SO this might be a controversial topic, but I want to talk about it anyway.
As a new cosmetologist it's sometimes hard for me to really make up my mind on what I truly definitely think. This one I have clued out in my head.
Bleaching at home.
Now the proper industry term is "lightening" the hair, when it's done at home or alone I will call it bleaching.
Many of us have experienced, know someone or heard of someone with a bleach disaster.
From Tina Turner, to hair falling in the sink, pumpkin orange hair, chemical burns and worse, I want to talk about bleach.
My friend Flor posted a video about melted hair due to a bleach incident (not hers, just a mannequin) and just the other day I decided I was going to experiment and see how I could leave bleach on my mannequin on for and see and feel really damaged hair.
As young cosmetologists (as most will agree with me) Lightening and toning, is terribly difficult, hard to wrap your brain around and honestly to this day it still scares the living crap out of me.
It's especially hard when clients have unrealistic expectations, wanting to go from level 1 pitch-black to lightest brightest oxi-clean platinum. Some clients just simply don't want to listen, and I think don't want to understand. It makes it difficult for us as newbies to feel confident when we have to argue with you.
When I say " no I think your hair won't be able to handle it...."or " Yeah because that shade of blonde would look great in my sink..." It's not that I'm lazy, or stupid or inexperienced.... I literally mean what I say. I always try and compromise. The most important thing is the integrity and the health of your hair. You will see that styling a fuzzy broken bleach blonde ball of frizz is not easy to tame at home. I'm trying to help you not hinder you. Setting up several appointments with you means I care about how your hair feels and looks after we're done and I have a better chance of getting you the colour you want. It's not a scheme to make me more money.
Now lets talk about at home colour. I understand it's not easy to come in every four to five weeks and get your regrowth touched up. I understand red fades incredibly fast. I get that the grey colour pops in pretty much a week and a half after the appointment. I get it. Have I told people how to maintain and do their box colour at home? Absolutely... Is it ethical and business smart? I don't even care. I understand that some people don't have the funds. I also realise that hounding you for doing a box colour at home will not get you any closer in my colour chair. But I will help you apply your colour and give you tips and tricks to help you not damage your hair. This however is only from my brunettes, red heads and other dark colours that require no bleach. I know that one day you will come into my colour chair when you have the funds, just because I helped you keep your hair a little healthier and didn't hound you. That to me is the most important part. Healthy hair.
Now for bleachers at home. STOP NOW!!! Anything to do with bleach, may it be foils, Highlights lowlights, overall bleach, panels, DIY Ombre.... Just stop. Bleach is not a chemical you should be playing around with. You're not trained. You didn't sit through chemistry and beauty school. You don't know anything about colour placement. What's that? Oh Google said..... yeah Google says plenty of things. Oh but you took High school cosmetology? Yeah that doesn't really teach you about bleaching either.
I learnt how hair lightens, the stages of under-pigment, how to cancel them out. How to properly apply it. The same goes for Highlights and lowlights. The same goes for an Ombre. I also know when hair can't handle anymore.....
"But I did box bleach twice at home and it's fine...." Honestly I don't care if you've done it once or ten times at home, eventually you won't be lucky and you might be left with snapped hair.
Bleach is not something to play around with.... I left Lightener and 20 Volume on my mannequin for 55 minutes covered under a plastic bag.... no heat.... and her hair melted.... here's another great example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1InTn9JrmA&feature=youtu.be
Bleach can leave hair feeling like crap, cause follicle scarring and atrophy, cause bald spots, and chemical burns. It's not something to just play around with.
To those of you who do DIY Ombre and Foiling techniques.... please stop. What you read on Google and Wikepedia isn't all true. It takes practise, time and real education to understand lightening. Don't try and educate others when you are not.
I don't go around teaching law, or accounting or give you DIY at home medications for your ailments.
I know that hair lightening is expensive, but I would rather have you come in once or twice and us figure out a way so you don't have to come in all the time, then you bleach at home or mess up your Feria ombre.... It will cost you triple the amount to fix then to just come in once or twice.
For out there is clients, what is your opinion?
For fellow stylists.... what is your opinion?
How do you feel about at home bleaching?
Any questions and comments, please leave them, I would love to discuss more of this topic
<3 Chris
I am not a hairdresser or colourist but I fully agree with you and am shocked how ignorant people can be for their own health in favour of fashion!
ReplyDeleteI had to learn a lot about chemicals for my profession (restorer/ conservator for objects) and learning about 'bleaching agents' I have so far not even used these as a treatment on removing metal stains from stone surfaces, let alone on any organic materials.
I had my own disaster with my hair colour obsession, in 1997 (yes I am old) my flat mate and me decided to go blonde after discovering a spray you simply spray on your hair, leave in and go out into the sun or blow dry. It worked immediately and we went overboard and all of a sudden I had straw blonde hair. Some time later I noticed how spongy my hair was. Like chewing gum. I grabbed a permanent colour (brown) and was distaught as it looked like someone emptied a bucket of dirt over my head. It was a year later when I went to a hairdresser who in the consultation was able to give me my entire hair toning, colouring history and she explained that these sprays should be banned, as it leaves the bleach uninterrupted to just continue it's chemical reaction (breaking bonds of molecules). So my superlong but 'dead' hair all came off (cut off). She coloured it brown red with black and glden orange highlights. Apart from getting lots of compliments (after a year of uncomfortable avoidance of the subject hair in my company) I could not stop touching my hair which felt how it used to; healthy, soft and strong.
I then got into Henna, which worked very well for five years. I was then bored of it and also got fed up with the re-coloring. So I thought I see what my natural hair colour is (I hadn't seen it for about 14 years) and to my great shock it turned out to be grey!
I think I was so busy with life that hair colour perfection wasn't high on my list of priorities, but I also did my research and henna coloured hair is basically a commitment until cutting it all off. This time I read all the warniings and small print on the supermarket home dying kit and wasn't even tempted once to ignore this. I wanted to keep my long hair long and after that spray disaster I decided to let things go naturally. I did find a great hair dresser who advised on toning it (after establishing my skin tone, natural hair colour and basically using her professional expertise) and this was great as it blended the bright red with the white grey into what probably today is called 'ombre' with nice shimmery highlights.
Now (this was 15 years ago) I have long white/grey hair. I use whichever shampoo but are set on a good conditioner.
Funnily enough I have been bang on trend with my white grey hair, I even was ahead of the curve by three years.
But regardless to trend or fashion at the end of the day the best look is cared for healthy hair.
You wouldn't do an operation on yourself in your kitchen and the thought of putting a rather damaging chemical on your head is equally serious to not be flippant about and for the sake of saving money. So do go to someone who dedicated him/herself to learn, train and study what and how to do hair colouring, it's an art and science at the same time, hence there are professional hair dressers.