How do I get my Hair Platinum Blonde/White?

http://www.hairdyeforum.com/index.php?topic=1695.0

Hi Eva 14, in general getting the hair that pure white blonde is basically down to the regrowth.  When I explain to people about transitioning to platinum I have to tell them to be patient as the new strong hair tends to lift to pale yellow which is able to tone.

I created Colour Restore Iced Platinum to get yellow hair to white, I had found previously that a lot of toners were too liquid based and on bleached hair would grab.  By putting both the blue and violet pigment into a conditioning base users find the bleached hair doesn't grab and the yellow neutralises out to white.  The general regime ( I always recommend) for keeping hair pure white is to use Colour Restore Iced Platinum and then use a blue shampoo as your regular cleanser.  This tends to overload the white tone and start creating a more metallic effect.  If it looks too metallic you just switch to using a regular hydrating shampoo and conditioner for a few washes and eventually you find your feet.

The issue I have with applying a peroxide with a toner is you are subjecting that bleached hair to further change which can actually have a counter productive effect and cause the hair to look more orangey as the cuticle becomes so raised it stops holding the pigment.

A better approach would maybe to to use a non ammonia lightener (with 20 volume) and leave it on the regrowth for about 35 minutes to get it to a bright yellow.  You then apply something like a Koleston 9/16 with 20 volume to the lightenened areas only and leave it for 30 minutes.  So here your hair is being subjected to the process for the same 65 minutes, however you are splitting the lightening and toning and doing it in more of a controlled way.

However, if you can get the roots to a yellow with the lifting step - you could use the Colour Restore Iced Platinum immediately afterwards and it would tone it up to white.  Sometimes you need to do the Iced Platinum twice, but the molecule builds up in the hair and then you just replenish (as a conditioner) as and when you need it.

Kind Regards

Scott Cornwall

are you keeping the bleach moist and warm by keeping it in covered in foils and/or shower cap/cling film/plastic shopping bag? is it yellow after bleaching or pale yellow?

Thanks for the info and advice, everyone. Yes, we always put a clear shower cap over my hair as the bleach sets for 65 min. I've only ever used 20 volume peroxide in the bleach. Hmmm....yellow or pale yellow, I'm not quite sure. I guess it's a fairly pale yellow. If there was a range of photos somewhere, I could choose which one I think is closest to my hair color.

I'm really at a loss as to why the Clairol toner worked so much better than the Wella White Lady toner. I think my hairdresser uses Loreal Quick Blue bleach----I'll have to ask her. Do different brands of bleach work differently?
My hairdresser has 30 years of experience, but has only had a couple of clients whose hair she bleached. She does a good job, and admits she's not an expert at bleaching. She's good at not overlapping the bleach, so my shoulder-length hair is in pretty good condition.

I've read and my hairdresser tells me not to use anything greater than 20 volume peroxide on the scalp. (We only apply the bleach to the roots). My natural color is light/medium brown, which seems to get pretty light with 20 vol. peroxide.

I've seen tutorials where people use 30 vol. or even 40 vol. developer. When I mention this to my hairdresser she cringes. She says if we use anything higher than 20 vol. my hair will get damaged and break, and that I may even get blisters on my scalp. I've read a lot of bleaching horror stories, so I'm inclined to believe her. I'd hate to do anything I'll regret in pursuit of lighter hair!

Still, I'm searching the Internet for as much information and advice as possible. My current color is a light golden blonde, so at least it's not brassy. It's strange, though. For 20 years, I had platinum blonde hair thanks to the discontinued Clairol toner. (I started bleaching my hair at 13). I don't have any grey at all in my roots, so that's not an issue.

Everything changed as soon as we started using the new toner. Maybe using 20 vol. with the toner would help? (Currently we only use 10 vol. peroxide with the toner).

Thanks again for any advice!

There's a bleaching/toning chart here.

I'm wondering if the old toner was slightly more pigmented than the new one, but most of us on this site are not terribly familiar with permanent toners.  I'd follow Scott's advice next time and see what happens.