HAIR: Levels of Bleaching

With the trend of dip-dyeing, many people have questions about bleaching their hair. So here are some tips I picked up while researching and DIY-ing! :)

IDENTIFY YOUR HAIR LEVEL

Usually, as Asians, we are level 1-3. By bleaching we store-bought bleach (e.g. Gatsby Hi-Bleach, Palty Meca Flash), we are able to go down to until level 5-7. However, if your hair is dyed and treated, your hair might not go as light as non-treated hair.

Don't expect level 10 or level 12 (platinum blonde) in just one go if you have dark hair.

AFTER BLEACHING

Your hair turns yellow when you bleach it. Yes, YELLOOOWWWW. Or orange or gold depending on your hair condition and colour before you bleach it.

Usually when you bleach for the first time, it will be from level 5-9. You might have to bleach again to achieve level 8-10 if you want to put wild colours over it.

I reccomend using this bleach from Palty. It is so much better than Gatsby's. You can buy it from Watsons, not NTUC or guardian. Only Watsons carry this brand.

If your hair is too dry or damaged after the first bleach and you need a second bleach, you might have to wait for a day or more to let your hair rest. Deep condition your hair with a hair mask or treatment. If you don't have treatment products, you can apply Johnson & Johnson's baby oil every night before you sleep.

GET RID OF THE YELLOW TONE

The colour might be tooooooooooo yellow for you to walk around Singapore or you might want to put pastel colours on, so you need to get the base colour to as close to white.

You will need white toner (Manic Panic, La Riche, Special Effects etc) which you can get online on Ebay or local Facebook shops. It neutralises the brassy yellowness.

If you refer to the colour wheel above, purple neutralises yellow (opposite colours). So all the toners are purple. Don't be surprised if you recieve a purple tub.

On the other hand, I use a toner shampoo to do the trick. Because unlike the usual toner, you have to leave it on for about 15 minutes and it will wash out. Using a shampoo on the other hand, is super convenient and it won't wash out because you will be putting it on instead :D

So there! Remember to treat your hair after bleaching. If you are afraid, just go to a salon :)