Natural Hair: Blonde -Hair Bleaching- Info.

First I would like to say that of course I am by no means a Hair Professional! I just like to experiment with my own hair and take care of it fairly well! Also this post might be poor in pictures and I am sorry for that. Next time I will do one solely on how I did my Own hair and I will break it down into Details if needed.

With that said, I would like to also clarify that people should REALLY REALLY REALLY make sure to read whatever hair coloring product they use on their hair! I will explain why I emphasis this later on. If it doesn't tell you on the box/product then GOOGLE IT!

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I have ALWAYS wanted to go Blonde - specifically a Golden Blonde but since BLONDE is so extreme, especially if you are like me who's a woman of color and have Natural coarse hair (my hair type is 4B), going Blonde with nice length of healthy hair will cause you to be hesitant real quick!

Breaking this into 3 steps, the first step is a no-brainer

First Step is Research:
No matter what you do, always research and try to find other stories with comparison to see what the results may be. Especially if you are doing it from home. You'll always have people who will say "you should just go get it Professionally done" but the thing about Black hair especially Natural is that just because the shop is a BLACK SALON doesn't mean that they honestly do Virgin Afro hair on the Daily, because usually they don't! If they get any Virgin hair it's getting Braided or Blown out, it's not being Bleached. LET'S BE REAL PEOPLE!
If you're like me, I don't trust just anyone with my hair! So if it starts breaking off I'd rather have myself to Blame and throw on a Wig than want to put my foot up the Hairdresser who did it bum!

WHEN IT COMES TO BLEACHING IT IS NOT JUST A ONE STEP PROCESS BECAUSE YOU WILL HAVE TO EITHER GO BACK WITH A TONER SHAMPOO TO GET THE BRASSINESS OUT OR LIGHTEN COLOR(OR Adding The Blonde Tone of your choosing) THAT DIDN'T LIGHTEN WHEN APPLYING!

...Or you could be like me and say "screw the Brassiness", since my hair is a Golden Blonde it actually works well with it.

Second Step deciding the right Bleaching Process:
Some people find it easier to get just a Bleach KIT, these are Kits that similar to the hair coloring Kits. They have Developer and Bleach powder in them, along with a small mixing Bowl and brush. The Outside of the Box will tell you what the Developer is (30 or 40). The Number indicates the Intensity of it. If you are Brown Hair - Dark Brown and you want a Blonde, 30 should be good.
Manic Panic has a Kit that is called "Flash Lightning"

My experience with this Kit 3-4years ago, I had the 30 Developer one and I didn't bleach my entire head, just Certain parts throughout my hair. It was definitely a Blonde but my Curl did also loosen quite a bit from it.

There is also the Powder packets which are just the Bleaching Powder, you have to buy the Developer separate. Be sure to read Information on the Back of the Packet. Some Powder Bleaches use a Creme Developer, some use a Clear.

When using the Developers and Powders the ratio is 1:2 meaning that if the Powder is 1oz, you use 2oz worth of Developer for mixing. When it comes to the Dyes in the Bottles/Tubes its 1:1, 2oz Dye with 2oz of Developer.

Lastly you can always just get the Color Blonde of your Choosing that requires you to buy the Developer Separate and then get the Developer and an Applicator Bottle and mix it that way (you can use a Bowl but I feel the Bottles are better for applying to the roots and going over again). If your hair is Black I would suggest using the Bleach Packets before that though to help with the Lifting or you won't get the color you want. They say to go up 2 Shades to Achieve the shade you want when doing that. I honestly believe it depends.

Do NOT, and I Repeat DO NOT Buy Bleach Kit/Powder and Developer and then Use the Developer along with the Dye Back to Back the same day because that is OVER-PROCESSING your hair and will cause severe damage! It might even turn an ugly Gray color due to that, if it doesn't break off. I had a young lady who was asking me how I did my hair to get the Blonde and she told me what she did BEFORE asking me and her hair was this burnt looking Grey... I felt bad for her honestly but this is why you RESEARCH Before hand because a lot of these Products ARE for Professional use, therefore they don't actually Explain how to use one or the other.

Third Step - Protection/Conditioning:
Now that you've made up how you're going to do it, whether a Kit or powder/dye & developer, it's time to think about what you're doing to do RIGHT after you process and rinse the Chemicals out. Deep Conditioning is a MUST. I have Creme of Nature Deep Conditioner and I add Wheat Germ Oil (HIGH in Vitamin E which is great for Damage, Breakage), an Egg(2) for Protein because your hair is stripped of it and Rosemary Oil. This is just what I use, you can use whatever you want as long as it has properties for deep conditioning and treating your hair.
I usually keep it on for 1-3 hours when coloring my hair. This past time I left it on for 3hours since it was a full bleaching of my head process.
After rinsing out I put in my Leave-In and make sure to use a Heavy/Thick Moisturizer, like Castor Oil or Shea Butter. I use Shea Butter since it's a Heavy Moisturizer w/Grapefruit and Lavender in it to help with healthy hair growth and strengthening.

Lastly when it comes to touching up your roots you don't need to bleach(powder) them. You can use developer and dye in an applicator bottle, even if you did use a powder, the heat off your scalp will help with the lightening process :-)

(From a week ago, actually thinking about going a step lighter).