I need to bleach (or bleach bath) my dip-dye again. I'm nervous because I've never bleached over previously-bleached hair before.
Naturally darkish brown hair, virgin other than faded Lush henna, bleached with XXL Max Blonde kit to ginger ... ehhhh 7 weeks ago roughly.
Currently coloured Directions Rubine which has stuck incredibly well over the ginger base. Too well really, I just can't get it to fade! Plus I want a lighter base to dye it turquoise.
So I'm going to bleach it out.
Before I do, I just want to ask...
Bleach bath or just bleach? I have Matrix Light Master powder and Truzone 20vol peroxide.
How much will I need? I'm doing a 10" dip-dye with "canopy" hair only. (hooray for undercuts)
I'll be applying to very coconut-oiled hair.
If I do a bleach bath for example, would one 20ml scoop each of bleach & developer, and two of shampoo be adequate? Is that the right proportions for a BB anyway?
I'm also wondering if I should bleach my undercut as well, and if I do, should I dye it the same or different to the dip-dye? I can't quite picture it. It's about an inch long atm but I'd trim it slightly if I'm going to bleach it.
The only way to be certain is to strand test. You can make the bleach bath however strong you need it, I usually match the amount of shampoo to the peroxide, others do the same amount as the overall mix. I would use more peroxide to bleach powder too, somewhere between 1:1 and 1:2 depending on the powder and the consistency. You won't get as much lift if you skimp on the peroxide.
I'll have a play about with strand tests then. I have plastic measuring spoons as well as the scoop that came with the powder so I can be scientiffic about it 😛
I want to see just how fast this Matrix powder is as well.
Won't be happening for a few days yet though, maybe a week.
Forgot to ask before - is it ok to cover with cling film during the bleaching?
My house isn't warm so I'll have to tuck my hair between layers of clothing/towels for warmth.
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Yeah I almost always use cling film or and old plastic bag to cover my hair while dying.
Thanks Marthakins 🙂 oh yes, plastic bags will be employed later. I was thinking of using tinfoil but I'd rather be able to see at least a little bit of what my hair's doing while the bleach is on.
I've already got more coconut oil and sacrificial clothes on in anticipation 😀 haha. One more cup of coffee and I'll start strand tests. Yay!!
(also YAY I'll have clean hair later 😛 it's pretty damn grotty right now)
Yeah I prefer being able to see what's happening, also cling film vets a nice tight seal around my hair.
Goood luck with your strand testing. (And the wonders of clean hair :p)
Strand test results!!
You can see what I'm starting with - well coconut-oiled Rubine over ginger base - and what I get after 45 minutes in cling film.
Ratios of bleach:peroxide:shampoo are Red clasp 1:1:1, Blue clasp 1:2:2. Picture taken dry in natural light.
Both have removed the Rubine nicely leaving me with a sort of peachy ginger. The red mix has gone slightly lighter and cooler but I preferred the runnier texture of the blue mix so I'm going to compromise on 1:2:1
I don't think it's a great deal lighter than the pre-Rubine base, I don't think it'll be quite ready for Aquamarine but we'll see what happens after I've done it all. Might leave it a couple of weeks and try again.
Certainly not putting Rubine back on it, good lord that stuff sticks!! 😛
The rubine doesn't look too faded, what fading methods have you tried?
A colour remover would probably get the remains of the rubine out on the bleached strands, I think that would reveal quite a nice light blonde. Or you could try to remove the Rubine with one and then try bleaching. I think the remains of the dye are making the strands look darker than they actually are.
The Rubine has barely faded at all!! If I liked it a bit more I'd be really pleased 😛 lol. Bear in mind it's soaked in coconut oil in that pic so looks a bit darker than usual but it has really stuck.
I've been using the harshest shampoos I have (Lush bars, clarifying, vosene etc) in the hottest water I can get out of the shower. I've lathered and left dandruff shampoo on it. I've hot-oil-soaked it.
I removed the neon blue I added over the top in one wash with a Lush bar, but this Rubine? Nope.
Got bleach on the rest now, in a poly bag hanging off my ears cos some of my clingfilm bits fell off >< so might be far-from-perfect results.
(edit) ..... aaaaand I just panicked slightly and doubted my timing so I've rinsed too early and got a great big hot mess *facepalm* back to ginger but with some weird almost-blue streaks towards the ends?
I'm not doing very well at this.
I'm basically ginger again with a slight peachiness and a few weird muddy blue bits on the tips.
Pics below. Dry. Indoor lighting. I haven't conditioned or anything yet, not quite decided if I'm going to try some dye on it or ... what?
*anyone*
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I think you should try a colour remover over that to try to get some of the rubine that is still in your hair out.
I thought colour removers only worked on permanent dyes, not semis?
They can work on direct dyes, but are unpredictable. Generally they are great on red tones and I have used them successfully on faded Rubine.
Hmmm. Worth a try I suppose.
Looking at this one, sounds like a lot less rinsing and effort than colour b4.
I personally prefer decolour remover to colour b4, I have found it more effective. The rinsing is important though, I normally just get in the shower so its less boring to carry on rinsing for long enough.