Lightening revisited

There are so many factors to take into account when deciding to lighten your hair, particularly for the first time and if your hair is dark naturally.

Clients will often show images of how light they want their hair to be and sometimes we get asked to achieve the impossible!

Generally speaking, the darker the natural tone, the harder it will be to lighten or at least to get rid of unwanted copper or gold tones.

Any hair lightener works by gradually lifting out colour from the cortex of a single hair. It breaks down the sulphur bonds to expose the inner layer of hair.

Hair lifts in stages

The first stage is easy as the lifting process starts to work, however, this stage also reveals how much undertone there is.

This stage is the hardest to lift out. The process cannot be rushed and it is so important that during the consultation, it is made clear how likely it will be to achieve the correct tone for the customer.

After all, to go from a dark brown to a blonde is not an easy task and expectations must be managed.

The last few stages of lightening go from a deep orange to possibly a pale creamy blonde.

Sometimes the hair needs to be lightened twice and even then, it still may not lift to the right shade.

Toners can be used afterwards and if there is a strong orange or copper tone left in the hair, a blue based toner should be used. The more gold or yellow the tone, the more violet is needed to counteract unwanted pigment.

Generally speaking, the more often hair is lightened, the lighter the colour becomes and the use of toners can be adjusted accordingly.

Thankfully, some lightening products now contain hydrogen bond connectors so the integrity of the hair is kept.

Our beautiful, Blondme bleach by Schwarzkopf is about the best you can get and you can be sure the hair is the best it can be after any lightening service.