by Maffew James

Created on: August 20, 2009

Bleaching hair at home can be a daunting and foreboding task, many people are terrified and put off by the thought of damaging their hair to the point of it snapping or falling out. There are some basics which when learnt can make the job a lot easier and reduce the stress you face in your decision to bleach your hair though.

Before you consider bleaching your hair for the first time, if you have already dyed your hair a darker colour than it is naturally, do not attempt to bleach it, artificial dye bleaches much slower than natural colour and the top 'coat' is bleached before the 'base coat' which can cause your hair to turn a foul orange.

Bleaching over an artificial colour is not an easy task for a novice and should be avoided until you can do it. If you are adamant about bleaching your hair and have dyed it darker, you must use a colour stripper first to break the artificial pigment up, then you can bleach it.

Now with that said, it is very important to know what hair bleach actually is, and to grasp the concept of it.

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It consists of a concentration of 'developer' (peroxide), and 'bleaching powder' (a mix of usually ammonium persulfate and potassium persulfate).

The developer opens the hair cuticle which seals the colour and inner structure of the hair, and works with bleach powder to remove the natural pigment through oxidation.

Developer is able to be purchased in several strengths and you should know how and why to use each strength. This strength is measured in a concentration from 10-40vol, going up by 3% actual hydrogen peroxide content each time. This reflects the lightening power of the peroxide.

10 vol is used in combination with dark dyes to open the cuticle and set the colour as dark dyes don't require a lightening. In combination with bleach powder it can give a lift of about 1 tone.

20 vol is used with lighter dyes to provide a lift of tone as well as depositing a new colour, for example in lighter brown dyes. In combination with bleach powder it can lift 2-3 tones.

30 vol is the strongest volume of developer I recommend to anyone who has not bleached their hair several times. If not used correctly it can be damaging to hair, as well as cause chemical burns. It is used with blonde dyes to provide the greater lift necessary, and in combination with bleach powder will lift 3-5 tones.

These are just general guidelines, as some people may have a greater lift with less strength, and vice versa. All hair is different and you should

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