Bleaching and Toning and Coloring -- Oh My!

May 16, 2014

Symone B.

Okay, here we go!

-KNOW that you aren't going to go from brown to blonde in one setting. No say you're going from a level 2 to a level 10. In one sitting. You shouldn't. I would do the bleaching in stages gradually so you won't destroy your hair.
-don't condition you hair right before. Just coats the hair shaft and the product won't penetrate like it should. Do it on old dirty hair.
-I would say 20 vol since you are a newbie
-know that leaving bleach longer than 45 doesn't do anything. It stops processing anymore after that.
-PLEASEEEE use a neutralizing shampoo after processing. Your hair will go through a lot and the shampoo will restore it to its natural ph.
-know that your hair will be orange or red when you bleach. That's just the undertone of dark hair.
-I really like the Wella color charm toners
-purple shampoo will NOT fix straight orange hair alone. Do yourself a favor and just get a toner.
-you should really piece this. Light brown to dark honey blonde then to the straight highest level blonde.

**how do I know? My mom is a 25 yr hairstylist and takes me to pro hair classes with her

May 16, 2014

Alyx T.

I don't have any products to recommend, but I definitely recommend having a friend help. Just applying bleach on your head is hard enough, especially when you want an even color. A cheaper way to do it to, would be getting highlights every month and slowly becoming that level of blonde. But I understand that doesn't fuel the "I wanna be blonde - like right now" lol.
But you have red in your hair from what I can tell, so you're going to need a good toner. I'd just recommend using purple shampoos as they're less harsh than something like wella 118 (I think that's the right number).

May 16, 2014

Emily W.

@Alyx: I've already conscripted my fiance into helping me, haha! How would getting highlights go? Just tell the beautician that I am trying to go blonde in fractions? A full head of highlights is over $100 here, so I don't know if that really is going to be any cheaper than doing it in one sitting professionally. Is it normal for this kind of process to cost so much?? In my old city it was only $80 for a double process. I feel like the salons here are taking advantage of the lack of competition to gouge everyone.

@Symone: I definitely didn't think I would be able to get there all at once, that would be some kind of miracle! I'm trying to go from about a 4 (between 4 and 5) to somewhere between a 9 and a 12. Do you think two bleaches would be sufficient? Also, how long should I wait between them? My hair is pretty healthy, would waiting a few days (with a conditioning mask in the meantime) work? Also, is a PH Balanced shampoo/conditioner the same as a Neutralizing shampoo/conditioner?

Thanks so much for the help ladies! I'm also going to ask the ladies at Sally for their opinions.

These are the products I am considering, any opinions or recommendations?
Bleach: Ion Color Brilliance Powder Lightener
Developer: Ion Sensitive Scalp Creme Developer (either 20 or 30 vol)
Toner: Wella Color Charm Permanent Liquid Hair Toner T14 Pale Ash Blonde
Color: Wella Color Charm Gel Permanent Color 940/9A Ash Blonde
Shampoo: Quantum Moisturizing Shampoo for Permed and Color-Treated Hair
Toning Shampoo: Shimmer Lights Original Conditioning Shampoo
Conditioner: Quantum Color Protect Conditioner
Conditioning Masque: Queen Helene Cholesterol Hair Conditioning Cream

May 16, 2014

Alyx T.

Yes, Well if you got blonde highlights in small chunks it would be time consuming, but eventually your whole head would be blonde. But that is expensive, full head highlights are like 60$ here. At a decent but not super high end salons. But I've gotten my whole head bleached for 120 before. I guess highlights wouldn't be financially practical in your case.
But I would wait a week, or at least two-five days depending on your hair. I completely agree with everything Symone says.
And I love ion brand, I've never had a problem with them. Especially the ion repairing conditioner. It's my favorite thing for after bleaching, with the red label. I've never at home bleached my hair, but I've heard many good things about the bleach.

I'm not sure if you need an ash blonde dye and a heavy toner though, I've used the wella ash blonde dyes before and they've taken all the yellow and orange out of my hair.

Sorry if this is rambly, lol I'm watching a show and typing two-three sentences at a time and losing focus.

May 16, 2014

Emily W.

I wasn't sure if I needed both a toner and a dye. I've heard conflicting recommendations about that, but those were usually for people who were looking for a more carmel blonde and needed to tone first to get rid of brass. If I will be sufficient with just the toner, I'm more than happy to skip the extra step of coloring (and save some cash at the same time).

May 16, 2014

Symone B.

I'm sorry I'm just now seeing this.

But double processing may or may not be enough. It really depends on how your hair takes to the bleach (things like porosity and the state of your hair come into play) I would do the first bleaching then see how your hair reacts to see how long you need to wait. And yes, it's the same.

May 16, 2014

Symone B.

Products look good too. I'm a Clairol girl but ion is nice too

May 16, 2014

Kenzie L.

This post has been extremely helpful. I want to add purple to my hair and unless I've got an extra $120 (which I don't) I'm going to have to do the whole thing myself.

May 16, 2014

Emily W.

I definitely plan on doing a strand test first. I'll probably lop a couple of inches off of the bottom anyway because my hair is annoying long, so I can test it there first.

For the Wella toner, I need to mix in a developer right? Should I use a lower volume developer for that or just use the same one I used with the bleach?

Sorry about all of the questions! I'm the kind of person that has to have every detail sorted out before I do something. This whole thing is so helpful, I really appreciate it!

May 16, 2014

Symone B.

You can use the same developer.

May 16, 2014

Emily W.

Perfect! Thank you Symone, you are a goddess! I can't think of any more questions at the moment, which is surprising. ;)

Thanks so much for all the help!

May 16, 2014

Danielle L.

Blue bleach

May 17, 2014

Natalie T.

It sounds and looks like we have almost identical natural hair colors and texture. My texture has changed since I started processing my hair, but it started out straight and fine in texture but high in density but has become wavy over the years. I used to have hair stylists that would just put 40 volume developer on my hair since I wanted platinum/white blonde, in turn, my hair was severely damaged for years! I do NOT recommend a 40 volume developer when lifting your color. My current hair stylist started processing my hair with professional bleach and 20 volume developer for the first couple of visits, until he was used to the way my hair responded to bleach and the lifting process. My hair has been in MUCH better condition this time around due to the lower volume developer used. My hair lifts fairly easy, but when using a 20 volume developer, I have had to sit for 2 applications of the bleach/20 vol. developer mixture in order for it to lift enough to achieve my current color (same base color you need to achieve the ash blonde you desire). NOW my hair stylist does one session of bleach with a 30 volume developer mixture and that is enough to lift my base color enough for toning. You can definitely achieve the ash blonde you want and it should be fairly easy with your base color. I would buy both 20 and 30 volume developer. 20 volume developer is what is required when mixing Wella Colorcharm toners and dyes; and you can experiment when you do a strand test with bleach applications between a 20 and 30 volume developer. Good luck, please keep us updated with results and your experience with the process!

May 17, 2014

Emily W.

Thank you Natalie! I'm glad to hear from someone with similar hair! It seems like all of the articles/videos I have found have been for people bleaching black hair to white... I am definitely too much of a Nervous Nellie to attempt anything with 40 vol. developer. I can just imagine my hair and skin melting Raiders of the Lost Ark style, haha!

I will definitely pick up both 20 and 30. Thanks for the advice. :)