Bleaching hair?

[PorcelainHorror]

Hello! I colored my hair with what I thought was only a semi permanent strawberry blonde color. A month later when I noticed re growth, I discovered that the dye was actually permanent.
Anyways, I have already bleached it once with 10 vol. developer.
I am going to wait another month to bleach it once more with 10 vol. to achieve my natural light blonde color.

My question is, how do I keep my fine very fragile hair in the best possible condition after being chemically damaged?
I shampoo my hair weekly and c/o if I need a refresher in between days. I also oil my ends daily.

Any extra tips?

[MonicaJean]

Hmm... I've heard of coating the hair in coconut oil before bleaching, so maybe try that before your next bleaching. I did it when I bleached my hair, but I really have no idea if it helped or not. Other than that, I'm thinking you might want to get yourself some sort of protein treatment for use after since bleached hair usually needs a little protein from time to time (in my experience), and just keep up with the oiling and lots of conditioning.

[luxepiggy]

Do a deep treatment with an amodimethicone-heavy conditioner immediately prior to bleaching. Applying an amino functional silicone has been shown to limit bleach damage! (Effects of Silicone Pretreatment on Oxidative Hair Damage (http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc1995/cc046n05/p00231-p00245.pdf))

[Rocket22]

I would for sure say try the coconut oil. I used it and had great results. I soaked it for two days prior to bleaching and then even bleached it with the coconut oil still in the hair. (I didn't actucally soak the hair but did use a decent amount) I have pictures in my albums of before and after

[mzBANGBANG]

I think a lot of caring for bleached hair is everything you do to your hair after the bleach. In my experiences, my hair always "bounces back" from damage. It can feel really terrible for a couple weeks, and then after a month, it feels pretty much back in good health. I use tons of oils and never shampoo unless I have an oil base on top of it right before (kind of like CWC). I also use a lot of silicones to make it appear in better health, so I spray the ends with vinegar once a week to reduce build up. Best thing of all is a nice cold water rinse for at least a minute. It helps to close the cuticle, and gives a great shine especially when paired with vinegar. Those are just my tips, I'm using them once again for the summer since I am apparently a bleach addict and don't know how to control myself :)

[Tizzles]

Coconut oil. I always used a 10 volume developer even when I was lifting color out of my hair. People thought I was nuts since I'm naturally around a 4N, saying that a 10v wouldn't lift my hair, but it took it to a level 6 for the highlights that I had. Since my hair is fine I always used 10v and was afraid of anything else.

I bleached one last time after joining the LHC and used Coconut Oil before and after and it made a huge difference in my hair, so give it a shot, it just might help :)

[akilina]

Sounds like you are doing good things for it :) and it is great that you used a 10 vol. Some people think they need to use a really high vol and they really don't. In mostly all cases a 10 works wonderfully and lifts the perfect amount.
Your plan sounds really good too..to wait a month in between. Also..when I used to bleach my hair I would pump some really good conditioner in with my mix. Only a few little pumps though.
Also rinse with as cold as you can stand water. It doesnt need to be icy just a little cooler.
Good luck!! :D

[maborosi]

Saturate your hair thoroughly with coconut oil. I would do this pretty far in advance, if you can. When you rinse out the bleach, be sure to condition really, really well.

When I do anything like lighten my hair, I always follow up with a protein treatment. Personally, I use Nightblooming's Panacea (Original blend) and leave it on for a while.

~maborosi~