[Sticky] Bleach Bath tutorial - with pictures!

Which kind of bleach do you think would work on my color hair the best? 20 vol, 30, 40? It's the brown in my icon over there <---- I'd want to use the lowest volume of bleach possible.

And I'm supposed to leave it in the same time period I would with normal bleach?

Also, does using a clarifying shampoo make a difference? Do clarifying shampoos get rid of extra color in the hair? (I'm asking because if they do I'll buy one, use almost the whole bottle, then use the rest for the bleach bath.)

Sorry about all of the questions D: Thanks in advance

Clarifying shampoo works better because it is deep cleansing. The strength of developer you use is up to you, i have dark blonde hair but i use 40 vol for bleach baths so i don't need to keep it on as long.

Can I use bleach that comes in a package ready-to-use? or do I have to use seperate powder and developer?

I haven't tried it myself but the separate powder/developer seems the best way to me as you can mix up a little and keep the rest for next time.

Oh I see! I wonder if I can buy some of that here in Sweden.. I doubt it, we have like.. nothing XD

Can I use bleach that comes in a package ready-to-use? or do I have to use seperate powder and developer?

I did that when I did a bleach bath. If you only want to use a little, though, don't use the whole kit. Just use the appropriate proportions with the bleach from the kit.

i love the tutorial!sins_n_needles!

i love the tutorial!sins_n_needles!

Same! Thanks for making it sins n needles

Where did you get the Bleach & Developer from?  (:

Sallys stock them if you have a retail one near you

Sorry if this is a stupid question or if it's been asked before but what's the difference between a bleach bath and something like colour b4?

That's not a stupid question at all. I'm sure most hairdressers don't know the difference between these two. So I'll try to give an explanation:

A bleach bath uses oxydation to - umm, well - bleach out the colour pigments of your hair. Like some stains are bleached on clothes, paper is bleached, whatever.
In theory it's possible to bleach hair until it's completely white. Practically, though... umm... very, very rarely.
Bleach doesn't differ between (most) artificial and natural pigments, they're all destroyed. First the black ones (Eumelanin), then the red ones (Pheomelanin).
Due to ingredients like ammonium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide it's usually quite damaging. Bleach breaks the disulfide bridges in your hair. A bleach bath, which thins the bleach a bit, is considered less dangerous.
Some more info on the bleach mechanism: http://www.hair-dressing.com/hair-coloring/hair-bleaching.shtml

Colour B4 has a different approach. Or, let's say it like this - it does the exact opposite: Instead of oxidation it uses reduction and is said to work only on artificial pigments - those which were added to your hair by (permanent) dyes. It 'breaks' the molecules and thus enables you to wash them out of the hair. That's why you have to rinse it out for a horribly long time. And that's also why some people who bleach their hair immediately after ColourB4 (and probably didn't rinse it long enough) end up with a bad surprise, as the bleach re-oxidized the broken colour pigments and the colour they wanted to get rid of is back... The producer, by the way, only recommends the use of a semi permanent dye afterwards to get the desired shade.
Colour B4 is said to be much less damaging than bleach. However, Colour B4 most likely won't bring back the natural colour, as the hair is usually slightly bleached from the used permanent dye. Most people get some ginger colour after the use. It is not possible to lighten hair to blonde or white with this product (except for  those with naturally blonde or white hair).
(Colour B4, by the way, can't do much if you dyed your hair with a silicone dye like Live XXL and then used a curling tong or straightener. Here's Scott Cornwall's statement.)

I did a bleach bath for the first time today, I'm really surprised how effectively it lighteneed my hair with no noticeable negative effects. Usually my hair goes at the very least incredibly dry after, if not the dreaded chewing-gummy result. I conditioned as normal afterwards with Aussie Colour Protection conditioner, and it looks so healthy!

I'd definitely go for bleach bathing rather than straight up bleaching in future. My hair's still not as evenly coloured as I'd like, but a noticeable improvement and no damage = big win in my book!

Thanks so much for the tutorial Sins, I'd have been much more nervous beforehand without this! I took some pics before/during after, which I'll put on my comp tomorrow, maybe load a couple up in a "showing off my hair" post as I personally like to see the results of these processes compared with beofre pics, so you can see the change and not just the outcome.

Thanks, all very interesting, although further confusing myself a bit as I've used every permanent dye going, including Live XXL, which as I use a lot, I'm sure would have been one of the last dyes used before bleaching, yet I managed to get results (though took a few attempts b4 got rid of the orange tones & got more of a true blonde, fading to platinum at the roots, incl leaving bleach in for an hour, & now it's very dry, needs a lot of tlc & time b4 I try again, I assumed was just due to dark base, but perhaps the XXL didn't help). I've always figured a more gradual process would be better, but don't really fancy walking around with patchy orange hair in the meantime. :-/ Do the clarifying shampoos & washing up liquids at least start the fading out process a bit more naturally, or can they lead to patchiness too. I'm usually a bit more of an impatient chuck-whatever-on-my-hair-and-hope-for-the-best kinda gal, but recent 'telling off' from hairdresser for frazzling my hair a bit has made me think I need to do things properly if want bright colours. The extensions they talked me into just aren't cutting it in the 'in-your-face' stakes.

If you want to avoid walking around with faded orange hair just grab a cheap bottle of ash blonde toner which will help the hair look more natural. You might not like the colour but at least no one will notice you're in between colours.