Maintaining blonde and white hair.

So for those of you who have white or blonde hair you know that sometimes it can be a bitch. If your hair wasn't lightened enough then the brassiness starts to return and your hair will appear yellow and sometimes orange. Tis is NEVER good.

Products needed;
1. Toner. I prefer the brand wella. Buy it in whatever shade you want your hair to be.
2. Shimmer lights or a silver/purple shampoo OR conditioner
3. Fanci-full's wash in dye.

Toners:
You'll need to tone your hair every few months unless you finish bleaching it to white. I tone my hair every 6-8 weeks just to help the process or just whenever I need it done. Sometimes I skip it entirely. I love wella toners, I mix them with 3oz of Salon care's developer in 20. They'er really gentle on your hair.  Wella is about $5 at sallybeauty and the developer is anywhere from $1-5 depending on the size you get.

Shimmer lights:
This is the key to not having to tone your hair so often. This is a purple shampoo and conditioner. I personally choose to just use the conditioner since well, it'll condition my hair while it tones. Shampoo's are fine too. I usse this WEEKLY. i apply the conditioner all over my hair, or wherever is looking brassy and leave sit for about 5 minutes. Another option is using it every other day and not leaving it sit. i've found that once a week for 5-10 minutes works best because it uses less of the conditioner. i've used a few brands and Shimmer lights is my favorite. I buy the $12 bottle from sally's. The price depends on the size. Mine typically last me about 3 months so it's well work the price.

Fanci Full:
I swear by this product. Fancifull is a wash in wash out dye. It helps to eliminate brassiness and well color your hair. I use this daily to help with areas that just refuse to stay blonde (My bangs and the bottom tips of my hair.) This "dye" has no chemicals in it that are harmful to your hair so it's 100% SAFE to use daily. All you do is take a shower, wash your hair and apply to wherever needed. You DONT wash it out. i've come to find it leaves a bit of a stickiness to your hair if you apply to much, so what I do it dab the areas I applied to with a towel afterwards. I buy the liquid, it also comes in a mousse form. This can be bought at sally's or any drug store. I get mine at Walgreen's for $5.

:) 

HAIR BLEACHING 101

I enjoy changing my hair color. Since I change it so often I can't afford to go to a salon. This eventually led me into dying my own hair. One thing I've learnt to do well is well, BLEACHING! Let me start off my saying that I am NOT a professional, and have no cosmetology training. So If I can do it, so can you.

Lets start with the basics:

-Bleaching is NOT dying. You can't just apply hair color remover to reverse this. When you bleach your hair you strip the color pigments from your hair, eventually turning it to blonde. 

-It's not healthy to bleach your hair frequently.

- Make sure to take your time. Rushing through this process will just ruin your hair.

- This method if from dark brown to white. If you have darker or lighter hair you'll need to adjust the timing.

What you'll need:

- Bleaching powder.You'll need a bit so invest in a tub instead of packets. I use  L'Oreal Quick Blue extra strength. ($20 @ Sallybeaty supply.)

- 30 vol. cream developer. I used salon care since thats what was cheapest at sally's. Any brand will work. You'll need at least 16oz of this, I'd recommend buying the biggest bottle.

- Mixing bowl. I got mixing bowls from the dollar store, they sell them 2 for $1. Or you can just use a regular house bowl if you dont mind ruining it.

- Tint brush. Any size/brand will work but I used ion's, these are typically about $1 at beauty supply stores.

- Shower caps. You'll need at least 3. I bought a pack of 50 at sallys for $3. You can also get these at the dollar store or any drug store/beauty store.

- GLOVES! I just bought the reusable black gloves from sally's for $3, rinses them between uses.

- Deep conditioner. Sally's always has some on sale for $.99 a pack. You can use any brand/type. I've found that ion's work the best but it doesn't really matter. You'll need about 4 packs or one big bottle.

- Hair toner and 20 vol developer for the toner. I'll make another blog describing toner's. You'll need a blue/violet based one, Wella silverlady is great and one in the shade of blonde you're wanting. About$5 each.

You'll pay about $30 total, but you'll have some left over for if you need to redo it or touch up your hair. Its much cheaper then the salon.

Also AVOID USING KITS! They rarely include enough product and most of them don't work well!

Preparing your hair:

- The day before you bleach your hair deep condition it, make sure your hair is really healthy.

- Try avoiding products for a few days before bleaching your hair.

- Also heat should be avoided before/after bleaching until hair is back to health.

- Make sure your hair is as healthy as it possibly can be.

Step by step bleaching :

1. Separate your hair. I separated mine top/bottom. You'll want to bleach your hair from bottom to top, working your way to the front of your head and then going back to your roots.

2. Mix your bleach and 30 vol. Developer. Fallow the directions on the back of your bleach. Make sure your measurements are as close as possible

    - If you notice the bleach go dry while your applying it, add about 1oz of developer until it's wet again. It's okay to do this as long as you dont OVER do it.

   - Make SURE there is no bubbles or bumps in your bleach mix, this will cause build up and make your hair bleach unevenly.

3. Start applying the bleach. I start at the BACK of my head, at the bottom. When I did it I went ahead and applied it to my roots, Then I just didnt bleach them the second time around. You can do this or just go back and apply the bleach to your roots once your hair is covered. 

   - Apply the bleach in 1-2" pieces of hair. Make sure to apply the bleach evenly or itll turn out wrong.

4. After bleach is applied, place ALL of your hair in a shower cap. Thiss will hold in heat and make it bleach faster.

5. Wait 25 minutes, OR until your hair looks a red/ orange color. Dont leave it in for more then 45 minutes.

6. Wash out, let air dry, deep condition hair. Let air dry again.

7. Repeat ALL of this one last time, your result should be either a yellow blonde, brassy blonde or if your hair bleaches really good, white blonde.Now all that's left is toning your hair. After toning deep condition ONE last time.

TONING YOUR HAIR:

Orange hair- If you have orange or copper tones in your hair you'll need a BLUE based toner. Silver Lady by wella works great.

Yellow hair- If you have yellow tones, just use a purple based toner. White lady by wella works great.

Both- mix white lady and silver lady together.

None- Well, if your hair is already blonde then your set. If it's not the shade you want, buy a wash in dye or a temporary dye to color it how your want, after a few weeks you can just dye it that color but for now stick with wash in and temporary dyes.