Bleach blunder
June 16, 2018 7:07 PM   Subscribe

I would like to dye my underarm hair atomic blue. I have sucessfully ordered the dye- but due to being less than mobile right now and some communication issues I think I have the wrong bleach. Is there anyway I can use it, or is it back to the store for my mother. Also, if I need to buy different bleach, where in SF can I get it?

So after a long period of dying my hair wacky colors I’m back to brown. I’m okay with that, but would like to spice up my underarm hair in anticipation of many sleeveless days ahead. I ordered manic panic atomic turquoise and manic panic 30 bleach- but in transit the bleach exploded and had to be discarded. Amazon has been increasingly flaky- so I don’t want to reorder it from them.

So today when my mom was out, I asked her to pick up some 30 bleach from sally beauty. I think there was a failure to communicate, because what I have is a small bottle of “Ion sensitive scalp 30 vol. developer”. Now from my limited experience dying my hair- don’t you need to mix the developer with something in order to lighten? The bottle says to mix it with ion color as instructed and put it on your head. I am not down with using ion colors- I tried once and it looked horrible. The developer does contain hydrogen peroxide though so my question is this:

A) can I just put this stuff on the hair and will it lighten it- or does it need to be mixed with something to work?
Or
B) can I mix it with the atomic turquoise manic panic and will that do the dye in one fell swoop?
Or
C) is there something easily obtainable that takes the place of the powder in the manic panic bleach box that I can mix with the developer that will help me bleach my pit hair?
Or *sigh*
D) is this totally unusable and therefore where in SF can I get manic panic 30 bleach lightener in person not online?

Really hoping this purchase of my mom’s isn’t unusable because she’s a little upset she got me the wrong thing. I feel this is 90 percent my fault so if I can use the stuff it would make me and mom feel much better.

Thanks in advance!
posted by Homo neanderthalensis to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: The 30 vol manic panic bleach kit is 30 vol developer plus a packet of lightening powder. Your mom got you developer but you need the powder. Sally's has a bunch of it. Or if you still have the packet of powder from your manic panic box you can mix that with the ion developer. Brands don't really matter. The developers are all pretty much the same.
posted by selfmedicating at 8:06 PM on June 16, 2018 [3 favorites]


Best answer: 30 volume developer is pretty strong to be using on your pits. I'd go with 20 vol, but since you already have the 30 just be real careful not to let it sit on your skin.

Do you have a Sally Beauty near you? That's where you should go. (If you're not near a Sally's then google to find beauty supply store. I'm certain San Francisco will have a beauty supply store. Call them first to make sure they sell to non-professionals.)

Ask the folks at Sally's to help you and recommend basic products if you're feeling unsure. (I got really great advice from a teenage employee with self-dyed mermaid hair, for instance.)

But really all you need is a packet of bleach powder to mix with the developer. A packet of bleach powder is going to run you about 2 bucks.

Have fun with your weird pits.
posted by phunniemee at 8:09 PM on June 16, 2018 [2 favorites]


You can use bikini hair bleach to get the hair to a dyeable state.

If you've not dyed your pits before, be aware that sweat can lead to it staining your shirts.
posted by Candleman at 8:27 PM on June 16, 2018 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: The problem with asking someone at the store is that my mom will be going not me- but hey! She can just ask for a bleach packet problem solved! Thanks selfmedicating! As for the one in the exploded package the whole thing was such a mess we just tossed it- whoops.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 8:40 PM on June 16, 2018


I just want to say that this sounds really cool and you are a cool person.
posted by hapaxes.legomenon at 9:14 PM on June 16, 2018 [9 favorites]


This doesn't quite directly answer your question but you could call the store and tell them what you need and ask them to hold it for your mom to pick up. That way she doesn't have to try to figure it out, and you get the right thing.
posted by bunderful at 4:46 AM on June 17, 2018 [1 favorite]


I would be a little nervous about using volume 30 developer on my armpits. You can use water to dilute it if you have sensitive skin and simply do two rounds of bleaching. Also depends on the coarseness of your pit hair.
posted by joeyjoejoejr at 10:36 AM on June 18, 2018


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