Even natural brown hair can have beautiful bright weaves. But nothing for free: the methods of lightening the hair destroy it and dry it out. Which lightening method should you choose so that your hair doesn't suffer as much as possible?

Bleachingis a procedure thanks to which the hair of natural color becomes lighter by one or several tones. It consists in depriving the hair of its natural pigment. This effect can be obtained in various ways, but the choice of the method should not be accidental. A lot depends on how much we want to lighten them and the condition of the hair before the treatment. If the color change is to be radical, it is better to entrust the treatment to a specialist, but if you only want to lighten your hair by a tone or two, you can do it at home, using natural methods or preparations intended for home use.

Natural hair bleaching methods

Natural methods are the least invasive. They will be effective when the hair is fairly light - with dark hair the effect will either not be at all or it will be very delicate.

  • Lightening hair with lemon . The juice of one or more lemons (the longer the hair, the more fruit there should be) dilute with water in a 1: 3 ratio and rub into dry hair. You have to keep this mixture on your hair for several hours and then wash it off. The treatment should be repeated for several consecutive days, but if you expose your hair to the sun, the whole process will be faster.
  • Lightening hair with honey . You need to mix a tablespoon of honey with a portion of hair conditioner, apply to washed and dry hair, and rinse after an hour.
  • Lightening hair with wine vinegar . For this treatment you will need wine vinegar (white or red), lemon juice and a spray bottle will also be useful. Rinse dry hair with vinegar to remove any residual styling agents. Then boil two cups of water in a small pot, and when they boil, add two tablespoons of vinegar. When the mixture has cooled down, wash your hair and rinse your hair with it after rinsing off the shampoo. You can also lighten dry hair by spraying it with a mixture of vinegar and lemon (in equal proportions). In this way, you can lighten the entire hair or individual strands. The mixture shouldstay on the hair for at least 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water.
  • Lightening hair with sun and water . This treatment does not require any preparations - wet hair is exposed to sunlight, thanks to which natural strands appear on it.
  • Lightening hair with chamomile . This is a way for natural dark blondes who want to add golden highlights to their hair. Pour a liter of hot water over four bags of chamomile, and when it has cooled down, rinse the freshly washed hair with the infusion, then wrap it in a towel and leave it for 20 minutes, then rinse.

Chemical hair bleaching methods

For many years, the most popular chemical method wasbleaching hair with hydrogen peroxide , which effectively changed the color of the hair, but at the same time damaged it a lot. Currently, both in salons and during home bleaching treatments, preparations are used that also interfere with the hair structure, but do not damage it as much as hydrogen peroxide.Bleaching creams and dyescontain agents that oxidize the natural pigments of the hair (hydrogen peroxide is the most commonly used). In home products, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide must not exceed 6%, so at home we lighten the hair by a few tones at most.

See: Keratin hair straightening and regeneration - what is it?

If the effect is to be stronger, it is betterto lighten the hair at the hairdresser's , because preparations for professional use contain more conditioning ingredients than those intended for home use. In the salon, you can lighten your hair up to eight shades during one treatment, although such radical changes are not recommended. Experts advise that in the case of dark hair, this treatment should be done in stages and lighten the hair no more than 2-3 shades at a time, because the more you lighten the hair, the weaker it will be after the treatment.

Stages of lightening hair

Chemical hair bleachinghas several stages. First, the cuticles of the hair are opened. Then an agent is introduced inside the hair, which oxidizes the natural pigment. This process takes place gradually - first the hair loses its brown tones, then red, then orange and finally turns blonde. This is why the hair changes color when lightening - if the starting color was dark blonde, the hair will first turn red-orange, then orange-yellow, and only finally will be light.

  • It is worth knowing that if the treatment does not give the expected results, you can apply dye to your hair during or after lightening -its pigment will replace the natural dye, dyeing your hair the desired shade. This is the case, for example, in the case ofgray hairwhich has already lost its natural pigment.

Care for bleached hair

Chemical lightening treatment dries hair. And although nowadays it is rare for hair to be heavily damaged and to the touch resembling hay, it is weakened and requires proper care. They are more sensitive and their tips become brittle, which may require undercutting. They can become tangled and frizzy, so they should not be combed with a brush - a wooden comb with widely spaced teeth (not a plastic one, because they will be static) will be better.

See: Hair washing methods - which one is best for you?

Beforewashing your hair , rub a natural oil into it - one that won't color it.Bleached hairlike linseed oil, jojoba, avocado, grape seed oil. You can rub them into dry or wet hair, leave it for two hours, and then wash your hair with a gentleshampoo for light or bleached hair. Apply a moisturizing conditioner to clean hair - you can add a few drops of oil to it. You should apply a mask to your hair at least once a week and keep it on for fifteen to half an hour. It is better to give up the dryer, and if it is impossible, before drying, you need to apply a heat protection preparation to your hair, which will protect it from high temperature.

Worth knowing

The stereotype of "stupid blondes" is false and harmful to fair-haired women. From studies conducted on 10 thousand. American women show that in terms of IQ, natural blondes achieve an average score of almost 3 points higher than that of dark-haired girls. It is not a significant difference, but it is. So there is no reason to treat blondes worse. Fair-haired women had an average IQ score of 103.2. brunettes scored 102.7, redheads - 101.2, and brown-haired girls - 100.5.

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