4 mistakes when lightening hair at home

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Many girls dream of a luxurious ash blonde and are bitterly disappointed when, after home staining, they see a chicken in the mirror. The life hacker talked to an expert and found out what could have gone wrong and what you need to know before lightening.

Mistake 1. Identify lightening and toning

The decision to go blonde is often spontaneous. The woman just goes to the store and buys the white paint she likes. At home, she mixes something in a tube with something in a bottle, applies it to her hair and waits. Unsurprisingly, the result differs from expectations.

The creation of a blonde always takes place in two stages.

1. Lightening (discoloration). This is the process by which natural or artificial hair pigment is destroyed.
2. Toning. Giving the hair the desired shade.

Clarification is carried out with a special powder or cream and an oxidizer of a certain percentage. For example, to make dark hair lighter by 4–5 tones, you need an oxide of at least 6%. If the hair is light, usually use a 1.5-3% oxidizer. But everything is very individual. Sometimes, to achieve the desired result, 6-9% oxide is used to lighten blondes.

The lightening result is always warm. You will find out why this is happening a little later. For now, remember: you cannot put an equal sign between the concepts of "lightening" and "coloring in blond". After all, you can lighten up to create a nuclear-orange or acid-green hair.

Lightening is just the first step to blonde. It sets the background on which the color must lie.

The result of coloring depends on many factors: the condition of the hair, the original tone and shade and, of course, the coloring composition and the method of its application.

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Mistake 2. Ignore the background lightening and tone level

In everyday life, people are divided into blondes, brown-haired, redheads and brunettes. It's more difficult for professional hairdressers and colorists.

Human hair consists of a nourishing rod (medula), which gives strength and elasticity to the cortex and a protective cuticle (many dense scales on the surface).

The cortex contains melanin, which is responsible for hair color. Melanin is composed of two pigments, eumelanin and pheomelanin. The first has a dark shade (from brown to blue-black) and the shape of elongated granules. The second one is round molecules of yellow and red colors.

The natural hair color depends on the ratio of melanin pigments. The more eumelanin, the darker the hair, and vice versa: pheomelanin predominates in blondes.

The level of tone (or, as they say, the level of depth of tone) depends on the amount of eumelanin.

The tone level (UT or UGT) is the gradation of the natural hair color in terms of lightness.

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Allocate 10 UT, where one is black, and everything above seven is considered blond.

When lightening, the level of depth of tone rises and the background of lightening appears. This is the color that is obtained after the partial destruction of the natural or artificial pigment, if the hair has been dyed.

Imagine a flask with red and yellow balls inside. The initial tone level is 6. Lighten up to 9. Only yellow balls remain in the flask. The next step is toning, and you need to figure out how much blue and red to add so that the colors mix and from a distance the bulb looks beige.

Before switching to blond, you need to determine the tone level, the predominant pigment and the desired result. It depends on how to lighten (powder or cream), what percentage of oxidizer to use, where to start applying the composition and other nuances. Hairdressers make up special formulas to calculate how many grams from which tube to squeeze out for toning specific hair.

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Mistake 3. Not following instructions

It is important to take into account not only the tone level and lightening background, but also to understand what type the composition belongs to and how to use it correctly. Lightening and dyeing hair are chemical reactions, the course of which depends on the dye used.

All dyes can be divided into direct and indirect.

Straight lines do not mix with an oxidizing agent and do not penetrate into the hair. Their molecules are deposited on the cuticle. Direct dyes are produced mainly in the form of tinted shampoos, balms and mousses. Henna and crayons are also direct dyes. They are easy to use at home (no mixing required) to maintain or refresh color.

Indirect dyes open the cuticle, penetrate the hair and break down the natural pigment to make room for the artificial one. Such dyes are always mixed with an oxidizing agent - hydrogen peroxide with various additives. They are usually produced in the form of creams. It is more difficult to work with them (exact proportions are needed).

Indirect dyes also include dyes, which do not contain ammonia, but its derivatives are present. They do not have such a pungent smell, but the principle of action is the same as that of ammonia dyes.

When working with indirect dyes, it is very important to choose the correct percentage of the oxidizing agent. It depends on it how much it will be possible to rise in the level of depth of tone and how much to keep the composition on the hair.

Many people mistakenly think that the longer they keep the dye on their hair, the better the effect will be. In fact, manufacturers are conducting more than one clinical study to calculate how long a particular formulation takes to lighten, develop and fix the artificial pigment. If the package says "Hold for 30 minutes", hold for half an hour. Overexposing the paint, you only dry your hair.

Mistake 4. Not taking care of your hair

Lightening is not enough to become a gorgeous blonde. Blond requires constant gentle care. Otherwise, the hair that has gone through the lightening reaction will hang with lifeless tow.

Hair does not have strength and energy, because these are keratinized appendages of the skin. Some restorative cosmetics regenerate disulfide bonds and protein, but most conditioners simply seal the cuticle scales tightly to reflect light. As a result, the hair looks good and is pleasant to touch.

There are a lot of popular hair lightening recipes on the Internet. You need to understand that lemon juice, chamomile broth or kefir will never turn you into a platinum blonde. Maximum will make light brown hair half a tone lighter.

But natural ingredients can be used to improve the condition of colored hair. Here are some good masks.

1. Honey … Mix equal proportions of honey, aloe juice and castor oil. Leave on hair for 30 minutes. Rinse off with plenty of warm water.
2. Banana … Mix with a blender until smooth, one medium banana, one egg, one teaspoon of honey, a tablespoon of burdock oil, and two tablespoons of full-fat yogurt without additives. Keep it on for about an hour, then rinse and wash your hair with shampoo.
3. Egg … Pour two tablespoons of gelatin with warm water and leave for 10-15 minutes to swell the gelatin. Then melt it in a water bath, add the yolk of one egg and a tablespoon of your hair balm. Apply the resulting mixture to your hair, put on a plastic cap and wrap your head with a towel. Keep it for 40-60 minutes. After the procedure, rinse your hair with warm water.

Be careful with folk remedies. They can ruin even the most beautiful cold blond. "Food" on the hair will never give the same effect as professional cosmetics. Some of the things that are unlikely to make things worse - vinegar (the acidic environment will smooth the scales), coconut oil (but it is difficult to wash it off).

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In addition, it is necessary to constantly maintain the color with tint shampoos and other products, which also often contain care components.