A couple of years ago I decided I wanted blonde hair and I wanted it THEN! I posted about it, but somehow that post got lost 🙁 GRRR! So for those of you out there than want to try lightening your own hair (oh yes, did I mention I did this myself with a couple of my girlfriends?) I letting you know what steps I took and what products I used.
Now I will say, that if I were to do it again (which I actually might do soon….) I wouldn’t force it in one session. I would be a little more patient and split it into two or three. That way the I would have kept the integrity of my hair better. I’ll also say that the upkeep is very tedious and difficult. I ended up going back dark after only a few months because I didn’t dare continue bleaching my roots alone, and to get it done professionally would come out to around $100+ each time….so I would have actually done more of a highlight + lowlight style in order to allow my roots to grow out while still looking pretty natural and buy me more time before needing to color it again. Just some things to take into consideration.
:: PRODUCTS USED ::
1. The key to all of this is OLAPLEX. What is Olaplex you ask, in lamest terms, it makes it so you can go lighter without inflicting much damage. For a fuller description go HERE. Now you can only purchase this if you have a professional license. So either find someone who uses it, (but that does get more expensive$$$) OR if your really lucky, you may know someone who will give you a bit to try out.
2. Flash Lift lightener-There’s really no particular reason why I use this brand. It just has good reviews, many of my friends use it, and some Youtubers I follow like it….I’ve just always used it.
3. Wella Charm toner- I combined T11 & T18
So for those of you who are braving this venture with no experience or have any idea what toner is…I’ll explain it all here. Now first thing to remember is to NEVER, EVER, EVER, NEVER lighten your hair with boxed dyes…actually NEVER use box dye PERIOD! Color DOES NOT lift color. AKA you cannot take a box of blonde dye from the drugstore, put it on your brown hair and expect to magically come out with BLONDE. It just doesn’t work!. You need to REMOVE the brown in order to get to blonde. You with me so far?
So here is what I did. Now remember I was using Olaplex, which is why I dared go for blonde in one sitting. Other words, I would have spread it out into 2 or 3 as mentioned before.
STEP ONE: I sectioned my hair into 4 sections so that I could better manage the time. Also I had two of my friend come over to help apply the bleach so that it we could move faster.
Mix the bleach with a 30 or 40 volume developer. I like THIS one. Then do a light weave (don’t just apply bleach to entire head otherwise there will be no dimension). I also left the bottom layer of my hair alone so that I would have dark beneath…I just like that look is all.
STEP TWO: Let the bleach sit. I waited until the hair turned to a banana like yellow.
STEP THREE: Apply toners. Toner helps balance out the colors. For example mine was a little yellow/orangy after washing out the bleach. So I combat that with a toner that is violet based (T18) But I also wanted a bit of an ashy blonde so I added the T11 as well. After doing this I had my ash blonde color. It was an adventure and quite the funny experience.
It was almost 2 years ago now, so I’m probably missing some interesting details. But basically I followed my fav Hair Youtube sensation Mandi, and everything I did I referred to this video. I linked it below.
XOXO