not try this myself, it would be hard to manage from the back as well, unless you have someone there to help you out.

[LittleOgre]

I don't think it will necessarily differ but I worry about going to salon professional due to knowing people who have damaged hair because they trusted someone else with there hair so I am a little weary

[littlestarface]

I don't think it will necessarily differ but I worry about going to salon professional due to knowing people who have damaged hair because they trusted someone else with there hair so I am a little weary

Yea I mean if you do it yourself at least then you can just blame yourself and there is some salons that will eff hair up to so it depends all on you and what risk your willing to take. I see alot of people on youtube fix their bleach color with toner and purple shampoo. You should write to brad mondo and see if he writes you back,he is amazing in hair and knows the gentlest ways to handle bleach.

You can use coconut oil before bleaching and olaplex will only just lower your developer so remember that. Honey lightening does work but its very gradual and takes alot of time in doing it.

[*Wednesday*]

Do it yourself? Ummm....your hair is loc'd? Yes? A professsional may suit you so you have evenly distributed color. Do you really trust yourself? What are your hair goals?

You have my curiosity. I would like to see your hair. Your threads about baking soda and now bleach has me scratching my head and wondering.

[Ylva]

olaplex will only just lower your developer so remember that

That is just a side effect of Olaplex. It does actually protect the disulfide bonds.

[Longlegs]

Go low and slow is what I've been recommended, Never use 40 vol on your hair!. It depends on your natural colour but if you have dark hair it would be better to do two 20 volume sessions with a break in between if you can. Bleaching over coconut oil really helps. it is a good idea to read as much as you can and do your homework before attempting to bleach your own hair, or maybe you could start with just a few streaks around your face to see if you like it.

I know alot of people are anti-bleach but it has'nt damaged my hair at all, I take care of it.

[illicitlizard]

I'd say go to a professional. From what I've seen you'll probably want 20-30vol. 40 will fry your hair to death, 10vol may barely do anything. Definitely use olaplex (why I'd also recommend a professional, unless you can find a supplier) or at the very least coconut oil.

Depending on your goal colour and how many levels below it you are now, it may take more than one lightening session over multiple months to allow the hair to be as minimally damaged as possible. I will reiterate though, first time it's best to go to a professional. All over bleach is so easy to screw up and colour correction is way more expensive than the original service if you bung it up! You could always touch up roots at home if you desire.

Also, if your concerned (rightly honestly) about a hair stylist damaging your hair with bleach, I'd recommend stalking multiple local stylist's socials (especially instagram) so you can check they have proven results. Hope you find a way that works for you!

[spidermom]

YouTube has a lot of videos made by people who bleached their own hair. check it!

[blesseddamozel]

I *really* advise going to a professional to get bleached. I've bleached my hair at home many times and have had friends who did so as well and I've seen a lot of damage done by bleach. If you absolutely must do it at home use olaplex/an oil you like to lessen the risk of damage.

[Arciela]

I tried every precaution the salons offer and one year after bleaching my hair was so damaged (and I only bleached twice, professionally) that I had to cut it. I've very strong hair, thick too. It became thin and tattered after a year.

While the olaplex and coconut oil, and expensive deep treatments at the salon helped they couldn't save my hair from the damage bleach does over time. I'm never touching it again and suggest not bothering..unless you dont mind cutting it a lot!

[Mckfrizzed88]

Depending on how light you want it and how quickly you want it lightened, I highly suggest doing a honey and cinnamon mask. I did this a few years back with really good success. It lightened my naturally level 3 hair to about a 5 which is what I wanted. The longer you leave the honey and cinnamon on the lighter it gets and it is a treatment you can do multiple times without risking the damage to your hair that chemical bleach will cause.

[lapushka]

Depending on how light you want it and how quickly you want it lightened, I highly suggest doing a honey and cinnamon mask. I did this a few years back with really good success. It lightened my naturally level 3 hair to about a 5 which is what I wanted. The longer you leave the honey and cinnamon on the lighter it gets and it is a treatment you can do multiple times without risking the damage to your hair that chemical bleach will cause.

Honey contains peroxide, bleach contains peroxide, same same. ;)

Often it's best to let a professional decide & do it.

Welcome to the forum, BTW. :flower:

[Mckfrizzed88]

Thank you for the welcome Lapushka! :) I agree it is best to let a pro help with bleaching. Especially if you are trying to get several levels of lift. I personally prefer the honey and cinnamon method over bleaching. It has been far gentler on my hair and for me far more cost effective. I worked in the salon scene and I got overly sensitive to the traditional methods of hair lightening and had to find alternatives that didn't leave me with headaches or nausea.

[geenie]

I always have mine done at the hairdresser with Opalex. My hair handles it fine, but I only have highlights in it and already have quite fair hair. Depends on how dark you hair is and how many times to dye it to reach desired colour too.

[StylishConfetti]

What is Olaplex? Is it something they mix with the bleach? I keep hearing the word but I don't know what it means, ha!

If you want to experiment a bit, you can gather up some shed hair clumps out of your brushes/rollers/shower wall/etc. and try different bleaching procedures on them (like one using coconut oil, one without, for example). It won't be a perfect replication of what would happen on your head of course. But you could also do that with the honey lightening or a product like Sun In to see what color you can reach.

[Zesty]

What is Olaplex? Is it something they mix with the bleach? I keep hearing the word but I don't know what it means, ha!

If you want to experiment a bit, you can gather up some shed hair clumps out of your brushes/rollers/shower wall/etc. and try different bleaching procedures on them (like one using coconut oil, one without, for example). It won't be a perfect replication of what would happen on your head of course. But you could also do that with the honey lightening or a product like Sun In to see what color you can reach.

Paging Ylva again?

Also I love your username haha. Welcome. :flower:

[littlestarface]

What is Olaplex? Is it something they mix with the bleach? I keep hearing the word but I don't know what it means, ha!

If you want to experiment a bit, you can gather up some shed hair clumps out of your brushes/rollers/shower wall/etc. and try different bleaching procedures on them (like one using coconut oil, one without, for example). It won't be a perfect replication of what would happen on your head of course. But you could also do that with the honey lightening or a product like Sun In to see what color you can reach.

here is the website https://olaplex.com/pages/how-it-works its not a miracle cure but some say it helps.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

What is Olaplex? Is it something they mix with the bleach? I keep hearing the word but I don't know what it means, ha!

If you want to experiment a bit, you can gather up some shed hair clumps out of your brushes/rollers/shower wall/etc. and try different bleaching procedures on them (like one using coconut oil, one without, for example). It won't be a perfect replication of what would happen on your head of course. But you could also do that with the honey lightening or a product like Sun In to see what color you can reach.
"Olaplex claims to “reconnect broken disulfide sulfur bonds in the hair.” The treatment is labelled a “bond multiplier”, which limits damage to hair during or after colouring. A lot of people with damaged hair have managed to get amazing results from Olaplex."

You basically mix it with hair dye or bleach, and its supposed to help during the chemical process.
I know some people that have virgin hair and use step 3 regularly as a deep treatment.
Some curlies and wavies claim it really gives more defined curls.

[Ylva]

Rebeccalaurenxxx explained it well before I got on, but thank you for pinging me, Zesty!