Women love the freedom of experimenting with their hair. They desire new look every now and then and sometimes wish to completely transform their old look with a new one but you know what stops them? The fear of damaging their precious hair. If you as a woman you would realize she loves her hair most than many people and would give anything to have healthy, thick and shiny hair throughout the life. While we can’t get everything, we want in life but there should be some way to experiment with our hair without having the fear of permanently damaging them, right?
Well, fortunately, we have an answer for you. Bleach bath for hair is a fancy term used to style and color your hair as you want. Whether you want two tones, three tones of wish to keep the natural crown with a little bit of shade towards the end. Bleach bath hair is a technique that work for all and the best part? It is proven to minimize the damage experienced by your hair.
Is Bleach Bath Hair Legit?
Before we go deep into the entire process of bleach bath hair you must be wondering whether bleach bath hair process is legit or not. Now picture yourself in a blonde shade or any shade that is totally different from your present hair color. This vision is the reason why most of us settle for bleaching and hence endure the pain, fear of permanent damage and the tingling sensation bleach gives to our scalp. And as we see our hair become rough after bleaching we hold onto that vision for a couple more hours to endure through this. But what if the end result isn’t what you imagined? Do you even realize the agony you have put yourself through?
To avoid this all, bleach bath hair is a process approved by salon professionals as a modification to conventional bleaching method. This method to dye or lighten your hair is popularly used and if you are intrigued then read our guide on how to bleach bath hair to understand the entire process.
What is a Bleach Bath for Hair?
Are you thinking that what is bleach bath hair actually? Then it is a type of hair treatment that is all about soaking your hair in the diluted beach. Well, the term diluted might have relaxed you a bit. In simpler terms the bleach bath process involves stripping of your natural hair color (the entire purpose of bleaching your hair), so that a secondary or a new color can be added to your hair. The process works with a combination of hair bleaching powder with peroxide; which is the normal bleaching procedure, but the distinguishing feature in this method is the addition of clarifying shampoo.
The purpose of clarifying shampoo is two folds. Firstly, the clarifying shampoo helps dilute the mixture into an easy and less harmful bleach consistency, secondly it cleanses your scalp thoroughly while removing all the previous stubborn settles dyes on your hair. Adding clarifying shampoo to bleach mixture also ensures each strand is protected from losing the natural cuticle over the hair which when removed can damage the hair beyond repair.
When to Use Bleach Bath Hair Method?
Bath bleach is the technique used because of its milder lightening action. Here are some cases in which bleach bath hair method is useful.
- Stripping out hair dye
- Correcting over-toned hair
- Lightening hair one level
- Lightening fragile hair
How To Make a Bleach Bath for Hair?
Wondering what goes into the bleach bath hair recipe? Well, its simple. Blow is a step-by-step bleach bath hair recipe.
Mix the developer
The first thing you need to do to prepare your bleach bath is to create a mixture of bleach and developer. For a 2 tablespoons of developer you will need to add 1 tablespoon of bleaching powder for a moderate result. If you have stubborn and multiple times dyed hair you can use a stronger mixture with 1.5 tablespoons of bleach. But don’t go too overboard with bleach as that’s our enemy for the hair. Mix the mixture well in a bowl to create a thick paste.
The second step is to add hydrogen peroxide which will activate the bleaching mixture. The quantity of hydrogen peroxide entirely depends on the texture and volume of hair. For thinner hair, a 10 ml volume of hydrogen peroxide is sufficient. For thicker you can go 20 and so on. Hairstylists often take hydrogen peroxide in the volumes ranging from 10 to 40 depending on the thickness of your hair. For beginners, a volume of 10 is used to test and avoid any serious allergic reaction.
Add Clarifying Shampoo
Once you are done with the developer and bleach you might be thinking that what is the right amount of shampoo to use. You have to add the shampoo to the created mixture, you can use the same amount you use while washing your hair. This is the right idea to know the ideal quantity of shampoo for your hair. However, if you have extra dry hair, you can also use conditioner in the mixture instead of a shampoo.
Do An Allergy Test
Well this step is highly recommended. The allergy test is recommended for people who are trying this technique for the first time. Or each time you go to a different salon or try out a new product, it is vital to perform a patch or allergy test to prevent any complications. The purpose of allergy test is to rule out the chances of any adverse reaction.
To perform and allergy test, dip a cotton ball into your prepared paste and use it at the back of your hand. This is because our hand skin is generally thicker and same as the scalp. You can also perform patch test on your leg or neck. Closely monitor the reaction or feeling arising after applying the mixture. To rule out any allergic response you skin should not start to itch vigorously nor there should be any redness formation on the skin. A mild bearable itching is inevitable as this is because of the action of bleach on your skin. Note a reaction of 10-15 minutes before proceeding with further application.
Apply The Mix
If you are DIY-ing the hair bleaching process then don’t forget to wear gloves as you don’t want to bleach your hands nor irritate them with prolonged exposure to bleach. Also, it is important to cover your shoulders and neck with a towel in case any mixture falls on the skin and gives a reaction you wouldn’t want to happen. Also, these prevention methods avoids mess and makes clean up after the process much easier.
The right way to apply the mixture is to apply it on wet hair. An easier hack is to divide your hair into several sections and cover each section one by one. This will ensure all of your hair are evenly covered and you will find it much time saving as compared to bleaching all the hair at once.
Start the application from the scalp all the way to your root. Massage your hair in gentle circular motion as you would wo when normally washing the hair. Cover the entire scalp then go down the length if you wish to bleach the entire length.
Let It Stand
The time your hair needs to react with the bleach depends on the type of your hair. If you have thick, long hair then 45 minutes is a sufficient amount of time for the bleach to do its work properly. It is also recommended to use a shower cap to cover your hair once you are done with the application. A shower cap will ensure no drips and allow the bleach to react with the hair more efficiently. Also, the fumes arising from bleach can irritate your eyes. If you don’t own a shower cap then any shopper would suffice or just tie your hair in a nice secured bun at the top so no strands are loose on your face.
Keep a check on the changing hair color every 5 to 10 minutes. Don’t leave the bleach on the hair for too long and as soon as your desired color develops, wash your hair to remove all the mixture properly.
Rinse
Once you think that your hair turned to the desired Color then it’s time to rinse your hair. It is most recommended to rinse your hair with warm water, the water temperature must be moderate not too hot or too cold.
Using warm water also helps in completely removing the bleaching paste from the hair. Also, warm water is much gentle on the hair as compared to cold or extra hot water. Gently wash your hair avoiding a rough massage on the scalp as the bleached hair are highly sensitive and can easily break under stress. Once you are done then you will be clearly able to compare the result of the hair bleach bath before and after.
How to Care for Bleach Bath Hair?
When it comes to hair transformation the after care is as important as the initial step. Here are some tips on how to maintain the bleach bath for a prolonged time without causing any permanent damage to your hair.
Condition
If you have colored or bleached hair, don’t you dare, think about skipping the conditioner. The amount of conditioner needed depends on the type, texture and length of your hair. The purpose of conditioning bleached hair regularly is to restore the moisture lost by the hair during the process. Although conditioning hair is recommended for all hair types regardless of color or no color but bleached hair is most prone to breakage because of loss of hydration. Research the best type of hair conditioner for you depending on the bleaching process you have followed.
Heat protection
If you have bleached your hair recently then avoid using heated styling tools for a few days to a week. The reason behind this is that bleach is drying and dry hair can easily damage from heat and styling. For normal usage, you can always use a heat protective serum before applying any styling tool.
Deep Condition
Deep conditioning methods are specially recommended for dry and damaged hair to improve the texture and restore the hair hydration level completely. There are several deep conditioning methods that work for each hair type and you can also DIY a deep conditioning hair mask at your home. For bleached hair, it is advised to deep condition your hair once in a week.
Bleach Bath vs Regular Bleaching
We all know that the inclusion of bleach in any composition can lead to damaged hair, regardless of how the label or the method is changed.
Due to the strong chemicals in normal bleach mixtures, exposing your hair to it directly can cause extreme lightening (up to eight or nine levels), which can result in fried and fragile hair. While you might be skeptical about the bleach bath process the truth is, it is less damaging than regular bleaching but there are definitely some downsides to it too. here is a brief comparison of bleach bath vs regular bleaching process for the hair.
Formula
The bleach bath formula contain developer, bleach and clarifying shampoo as an additional ingredient. The purpose of clarifying shampoo is to make the bleaching process gentler than regular bleaching.
Lightening Affect
Bleach bath lightens the hair tone by one or two levels whereas regular bleaching can do intensive lighting up to seven to eight levels. This means the action of bleach on hair in regular bleaching is much more intense.
Application
Bleach bath is applied on wet hair whereas regular bleaching is performed on dry hair.
Only a small amount of hydrogen peroxide or developer is often used, and the processing period ranges from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the state of your hair and the previous colors you've had. Nonetheless, the process duration for standard bleaching can range from 20 to 30 minutes, and it should not exceed 45 minutes.
