Hi ladies!
I have been doing my research and want to run some things by you. I've read through alot of the threads and you all give seriously great advice and are all so patient I thought I would share my game plan and see what you all think.
I have fine, thin, medium brown virgin hair that I clip myself into a very short pixie/fauxhawk kind of cut. I'm a dog groomer by day and I decided to buzz off my long locks 2 years ago to play with short hairstyles and found that I love having short punky hair. I've been humming and hawwing and finally decided I want my pixie to be pale pink with the occasional contrasting chunk here or there....but that is a story for another time.
My main concern right now is bleaching. I've decided to do this myself at home as I currently spend nearly my entire "me money" budget on my little dog cause I'm a big sucker. I'm going to do all of my shopping at Sally's because it is close and convenient. Here is my idea so far:
-Allergy test and strand test. I have very thin hair, sad to cut out even a small chunk but I will bite that bullet and do it for sure. I like the idea of slathering up with coconut oil (already have that which is a bonus) the night before and leaving it in while I lighten to keep my scalp happy also.
-Powder bleach with a 20 vol developer (cause my hair is so fine, I'm thinking I don't need a high volume yes?). I know I want to do my ends first and let that sit on a while and then go in and apply to my roots. What I'm unsure of is the parts that I shave very close. I shave them to a 3/8 and they look very light when I do that. Should I shave them before bleaching to paint it on easier, the hair is about 1.5 inches long now. Also would I be correct in assuming the shaved parts would take very little time to lighten? I shave my sides and back about every six weeks.
-Since I want to use a lower level developer, what is a safe time gap to bleach again if I am too far off to fix with toner? Can I still apply the pink after a toner all in this first stage even if I want to bleach again in 8 weeks to try and achieve a lighter blonde at that point?
-Toner. I was thinking a 10 developer and wella lightest ash? yes, no, maybe so?
-Deep conditioning. I am super wide open to cost efficient suggestions for this stage, so many choices!
-Shampoo and conditioner - do I still want a purple set if I will be going pink...and blue or turquoise in places?
I hope I'm making sense, it is very late but my mind has not shut down about this for the past two weeks so I had to get it all out. Thank you for reading. 🙂
Posted : August 3, 2015 6:10 am
Oh yeah!! This is an older picture so the cut is different but this is my hair color...in winter anyway, it is a bit lighter right now but not a whole lot.
Posted : August 3, 2015 6:18 am
20 vol will be fine, definitely no stronger. With a really good bleach powder you could get away with lower vol peroxide. The bleach you choose has a huge effect on the amount of lift and the amount of damage, so it is worth buying a good one. I use Matrix Light master (available online) Wella Blondor (available from sallys) is also good, or Schwartzkopf Blondme etc, just don't buy a cheap bleach kit from a supermarket basically.
I always do my strand tests on the hair on my head. It is more tricky, but the results are more accurate
Apply to the mid lengths and ends first, then go in and do your roots and the shaved parts. The heat from your head helps those areas process quicker. If you are slow applying the bleach (and it is tricky, takes practice) using a lower volume developer will help. If you use 10 vol you will have more time to apply everything and not get an uneven result. The higher the volume of developer the quicker the bleach works, so 10 vol and longer processing time may be a better option for a newbie.
I don't think oxidative toners are necessary when you are going to be dyeing over with another colour, it is unnecessary damage IMO. Get your hair to a light creamy yellow ('inside of a banana' colour) and shampoo with purple shampoo. That will be perfect for pastel pink.
If you want darker, more vivid colours, you don't need such a light and toned base, just aim for an even pale yellow.
It is easier to do a second light bleach or spot bleach areas you missed if you don't put any dye on, but you can still lighten further after dyeing with direct dyes, you just need to fade them first.
You want to shampoo as little as possible once you have your colour in (shampoo=fading) so either use a sulphate free one, dilute with water and/or conditioner and use dry shampoo in between, or look into CO washing. You only need to use purple shampoo on pink hair if your base was too yellow, it helps to stop it fading peachy.
Posted : August 3, 2015 11:51 am
Thank you for replying, I feel more confident already. Also you helped me cut down my shopping list a little. 😉
Posted : August 3, 2015 11:08 pm
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