Whether your hair is platinum blonde or features a few buttery highlights throughout, bleach is the key to achieving lighter, eye-catching tones. This process works by triggering a chemical reaction that lifts the hair’s cuticle, removing natural pigments to reveal a brighter shade. But when the cuticle is raised, the hair loses its ability to retain moisture, leaving it vulnerable to dryness and damage.
So, how do we take care of lightened hair?
What does bleach do to your hair?
Before we dive into care tips, let’s understand what happens to your hair during the bleaching process. The process involves alkaline agents that open up hair cuticles to penetrate the cortex. Once inside, these agents strip the natural pigment, melanin, responsible for your hair's colour. To accomplish this, bleach breaks down natural fatty acids in your hair shaft, leaving your strands weakened and prone to dryness and damage.
Lightening your hair is transformative, but the process can cause split ends, rough textures, and a lackluster look if you don’t adequately care for it afterward. For optimal hair health, your post-bleach care routine should revolve around preventing breakage and replenishing hydration.
The Foundation of Post-Bleach Care
Hydration is key to restoring your hair after it’s been lightened. During bleaching, the natural moisture within your hair is stripped away, leaving the strands dry and prone to breakage. Without adequate hydration, your hair can become brittle, rough, and difficult to manage over time. To combat this, nourishing your hair with moisture-rich products and treatments is essential for replenishing lost hydration and maintaining softness and strength.
Make Conditioner Your Best Friend
Conditioning is non-negotiable for lightened hair. Opt for hydrating conditioners that replenish moisture and strengthen your strands. After every shampoo session, follow up with a rich conditioner to nourish your hair and combat the dryness caused by bleaching.
Consider adding a hydrating mask once a week to tackle extra dryness. These treatments are designed to penetrate deeper into your strands, strengthening and revitalizing your locks from the inside out.
Gentle Drying Techniques
Wet hair is particularly vulnerable after chemical alterations, so how you dry your hair matters. Swap out rough cotton bath towels for gentler options like bamboo fibre towels or an old t-shirt. These materials help absorb excess water without causing damage to the cuticle.
Instead of rubbing your hair dry (which can lead to breakage), gently squeeze or scrunch your strands to remove moisture. By handling your hair with care, you minimize stress on the shaft and help retain its integrity.
We use TO112 Bamboo Hair Wrap for its soft texture.
Add Serum Into The Mix
Bleach leaves your hair thirsty for moisture, making nourishing hair oils a fantastic addition to your routine. Ingredients like argan oil or jojoba oil are rich in fatty acids that deeply condition your hair. Use oils post-shower to lock in hydration and boost shine while reducing frizz.
We love TO112 Hair Serum because of its moisturizing trio of tamanu, argan and jojoba oils.
Gloss For That Extra Shine
Once your hair is lightened, incorporating regular gloss treatments into your routine can work wonders in rejuvenating its appearance and overall health. These treatments help seal the cuticle layer of the hair, which was lifted during bleaching, effectively smoothing out rough textures and enhancing manageability. Beyond providing a beautiful shine, gloss treatments also work to fill microscopic gaps and holes in the hair shaft that often result from the bleaching process, improving structural integrity. By strengthening and enhancing the surface of your hair, glossing contributes to a healthier, more polished look while minimizing the damage caused by chemical processing.
Don’t Forget About Lifestyle Factors
What you do outside the hair care aisle can influence post-bleach hydration. Simple lifestyle tweaks like staying hydrated, eating nutrient-rich foods, and protecting your hair from environmental factors can make a huge difference.
The Importance of Regular Trims for Bleached Hair
Hair trims are another vital element in post-bleach care, and they’re often underrated. Bleaching weakens the hair shaft and opens the cuticle, making your strands prone to splitting. Although enhancing hydration can prolong your hair’s overall health, trimming allows you to stop damage in its tracks.
Here’s why consistent haircuts matter for bleached locks:
Prevent Splits From Travelling
Split ends are an inevitable side effect of bleaching, especially if you skip maintenance. Regular haircuts remove damaged ends before they travel further up the hair shaft. This proactive step can prevent the dryness and brittleness associated with split ends from worsening.
Maintain a Healthy Appearance
Hair that has been treated with bleach can quickly lose its vitality. Trimming your locks allows you to refresh your overall look, giving you fuller, healthier ends. Even small trims every six to eight weeks can make a noticeable difference in keeping your strands vibrant and dynamic.
Strengthen Your Strands
Trimming lightened hair also encourages the growth of stronger, healthier strands. By cutting away damaged portions, you give newer, healthy hair room to grow without interference from dry or broken ends.
Avoid Heat Styling to Reduce Wear and Tear
If you're already dealing with the aftermath of bleaching, heat styling can exacerbate the problem. Hot tools like flat irons and blow dryers can strip your hair of even more moisture, leaving it fragile and prone to breakage. If possible, air-drying your hair is the best option post-lightening. For occasions where heat styling is necessary, always apply a heat protectant spray or primer to safeguard your hair from potential damage.
Our go-to heat protector is Oribe Balm d’Or Heat Shield for its heat protection of up to 450°F.
Takeaway
Hydration and trims are the cornerstones of post-lightening care, giving you the tools to enjoy your bright, bold new blonde long after the salon visit is over. Stick with these strategies, and you’ll keep your hair healthy, shiny, and stunning!