Bleaching hair

[nolovelost]

I want to do really light blonde bottom layer on my hair but don't want to ruin it or want it to look ginger!

My hair is dark brown. What do I need to buy in order to lift it and get a really nice bright blonde? I'm thinking Boots or similar.

Thank you.

Please go to a hairdresser. You will end up with a disaster at home. Lightening dark brown to a really light blond is no mean feat. You need a professional

No clue myself but Brad mondo videos are equally hilarious and helpful

Yes Brad mondo will show you what not to do!

I echo what CuppaZa said. I’m in the process of going from dark brown to light blonde, I am nearly there, just not quite. Started in Sept with full head bleach highlights. Then another session around 5 weeks later & recently just had a 3rd.

I’ll need a 4th, but that’ll be in new year. Search for a good hairdresser. Ask around. I fell lucky as it’s a friend of a friend & have probably paid a fraction of what it would have cost in a salon. Good luck!

@harryandmarv, I’m also dark brown, currently have ashy caramel bayalage over 3 sessions, I’m tempted to go for highlights soon though. Scared about my hair getting ruined, have you been able to keep your hair from fleeting too damaged?

I'm dark brown and was bleached and toned to a very pale grey for a 4 years. I'm regrading back to my now natural grey colour....

My top tips for caring for bleached hair.

Get a professional to do it. I've seen the home disasters that come in (I spend 5-6 hrs in the salon every 6-7 weeks so see & hear a lot!)
Pay for olaplaex.
Buy redken extreme anti snap and really good conditioner (Redken extreme one or the olaplex one are my top picks)
Use hair oil if you are still a bit dry.
Minimise the number of times you wash your hair.

This is all pretty necessary to keep you hair in some semblance of order.

I've had great fun with my hair over the last few years but it currently so much easier to look after (no significant amounts of bleach since March).

I’m taking your tips too @opinionatedfreak. I always add Olaplex when I visit the hairdresser and will buy to use at home

Over the first lockdown I went from dark brown to blonde. I did it in three stages, a week between each. In each rest period I put coconut oil in my hair overnight. I used Colourless Hair Lightener Go Blonde and then used a toner Wella T28 (You have to mix it with your own vol 20 developer). I love it! I got someone to help with the back, but honestly, it looks great. It did take three goes to ensure I hadn't missed any and to bring it to the shade I wanted. I was WFH at this point, however, if I'd been at work it wouldn't have been possible as the early stage was patchy and marigold!

CuppZa - yes to olaplex, added to 2nd & 3rd sessions. My hair was dyed brown before, so all things considered it’s not in too bad condition, I’ve had about an inch to two cut off every time as the ends looked a bit knackered. I think the key thing was for my hair that the bleach wasn’t left on for too long & doing it in stages. Yeah you have to bear with the in between colours (like a mix of brass blonde/browny yellow strands) but it’ll be worth it in the end!

I have watched so many YouTube videos in the last few days I feel like I could walk into a salon and take on my first client haha.

I've recently went really really all over blonde (done professionally) however it still needs one more bleach to lift it again. I'm fed up of forking out ££ to always not quite get what I ask for so I am attempting to do this myself, today.

I've bought the Bleach London bleach kit and the bowl and brush from Amazon. The main thing though is the toner. Your hair needs to be lifted to the colour of the inside of a banana. I'm going to get the toner from BL but I've also got a professional Wella one ordered (T18). Look up the toning wheel online. If you have yellow tones then you need a toner with purple etc etc to cancel it out.

I'll report if the above comes to back to bite me 😂

You all know about ongoing maintenance with blue/purple shampoo don’t you?

Shwazkopf silver is my favourite / day 2 day one but my hairdresser also gave me some super strong blue stuff when I was struggling with yellow undertones. Can’t remember the brand - it’s American.

There is a brilliant lady on Instagram called joejoneshair

Joejoneshair.com

She's a professional hairdresser who only uses home colours. She offers consultations and is super reasonable price wise.

I'm nothing to do with her...but I follow her and she seems fab.

@opinionatedfreak I’ve been using Matrix brass off blue shampoo and conditioner, but not overly impressed. I’ll give Shwazkoph silver a go

Thank you everyone!

Well the verdict on my own bleaching attempt is so so!

The bleach London bleach was fine for lifting, it lifted pretty well but then white toner was a bit disappointing. Still a bit of yellow hue going on but not so bad I can't step outside or do to work.

I have silver shampoo and conditioner so that will hopefully help but will give the T18 a bash (I'm looking for a silvery verging on grey blonde) and then if that doesn't work, then maybe shave my head or something.

I do my own hair....lots of mistakes over the years so now know what i am doing...always low volume bleach and do a few times....wait in between....better than using 40 vol in one hit...damages hair too much...

I am going to try the new Aveda toner this week....!!

I have silver shampoo and conditioner so that will hopefully help but will give the T18 a bash (I'm looking for a silvery verging on grey blonde) and then if that doesn't work, then maybe shave my head or something.

T18 used 20 volume peroxide so will lift hair a few more shades....what volume peroxide did you use with the first toner...??

the aveda toner is mixed with just 3 volume so i will lighten my hair twice before applying to remove all yellow tones.

@supercee

Well the verdict on my own bleaching attempt is so so!

The bleach London bleach was fine for lifting, it lifted pretty well but then white toner was a bit disappointing. Still a bit of yellow hue going on but not so bad I can't step outside or do to work.

I have silver shampoo and conditioner so that will hopefully help but will give the T18 a bash (I'm looking for a silvery verging on grey blonde) and then if that doesn't work, then maybe shave my head or something.

What peroxide did you mix the BL toner with..as i posted above, T18 needs 20 volume so will lift a few shades again....try it out and report back...i never used those but reports are good.

Thanks all for the messages...

Its been quie hard work, harder than I thought it would be. Done two lots of bleach (1 yesterday and the other today) and a toner, nearly there. Think it needs one more touch up but it's looking good.

Used Jerome Russell bleach and Bleach London Toner.

Thanks again.

Looks great in a plait and the remaining coppery bits are hidden

My ideal colour is light copper/strawberry blonde so I always wonder whether bleach without toner would work for me as I'm actually trying to go ginger. (Hairdressers not open where I am).

@Gwenhwyfar that's the colour it was after the second lot of bleach and before the toner. What colour is it now?

Dark to pale blonde is definitely a hairdresser job. I manage mine with Nice and Easy but my hair is fair anyway, so I don't go ginger. Dark brown definitely will if not done properly

[quote nolovelost]@Gwenhwyfar that's the colour it was after the second lot of bleach and before the toner. What colour is it now?[/quote]
My hair at the moment is dyed, but actually very close to my natural mousy brown. So, I suppose I'd need two lots of bleach?

Yes, try one and see what happens. Can be a bit of a disaster though and look patchy.

Canola no more yellow shampoo is the best I've used. So much toning. At first only leave it for a minute as it will leave a purple/grey hue that fades in a day or two. I won't use anything else.