02: Hair Bleaching

*NOTE: DO NOT attempt bleaching your hair without parental consent. Also, bleach is dangerous stuff, don't do this if you are not willing to accept the responsibility if your hair comes out badly, bleaching at home is a easy way to save money, but also ruin your hair for as long as it will take to grow out.

So, I bleached my hair myself, I wanted to bleach out my bangs, but my mom wasn't too sure, so I bleached out the bottom layer of my bangs and the long pieces at the side.

I used 40 volume developer and bleach powder (I bought them in homemade packages, cheaper, pretty sketchy, but it all worked out, so its cool).

When it comes to choosing a volume for your developer decide how hardcore you are, I have really dark hair, and wanted it to go light blond, FAST, so I used 40 volume, and probably wouldn't go higher (I don't think anywhere that sells 50, would sell a teenager 50 vol. anyway :P). You can get lighter colours with 30 volume too, but it will take longer and be more gradual.

*40 volume vs. 30 volume isn't going to change the amount of damage, 40 will damage faster, but 30 can do the same amount :P

I mixed ratio 1:1 , then added more developer until I got a creamy paste, sectioned off my hair, and applied the bleach to my hair from the ends to the roots.

I definitely recommend using foils, it makes it so much easier, and protects the rest of your hair/skin from getting bleached. (other hair: will beach, skin: will burn!).

After about 30 minutes, my hair was a dark blond with an orange tone, but since I was dyeing my hair red, I figured it'd be good enough, so I washed my hair, and blow-dried it, then got to dying.

Tips:

-Use a PLASTIC bowl, not metal, it will react with the bleach, and you don't want that. Even better, buy a mixing bowl, anywhere that sells bleach powder/developer should also sell bowls and brushes for dying.
-The bleach WILL expand when it starts working, so be careful, putting bleach over bleached hair can make it extremely dry and damaged, and very likely to break off.
-Don't try to use the bleach once its started expanding (it will look foamy) in the bowl, it might work a little, but not much, I tried :P
-Don't attempt this if you're not confident already with dying your hair, bleach is dangerous stuff, and you can really wreck your hair if you don't know what you're doing.
-Wash the bleach out AWAY from your eyes, if that wasn't obvious.
-I don't like to wear gloves when I dye my hair, but with bleaching, gloves are a MUST, you don't want to get the bleach on your hands as it will wreck your skin.
-Check your hair once you sit to let the bleach develop, every 5-10 minutes, 40 vol. starts working VERY quickly, my hair was already a mid-brown after about 2 minutes.
-Don't bleach your hair lighter than you need to, colours will show up brighter, the lighter your hair, but for deep reds, fuschias, and dark blues, a mid-blond shade should be fine.