To let brunette DD13 bleach/colour ends of her hair for summer

[Passwordsarestressful]

Dd13 has lovely dark brown, very fine hair. She has been on about dying it a bright colour for ages. I'm a natural blonde and have zero clue but gather that it is a harsh treatment and not usually recommended for under 16s

She understands and has suggested a compromise by way of her having the bottom few inches bleached and dyed, it's due a cut anyway, needs a few inches off.

I think it's unlikely a salon will do it and I am not that sure if I should do it, or where to start in terms of strong enough bleach to lift her colour.

Yabu: you'll ruin her hair

Yanbu: it's harmless fun, that bit is getting cut off anyway, here are some tips for you...

Let her do it. One of my DDs at about 14 had wonderful striped hair - she looked great!

It’s only the ends, you’ll need a tiring brush and do a strand test so if it fries the test section it’s not all the ends.

I have no advice on how to bleach hair. But just a general comment on parenting teens that it’s a good idea to let them experiment with things that don’t really matter, like clothes and hair.

Let her do it, but get her booked somewhere that will do a good job.
If she's aware that it's likely the ends will need to come off for the end of the holidays and makes and informed decision then it's only hair.

I’ve done it a few times for my daughter. It’s tricky using bleach but I looked at YouTube videos to help. Btw we couldn’t get a salon to do it until she was 16.

I dip dyed my dd's hair when she was youngish and just got it cut ready for school in September.
Only thing I would say is I got a bit carried away and took the dye higher up than planned so she had to have her hair cut a bit shorter.

I have no problem with her doing it, in fact I think it'll look great.
It is more my concern that I'll ruin it. I know no salon will do it before she's 16 and I'm clueless.
Strand test, of course, good idea.
What product do I need to use?

That does sound like something I'd do, but to be fair, she'd love a pixie cut! She had one a few years ago, but I'm too tight and disorder for the maintenance

I did DDs and was really worried I would naff it up but she begged me and it turned out really well. I thought it would fry the ends and she would need it cut off quite quickly but it stayed in perfectly OK condition. I watched a YouTube video and used a bleach kit, probably Bleach London but whatever it was it was cheap and cruelty free from Superdrug. We used a hair dye brush and I think cling film. She wanted to dye the ends blue and other various colours but they didn’t seem to hold, so she just had lovely light ends. Her natural hair is not that dark though so my lack of skill was hidden. She actually it for ages after the summer as it all blended in (ish) when her hair lightened a bit on holiday and her school isn’t that strict.

Avoid blue. My 14 yo did hers pink and it all came out. My 11yo went blue, she them
put on a second batch and by the start of term it was still blue...(to be fair it was gorgeous - all lovely shades like the sea)

She went back to school with a Bob.

Would she consider highlights? I pestered my mum for ages for highlights when my blonde hair suddenly seemed to go brown overnight when I was 11!! She did relent and I’ve been getting highlights ever since (I’m 36!). Bleaching can damage hair in the long run. I went through a phase in my 20s of getting my hair bleached white blonde and whilst I loved it it did make my hair way thinner than it usually is so I stopped after a year or so. However I believe hair is there to be experimented on! I would warn her about long term damage from hair bleaching but let her have a go. Maybe take her to a salon if you’re not confident doing a home job!

She definitely doesn't want highlights, she wants dark pink/purple, she'd ideally have chunks at the front, but is happy with ends.
She doesn't want to be blonde, she has the most beautiful hair and suits it, she just wants to mix things up a bit.
She really suits a bob, that is basically the style we go back to time after time for her, since she was 5. At the minute it's shoulder.length, so we have a bit to play with.
I think we will head to superdrug in a couple of weeks.

I did my own today 😁 very dark hair. Russell Jerome Highlighting kit 40Vol, mixed it up. Applied to the ends and back combed each section a few inches, develop for 40 mins and then toned it. It's lovely 😍

Not bad for £4!

Oh great tip, thank you. I think I have to tone it to get the best colour match with pink, don't I?
I used to watch Brad Mondo videos on loop, you think I'd know 🙄

Also, when you say back comb, why do you do that? Is it for more even coverage?

A few years ago my ds, then 11, was desperate to have bright hair for the summer. So he let it get over long then I bleached the end inch and then applied Manic Panic electric lizard. He adored it, but come end of the summer it all cut off with no problem

Backcombing it (with your fingers) just helps it look softer and less blocky.

Otherwise the contrast between dark brown and pink will be a straight line and it'll look like neapolitan ice cream!

I love Brad Mondo!!

Don't do it yourself. It's not easy and you could really damage her hair by leaving it on for too long. How long it should be left on for had so many variables, how close to root / temperature etc I really wouldn't recommend

I colour mine in really bright colours and bleach fairly constantly. I would use the Bleach London Plex Bleach. If you want to add additional protection, you can add Revolution Hair Plex 1 & 2.

For colours, as people have said, avoid blues 🤣 I still have some aqua in that I can't shift. I have used Directions Hair Colours for about 20+ years. For colours that will shift in blue and purples, I would use their Flamingo Pink which is almost Neon Pink but washes out fairly well, or Carnation which is a lighter not quite as bright pink. For purple I would mix Violet with a bit of Lilac, you can test it on kitchen roll paper with the brush for a bit of an idea of the colour.

If doing the ends, remember to use foils or something since it will need to stay on for 30-40mins and kids fidget. My mum still reminds me of the purple bathroom after my first hair dyeing escapade.

The pink can leak at first so you may want to think about towels/sheets that you aren't so worried about :)

What about getting light blonde clip ins and dying those the colours she wants and you can have the flashes and hidden colour without having to bleach her hair? Failing that try some salons I have friends who have had daughters get their hair highlighted at the hairdresser from 13+

I regularly do my daughters in the holidays and then I have it cut off. I use the bleach London kit for the ends and then I've found manic panic are the best colours to use over the bleach as there vibrant and quite long lasting

Buy professional high lift tint & developer from Amazon, it will be gentler on her hair & a tube would do maybe 4 applications, Koleston Perfect 12/81 is a lovely blonde with no yellow tones, if you use bleach there is a high chance it will come out yellow & need regular purple shampoo to tone it down. Order a colouring kit with brush, bowl, developer measure & clips, make sure she wears something old so if it gets bleach stains it doesn't matter. Using high lift tint means you don't have to be so precise in timings, it will only develop so far & then stop, if you look & think the colour looks right, leave it another 10 minutes to get maximum lift.

I took my niece to get her hair blonde at the ends at 14 as per her birthday present request. Had no idea you had to be 16 and the hairdresser didn't ask ? Quite a highly rated salon too..

If salons won't do until a child is 16, there is your answer. I'd make her wait until 16.

I would. It's hair, it's not permanent, it will grow, especially as it's only the ends you're treating. I'm all for kids doing this, and having it done 'correctly' to protect the hair.