It is a fact of life. Women enjoy changing their hairstyle and color. Some changes involve small tweaks, while others involve numerous steps and precautions. Darkening your hair color involves adding more pigment, while lightening your hair requires products and techniques that strip the hair of its existing color. Many women with dark shades of hair find it difficult to lighten to the shade they desire, while others notice bleaching agents damage and destroy their locks. Bleaching naturally dark hair requires some special considerations.
Color Choices
Choose a shade just slightly lighter than your natural color. Lightening your hair one or two shades will provide a subtle color lift, without damaging your hair. If you desire a radical change that lifts your hair beyond two shades, make an appointment with your hairstylist to avoid damaging your hair during this involved process.
Enhance Hair’s Condition
Condition your hair prior to bleaching it lighter. Use a deep conditioner to get your hair in the best possible shape before you lighten the strands. Condition your hair after your bleaching process to replace removed moisture. Using a moisturizing conditioner can keep your bleached hair from splitting and breaking.
Avoid Split Ends
Guard against split ends and excessive dryness by trimming your bleached hair regularly. A monthly trim can keep your chemically processed hair looking healthy. Have your stylist remove just the tips of your hair to avoid going too short.
Strand Testing
Read your bleaching instructions and don’t skip over the part about testing your hair. Even though you may feel excited to complete the process of lightening your hair, employ a little patience and perform a strand test first. Testing a small section of your hair will allow you to determine how the chemicals react with your hair type and color. Your strand test will also indicate the correct amount of time your product requires to lift your hair one or two levels.
Be Alert
Keep a close eye on your hair while it bleaches. Check the changing shades every few minutes by keeping a mirror next to you. Don’t use the processing time to catch up on phone calls or household chores. Avoid all distractions and examine your hair frequently to avoid over-processing. Leaving your bleach on too long may cause your hair to turn an unattractive shade of orange. Correcting this condition requires the expert care of a salon professional.
Photo Credit
- hair image by DXfoto.com from Fotolia.com
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