For many African American women, the idea of dyeing their hair blonde can be both exciting and daunting. Concerns about hair damage, finding the right colorist, and maintaining hair health are common. This guide aims to provide an uplifting and informative resource for Black women considering going blonde, drawing on expert advice and personal experiences.
For the past 5 years, I’ve been wanting to bleach my hair blonde, but almost everyone tried to discourage me from taking the plunge. “It’ll break off" or "You should just do a weave” are some of the ignorant comments I've heard on more than one occasion. But after a lifetime of following other people’s advice, rather than abiding by my own intuition and desires, I decided to just go for it - and I've never regretted it since.
Going blonde shouldn’t be discouraging or trepidatious, but exciting and empowering - just as it is for our Caucasian peers. And ultimately, we need to change the narrative and fear around Black women dyeing their hair, which is not only wrong, but further perpetuates the feeling of “otherness” that’s pervasive among communities of color.
How to Bleach your Hair at Home with BlondMe: Watch This Before You Try!
Five Rules for Going Blonde
Here are five essential rules to follow when dyeing your hair blonde, according to experts Courtney Nischan and Marcia Hamilton, who works with Zoë Kravitz:
1. Pick a Colorist Who Values Your Hair
It's critical to find a stylist who understands the value our hair plays in our lives. Not only does my colorist Courtney provide me with the scientific breakdown as to how I should treat my hair, but she also constantly affirms that my natural hair is beautiful, easy to work with, and capable of just about anything. She believes in her craft and perpetually furthers her education as a hair artist and it shows in the quality and health of my blonde hair.
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Prior to finding my hair guru, Courtney Nischan, I visited countless hairstylists, all of whom strongly pushed me against dyeing my hair. They’d give me the same excuses I’d heard my whole life, rather than admit to a lack of understanding of the intricacies of Black hair care. They made me feel like somehow I was the one at fault for not being able to go blonde, when it was actually their own limited ability.
2. Stop Chemical Processing
If you’re going to go blonde, both Nischan and Hamilton suggest halting any relaxer use or any form of chemical processing several months prior. “I’ve educated my clients that it’s best to color natural hair,” says Hamilton. “I’m not saying that you can’t color relaxed hair - you can. But there’s only so far you can go to maintain the integrity of the hair.” She’s speaking from professional and personal experience.
“I remember bleaching my hair out with a relaxer on it, and my hair literally just flew off my head that day,” says Hamilton. “I was driving with the windows down and my hair [was just] blowing off in the wind.”
3. Find Your Inspiration
There is not one way to go blonde, so give yourself time to find the shade that works for you. Is it a buttery hue, like Solange? A warm honey, like Beyoncé? White hot, like Kravitz? Build a Pinterest board, noting hair color and skin tone, until you find your desired look.
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4. Be Patient With The Process
Don’t expect to get from level 1, which is jet black or super dark brown, to platinum in one day. (And if a hairstylist says they can, run.) Rushing to go platinum will blow out your hair shaft, which is damaging to any hair type - but especially dangerous for those with natural hair since it can affect your curl pattern. The key is to find a colorist who will start you off with a very low-volume developer and has enough integrity as an artist to want to do everything they can to keep the health of your hair intact. It took me several months, and multiple hours long sessions, to go from highlights to full-on blonde.
5. Maintain Your Hair Health
How you treat your hair between salon visits is key to maintaining healthy and resilient blonde hair. Both Hamilton and Nischan swear by Olaplex, a treatment that permanently strengthens and rebuilds damaged bonds in your hair that have been broken due to the chemical process of bleaching it. Smooth on the mask for 20 minutes and stand in your hot, steamy bathroom - which really helps it penetrate.
Then, fill out the rest of your routine with hydrating products that work for your curl type. I am personally a devout user of Kevin Murphy’s SMOOTH.AGAIN Shampoo and Conditioner, Oribe Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil, and Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Hair Serum.
Bleaching Box Dyed Black Hair Blonde
Bleaching hair that has been dyed with black box dye can be a challenging process. But with the right approach and precautions, it can be done. In this step-by-step guide, we'll walk you through the entire process of safely bleaching your hair to remove black box dye and achieve a lighter base for your next hair color.
In this tutorial you will learn:
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- What products to use
- How to mix and apply the bleach
- Learn when you need to rinse after applying the bleach.
- Learn which toners typically work well on box dyed and bleached hair.
- Hair care & maintenance for box dyed and bleached hair.
The Starting Point
Black cherry box dyed hair. The hair was not in too great a condition as a result of the color build-up from the box dye color. She wanted us to lift out her previous color and go ash blonde.
What Products to Use
- Brilliant Blondexx - Bleach with Bond Protect: It contains Bond Protect (Plex Technology). It has a very effective lift: more than 7 levels. At the same time the Plex Technology protects the hair as you lift.
- Developer: We needed both 20 and 30 Vol. It's a good idea to always keep both strengths for color correction of this type.
- Toner:The toners that we used here were the following: Ash Grey Additive & 7.1b for the lengths 6N for the roots
- Coloring tools: Mixing bowl, applicator brush, sectioning clips, and a coloring cape.
- Shampoo & conditioner or mask: Using acidic and sulfate-free haircare afterwards does help. And anything with Plex technology is perfect to help strengthen and recondition the hair after the entire process. We used Brilliant Blondexx Shampoo & Mask. It contains Plex technology and is acid based and sulfate-free.
In general, we would recommend you to be very thoughtful of what haircare products you use after a major color correction process.
Step 1: Prepare the Bleach Mix
Bleach & 30 Vol developer for the first application. For the first application for the lengths only, use 30 Vol. The mix is 1 part bleach to 2 parts developer. Stir really well until you get a smooth, wet paste.
Step 2: Apply Bleach on the Hair
Divide the hair into four or more sections using sectioning clips. This will make the application process more manageable. Let down one section and apply, sectioning very finely. We suggest you use foils at the beginning. It will help keep in heat and help the bleach process. You are doing color correction on box colored hair, so you need to really drench the hair in the bleach. It should be totally saturated. So no half-hearted measures, please! Fold up the foils as you work and then let it process.
Step 3: Check the Lifting, Re-apply Fresh Mix if Required
Now open up the foils at the back and see how much the hair has lifted. As you can see, it is still very bright orange. So at this stage, we make a second mix, with 20 Vol developer this time. And we re-apply.
Step 4: Check One More Time, and Rinse
We give it another 15 minutes. We can see that the hair is not lifting beyond light orange. It's been around 35 - 40 minutes in all, and we have bleached the hair enough. So rinse the hair.
Tips Before Bleaching
Before I bleach, I prep my hair and scalp. It's recommended that you do not bleach freshly washed hair because the natural oils on your scalp help to protect your roots and scalp from the harsh chemicals in the bleach. Then I get ready to mix the bleach. I've been using Wella Blondor for almost two years, and it's done the job. I usually mix the bleach with a 40-volume developer, Welloxon Perfect 40, at a 1:1 ratio until the consistency is a thick, creamy paste. I make sure to wear gloves and do the mixing in a well-ventilated area.
Before I slather the bleach on my head, I'm careful to wear a shirt that will be sacrificed and use a towel that will be destroyed. Once I'm in full protective gear, I section my hair. If your hair is longer, then I would start with four sections and steadily tackle each (starting from the back). I apply the bleach from midlengths to ends, then do my roots last (as to not get hot roots). Hot roots means your roots are lighter than your ends, which makes your new hair color look uneven. This happens because our scalp is warm, and when the warmth mixes with bleach, it speeds up the developing process.
For me, I keep my hair very short, so I just slather it all over my head as quickly as possible. Once my bleach is all set, I'll cover my head with a plastic cap and leave it on for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, I check my hair and see how many levels it has lifted. If I'm going brunette, then I'll aim for a yellow or yellow-orange at minimum (level 6-7); if I'm going blond, then I aim for a light yellow (level 8-9). If I were to do a painterly color, then I'd try to get my hair to a very pale yellow (level 9-10) so the color result is as vibrant as possible. If, after 20 minutes, my hair is still very orange, then I check it every 10 minutes until I've achieved a workable base color - do not leave bleach on your scalp for more than 45 minutes!
