What not to do with bleached hair?
Bleach Damaged Hair: How to Care & Repair
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For icy blondes and sun-kissed brondes – and every shade in between – bleach is the key to unlocking some of the most covetable hair colors out there. Whether you’re craving a balayage or a flash of babylights, it’s used by your colorist to lift your hair to the right level, before a toner is applied to make your shade bespoke to you.
But, despite the many benefits of lighteners, bleach will also cause damage. Here we reveal 10 tips to protect your hair and repair bleach damage, whether you’re reading this pre-highlights or caring for already lightened locks.
First, What Are the Signs of Bleach Damaged Hair?
The most common signs of bleach damage in your hair include:
- Dullness and a loss of shine
- Brittle strands that are prone to breakage
- Flyaways and split ends
- Excess tangling that’s hard to tame
- A dry, rough texture
In some cases (although this is rare), extreme bleach damaged hair can start to snap off or fall out. However, this would usually be down to misuse of bleach, such as double bleaching on the same day or lifting hair that’s too delicate. Your colorist should know what steps to follow to ensure hair doesn’t become over processed, so listen to them if they say you need to lay off the bleach for a little while. They’ve got your (hair’s) best interests in mind.
How to Protect Your Hair From Bleach Damage
If you haven’t yet embraced the bleach or you’ve got a lightening session coming up, there are a couple of protective tricks you should keep in mind for your appointment. Ask your colorist for these:
1. The Marula Oil Blend Scalp Primer to Protect Your Scalp
Sensitive scalps can become irritated during close-to-root bleach application, so if you’re opting for highlights that start near the scalp, ask your colorist to apply a skin protector first. If you visit a Wella salon, they can treat your sensitive scalp to the Marula Oil Blend Scalp Primer; a comforting protector that nourishes delicate skin without altering or diluting your color formula.
2. WellaPlex No1 Bond Maker Mixed with Your Lightener
Ask your colorist to add our patented bond-strengthening system, WellaPlex N°1 Bond Maker, to your formula, which is designed to be mixed in with lighteners or colors to help create bonds within the hair during color or lightening services. Alternatively, your stylist can use BLONDORPLEX as the lightener. The lightening service is finished with WellaPlex N°2 Bond Stabilizer to further strengthen the bonds. You can even boost the effects at home with the WellaPlex N°3 Hair Stabilizer as a treatment mask.
How to Care for Bleach Damaged Hair
1. Use Gentle Shampoos
The best products for bleach damaged hair that’s toned or colored combine nourishment and color maintenance. That’s why we recommend lathering up with the ColorMotion+ Color Protection Shampoo. It will care for the shade you worked so hard for, while treating strands to a dose of bond-strengthening WellaPlex with every wash. If your scalp is feeling irritated, try alternating this shampoo with the INVIGO Balance Senso Calm Sensitive Shampoo.
2. Always Apply Conditioner
You never want to wash bleach damaged hair without applying a conditioner afterwards. Not only will it pack your strands with essential moisture, but it will also make tangle-prone hair easier to manage. Opt for one that pairs with your color maintenance shampoo, like the ColorMotion+ Moisturizing Color Reflection Conditioner, designed to restore the hair surface for a boost of shine through dull, damaged hair. For even deeper repair, apply the INVIGO Nutri-Enrich Deep Nourishing Conditioner, which plumps strands with hydrating Vitamin E and Goji Berry.
3. Try This Hair Mask Trick
Weekly masks are essential to restoring moisture in damaged blonde hair, so make sure you’re using one that’s high in reparative ingredients, like the Fusion Intense Repair Mask. We’ve packed it full of amino acids, which are famous for their strengthening properties – exactly what delicate, damaged hair needs from an intensive treatment. To maintain the color while also restoring moisture, Color Motion+Structure+ Mask is a great option. Then, try this: after shampooing your hair, carefully squeeze out excess water. Too much water can dilute your masks and conditioners, so you may even want to gently towel-dry strands. (Blot – don’t rub.) This creates the perfect base for your mask to be quickly and easily absorbed, so your hair soaks up more of the nutrients. Rinse after 10 minutes.
4. Reach for a Leave-In Conditioner
When hair has been damaged by bleach, it tends to become highly porous, which means that the moisture you apply can quickly escape through gaps and holes in the hair shaft. That’s why, to retain hydration, we recommend using a creamy leave-in conditioner, so all those moisturizing ingredients have longer to get to work. For straight hair, use the INVIGO Color Brilliance Miracle BB Spray, and for curls and waves, use the NutriCurls Milky Nourishing Spray for Waves or the Curlixir Defining Balm for Curls. Apply to mid-lengths and ends for a boost of longer-lasting nourishment.
5. Detangle Hair with Care
Your locks are more prone to hair breakage when damp, so make sure you use a specialized wet hair-friendly brush to detangle locks – not just any brush or comb. Start detangling from the tips first, working through knots just a little at a time, then gradually move your way up to the roots until every last tangle is removed.
6. Shield Hair from the Heat
All colored hair deserves shielding from heat – whether it comes from the sun or your hairdryer. This is because UV rays and hot styling tools can cause damage, dullness and shade fade. Try to dial down exposure if you can, but also add protective products to your hair care regimen. Two of our favorites include the EIMI Thermal Image heat protection spray (for styling) and the INVIGO Sun UV Protection Spray for sunny days. Together, this duo will safeguard your strands from any further damage.
7. Only Wear Gentle Hair Ties
You should wear your hair loose when possible to put less stress on fragile strands, but if you need to tie your hair up, opt for silky ties that won’t fray or tug your hair. You should also consider working low-slung styles, like a nape-hugging ponytail or chignon, as these looks will pull less on your scalp – and just happen to be trending for 2022.
8. Color Hair with a Glaze
If your bleached hair is in need of toning, head to the salon for a zero damage, zero lift glaze, like Shinefinity. Our deposit-only color gently shifts your shade, without altering the integrity of your strands. Glaze after lightening for a touch of correcting or a translucent veil of color with shine you can feel. It comes in 32 shades, so you can easily find a match to enhance your glow. Talk to your colorist about Shinefinity to find out more.
How to Repair and Care for Damaged Bleached Hair
We’ve all wanted to bleach out our hair at some point. After all, blondes do have more fun right? However, going blonde also requires maintenance to keep your locks vibrant and healthy. Dark roots and yellow tones are too familiar to those with blonde hair.
Whether you want the platinum blonde look, going lighter for summer, or want a gorgeous surf-girl halo, bleached hair requires proper hair care. If you want to repair bleached hair or just read up on after bleach hair care, we’ve got a cheat sheet on how to keep your locks healthy.
Why Do We Need Bleached Hair Care?
It is easy to gradually go lighter and lighter, but bleaching your hair can cause a lot of damage. When the bleaching agent dissolves your natural melanin, along with the pigment, it can strip hair of its natural oils, leaving you with dry bleached hair. It also raises the cuticle, making each strand very porous – it’s why bleached hair often becomes brittle and knots much faster.
As the saying goes, ‘prevention is much better than cure.’ Hairdressers recommend a hair mask every other night for two weeks in the run-up to an appointment, along with a decent trim. Keeping up regular appointments is important too, as the recommended schedule for bleached hair is to snip at least a few centimetres off each month, which will certainly help to cut down on any associated frizziness and frayed ends.
The good news is with the proper love and care, (and some of our brilliant Sheer Blonde products), you don’t need to compromise — you can go lighter and stronger! Healthy-looking bleached hair is totally achievable. Keep on reading to discover our picks for the best products for damaged bleached hair.
Perfecting Bleached Hair Care
How to Hydrate Hair After Bleaching
To keep your bleached locks hydrated, you’re going to need more than just a regular shampoo and conditioner. Swap your regular products for our Sheer Blonde Highlight Activating Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner. Infused with avocado oil, these products are the best shampoo and conditioner for bleached hair — not only do they deeply hydrate your locks, but they also help reactivate dull, faded highlights.
It’s also important that you don’t overuse styling tools either. Give your hair a break and practice putting down the blow dryer, letting hair air dry naturally once a week to really help improve its condition.
You don’t need to book into the salon for regular hair hydration, as at-home masks and deep conditioners will keep the gleam going. There are a couple of options for hair masks for bleached hair. For brightening and protection, check out the Go Blonder Lemon Miracle Mask, which works by strengthening damaged hair fibres and protecting from future damage.
If you are after nourishment and revitalisation, the Detox & Repair Masque, with avocado oil and green tea extract, is a great option. This mask works in as little as three minutes to intensely nourish and revitalise dry and stressed locks — it smells absolutely divine too.
Protecting Bleached Hair From the Sun
UV damage from days spent at the pool is another sure-fire way to kill off luminous locks. Before swimming, make sure to drench hair in fresh water, saturate with a deep conditioner and rinse thoroughly. The best one for the job is the Flawless Recovery Deep Conditioner, which repairs and strengthens damaged bleached hair.
During those sunnier days, douse your hair in a UV protector — not forgetting the head — as the skin here can be particularly sensitive post-bleach. There’s nothing worse than a piggy-pink scalp radiating through and ruining your blonde.
Additionally, when you spend too long basking in the sun, shore-side blonde hair can turn a nasty brassy shade. If this happens to you, invest in a colour-correcting shampoo. Choose one with purple or violet pigments, that neutralises orange tones and boosts whiteness, like the Sheer Blonde Colour Renew Tone-Correcting Shampoo – which gets to work in one wash. To find out more on how to use your purple shampoo to revive bleached hair, check out our Purple Shampoo 101 guide.
How to Find the Right Products for Styling Bleached Hair
A nourishing oil can not only act as a treatment for bleached hair, but can help to keep hair in place after using any hot styling tools. Try the Sheer Blonde Hi-Impact Vibrancy Restoring Oil Elixir. It’s an all-purpose product that can be used on wet strands to protect them from heat styling tools. Apply a few drops on finished styles to boost shine and tame flyaways.
If you’re a fan of beachy waves, and tend to use too much salt spray, then try mixing the product with a little leave-in conditioner to help moisturise and prevent dry, crispy ends. We recommend using the Blonde Hydration Leave in Conditioner as its vitamin B5 and honey formula is great for restoring dull and dry bleached hair.
And lastly, make sure not to wash your hair too much, or you’ll be washing your beautiful blonde colour straight down the drain. Take a look at our range of shampoos to find the right one for you – but don’t overdo it!
To discover more about the world of bleached blonde hair and find the right product for your shade, take a look at our article on The Best Products for Blonde Hair. And check out our guide on how to keep your hair looking healthy for more useful tips.
What is Hair Bleaching? Things to Know Before Going Blonde
Looking to lighten your locks? If you are thinking about adding some highlights or are even considering a total hair makeover and going a few shades lighter, you will likely need to bleach your hair with a bleaching agent to create your desired look. Keep reading to discover our top tips on the things to consider before and after bleaching hair.
So, what is hair bleaching?
Hair bleaching is a chemical process that involves stripping the pigment (colour) from hair strands, resulting in a lighter hair colour.
Each individual hair shade will have different levels of pigment to dissolve through and is dependent on the condition and type of hair you have, as well as how dark the natural colour is.
The longer the bleach is left on the hair, the more pigment is dissolved, and the lighter the hair becomes. Hair with existing blonde tones will find it easier to become a platinum shade, whereas darker shades like dark brunette/black will likely appear yellow or even a warm reddish hue after the first application.
Things to consider before bleaching hair
When thinking about lightening your hair with bleach agent, there are several things you should consider before doing so in order to help you achieve the most realistic and fabulous colour.
Bleaching hair can be time consuming, with the general rule of thumb being the darker the natural hair colour, the longer the bleaching agent will take to achieve the desired shade.
The process of bleaching hair can be hard on your locks and too much exposure to bleach can result in dry, brittle hair strands which are prone to breakage, so make sure you consider your hair health before application.
It is common knowledge that bleach works best on virgin, unprocessed hair that is free of heat damage, so bare this in mind when evaluating the condition of your hair before application. If you’re wondering whether to reach for the hair bleach, read our common FAQ’s below first:
Should i wash my hair before bleaching?
It is best to avoid washing your locks just before bleaching as washing strips your hair’s natural oils that protect your scalp, increasing the likelihood of scalp irritation. When you do wash your locks, be sure to check out our tips on choosing the best shampoo for your hair.
Can you bleach greasy hair?
Greasy hair is the recommended hair condition as your hair’s natural oils are well equipped to resist the bleach process, protecting the scalp from chemical damage. We recommend bleaching hair at least 72 hours post-hair wash for ultimate protection.
Can you bleach wet hair?
You can apply bleach on wet hair, however the final result is not that effective and is suitable for more subtle hair transformations. Applying bleach onto dry hair is the way to go, as this will allow the pigment from your current hair colour to be stripped properly, revealing a bolder, more vibrant hair colour.
How long do you leave bleach in your hair?
The recommended time limit for hair lightening at home will be dependent on which hair bleach brand you choose to use. As a general rule, the length of time that bleach is in your hair should not exceed 45 minutes. Any longer than this and your hair strands will look and feel fried! Make sure you follow the advice and instructions on the pack.
Things to consider after bleaching hair
After bleaching, your locks will feel slightly weaker and will likely need some ‘TLC’. Give them a pick-me-up with a hydrating hair mask like our Hydrate and Recharge Masque, replenishing and nourishing your strands with moisture. For more after-care advice see our tips on how to repair and care for damaged bleached hair for the best advice on how to keep your hair healthy, hydrated and looking its best.
But what about removing, maintaining or adding colour to bleached hair? Take a look at our FAQs below.
How long does bleached hair last?
In comparison to other semi-permanent and temporary dyes, hair bleaching is a permanent process which cannot be washed away over time. This is because of the melanin stripped away from the hair within the bleaching process. If you are looking to tone down your bleached locks, you can either wait for it to grow out, or alternatively get balayage highlights to help your natural colour shine through.
How to tone down bleached hair
Bleached hair not only requires extra care, but extra products that help maintain the colour, which is why you will need to reconsider your go-to shower essentials. When your lightened locks start to go brassy with pigments of yellow/orange, and the ashy cool hues have turned warm, you will need to neutralise those undesirable tones. The key is to occasionally use a purple shampoo like Violet Crush if you are blonde, or Blue Crush if your natural brunette tones are peeping through the bleach, to help keep those brassy hues at bay.
If you have blonde highlights, our Sheer Blonde Highlight Activating Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner will help illuminate brighter tones whilst moisturising your blonde locks. Alternatively, take a look at our Best Products for Blonde Hair to ensure your colour is the best blonde it can be!
Can you dye bleached hair?
The swelling of the hair from the bleaching process actually helps when adding colour in the later stages. This is due to the fact that when the hair is swollen by the alkalinity of the bleaching agent, the more successful the dye will impact the overall pigment. Have a look at our article on how to stop hair colours from fading quickly article to ensure your new shade lasts.
Now that you’re clued up on all things hair bleaching, be sure to look at our 13 shades of blonde article if your ultimate goal is to become a blonde bombshell. Alternatively, take a look at our other hair colour articles to get some inspiration for your next look.
