To get that candy-coloured hair you’ve always wanted, bleaching is almost always necessary to lighten your natural hair colour and, as you all may know, this is severely damaging to your mane. When you use bleach, the chemicals react with melanin to remove the hair’s natural pigments via oxidisation and this breaks down the structure of each strand, resulting in thinner and weaker hair. For that reason, here are six ways to care for your freshly bleached hair:
1. Cut down on washing your hair – When the hair pigments are being stripped down, natural oils are also removed, leaving the hair raw and extremely delicate. For this reason, you should avoid washing your hair daily as the shampoo and conditioner can further dehydrate your mane. Limit yourself to twice or three times a week and use dry shampoo to get rid of grease.
Photo: Schwarzkopf
2. Use purple shampoo – The more you bleach your hair, the more the colour gets lightened. In the mean time, your hair may look brassy and yellow, especially when you’ve got dark natural hair to begin with. To reduce the brassiness and tone your bleached hair, purple shampoo really helps to give the hair cooler tones and every wash makes a difference.
3. Always wash with cold water – Use cold water every time you wash your hair to protect your cuticles and retain moisture in the strands. Hot or lukewarm warm water will dry out your bleached hair and leave it parched or frizzy. The cold water also helps to maintain the colour.
4. Stop using heat – After you’ve bleached your hair, stay away from hair styling tools for at least two weeks. Give your hair time to rest and become stronger before tormenting it with heat. If you have to blow dry, do it until your hair is partially dry, then leave it to dry naturally.
5. Use treatments – Invest in a good deep conditioning treatment and a nourishing hair oil to repair your damaged hair the best you can. You’d be surprised what these products can do and in no time, your hair will be stronger, softer and more manageable.
6. Trim regularly – Bleached hair is more prone to split ends, so take note of that and get a trim every once in a while to keep those split ends at bay. You’ll leave room for healthier-looking hair that looks great.
