Bleaching: This is how a gentle lightening succeeds

Do you want to dye your hair blonde? Basically, bleaching does not involve coloring at all, but removing the color pigments from the hair. For this purpose, hydrogen peroxide is applied, which opens the cuticle layer and roughens the surface of the hair. The chemical substance penetrates the inside of the hair and breaks down the natural color pigments there. So much for the theory of classic bleaching. In recent years, numerous techniques have been developed that make hair lightening gentler and more natural.

Coloration for blonde hair

If you want to approach blonde hair carefully and don’t want to put too much strain on your hair, you should use a colorant. This lightens the hair a maximum of two shades and therefore does not damage the hair quite as much. The light tints are also suitable for creating a special color effect with, for example, gold or red reflections.

Olaplex bleaching

Olaplex is considered a particularly gentle bleaching technique. The patented care ingredient Olaplex No. 1 is applied to the hair together with the coloring agent. The treatment promises to care for the hair during the chemical process and thus prevent hair damage caused by bleaching. After the bleaching paste has taken effect, an intensive mask is applied to the hair with Olaplex No.2. The Olaplex treatment also promises to bleach darker hair without permanently damaging the hair structure. The hyped care (Olaplex No. 3) is now also available for use at home and can be used on any bleached hair.

Blonde highlights and balayage

If you want to lighten your hair by several shades at once, highlights are particularly suitable. Unlike a complete bleaching, the result looks more natural. In addition, the highlight technique is a little gentler on the hair. After bleaching, the highlights can be made even more golden or cooler with special conditioners. The balayage technique is also popular. The blonde highlights are brushed freehand into the lengths of the hair. The bright highlights are not dyed up to the roots, so the result looks particularly natural and regular re-dyeing of the roots is not necessary.

Bleaching sprays to lighten hair

If you already have naturally dark or ash blonde hair and only want to lighten it slightly, you can use special blonde sprays, shampoos or conditioners. These are evenly added to the mixture once or twice a week. Most of the products contain lemon extracts or various acids which gradually lighten the hair. As tempting as it sounds: DIY bleaching is not without its problems. The chemical process of bleaching is permanent, so that the hair structure is heavily stressed and the degree of brightness cannot be precisely determined.

Since bleaching involves the use of chemicals that penetrate the hair structure, it is best to let a professional do it. A hairdresser helps to find the right shade of blonde and can use the hair structure to determine which bleaching and which technique is suitable. If you color yourself, there is a risk that the color will act on the head for too long or not long enough. The result: blotchy, unevenly colored hair, an unwelcome red/orange tinge or damaged and broken hair.

lighten hair yourself

If that doesn’t put you off and still prefers to do it yourself, you should use an intensive tint and read the instructions for use carefully. The instructions tell you how long you have to leave the bleaching effect and in what ratio you have to mix the bleaching.

Which bleach is the best? A question that many women who want to bleach at home ask themselves. However, this cannot be answered in general, but depends entirely on the desired result and the individual hair structure. It is important not to strain the hair too much and to dye it only a few shades lighter. You should not additionally bleach very dark, stressed or permed hair. The best starting point is a maximum of medium-brown, well-groomed and healthy hair.

If the self-experiment goes wrong and the hair suddenly gets an unwanted color cast, the following tips will help to bleach the hair.

Care is everything when it comes to bleached hair. Lightened hair needs to be cared for more carefully and intensively than other hair colors. So that the hair looks radiant and fresh for a long time, you should use rich care products that are tailored to blond hair. Regular hair treatments and hair oil in the tips also protects against drying out.

Special shampoos with silver or purple color pigments reduce the yellow tinge in cool blonde tones. It is best to use it every second or third wash, after which the hair color will shine with its old freshness.

With freshly bleached hair you should avoid chlorine and salt water. Otherwise it can happen that the blond tone gets a green tinge. If it does happen, a tip from a professional: simply dissolve an aspirin tablet in water and massage into your hair. You should also have your tips trimmed regularly.

You can easily find out whether a cool or warm tone suits you. If the veins on the underside of your wrist appear bluish, you’re a cool type and ash blonde, platinum blonde, or white blonde hair colors suit you. If the veins appear greenish, you are a warm type and reddish, golden undertones such as honey blonde, strawberry blonde or champagne blonde suit you. Basically: The lighter the complexion, the lighter the hair should be. The darker the skin color, the darker the hair can be.

platinum blonde

Platinum blonde suits women with cool skin tones. A porcelain complexion lets the light hair color really shine.

champagne blonde

As the name suggests, the cool blond shade reflects the color of the fine-bubble drink. Champagne blonde is a very light ash blonde and is ideal for pale skin types.

golden blonde

A warm golden blonde suits women with a warm skin tone in particular. Golden highlights are worked into the lengths and tips for a natural finish.

caramel blonde

For a radiant caramel blonde, highlights are combined in different levels of brightness. This ensures a fresh and shimmering look that shines in beautiful golden nuances.

honey blonde

A mix of honey and copper gives the hair a warm blonde tone that harmonises particularly well with darker and warmer skin types. But it also provides more summery freshness for pale faces.

strawberry blonde

Golden, light red tones create a modern and very elegant blonde. The shades of strawberry blonde range from sunny orange to cool rosé and particularly suit women with a light, slightly rosy complexion.