Effects of bleaching your hair, the sad reality

You might be thinking of bleaching your hair because you want a bold new look, or it might be summer where you are and you might want to change your hair colour for the season. Bleaching will give your hair a beautiful blonde look go to with your carefree summer vibe, you’ll definitely get some admiring looks and it can boost your confidence levels. This article looks at the effects of bleaching your hair.

What does bleaching do to your hair?

When you bleach your hair the colour is totally removed from your hair. This process is called oxidization, this happens by striping the pigment from the hair shaft. The longer you leave the bleach on your hair for, the lighter the hair gets and the more damaged it becomes.

Bleach actually makes the hair more yellow, you’ll need to tint it to get the white colour of platinum hair. Don’t confuse bleaching your hair with dying your hair. They are both changing your hair but are not the same thing. See how they are different here.

Effects of bleaching your hair

The process of bleaching causes permeant cuticle raise. This happens when the bleach is left on for a long period of time. When the cuticles are raised, during the bleaching process, the hair becomes weaker, the longer the bleach is on the hair the weaker the hair becomes. If left for very long the cuticles won’t go down.

Dry, brittle hair:

When the cuticles are left open and don’t close the hair will become more dry and brittle. This produces hair this is prone to split ends as well as breaking

Prone to breakage:

Your hair will become more delicate, if you use heat on it the hair will become worse. If the hair has many split ends it can break off as it can’t carry its own weight anymore. This is because the protein structures in the hair become damaged.

Allergic reaction:

Bleach can cause allergic reactions on the skin such as a rash, it can also cause acne. Salon quality bleaches usually won’t cause a reaction but it’s always good to do a patch test.

Bleaching can burn your scalp:

This is not a common occurrence especially if you are getting bleached at a salon but if you feel any discomfort then you need to let your styles know quickly.

Knots:

Because the hair cuticles are raised and stay raised the hair will be more prone to tangles and interlocking. This can make your hair difficult to manage.

Sensitive to other environmental factors:

Environmental factors such as wind, the UV rays of the sun and humidity will damage the hair. These environmental factors strip any nourishment or moisture that is on your hair.

What it won’t cause:

Bleaching cannot cause brain damage thankfully. The product wouldn’t be on the market if it had this effect on the body when applied topically. Note: If you ingest the product then the chemicals in the bleach can cause neurological damage as they are toxic

How to prevent damage from bleaching your hair?

  • The best advice I can give you is that you go to a professional who knows exactly what they are doing with hair bleach and know how to keep the hair from becoming damaged.
  • If you decide to do it at home then be cautious with what you use. When picking a bleach for hair you need to try your best to avoid the drugstore varieties. They don’t contain any of the nourishing ingredients that professional grade products have. They tend to cause more damage to the hair.
  • When you are bleaching your hair make sure you or the professional is lightning the hair slowly and gradually. If you are starting off with dark coloured hair and want to go to a light colour doing it in one step you will damage our hair.
  • Before you go get your hair bleached (like a few weeks before) you need to be using products that are sulphate free to prevent your hair from becoming dry. You also need to be deep conditioning your hair to get moisture in and to keep it strong.

How to take care of bleached hair

You need to make sure you are using products that are designed for bleached hair. These products have been specially designed to treat bleached hair and avoid breakage. They are less harsh and more moisturising.

Ensure that you are using sulphate free products. Sulphates are known to make the hair drier. Avoiding sulphates in products will be a step in avoiding damage to your hair.

After every shampoo, it is necessary to condition your hair. This will ensure that the cuticles lay as flat as they can after bleach, the conditioner also adds shine, reduces knots and keep the moisture sealed in.

You need to use a pre-shampoo and a deep conditioning treatment on a weekly basis. This will give your hair the moisture it needs, it will also prevent it from breaking. Here is a guide on how to take care of your hair at home.

I hope you enjoyed this article looking at the effects of bleaching your hair. If you enjoyed it please share.

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