How I Achieve Platinum Blonde Hair!

Hello everyone! I recieved a request from Jessy from Liner and Lashes for a tutorial on how I get my hair the white-ish blonde that it is. I have gotten a lot of compliments on my hair color and questions on if I get it done at the salon or how I do it myself. The answer is that I dye my hair myself. 

First I want to give you a brief history on my hair..

My hair color, when I was a child, used to be a light golden blonde. As I got older, it faded out into a dirty gray blonde (ew). The first time I "colored" my hair was in 6th grade when my mom bought one of those "Do it yourself highlighting kits" from the store and put blonde streaks through my hair. That was what started my blonde kick. After that I discovered "Sun-In" and I continued to use that to lighten my hair until I went to a hairdresser and was told that using Sun-in often would damage my hair. I continued going to salons asking for highlights, or malibu treatments, or just plain dye that would achieve a white, ashy, blonde hair color. I absolutely hate my hair when it comes out with a orange or golden tint. After paying $50 dollars each month for my hair and not seeing the results that I wanted, I decided to try dying my hair myself. I went to Sally's and pick up some bleach and toner and the combination turned out to be perfect! I can finally have my white platinum hair at half the cost of going to local salons! 

The process is quite easy but I want to let everyone know that trying to go this blonde can sometimes not turn out perfectly. If you do not get the process right for your hair, it will turn out orange. Bleaching your hair is also very damaging and drying. The results turn out much better on virgin hair, or the hair at your roots. I have tried this process on my grown out, previously dyed hair and it does not turn out the same way.

  I recommend doing a strand test before trying this process out on your whole head. 

I do NOT recommend this to anyone who has medium brown to black hair, or those with red hair. Your hair will most likely turn out orange. I also do not recommend this for those who have not dyed their own hair before or are unfamiliar with the process and mixing. If you do not dye your own hair, but still would like the same result, suggest this to your usual hairdresser. This is just what works for me, it is not right for everyone. 

Supplies 

All can be found at Sally's Beauty Supply.

I use just the standard mixing bowl and brush as well as gloves. 

The bleach that I use is Loreal's Quick Blue. This bleach is tinted to a light blue color which helps to eliminate yellow tones. This is sold in either packets or a big tub. The packets, which I buy, are around $3.

 With the bleach, I use a 30 volume developer. This volume helps to lift the hair color several levels lighter than my natural color. 

The toner that I use is Wella's T18 (or white lady as it used to be called). It is a purple colored toner which really is the key ingredient in eliminating yellow and orange tones after bleaching and achieving the bright white color. This is also used with the 30 volume developer. 

The Process

When dying my hair, I never overlap the color on previous colored hair. I also like to color my hair a day or two after shampooing because I feel that it helps when the natural oils in my hair are still present.

I first pour the developer into the mixing bowl. For on the scalp applications, you are supposed to mix 1.5 to 2.5 fl oz.s of developer with the bleach. I mix them together until there is a thick "cottage cheese like" consistency. 

I then apply the bleach using the Sally's brush to the roots of my hair. 

I leave this on my hair for usually 50 minutes. I do not use heat or wear a cap over my hair.

And here is how it looks like on.. haha

After the bleach has been on for about 50 minutes, I jump in the shower and wash my hair using shampoo.
I do not use conditioner.

Here is what my hair looks like just after washing out the bleach. 

It is now time for the toner
For the toner I mix it by 1 part toner to 2 parts of the developer. 

I then apply this to whatever area that I bleached and leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes.

This part can be kind of scary because the toner is straight purple. But I promise it does not turn your hair purple unless you leave it on a long time. haha

After the toner has had time to develop, I jump in the shower again to shampoo and condition my hair. 

The process is now done! 

Here is what my hair looks like right after washing the toner out. 

The Results!

Platinum Blonde Hair!

Maintenance

Keeping ash blonde hair from turning orange or golden can be difficult. I find this especially hard since the apartments that I live in now have rust in the water. :( 

To keep my hair on the whiter side I use Shimmer Light's Blonde and Silver Shampoo. This stuff is amazing! It is tinted purple (very purple) so it will cancel out any gold or orange tones. I wash my hair 3 or 4 times a week and use this half of the time. It really keeps my hair looking as bright and white as possible. 

Thank you so much for reading. If you have any further questions about how I dye my hair please let me know!