Bleach Your Hair With Hydrogen Peroxide

If you are looking for a cheap, easy way to brighten your hair or bring out your natural highlights, consider bleaching your hair with hydrogen peroxide. This article will show you how to bleach your hair using hydrogen peroxide.

10 Second Summary

  1. Start with healthy hair.More ↓
  2. Wash and condition your hair. ↓
  3. Divide your hair into sections and secure them with clips. ↓
  4. Apply the hydrogen peroxide using a cotton ball or spray bottle. ↓
  5. Wait 30 minutes. ↓
  6. Rinse your hair with cold water. ↓
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Steps

Preparing to Bleach Your Hair

  1. Start with healthy hair. Don't dye or otherwise process your hair in the weeks leading up to the bleaching. Bleaching your hair will work better and cause less damage if your hair is strong and unprocessed. Strengthen your hair in the following ways:
    • Use a natural shampoo and conditioner. Avoid products containing sulfates, which dry out your hair.
    • Avoid chemical-laden hair sprays, gels, straightening products, and other hair products.
    • Don't apply heat to your hair with a straight iron, blow dryer, or other heating appliance.
  2. Gather your supplies. To bleach your hair with peroxide, you'll need the following materials. Gather them together and set them up on a table in your kitchen or bathroom:
    • A 3% hydrogen peroxide solution. Any higher than 3% and you risk hair loss when applying. Not fun!
    • An empty spray bottle. You can buy a new one at the drugstore, or use an old one you have lying around the house.
      • If you're using one that used to contain something else, make sure you wash it out thoroughly and dry it so that you're not unwittingly spraying your hair with window or bathtub cleaner.
      • If you're going to store the peroxide, it's better to use a dark spray bottle. Hydrogen peroxide degrades quickly when exposed to light.
    • Hair clips.
    • Cotton balls.
    • A towel.
  3. Wash and condition your hair. On the day you plan to bleach your hair, wash and condition it as normal to make sure the oils and grime caused by natural wear and styling products don't interfere with the peroxide.
    • Condition well with a good natural conditioner. Bleaching your hair with peroxide can dry it out, and conditioner will protect it during the process.
    • Let your hair air-dry instead of blow drying it. Pat it dry with a towel to keep it from dripping, comb it out gently, and let it dry for about thirty minutes. Hair that is a little wet will take the hydrogen peroxide better.

Starting the Bleaching Process

  1. Do a strand test. Take a small section from the underside of your hair and use a cotton ball to apply peroxide. Let it sit for thirty minutes, then rinse it out with cold water. Use the strand test to gauge how much peroxide you want to use on your hair.
  2. Section your hair into clips. Once your hair is reasonably dry, section off parts of hair you want bleached with claw clips. Sectioning your hair will help you make sure you treat every last lock with peroxide.
    • If you want a very even bleach, the claw clip method is highly recommended. It takes more time, but it looks more professional and it offers more even highlights.
    • Leave the first section of hair that you want to treat down. You'll unclip further sections as you go.
  3. Apply the peroxide. Decide how much of your hair you want to bleach, and use the peroxide accordingly.
    • For bringing out natural highlights, apply peroxide with a cotton ball. Pour some on a cotton ball and smooth it into the strands of your hair that you want to lighten. Start at the roots and stroke down to the tips with the cotton ball. Repeat with other sections of your hair.
      • If you want an ombre look, start from the tips and stroke up toward the roots, as far up the strands of hair as you want. This way the tips will be a brighter blond and the color will fade to dark toward your roots. Repeat with other sections of your hair.
    • To bleach all of your hair, use the spray bottle to spray the entire section of hair you left down. Spray it thoroughly and run a comb through your hair multiple times. Repeat with the remaining clipped sections of your hair.
  4. Leave the hydrogen peroxide in your hair for about 30 minutes. Depending on how dark your hair is, how light you want it, and how much irritation the chemical may cause, you'll want to experiment and play around with it. The more peroxide you use and the longer you leave it in your hair, the brighter it will be. For dark hair you can leave the peroxide in your hair for an hour to get the results similar to if a lighter haired person left it in for 15-30 minutes.
  5. Rinse your hair thoroughly with cold water. The cool water will remove the peroxide and add shine.
    • Add another coat of deep conditioner to your hair. Massage it into your scalp to ease any dryness or irritation the peroxide might have caused. Rinse it out with cool water.
    • Allow your hair to air dry, then style as desired.

Perfecting Your Bleached Look

  1. Repeat the process for lighter hair. The first time you use the peroxide treatment, your hair may get just a little lighter. If you want to truly bleach it, you'll have to repeat the treatment several times.
    • Your hair will become much lighter if you repeat this process in smaller doses every day for a week than if you use a whole bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide on your hair one night.
    • The final color also depends on what color your hair was to start out with.
    • If your hair is red or has a reddish tone, your peroxide-saturated hair might seem a bit more orange at first. Keep continuing the treatment and your hair should seem blonder.
  2. Take care of your bleached hair. Remember that using peroxide can damage your hair if you do it too often. It's important to take good care of bleached hair to prevent it from looking dried out. Use the following techniques:
    • Don't wash your hair every day. Washing your hair daily strips out natural oils that protect your hair from breaking. Use a dry shampoo (a powder you comb into your hair) to keep it looking fresh between washes.
    • Don't frequently blow dry or straighten your hair. These heating tools can exacerbate the damage caused by the peroxide, so use them once a week or less.
    • Handle your hair gently. Let it air dry as often as possible, and don't wring it out after showering.

Tips

  • To make your hair lighten even faster, spend a few hours out in the sunlight after applying the Hydrogen Peroxide.
  • Since hydrogen peroxide can leave your hair with an orange or brassy tone, try washing your hair with a violet shampoo that is made for this purpose.
  • A quality deep conditioner is a must whether you are bleaching your hair at home or professionally. Make sure you massage your conditioner into your scalp (it won't make your hair greasy if you rinse well).
  • If you have dark hair it will show better and lighter. If you have dark to light brown hair it will show even lighter. But do not keep it in for 24 hours your hair will be a mess.
  • Be sure to keep your hair well conditioned and moisturized to avoid damage/breakage.
  • When bleaching your hair make sure that you do not spill or it will stain.
  • If you get any on your skin, wash it as soon as possible.
  • For people with already light hair who just want to brighten or add highlights: use these steps but with lemon juice. And before washing out the juice, sit in the sun for about an hour. This is less damaging to your hair and just as effective.
  • Blow dry your hair after applying and before washing out.
  • If your hair is already a light color or is very porous, this method of bleaching will be more effective in lightening your hair. It will still work on people with black or dark hair, but it might take a little while longer.
  • Apply 100% Coconut Oil to your hair the day before you plan to bleach your hair. Leave it on overnight. Then, wash it out.
  • It works on dark hair.
  • Be prepared to have damaged hair. For the least amount of dryness and damage, the week before bleaching your hair, try out a hair mask. You can use coconut oil, honey, olive oil, or even eggs. Find hair mask recipes online to get strong hair before bleaching.

Warnings

  • Hydrogen Peroxide isn't safe to use around children as it will burn and be very painful if it gets in your eyes or if you swallow it. Be careful and use common sense.
  • Don't rub your scalp too hard when washing it.
  • Keep an eye on the bleach every 5 minutes, as it can affect one person's hair quicker than others.
  • Don't wash it out quicker than the instructions say or you won't get a good result.
  • Don't just pour the bottle of peroxide over your head. Use a medium, like a cotton swab or spray bottle.

Things You'll Need

  • 3% hydrogen peroxide solution
  • Cotton swabs and/or spray bottle
  • Deep conditioner
  • Running cold water
  • Brush or comb

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