From Blue Black to Bleach Blonde

My first first review on this blog! I'm still waiting for my Bzzkit to arrive so that I can review the Unreal candy, in the meantime I decided I'll do a review on the DIY bleaching kit I used on my hair a few months back.

The bleaching kit I used is called L'Oreal Paris Super Blonde Crème Lightening Kit, Medium Brown to Darkest Brown. I used it twice, the first time I got it from Amazon (if you click the link it'll take you to it) and the second time I got it from Target, around $11.99 if I recall correctly.

A few months ago I had blue black hair and decided I wanted to go drastically lighter. I bought the bleach and with a little help from a friend (I do not recommend doing it alone) I managed to bleach my entire head. This wasn't the first time I had ever used a bleaching kit in my hair but it was the first time I did the whole thing. I have to admit I was kind of upset after the first bleaching. My hair came out patchy and strange colors. I had blue, green, brown, blonde, ultra blonde... but after the second time I was very happy with the results, no more patches and no more strange colors!

Some tips that I think would be helpful to anyone bleaching at home:

- try to avoid using a lot of heat or any hair products a few weeks before bleaching
- wear old clothes, use old towels when bleaching! (I know it's obvious but some people forget)
- you have to work quickly to ensure even coverage, the effects of the bleach are almost instant
- ask a friend to help you, doing it alone can be frustrating
- do not comb the bleach through your hair! (it will cause major breakage and unhappy hair)
- condition, condition, condition, oh yeah and condition
- a few days after bleaching use a hair mask to restore moisture

As for the specific kit I used, as long as you follow the directions exactly I would recommend it! It came with everything you need. For once the gloves weren't huge like many dye kits gloves are. The mixture is a cool blue which helps tone out the brassiness that bleaching often induces. The fumes are pretty strong so I suggest doing it in a well ventilated area, my friend who helped me got pretty light headed from them. I have to say for a bleaching kit it wasn't even that damaging to my hair. I used it twice in two weeks (with a hair mask and tons of conditioning in between) and I had very little breakage. Many of you may need to do it twice as I did, but I imagine many with medium brown shades would only need one, just make sure you leave it on long enough!

Here was my hair before, blue/black:

After the first bleaching:

And after the second bleaching:

I actually dyed my hair again soon after to a more natural, but still very light, blonde and my hair picked up the color really well even after all that bleaching. I really hope this helps someone who was looking for the right at home bleaching kit. If anyone stumbles across this and has any questions please feel free to ask!