Thinking of dying hair light blond, what do I need to know?
May 25, 2017 1:41 PM Subscribe
I'm thinking of dying my hair very light/platinum blond. What do I need to know?
My hair is currently a light brown/blond, as seen here in my Instagram photo. It looks more blond in direct sunlight. I used to dye it a fairly bright red, but I work at a bank and can't get away with that anymore. I'll be dying my hair myself (well, making my husband do it) with store bought dye, probably Loreal or similar.
When I dyed it red, it usually grew out pretty nicely - the red would sort of fade as it grew out, and I never had a really obvious dye line where my roots were showing. I'm worried that with very light hair, I'll have a more obvious dye line and what the best strategy is to deal with that. I'm guessing if it really bugs me after a while I could just dye all my hair back to something approximating its normal color?
Also, it's just generally been several years since I've dyed my hair, and I've never dyed it a lighter color than my natural color, so I'm just looking for any advice, suggestions for good shampoos for colored hair, etc. (Or if you think it would look terrible based on my picture.) Thanks!
My hair is currently a light brown/blond, as seen here in my Instagram photo. It looks more blond in direct sunlight. I used to dye it a fairly bright red, but I work at a bank and can't get away with that anymore. I'll be dying my hair myself (well, making my husband do it) with store bought dye, probably Loreal or similar.
When I dyed it red, it usually grew out pretty nicely - the red would sort of fade as it grew out, and I never had a really obvious dye line where my roots were showing. I'm worried that with very light hair, I'll have a more obvious dye line and what the best strategy is to deal with that. I'm guessing if it really bugs me after a while I could just dye all my hair back to something approximating its normal color?
Also, it's just generally been several years since I've dyed my hair, and I've never dyed it a lighter color than my natural color, so I'm just looking for any advice, suggestions for good shampoos for colored hair, etc. (Or if you think it would look terrible based on my picture.) Thanks!
Best answer: Yes, going platinum is what's known as "double process" for everyone but the blondest. You need to bleach it out first so it's light enough to accept such a light dye, then add the platinum color.
Bleaching is really hard to do at home unless you or husband have serious skills. I tried once (I'm an experienced home colorist) on light brown hair and the bleach took me to a really uneven brassy place, and the dye turned it a ducky yellow. It also made it dry and thin. You have no idea what tones and textures the bleach and dye will bring out for you and it can be really disastrous. (You've seen the people with cotton candy textured shredded hair, right? Home bleach!)
I recommend the pros for this-- so much can go wrong with bleach and blonde dye, no matter what the bottles say or how many instructional youtube vids you watch.
I think you'd look excellent with platinum hair!
posted by kapers at 1:53 PM on May 25, 2017 [12 favorites]
Bleaching is really hard to do at home unless you or husband have serious skills. I tried once (I'm an experienced home colorist) on light brown hair and the bleach took me to a really uneven brassy place, and the dye turned it a ducky yellow. It also made it dry and thin. You have no idea what tones and textures the bleach and dye will bring out for you and it can be really disastrous. (You've seen the people with cotton candy textured shredded hair, right? Home bleach!)
I recommend the pros for this-- so much can go wrong with bleach and blonde dye, no matter what the bottles say or how many instructional youtube vids you watch.
I think you'd look excellent with platinum hair!
posted by kapers at 1:53 PM on May 25, 2017 [12 favorites]
Best answer: I've never dyed it a lighter color than my natural color
You can't, really - dye doesn't work like that, because it's not opaque, it's translucent. Think of it like a magic marker. You can take a red magic marker and use it on light brown paper (like your hair) and make the paper red, but you couldn't take a platinum magic marker (if such a thing existed) and color over it to make it lighter brown.
So, you'll have to bleach it first. You CAN do this on your own, but it's not nearly as straightforward as home dyeing. I have done both, and bleaching at home is way more fiddly. You have to carefully brush it on in layers.
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:53 PM on May 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
You can't, really - dye doesn't work like that, because it's not opaque, it's translucent. Think of it like a magic marker. You can take a red magic marker and use it on light brown paper (like your hair) and make the paper red, but you couldn't take a platinum magic marker (if such a thing existed) and color over it to make it lighter brown.
So, you'll have to bleach it first. You CAN do this on your own, but it's not nearly as straightforward as home dyeing. I have done both, and bleaching at home is way more fiddly. You have to carefully brush it on in layers.
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:53 PM on May 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: And to answer your other Qs, you will get obvious roots and you either have to embrace them, touch them up regularly, or dye your full head darker when you can't stand it anymore.
As far as maintenance, bleach can dry your hair out and make it more susceptible to breakage and you'll lose a bit of shine/softness, so you might have to switch up your shampoo to more moisturizing formulas, or shampoo less frequently. It also breaks down protein so occasional protein treatments might be useful.
For platinum you might look into a purple shampoo meant for grey and silver hair, as it deposits purple tones that will combat yellow tones if you find you're yellowing.
posted by kapers at 2:11 PM on May 25, 2017 [4 favorites]
As far as maintenance, bleach can dry your hair out and make it more susceptible to breakage and you'll lose a bit of shine/softness, so you might have to switch up your shampoo to more moisturizing formulas, or shampoo less frequently. It also breaks down protein so occasional protein treatments might be useful.
For platinum you might look into a purple shampoo meant for grey and silver hair, as it deposits purple tones that will combat yellow tones if you find you're yellowing.
posted by kapers at 2:11 PM on May 25, 2017 [4 favorites]
Best answer: nthing. my hair is naturally dark blonde, similar to yours. going platinum can really fry your hair, even when done professionally. doing it at home also runs the risk of coming out brassy, bright yellow, not what you want. def go professional on this.
posted by supermedusa at 2:12 PM on May 25, 2017
posted by supermedusa at 2:12 PM on May 25, 2017
Best answer: What do you need to know? I laughingly invite you to memorize the sentence, "I need an appointment for a Color Correction, please?" You will likely be calling for such an appointment if you attempt this at home.
You know, I recommend talking to friends and finding soneone who knows a colorist that will look at your hair and give you personal advice. I think you could do a Single Process with 40 Volume Peroxide and an Ash Blonde like 10A or higher, maybd with additional lifter? I mean, if none of those terms are familiar to you, that's why professionals take classes in coloring and continue to take courses during their careers. It's not easy, and you might pay to have it done.
Because you are stripping your base color, there will be a hard line and roots to deal with. No hetting around that.
Read a lot and have a plan B. Acoid da Double Process if you can :))
posted by jbenben at 2:20 PM on May 25, 2017 [7 favorites]
You know, I recommend talking to friends and finding soneone who knows a colorist that will look at your hair and give you personal advice. I think you could do a Single Process with 40 Volume Peroxide and an Ash Blonde like 10A or higher, maybd with additional lifter? I mean, if none of those terms are familiar to you, that's why professionals take classes in coloring and continue to take courses during their careers. It's not easy, and you might pay to have it done.
Because you are stripping your base color, there will be a hard line and roots to deal with. No hetting around that.
Read a lot and have a plan B. Acoid da Double Process if you can :))
posted by jbenben at 2:20 PM on May 25, 2017 [7 favorites]
Best answer: All's I can say is, be very, VERY careful. When I was 20 I peroxided my hair, did something wrong and ended up with, like, radiation burns on my scalp. Lots of redness, a bit of hair loss, and I had nasty, ouchy scabs along my hairline. I'd definitely suggest going to a good salon rather than trying this yourself. You don't want a Chernobyl on your head!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:28 PM on May 25, 2017
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:28 PM on May 25, 2017
Best answer: I'd actually encourage you to try it at home if you don't want to go to a salon, with the understanding that if the bleach doesn't turn out well, you'd just dye it darker for now. I just went to a light ashy blonde from a light red color with the help of my skilled amateur girlfriend, and after the initial bleaching there was a definite highlighter/brassy effect, but she was able to clean up the color quite a bit using toner before putting in the ashy blonde. As someone earlier in the comments mentioned, it was a purpley-blue color that really resolved the brass. I wanted to go to a lavender and she said I should stop over first in the light blonde because it's hard to go directly from to light from red. It's six weeks later and I'm about due for my lavender with my hair looking nice in the interval.
posted by possibilityleft at 2:29 PM on May 25, 2017
posted by possibilityleft at 2:29 PM on May 25, 2017
Best answer: You need to know that it will ruin your hair. Sorry. I have memories during my teenage years of one of my friends demonstrating how destroyed my platinum blonde hair was, by taking a sizeable chunk of the ends in her fingers and literally snapping it off.
posted by Jubey at 2:33 PM on May 25, 2017
posted by Jubey at 2:33 PM on May 25, 2017
Best answer: After bleaching and dyeing - Olaplex . It really returns your hair to pre-bleach strength.
posted by mrzz at 2:51 PM on May 25, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by mrzz at 2:51 PM on May 25, 2017 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Once you enter bleaching territory, you start needing to be a lot more cognizant of the science behind beauty. I went from thinking that I have hair to realizing I have fiber coming out of my head, made up of proteins that react to various chemicals in a unique way.
It made a lot of the 'curly girl' beauty talk suddenly click. The new porosity of my hair suddenly gave it volume, but also meant that it needed additional hydration. Plus whatever magic that's in Olaplex to infuse protein and protect it from crunchy breakage.
Plus, you have the fairly personal way that your natural hair color + bleaching agent will react. It is unlikely to become a flattering blonde. Mine turns into a gorgeous cornsilk color that is absolutely garish against my skin tone. So you'll need to tone your hair and add color back.
Then you add time (or more accurately, exposure to the elements). Colors oxidize and fade. Many shampoos can react, so agreed that a purple based shampoos tends to work best on maintaining blonde. It's hard to avoid colors to become more yellow, so you'll have to be extra vigilant if that's unflattering with your undertones. Roots add a whole other level of complexity because you need to weigh the costs/benefits of frequent touch ups and visible roots. Balayage or shadow roots can bridge the gap by building darker roots into the look.
People give me serious side eye that I pay my stylist as much for my punky color. But it's labor and expertise that is legit valuable and hard to DIY. Even if you know how to hair, it's hard to physically do the work from the vantage point of your head being attached to your body.
posted by politikitty at 2:52 PM on May 25, 2017 [6 favorites]
It made a lot of the 'curly girl' beauty talk suddenly click. The new porosity of my hair suddenly gave it volume, but also meant that it needed additional hydration. Plus whatever magic that's in Olaplex to infuse protein and protect it from crunchy breakage.
Plus, you have the fairly personal way that your natural hair color + bleaching agent will react. It is unlikely to become a flattering blonde. Mine turns into a gorgeous cornsilk color that is absolutely garish against my skin tone. So you'll need to tone your hair and add color back.
Then you add time (or more accurately, exposure to the elements). Colors oxidize and fade. Many shampoos can react, so agreed that a purple based shampoos tends to work best on maintaining blonde. It's hard to avoid colors to become more yellow, so you'll have to be extra vigilant if that's unflattering with your undertones. Roots add a whole other level of complexity because you need to weigh the costs/benefits of frequent touch ups and visible roots. Balayage or shadow roots can bridge the gap by building darker roots into the look.
People give me serious side eye that I pay my stylist as much for my punky color. But it's labor and expertise that is legit valuable and hard to DIY. Even if you know how to hair, it's hard to physically do the work from the vantage point of your head being attached to your body.
posted by politikitty at 2:52 PM on May 25, 2017 [6 favorites]
Best answer: There is no way for you to bleach/lift your color to light blond and not get an obvious bleach line/dark roots look. If you want to go blonder in a way that will blend with your natural color as it grows out, I'd recommend going for balayage color where the bleached hair starts in after the root and is a bit more blended. You can let that grow out and it still looks how it should. Get it done professionally, it's not something an amateur with a box should attempt.
You can do platinum at home, but you need to study up on how to do the various processes a lot before you attempt it. If you think a strong red isn't right anymore due to your bank job, I would also strongly reconsider whether platinum hair will go over well.
If you want to go for a mild change that will wash-out and blend, try temporary/non-permanent box color. It can give you a fresh look with far less possibility of disaster or need for major upkeep.
posted by quince at 2:57 PM on May 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
You can do platinum at home, but you need to study up on how to do the various processes a lot before you attempt it. If you think a strong red isn't right anymore due to your bank job, I would also strongly reconsider whether platinum hair will go over well.
If you want to go for a mild change that will wash-out and blend, try temporary/non-permanent box color. It can give you a fresh look with far less possibility of disaster or need for major upkeep.
posted by quince at 2:57 PM on May 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: One of the (many, many) reasons home-bleaching is such a freaking beast to pull off is that pretty much every lightening product on the market - unlike single-process color - has the texture and flexibility, as it dries (which it begins doing instantly, on your hair and in the bowl), of pureed potatoes.
It doesn't flow out of a bottle, you have to spread it on with a brush or popsicle stick or fingers. You have to get it on every molecule of hair you want bleached. Miss a spot: it won't bleach. Did you know hair has a front and back side? It does, and you will look like a leopard if you miss any. This is why you see people at the salon having their hair bleached onto foils in 1" sections.
Also, if you don't let it go long enough (or get it hot enough), it'll only develop to colors you might call "marmalade cat" or "giraffe" or "electric lemon". Leave it on too long, it all falls out. And remember: your hair is covered in dried mashed potatoes, you don't know what color is is under there exactly. If it doesn't come out light enough, you really need to wait a couple weeks before you do it again, which means investing in a lot of hats.
I will only do it at home if my hair is boy-short. Otherwise I get the big job done at a salon and then maintain my roots at home, or just give up and have the salon do it all the time, or dye it back to any color darker than blond.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:15 PM on May 25, 2017 [4 favorites]
It doesn't flow out of a bottle, you have to spread it on with a brush or popsicle stick or fingers. You have to get it on every molecule of hair you want bleached. Miss a spot: it won't bleach. Did you know hair has a front and back side? It does, and you will look like a leopard if you miss any. This is why you see people at the salon having their hair bleached onto foils in 1" sections.
Also, if you don't let it go long enough (or get it hot enough), it'll only develop to colors you might call "marmalade cat" or "giraffe" or "electric lemon". Leave it on too long, it all falls out. And remember: your hair is covered in dried mashed potatoes, you don't know what color is is under there exactly. If it doesn't come out light enough, you really need to wait a couple weeks before you do it again, which means investing in a lot of hats.
I will only do it at home if my hair is boy-short. Otherwise I get the big job done at a salon and then maintain my roots at home, or just give up and have the salon do it all the time, or dye it back to any color darker than blond.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:15 PM on May 25, 2017 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Well foo. I didn't even think about needing to bleach it first. I guess I was just lulled into a false sense of promise by all the boxes of "very light blond" dye at the drug store with the pictures on the side of what different hair colors will ostensibly become. Scratch this - I'll stick to my box of darker blond dye that I've used successfully previously, or get it done professionally if I decide I really want it. Thanks, all!
posted by skycrashesdown at 3:37 PM on May 25, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by skycrashesdown at 3:37 PM on May 25, 2017 [4 favorites]
I have a natural hair color that is similar to yours. Silver/white platinum won't be possible, at home, without frying your hair. Ask me how I know.
Very pale, non-brassy shades of blonde are possible. You'll want to study up first, look at the hair forum at MakeupAlley.
You'll probably want a drabber to counteract brassiness, something like this
Above all: strand tests!! You'll need to know how long to leave the dye on and how much drabber to use. You can never do too many strand tests.
If your hair does come out way too brassy, you can use the drabber with 10% developer (you can both at a beauty supply store) and leave it on for 5 minutes - this is a good emergency fix.
The demarcation line may be less of a problem than you think - I see it everywhere today - I think it may be becoming fashionable.
Long story short: it's possible, but you'll need to learn how to do it.
posted by chocolatepeanutbuttercup at 3:59 PM on May 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
Very pale, non-brassy shades of blonde are possible. You'll want to study up first, look at the hair forum at MakeupAlley.
You'll probably want a drabber to counteract brassiness, something like this
Above all: strand tests!! You'll need to know how long to leave the dye on and how much drabber to use. You can never do too many strand tests.
If your hair does come out way too brassy, you can use the drabber with 10% developer (you can both at a beauty supply store) and leave it on for 5 minutes - this is a good emergency fix.
The demarcation line may be less of a problem than you think - I see it everywhere today - I think it may be becoming fashionable.
Long story short: it's possible, but you'll need to learn how to do it.
posted by chocolatepeanutbuttercup at 3:59 PM on May 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
I guess I am a freak of nature because I do this exact thing every two months myself at home without bleach and have been for the past two years and it looks great. People have actually asked me if I had it professionally done. My hair is your color, I go to Target and buy the box of the lightest possible regular dye, I use it, and my hair turns out light blonde. Technically it's not platinum as others have pointed out. It's also not uniform in color anymore as I've dyed over it. I'm not even talking about the dye line, just that I have some streaks that are darker than others. It happens to look good, by lucky chance. I do have problems with visible roots and a dye line. One thing I do is not keep a sharp part to hide the line. It does get a little brassy over time, and I've been searching for the right purple shampoo. My hair is also a bit fried, but it's always been dry and brittle, and since I've never dyed my hair before, I have nothing to compare it to.
posted by unannihilated at 4:28 PM on May 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by unannihilated at 4:28 PM on May 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
Slight bit of clarification - at least from how I'm reading this.
The blonde box "dye" IS a lightener. However you won't end up with the shade on the box because generally you'd need to lift the color twice and/or tone it. So the color on the side is always misleading since it will be much more yellow than that. Though I find that it is generally accurate to the actual lightness level at least in my case.
I have the same color hair as you and one box "dye" of lightest platinum turns it brassy yellow. I have been fine with this in the past since I did direct dye colors on top with pinks and such.
However, if you're actually going for platinum or need a true whiteish tone definitely get it done so they can do enough lightening and tone out the brassy colors. Consider keeping dark roots and blending to light as well. (I'm also giving up bleaching for a dark green in a bit after I recover from surgery.)
I also have made my own purple shampoo which helps the brassy tones. Just purple dye in my regular shampoo. Works well.
posted by Crystalinne at 4:51 PM on May 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
The blonde box "dye" IS a lightener. However you won't end up with the shade on the box because generally you'd need to lift the color twice and/or tone it. So the color on the side is always misleading since it will be much more yellow than that. Though I find that it is generally accurate to the actual lightness level at least in my case.
I have the same color hair as you and one box "dye" of lightest platinum turns it brassy yellow. I have been fine with this in the past since I did direct dye colors on top with pinks and such.
However, if you're actually going for platinum or need a true whiteish tone definitely get it done so they can do enough lightening and tone out the brassy colors. Consider keeping dark roots and blending to light as well. (I'm also giving up bleaching for a dark green in a bit after I recover from surgery.)
I also have made my own purple shampoo which helps the brassy tones. Just purple dye in my regular shampoo. Works well.
posted by Crystalinne at 4:51 PM on May 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
You're much less likely to destroy your hair with boxed dye, so I'm not surprised by unannihilated's experience. I spent 15 years using boxed dye, going both lighter and darker.
But I'd still advice against it in your shoes. It's wildly unpredictable. Most blondes would turn brassy on my head, and give me varying levels of red hair: maroon, bright orange or occasionally a respectable strawberry blonde. Rarely anything in the ballpark of what the box showed. I was okay with it because I'm the lady with teal hair in her thirties. My lifestyle can tolerate me spinning the wheel with my appearance.
If you had a wide berth of what 'professionally acceptable' entails, then it might be a decent experiment. But if you don't like how it turns out, you will want an expensive color correction. Just throwing a dark shade over your experiment is likely to look excessively Goth and equally unprofessional.
posted by politikitty at 5:30 PM on May 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
But I'd still advice against it in your shoes. It's wildly unpredictable. Most blondes would turn brassy on my head, and give me varying levels of red hair: maroon, bright orange or occasionally a respectable strawberry blonde. Rarely anything in the ballpark of what the box showed. I was okay with it because I'm the lady with teal hair in her thirties. My lifestyle can tolerate me spinning the wheel with my appearance.
If you had a wide berth of what 'professionally acceptable' entails, then it might be a decent experiment. But if you don't like how it turns out, you will want an expensive color correction. Just throwing a dark shade over your experiment is likely to look excessively Goth and equally unprofessional.
posted by politikitty at 5:30 PM on May 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
Box dye has 20 vol peroxide, you need 30 vol or 40 vol, instead of using the 20 vol, at the very least.
posted by jbenben at 7:42 PM on May 25, 2017
posted by jbenben at 7:42 PM on May 25, 2017
I dunno. I mean, 30,000+ YouTubers have managed to pull this off with drugstore products; I don't really see why you can't, although I'd do it on a Friday straight after work to allow time for a Saturday emergency appointment. If you have a friend who's done this, great; if not, YouTube is your friend here. Coconut oil and the 20% drugstore dye will do less damage in unexperienced hands than a trip to Sally's for a higher peroxide base, IMHO. Lightening dye, toner, and a backup blonde was my plan before I decided that I'm shit with roots and should go ombre.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:41 AM on May 26, 2017
posted by DarlingBri at 1:41 AM on May 26, 2017
Its totally doable at home *however* doing your roots does get tricky. Those box dyes at the drug store are basically bleach. I've used both straight bleach and the platinum box dyes to do this, my hair is a little darker than yours and you can get it to platinum without frying it by yourself.
I have short, fine hair so I find it more cost effective to use stargazer bleach and I mix it with conditioner to take the edge off. When you do your roots though, its tricky because once your hair is bleached, its bleached and you don't really want to get it more bleached (assuming you don't want to go lighter) and its hard to get the bleach only on the roots and not the lengths. I cover my lengths with the thick conditioning mask (often a violet mask) - its not easy but it is doable if you want want to go to a salon.
posted by missmagenta at 6:23 AM on May 26, 2017
I have short, fine hair so I find it more cost effective to use stargazer bleach and I mix it with conditioner to take the edge off. When you do your roots though, its tricky because once your hair is bleached, its bleached and you don't really want to get it more bleached (assuming you don't want to go lighter) and its hard to get the bleach only on the roots and not the lengths. I cover my lengths with the thick conditioning mask (often a violet mask) - its not easy but it is doable if you want want to go to a salon.
posted by missmagenta at 6:23 AM on May 26, 2017
You would look amazing with platinum blonde hair, whatever way you decide to do it.
posted by pintapicasso at 12:34 PM on May 26, 2017
posted by pintapicasso at 12:34 PM on May 26, 2017
Why not go to a training salon, if you have one in your area? I have an Aveda for people learning to cut and dye hair nearby. I used to go there to get blonde highlights. Stopped because I was tired of them growing out so quickly. Yes, they take longer because they are students, but they are supervised - pretty sharply as I found out when they had one girl almost in tears for leaving the developer on too long. Didn't freak me out because they corrected it somehow - not something I would have known how to do at home. Also it is cheaper than a regular salon.
posted by Crystal Fox at 2:32 PM on May 26, 2017
posted by Crystal Fox at 2:32 PM on May 26, 2017
I would do a bleach bath once a weekend until you get the lightness you want. They're gentler than regular bleaching, and the mixture is much runnier and easier to apply quickly and evenly. I would also tone after each one with a vol 20 which will both prevent brassiness and slightly even and lighten the color. Bonus: By going relatively slowly once a week the dye line will be softer.
Have damp (like towel-dried) hair. Mix 30 volume developer mixed with bleach powder in whatever ratio it says on the packaging (usually 2 dev : 1 bleach). Then add an equal amount of shampoo to the mixture. Paint/glop/whatever it on to your hair in sections, starting at the ends and working up to the roots. (Having someone else do this is so helpful! Just stress the importance of getting /every single strand/) Wash it out after 20-30 minutes (all instructions say to check the color but I have never figured out how to accurately gauge what's going on while it's still on my head). I'd do 20 minutes your first time since you don't know how quickly your hair lightens or anything.
Wash it out, then while it's still damp mix Wella T18 toner with 20 volume developer in the ratio it says on the bottle, put it on as above and leave it on for 20 minutes. Wash it out. (Supposedly T18 only works with the absolute lightest level of blonde, but I find it will diminish brassiness though not take you platinum at slightly darker levels, too. Yes, it is supposed to be purple once you mix it up.)
Oh and 100% yes to olaplex and also just use conditioner to wash your hair once it's bleacher.
That should take your hair up a level or two with decent tone and evenness. And then you can repeat once a week to get where you want to be. Obviously, as everyone is saying above, you are taking a bit of a gamble! I do my own hair and have taken it from dark brown to platinum many times. BUT I work in a creative industry where no one cares if my hair looks weird for a week because I'm waiting to do another process. YMMV
posted by (Over) Thinking at 8:28 AM on May 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Have damp (like towel-dried) hair. Mix 30 volume developer mixed with bleach powder in whatever ratio it says on the packaging (usually 2 dev : 1 bleach). Then add an equal amount of shampoo to the mixture. Paint/glop/whatever it on to your hair in sections, starting at the ends and working up to the roots. (Having someone else do this is so helpful! Just stress the importance of getting /every single strand/) Wash it out after 20-30 minutes (all instructions say to check the color but I have never figured out how to accurately gauge what's going on while it's still on my head). I'd do 20 minutes your first time since you don't know how quickly your hair lightens or anything.
Wash it out, then while it's still damp mix Wella T18 toner with 20 volume developer in the ratio it says on the bottle, put it on as above and leave it on for 20 minutes. Wash it out. (Supposedly T18 only works with the absolute lightest level of blonde, but I find it will diminish brassiness though not take you platinum at slightly darker levels, too. Yes, it is supposed to be purple once you mix it up.)
Oh and 100% yes to olaplex and also just use conditioner to wash your hair once it's bleacher.
That should take your hair up a level or two with decent tone and evenness. And then you can repeat once a week to get where you want to be. Obviously, as everyone is saying above, you are taking a bit of a gamble! I do my own hair and have taken it from dark brown to platinum many times. BUT I work in a creative industry where no one cares if my hair looks weird for a week because I'm waiting to do another process. YMMV
posted by (Over) Thinking at 8:28 AM on May 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:44 PM on May 25, 2017 [8 favorites]