[Sticky] Bleach Bath tutorial - with pictures!

Is it better to make your own bleach with the things you listed or do boxed bleach kits work the same?  I have never made my own bleach.  I just buy Loreal or something.

My question is,how well does a bleach bath remove Special Effects hair dye ?

In a couple of months I'm gonna be transitioning out of my Bright Orange to pale pink (most likely diluted mixed colors like Joyride and one quarter cupcake pink with conditioner )

I'm afraid ill have this orange for years to come haha (not that it's a bad shade,but I like to plan out my hair dye adventures )

I put my shampoo out into the measuring jug, it's a cleansing shampoo but has a greenish tinge.. should I risk using it?
I don't want to have green hair D:

This has saved my hair a LOT of grief, thank you!

This thread may have just saved me a few hundred dollars, I hope so, anyway. xD

can you coconut oil with a bleach bath or is that just for full bleach? xx

You can 🙂 I did it with mine and still got great lift

You can 🙂 I did it with mine and still got great lift

thank you hun, c.oil has saved my hair through full bleaches so was hoping i could bbath too with it 😀 xx

I have a few questions about bleach bathing...

1. Do I apply it as I would a normal bleach (sectioning and using a tint brush to ensure I get absolutely every strand) or do I lather and massage it in as I would a shampoo?

2. My hair is currently light blonde with about 2-3cm of medium brown roots. I'm looking to get it all pale blonde in order to use Directions White toner. How long shall I leave the bleach bath on for? (I'll be using Live XXL Absolute Platinum instead of a bleach mix)

3. The only measuring cup I have is a Pyrex glass measuring jug. Is this safe to use when mixing peroxide-based product?

(OT - I've had an unopened tub of Directions White toner sitting on my bathroom windowsill for about a month and one side has turned white, I guess from the sun. Will this still be okay to use?)

Sorry for all the questions!

Hi Spaulding,
1. Bleach baths are very liquidy so it's up to you, but I find it easier to massage it into my hair. If you were just to do roots, then using a tint brush would be helpful.

2. Only leave the bleach bath on as long as it says on your blonde dye - so if it says 45 minutes, only do 45 minutes. If you leave it longer than the recommended time you can fry your hair. If your roots are dark, it's likely you won't get it pale enough to tone in one bleach bath session. For example, my roots are a medium brown and after 3 bleach baths they were the right colour to tone. Also, if you need to even it out, then only apply a bleach bath to your roots if it's the only part of your hair that needs lightening.

3. Yes, the glass jug will be fine. The only thing you shouldn't mix bleach in is metal.

As for your white toner, if the colour has been faded by the sun I would say that it's expired. I wouldn't use it.

Also, just thought I'd mention it would be worth using coconut oil while you bleach to help the condition of your hair.

Thanks for the fast response, Stephanie!

I'm gutted about the toner! 🙁 I only bought it about 6 weeks ago but it's my silly fault for leaving it on the windowsill! Oh well.

Yeah it's a bugger! Try and keep your dyes away from direct sunlight next time 🙂

Would this techneque work if I one day got bored of having blue hair and wanted to go a more natural blonde colour when I have root regrowth and faded blue...?

I've bleach bathed my hair twice, the first time I thought the blue would come out no problem  (shocking blue by manic panic) so I didn't put it on until halfway through. And the second time I was left with a small amount of blue still in.. but it's coming out eventually.. (that was with 20 vol over midnight blue by directions)
It's a far better idea than a full bleach, but it might (and most likely won't) be a direct transition from blue-blonde. 🙂

I ave just done this and the results are amazing..
I had fudge purple haze on my hair for 2 weeks but didnt like it, so been fading with H&S, then Bicarb, lemon juice, fairy liquid and clarifying shampoo........both worked but the colour had stopped coming out and the purple remained.

Coated my hair with coconut oil for an hour then applied the bleach bath, within 5minutes the colour started lifting and within 15minutes I washed it of and hey presto, back to a yellow blond.
My hasnt been damaged atall and Im now preparing to dye a teal colour.
Id highly recommend doing this instead of a full bleach bath, and using coconut oil 1st!