Blonde Ambition #4: How To Maintain Your Bleached Blonde Hair

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Truth be told, going blonde wasn't one of the sporadic decisions I've made in my life because I had actually given it a lot of thought beforehand. It's not like dyeing your hair to a different shade of brown because as soon as your hair grows, those dark roots can be a tad ugly in contrast with your blonde mane. I'm blessed (cursed?) with hair that grows super slow, so that means it would take at least a month of growth before it looks obvious that it would call for a "retouch" of those roots.

bleach blonde hair at home do it yourself
It's 2015 and I'm still blonde!
You can read about my Blonde Ambition journey HERE, HERE, and HERE. First of all, you need to remember that it is a process. Blonde hair doesn't happen in one go, especially if you're a brunette. Because if you do that, you might as well shave your head since you'll be left with nothing but a mop of dead hair. Apparently, bleaching your hair is essentially killing it already.

powder bleach for blonde hair
TIP: Buying powder bleach in bulk comes out cheaper.
Because I'm all for DIY (do-it-yourself) projects, I found two ways to get rid of those dark roots without professional assistance. You can do these right at home. First, there's the typical bleach. I prefer using the powder one (the blue-colored powder) over any gel/cream/liquid/whatever is there. Some would add hydrogen peroxide to their mixture but I don't. I only use either a 30 vol. or 40 vol. (9% or 12%) developer/oxidation lotion for my solution. Bleach is the easier and fastest way to lighten your hair but know that you take the risk of damaging your hair.

how to bleach hair at home
Using powder bleach to touch up those dark roots.
Do remember to wear gloves when you apply this to your hair because bleach is pretty strong and it burns the skin. (It smells like pee, too!) Which is why it isn't really advisable to apply it on your scalp and you have to wash it off in just a matter of minutes. The results, however, are always satisfactory, at least for me since I have fine hair and it doesn't take much to get it colored.

how to bleach hair at home

Sometimes my hair gets too yellow or too brassy over time, so in order to get that particular shade of blonde which I like, either Pale Golden Blonde or Light Ash Blonde, I'd have to use my own homemade purple toner/shampoo/conditioner. (Read This!)


Another way to touch up those dark roots is by using the lightest hair color you can find such as the Palty Sparkling Blonde hair color or the above pictured super affordable Best Lure Joynna hair color in Fade/0.0 which costs only Php 40 from my local beauty supply store. Same drill as the bleach by mixing it with a 30 vol. or 40 vol. (9% or 12%) developer/oxidation lotion.

how to bleach hair at home
Using the lightest shade of hair coloring dye for dark roots.
For its price, you'd expect the cheap hair dye to smell like crap but not this one! I also tried the Best Lure Joynna hair color in Lightest Ash Blonde 11.1 and it really doesn't have any of that strong off-putting scent. In my experience, it doesn't leave hair dry but still don't forget to use conditioner or treatment when you wash it off. I like to use Cream Silk daily treatment + conditioner every day when I take a shower. But once a week I shampoo my hair and I reach out for my favorite shampoo/conditioner, which as of the moment is the white Palmolive one that's made for dull hair.


It gets my hair clean and doesn't leave it dry at all. It also seems to make my blonde hair shine all the more. And isn't that the whole point of having blonde hair?

how to bleach hair blonde
Giving Rapunzel a run for her money.

One of the advantages of going blonde is that I can play with all sorts of temporary/semi-permanent  hair dyes, too. Bottomline is it's just more fun being blonde. Period.


Additionally, there are also a few more products that I use to keep it healthy and full of life. Devoid of its natural color, one would assume my hair is practically dead. But it doesn't have to be that way thanks to these products that I've discovered through SampleRoom and BDJ Box.


These are lightweight products that are suitable for fine hair. The Lucido-L hair supplements, the Curling Milk and the Treatment Oil, are products I never thought would do my hair any good. But I absolutely love them! For styling purposes, I needed just 2 drops of the Curling Milk to give my hair volume. I apply it on my damp hair then blow dry the heck out of it using nothing else but my hands. It's also a great setting lotion.

 
The same goes for the Vitress hair cuticle coats for times when I'm feeling glamorous and want a bit of wave/curl to my hair while protecting it from further damage with all the heat. The Cynos Moroccan Argan Oil is what I use after bleaching my hair because it does a superb job at preventing dryness. The rich argan oil easily brings it back to life and makes it shiny and soft, too! The Dove daily hair vitamins breathe life to my hair easily with no effort at all and leave my golden mane looking so naturally soft and shiny as you can see in the pic below.


As you can plainly see, for over a year now, I've been sporting this blonde hair and there's still no sign of brittleness nor split ends! (Or maybe it's too light that I can't hardly see it?) Can you believe it's been well over a year and a half since I got a pixie cut and my hair is still this short?!? So in conclusion, with the right products, one can get super shiny natural looking blonde hair that would make any Barbie jealous and without having to sell and arm or a leg, too. Tee hee.

2015 hairstyles for short long hair
French braids are so pretty.

Now that my crowning glory has grown a bit longer, I can start experimenting with different hairstyles again! Looking forward to more hair adventures this 2015 and also thinking of doing pastel hair soon. What do you think?

☞ CLICK HERE to read the first part of my Blonde Ambition and how it all started.


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