What is a bleaching of the hair?
When you bleach your hair, you lighten its natural pigment. You can also lighten a previously dyed hair, however it can be more difficult for yourself or the hairdresser to predict the final colour of previously dyed hair.
The actual product used when bleaching, or decolorizing hair as it is also called, is a mixture of mordants (oxidants) and a bleaching powder (alkaline compound).
How much hair is bleached by the mixture depends on the concentration of the beizene in the product. The higher the concentration the more shades lighter you can make the hair. As a starting point, you can assume the following:
- Bleaches with 6% mordant give 2 – 3 shades lighter hair
- Bleaches with 9% mordant give 3 – 5 shades lighter hair
- Bleaches with 12% mordant give 5 – 7 shades lighter hair
There is no doubt that bleaching with a 6% mordant is much gentler on the hair than bleaching with a 12% mordant, which is the strongest mixture you can get.
Depending on your hair color before bleaching, you may need to repeat the process to lighten your hair more than 7 shades.
How does bleaching affect your hair?
When you bleach your hair, a chemical process happens that pulls the colour pigment out of the hair shaft. As mentioned in the previous section, a bleach consists of a bleaching powder and mordant or oxidizer, as it is also called.
The bleaching powder which consists of an alkaline compound goes in and opens the cuticle layer of the hair. These are the small “scales” that sit on the outside of the hair. When the cuticle layers of the hair are open, the hair shaft is most vulnerable and therefore the mordant/oxidant can also easily penetrate the hair shaft and dissolve the pigment that is in the hair.
Depending on your natural hair colour or the previous artificial colour that is in the hair, it may be necessary to bleach the hair several times to achieve a completely pigment-free hair.
If you are currently experiencing or struggling with yellowish or reddish/orange tones in your bleached hair, read on as I explain why and what you can do about it.
Why do some people get yellow/red tones in their hair after bleaching?
A yellowish or reddish tinge to the hair after bleaching is a common problem. The unwanted tones in the hair occur because the bleaching process has not managed to get all the pigment out of the hair. This may mean that you have to repeat the bleaching process on your hair. So a yellowish tint can occur especially with home bleaching, but also with hairdresser bleaching if your hairdresser has not been able to read your hair clearly enough.
If you have red tones in your hair, then I would recommend you to stay away from home bleaches, as the risk of you ending up with a boring result is high. A reddish toned hair is a challenge for even a professional hairdresser and not something you should go for at home.
Don’t panic if your hair has yellowish tones – there is help
There’s no need to panic if your hair has turned yellow after bleaching. If it’s not a strong tint that’s left in your hair, then you’ll be able to soften/remove it by regular use of a silver shampoo.
A silver shampoo contains purple pigment which cancels out the warm tones in your hair. If a silver shampoo is not enough to take away the yellowish tinge, you can give it a rinse in a cool shade.
It’s not just pigment residue that can give hair a yellowish tinge. You may also find yourself leaving the hairdresser with perfectly cool-toned blonde hair, only to find it yellowing after a few washes. This may be due to minerals in the water reacting with the bleach. Therefore, as a blonde, it is a good idea to make it a routine to use a silver shampoo once a week or as needed.
Why is it harmful to dye/bleach my hair?
Bleaching or bleaching your hair is not healthy for your hair, you probably know that since you are reading this. But do you know exactly what happens to your hair when you bleach it?
As I’ve mentioned before, a bleach consists of an oxidizing agent (mordant) and an alkaline agent, which is the powder that comes with it when you buy bleach. The alkaline agent goes in and opens up the cuticle of the hair. It removes, so to speak, the protective layer of the hair and that is why the oxidising agent itself can get in and remove the pigment from the hair.
When the cuticle layer is open, the hair is extra vulnerable and in danger of drying out. It is therefore incredibly important that you give your hair an appropriate finishing treatment. You can read more about finishing and tips for caring for blonde hair later.
Avoid heavy bleaching at home
It can be tempting to try and save a lot of money by doing a heavy bleach (+12% stain) at home rather than paying for an expensive haircut. But when it comes to heavy bleaching of the hair, I would recommend you to go to a hairdresser you trust.
A heavy bleaching of the hair is one of the most violent things that you can expose your hair to and you can be sure that the experienced hairdresser can do it much more gently than you yourself have the opportunity.
The professional hairdresser will also be able to make a bleaching mixture with exactly the amount of oxidants that your hair needs to be lightened.
Tell your hairdresser the whole truth
When you sit in the hairdresser’s chair and want to lighten your hair many shades, the hairdresser will examine your hair and ask you some questions about how you care for your hair and, in particular, whether you have previously coloured your hair in such a way that parts of your hair have been chemically treated.
It is in your best interest to be completely honest with your hairdresser and tell what treatments your hair has been subjected to in the past. It is not impossible to bleach hair that has previously been coloured or permed, but it is important that your hairdresser knows this, as hair will react differently to bleach where it has previously been exposed to chemicals. This can result in ugly discolouration if the hairdresser has not been aware of it from the start.
If you want to go from dark to light – plan it with your hairdresser
If you have hair that’s darker than light brown, prepare to have several treatments before you’re completely blonde.
This can be done at home with a strong bleach over a few times with a possible finishing with silver shampoo or a cold rinse colour. However, I would recommend that you bite the bullet, pay the money, and seek out an experienced hairdresser. At least if you have long hair that you like.
If you get a consultation with a hairdresser, you can work out a plan together on how to get blonde as quickly as possible, but also in the most gentle way for your hair. Your hairdresser will probably recommend that there should be about 2 months between each bleaching, as this gives your hair the chance to recover in the intervening period, with care from good hair care products such as a conditioner, a hair treatment and/or a hair oil to boost the hair with moisture.
10 tips to avoid damaged hair after bleaching – How to care for your newly bleached hair
1. Skip a hair wash
When your hair has just been bleached, your hair has had a rough ride, but so has your scalp. You might also notice that your scalp is a little irritated. That’s why it’s important to give your scalp a rest so it can recover quickly. You can do this by giving it a rest, by skipping a wash, and by giving it plenty of moisture when you wash your hair.
Wash your hair in as cool water as you can stand. It dries out your hair much less than hot water. It also means your scalp produces less oil, which in turn means your hair can cope with an extra day before washing.
2. Use a shampoo for blonde hair
Blonde hair makes extra demands on the shampoo you use. Your hair is likely to look worn out and dry after you’ve lightened or bleached it.
Therefore, it is important that you choose a shampoo with a lot of moisture and also preferably one that contains protein that rebuilds the hair from within.
But most importantly, buy a silver shampoo for your hair. A silver shampoo is a shampoo that contains purple pigment and the shampoo is also strong purple when you squeeze it out in your hand. But don’t worry, you won’t get little hair if you observe the pulling time. The purple pigments in silver shampoo go in and dampen yellowish tones in your hair and are what give you the beautiful cool-toned blonde hair that many people crave.
There is a difference in how powerful the different silver shampoos are and you should therefore follow the instructions when it comes to how often you should apply them and how long they should soak in your hair.
Do not use silver shampoo every time you wash your hair. This is because silver shampoo is inherently drying to the hair and the last thing bleached hair needs to be exposed to with every wash. Another thing is that you will also risk getting a purple tint in your hair.
Don’t worry – Have you left the silver shampoo on too long and your hair has turned purple? The purple tinge will disappear after one or two washes, leaving you with beautiful blonde hair.
3. Use a hair treatment with keratin and lots of moisture
What bleached hair needs most is lots of moisture and lots of keratin. When we bleach our hair, we open up the cuticle, the outer layer of the hair shaft. This layer is made of the protein keratin.
In order for hair to repair itself, it needs 1. Large amounts of moisture, 2. Lots of protein.
After washing your hair, you should use a good conditioner and preferably a hair treatment. Choose products that contain keratin or that are a decidedly protein cure for hair. It will help boost your hair from within and enable it to hold on to the moisture you offer it.
Use hair mask as often as your hair allows. If your hair has a tendency to clump, then you can choose every other time to just put hair conditioner in the lengths of your hair.
4. Gently comb through wet hair
Bleached hair is more porous than untreated hair, so you should be extra gentle when combing your hair. Especially when it’s wet. When hair is wet, all hair, healthy and damaged, is extra vulnerable to damage.
That’s why you should also invest in a so-called wet brush or a comb with very wide teeth. That way you damage your hair as little as possible. You can also comb through your hair in the bath while using conditioner or hair cream.
Always comb your hair from the bottom and work your way up.
5. Treat your hair to a leave-in conditioner or hair oil
If your newly bleached hair is feeling really dry and dull, give it a little extra love by using a leave-in conditioner to condition your hair throughout the day.
If you choose a good leave-in conditioner that suits your hair type, it won’t weigh your hair down. The same goes if you choose to use a hair oil. A hair oil provides plenty of moisture to the hair and is also good for taming hair that tends to frizz.
6. Minimise the use of blow dryers, straighteners etc.
Many people use both blow dryers and straighteners/curling irons as part of their daily hair styling routine. No hair benefits from this and for hair that has been bleached it can be extremely damaging.
What happens when we use hot hair styling tools is that we heat up the hair in order to dry, straighten or curl it, but when the hair reaches a temperature of around 215 degrees, the keratin, the protein in the hair, starts to melt. That’s why experts recommend never letting your hot styling tools get hotter than 185 degrees.
For bleached hair, the hair is even more vulnerable when you expose it to heat and the keratin will start to melt at temperatures well below 215 degrees. Therefore, keep your straightener at a maximum of 150 degrees if your hair is damaged after bleaching.
7. Use a heat protectant spray for your hair
If you do choose to blow dry and/or straighten, curl your hair, you should always use a heat protectant hair spray. A heat protection spray, as it is also called, goes in and puts a fine coating on each hair strand so that the hair is less affected by the heat.
This is one step in your hair styling that you should never skip when using heat styling tools, let alone when dealing with bleached hair.
8. Use styling techniques that don’t require heat
It can be hard to have to minimize or completely do without hot hair styling tools, because few of us have hair that dries up so it doesn’t need styling.
<å>Fortunately, you get a little help along the way, because a bleached hair is a treated hair. This means that the hairs are thickened and appear stronger. So you get a bit of free fullness for free.
You can, however, style your hair without hot styling tools. On media like YouTube and Tik Tok, you can find plenty of inspiration on how to create big, sexy and trendy curls and falls in your hair with everything from tennis socks to straws. You’ll also find exciting braiding techniques and quick ways to make a messy bun, all great to have on hand when you want to take the most care of your hair.
9. Eat hair vitamins
You can actually do more for your hair than just eat a varied diet or take a daily multivitamin pill, you can actually get vitamins for your hair that are specifically made with the purpose of boosting hair growth and its overall health.
Vitamins for hair contain essential vitamins and minerals such as biotin and zinc, both of which help repair and promote growth. You can get vitamins for hair in both powder form and as tablets, but the most popular at the moment are vitamin gummies for hair. In other words, hair vitamins disguised as tasty gummy bears. Taking care of your hair couldn’t be easier or more fun.
10. Make sure you use elastics and bobby pins that won’t damage your hair
One of the biggest reasons why our hair breaks is the elastics, bobby pins etc that we use when styling our hair. Elastics are very hard on the hair and if you still use the old fashioned elastics with the metal clasp, you should throw them out immediately because they not only cut the hair, but the metal clasp also easily catches on the hair and destroys it.
Instead, choose elastics in soft materials like scrunchies, which are elastics covered in fabric, or hair bobbles, which are spiral elastics.
If your hair bobbles elastics expand and lose shape, just put them in a bowl of almost boiling water for one minute. They’ll be as good as new.