blondes, do you always tone, or do you ever get good results from just bleach?

My hair is dark with a lot of yellow, so I never get to a nice blonde. It just depends on the result. If you don't get the right result you tone.

I think it pretty much depends on the shade of blonde that you want and the base you're starting with. My virgin hair the first time I EVER dyed it (going back 11 odd years) went a lovely banana yellow and I was happy so left it with that then any top ups changed it so I cut all my hair off and dyed it black. any other time since then when I've ignorantly bleached over say a brown permanent it goes a golden blonde which I was usually quite happy with. A couple of years ago I wanted platinum hair which I got to with lots of silver shampoo then I in my whimsical mood to hair went back to brown. Last year I wanted to go back to a platinum/white blonde that I'd managed to get before and it took a lot of toning because I'd gone a very brassy blonde which looked quite ginger to me

It depends on the person really. Their current color/level, if it's virgin or dyed, how resistant it is to lightening, and what kind of blonde you want. I will say that there are some bleaches which I think are much better than most, lighten more + tone more on their own. It's really all in the shade the person wants. If they want a golden yellow then there are some bleaches that would be better to use. If they want more of a toned, neutral or cooler pale yellow then there are bleaches that do those things better than others.

I know 40v is harsh and many people use 30. Is 20 considered mild or average? If you can lift with 20 will you sustain less damage?

I'd consider it to be mild personally.

The general consensus is that the lower the volume, the less damage it'll cause. Always use the lowest volume you can, if you get enough lift with a 20 vol then use that.

I'd consider it to be mild personally.

The general consensus is that the lower the volume, the less damage it'll cause. Always use the lowest volume you can, if you get enough lift with a 20 vol then use that.

Does it make sense that a natural 6 will lift to a pale white yellow in about 40 minutes with a 20 volume and blue bleach and processing cap? No heat.

I would have thought a 20vol would lift enough but everybody's hair is different, it's better to use too low a volume than too high. I wouldn't advise using a 30vol on blonde hair.

I'm a natural level 3 and a 30vol will take my roots to a light-pale blonde so I think a 20vol will work just fine for you, remember to tone too.

when i first bleached my hair years ago before all the hair dyes, it went a natural blonde and i never needed or used a toner, since then iv been red, brown and black using lots of home dyes, now my second time going blonde there is no way i could go without a toner, must be over the years of color build up, now it just goes yellow and no lighter that's with a 30v, im having a hard time now getting it to lift lighter and its cost me more doing so, but when i acheive it i suppose it will be worth it 🙂