Back in the summer, I bleached my hair blonde. Like, totally blonde, and I've had a fair few readers ask me how I managed to reach that platinum blonde look. It wasn't the first time I'd done it, that was way back in 2014, but that time my hair was left pretty badly damaged for a couple of reasons: first, I used the highest strength peroxide available and second, I abused my hair on an almost daily basis with heat styling tools.





So for this post, I've approached it in the same way I always do when it comes to colouring or bleaching my hair, I like to wait and see how my it develops over time before writing up a 'how to' post. Mostly because I want to see what effect the changes have on the condition of my hair before I start dishing out advice or making recommendations.

OLAPLEX









I'll put this out there now though, I am a trained hairdresser and I worked in a salon many moons ago, but I've not been trained on Olaplex and I'm no expert on it - I've just followed their instructions to the letter! This year, I thought I'd give the bleach-blonde look another shot, but this time I'd do whatever it took to ensure the damage was nowhere near on the same scale. I'd already promised myself I'd stop heat styling my hair, and I'd been tipped off about an amazing range of products by Olaplex that would help keep my hair in good condition after a solid bleaching. I've already reviewed that HERE , so if you want to learn more about it, have a read.I'll put this out there now though, I am a trained hairdresser and I worked in a salon many moons ago, but I've not been trained on Olaplex and I'm no expert on it - I've just followed their instructions to the letter!





It's important to remember when bleaching hair, that everyone's hair is different. What works for me, may not work for you, and vice versa. So many factors play a part, which is why you'll find some hairdressers who are willing to bleach your hair and others who just aren't. The key things to think about are hair length, thickness, how damaged your hair is already, whether it's been coloured and porosity levels. My hair at the time was shoulder-length, fine, damaged at the ends but the mid-lengths and roots were in decent condition.





When I went blonde in the summer, I had inches and inches of regrowth with pastel pink ends. I'd let my hair grow out without trimming for a long time after I trusted my hair to a very well known and 'reputable' salon last year, who shall remain nameless. They did use Olaplex, but I think the hairdresser may have left my hair to develop longer than necessary and it caused quite a bit of damage.





And that serves as a reminder about Olaplex actually. Yes, it's innovative, yes it uses clever science to help your hair through bleaching and yes it's revolutionary, but it's not a miracle product, and it's still susceptible to human error. Olaplex also reduces the effectiveness of your developer, so whilst I'd ordinarily use 6% (20 Vol) peroxide and allow the colour to lift slowly, I'd need to bump it up a level to 9% (30 Vol) for Olaplex. So, back in the summer I was going to be tackling the roots and mid-lengths, leaving my pastel pink roots alone.





THE BLEACHING PROCESS



Tigi's Copyright Colour Activator 30 Vol / 9% Peroxide and Wella's Blondor Multi Blonde Bleaching Powder



Using the instructions provided, I weighed out my bleaching powder, poured in my 9% peroxide and measured out the appropriate amount of Olaplex No. 1. A few points to bear in mind though - the amount of Olaplex required is dependent on the amount of bleaching powder you want to use, so always weigh it out before mixing the peroxide in. The amount of peroxide used is personal preference - use the right amount to get the consistency you desire, and Olaplex makes the mixture very runny, so bear that in mind when pouring in the peroxide. I limit the amount of peroxide I put in until the Olaplex is added, then add more if the mixture is still too thick.





Now that the mixture is ready, here comes the fun part! For application, I section the hair out, and apply the bleach mixture to the mid-lengths at the back first. My hair is most resilient there and needs a little extra time to develop, also, the roots take less time as they're closer to the heat from your scalp - FYI, heat develops bleach/colour quicker. I then work my way to the front, still only focussing on the mid-lengths, before going to the back again, applying to the roots there and working my way back to the front.





Once I'm happy that the mid-lengths and roots are saturated, I let it develop. When it comes to bleaching, the instructions on the box usually give an estimated timeframe to leave it on, but it's my opinion that development varies from person to person, dependant on their hair. So I leave mine on for 30 minutes, and then keep checking it out in the mirror until my hair reaches a pale yellow colour. There may be a few patches of deeper yellows, but we can deal with those later, so I rinse it off at this point.





After giving my hair a thorough rinse, I apply Olaplex No. 2 to towel-dried hair. Once my hair is saturated, I comb it through and leave for about an hour. Olaplex suggest leaving it on for 10 minutes or longer for damaged hair, so I leave it on that bit extra. Then I hop back in to the shower and rinse it all off, before shampooing and conditioning.





The next part may seem a little painful, or too much to bear for some, as I tend to leave my hair to rest for a couple of days. I won't finish it all off in one day, as I don't want to put my hair through all that stress and cause extra damage. So I endure the yellowness, because it's worth it if you want to keep your hair on your head!





TONING









After the rest period, I'll go ahead and tone the hair. I find that peroxide based toners work best to lift out and lighten up those yellow patches. I was loyal to Wella's Colour Charm in T18 White Lady for a long time, however more recently I've started using a box-dye from L'Oreal Preference in 11.11 Ultra Light.



It's basically a colourant for people who want to make their hair blonder, I'm not 100% sure of the developer strength, but I do know that it works a treat at lifting out those yellow tones when mixed in with 3.75ml of Olaplex No. 1. I mix all of the contents of the box, add the Olaplex and apply from the back of my head to the front. Also, as I had pink ends, I applied the colourant to those too, to ensure an even colour throughout the length of my hair.





The instructions on the box give various suggestions for development time, but I generally leave it for half an hour, as my hair tends to look white enough by then. If not, I'll keep checking every couple of minutes thereafter until I'm happy. Then I'll rinse it off in the shower, and apply Olaplex No. 2 to my towel-dried hair, leaving it on for one hour before shampooing and conditioning. And that's it, the bleaching and toning is complete!





MAINTENANCE









Of course just because your hair is now the colour you so desired, it doesn't mean you can just treat it as you normally would. Oh no, you need to work on it to keep it in good condition! Like me, if you're bleaching from black to blonde, your hair will be damaged and very fragile. Olaplex helps a lot, but it can't do everything by itself.





After the bleaching process this time, running my hands through my hair I could feel my roots and mid-lengths were much silkier than the ends, due to the heat styling I used to do so frequently. Since going all out blonde in the summer though, I would say I've straightened my hair or used heat stylers two or three times, and I only blow dry my fringe on a low heat setting maybe once a week.





Here are my top tips to maintain bleached hair:





Cut down on heat styling - my hair is naturally curly, so this was difficult for me at first, but I've now embraced those curls! If I find myself bored of the curls, I'll just go for an up-do, being careful not to tie my hair too tight - I don't want it to snap. We all know heat styling is bad for your hair anyway, so just imagine what it'll do to your fragile bleach-blonde locks. Use Olaplex Number 3 - it's like a diluted version of number 2, that is used as a treatment to maintain your hair's condition. I use it every fortnight, and I also shampoo my hair only once a week, any more than that and it would dry it out. If I notice my roots are looking a bit oily though, I'll just use dry shampoo. Protein Treatments - protein treatments are your bleached hair's best friend. Every now and then I'll use one just to strengthen my hair. I've remained loyal to Aphogee's 2 Step Protein treatment since I reviewed it way back in 2013 - intrigued? Review HERE. Purple Shampoos - this may sound a bit odd, but all hairdressers will be familiar with the colour wheel. If you want to neutralise a yellowy colour, your best bet is to go for the colour opposite that on the wheel - which just happens to be purple! So when my hair is looking a little brassy, I'll use something like Fudge's Clean Blonde - a very strong purple shampoo. Be careful though, it can actually leave you with lilac-silvery tones, so mix it with a regular, sulphate-free shampoo to dilute it a little.



Bringing a little extra fun to the blonde with some Rainbow Hues

