Bleaching hair again after toning isn’t recommended due to potential damage. Wait 2-4 weeks between treatments to minimize harm. Over-bleaching can weaken strands, leading to breakage and dryness.
Understanding What Toning Entails
Some people go to a salon to get that desired blonde look by having their hair dyed. Others prefer to purchase home kits for themselves and create a look at home. But before you go from brunette hair to platinum blonde, what are some of the things you should know about toning your hair beforehand?
Start by understanding that there are two types of toners: bleach and permanent. Permanent toners use oxidation as the primary process, while bleach uses peroxide as its catalyst. To ensure your hair is appropriately colored, you mustn’t use more than three boxes of dye or leave it on for more than 45 minutes. Excessive stains will damage your hair.
The Benefits of Toning Your Hair After Bleaching
Your bleach might not take the hair to platinum, so you’ll need to tone your hair afterward. If you plan on going back and toning your hair to achieve a different color, you should know a few things:
- First of all, don’t wait too long. As time goes by, the color that bleaches out can fade even more.
In general, it’s best to wait about three weeks before toning your bleached strands again for two reasons:
- First, it allows the hair enough time to recover from any chemical damage incurred during the process.
- Second, it gives you a better idea of what color you’re going for before committing permanently.
So, Why is toning important? Toners act as an extra coat of paint that seals in your color. They also make sure the new shade remains true to its intended hue.
The only thing they won’t do is make highlights pop or add shine to your hair—those effects come from shampoos, conditioners, and styling products.
With such an easy solution, it’s no wonder many people go through this process regularly!
Can You Bleach Your Hair Again After Toning?
Bleach is an oxidizing agent that acts on the pigment of your hair, removing or changing its color. People decide to tone their hair after bleaching it because when you bleach it, you have to use a higher volume of developer (like a 40-volume) that can strip your hair and leave it dry.
Toners are used as a conditioning treatment after bleaching or coloring. A toner essentially tones down the harshness left by the bleach or color without impacting the overall shade of your locks.
So, Is it okay to bleach your hair again after toning? That depends on the type of toner. If you’re using a temporary color like Clairol Root Touch Up or Color Oops, then yes!
However, if you’re using a permanent hair dye like Ion Color Brilliance Semi-Permanent Powder Toner, then no! In this case, your hair will already be colored, so re-bleaching would result in a much lighter color than you want.
But there’s another option: adding more color pigments to try and create the desired hue. In this case, use Pravana ChromaSilk Vivids Permanent Haircolor or Pravana ChromaSilk Vivids Demi Permanent Haircolor because they contain magnetic pigments that adhere well to semi-permanent toners and therefore won’t wash out with shampooing.
How To Lighten Your Hair Safely
The decision to bleach your hair is an important one. Luckily, you can do a few things to ensure your hair stays healthy and manageable. Most importantly, stop washing it so much! When you wash your hair, it strips away the natural oils that help protect your strands.
- Use dry shampoo instead of regular shampoo when possible (but avoid in-between washes).
- Secondarily, add heat protection before blow drying or styling with heated tools.
- Finally, replace shampoos and conditioners with deep conditioning treatments (if you can’t get access to them from your hairdresser). They’ll also help replenish moisture and fix any potential color damage caused by repeated dyeing and toning.
Remember: healthy hair leads to a healthy head of beautiful hair!
The Risks of Bleaching Your Hair
If you’re hesitant to have your hair stripped of color once, twice, or three times, the big question might be: Can I bleach my hair again after I have already toned it? The answer is technical yes. But there are risks.
If you need to lighten your locks a few shades to find your perfect hue and think about toning it again before going platinum blonde, bleaching twice can sometimes work. But this can potentially weaken the texture of your hair over time, especially if you’re adding tons of heat styling (blow dryers, flat irons) every day for long periods.
There’s also the issue that hair dye only lasts six weeks on average—so if you keep getting your roots done, by the time you go all-over blonde, it’ll just look like roots again.
Word of Advice: If you want to go back to dark brown from platinum blonde with the same hairdresser who did your first transformation and don’t want them touching up your roots, ask them what they recommend instead. They may advise doing more than one service with them at different points to maintain consistency.
How to Do Bleaching
Regarding toning your hair, you have a variety of options. This includes choosing between different types of toners. Knowing the differences helps you to reach the best decision for your unique needs.
Let’s start with bleaching since that is usually what most people refer to when they mention toning their hair. A bleach or lightener is designed to remove the natural pigments from your hair, and it will take one or two steps (depending on the process) to get it ready for the next toner.
The first step to using bleach is applying it to dry hair. If you want lighter blonde highlights, this is when you would put the solution on your hair by taking small sections and pulling them up, so they are not touching anything else like furniture or other parts of your body.
Next, cover the top of your head with plastic wrap and leave it in place for 30 minutes before rinsing out the product in cold water.
If you want dark roots but lighter ends, this might not be the best option for you because after using lighteners, there isn’t any more pigment left, so there won’t be any room for further change until you grow out all of your roots again!
How to Tone Your Hair if it is Dyed, Brown or Black
If you have dyed your hair brown or black, use henna to lighten it. Henna is a natural substance that creates natural highlights and doesn’t contain any harsh chemicals.
- Mix one teaspoon of the powder with the juice of one lemon in one-half cup of warm water.
- Apply to damp hair and allow to set for three hours or overnight.
- Rinse thoroughly before shampooing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Bleaching Darker Hair Cause Damage?
Darker hair naturally contains more pigment and is a little tougher to bleach. As a result, you’ll need to use more bleach and leave it on longer to achieve the same results as someone with lighter hair.
This can cause the follicle beneath the surface of your skin to swell up and become tender, red, or irritated – even though you haven’t burned your scalp. To avoid this, opt for cooler water when you shampoo and apply conditioner before rinsing.
Why Isn’t It A Good Idea To Bleach Toned Hair?
Bleaching toned hair isn’t advisable due to several reasons, primarily centered around hair health and integrity. Here’s why:
- Damage Accumulation: Bleaching hair involves using chemicals to lift the natural pigment, which can be harsh on your hair’s structure. Toned hair is already compromised by the previous coloring process, and subjecting it to more chemicals can intensify the damage.
- Weakened Structure: The bleaching process opens up the hair cuticles and strips away natural oils, proteins, and moisture. Toned hair may have experienced some damage from toner application already, leaving it more fragile. Bleaching further can lead to breakage, split ends, and general weakening of hair strands.
- Undesirable Results: Toning is often done to achieve a specific shade, counteracting unwanted undertones like brassiness. Bleaching after toning can disrupt this carefully achieved color balance, leading to unpredictable and uneven results.
- Dryness and Porosity: Toned hair can be porous, meaning it absorbs and loses moisture quickly. Bleaching can increase porosity, making hair prone to dryness and more difficult to manage. This can result in a lackluster appearance and diminished shine.
- Risk of Overprocessing: Overprocessing hair with excessive treatments like bleaching can lead to a phenomenon called “hair fatigue.” This occurs when hair becomes so damaged that it becomes resistant to treatments, making it difficult to achieve desired color and texture.
- Stress on Scalp: Bleaching can cause scalp irritation, sensitivity, and discomfort. Applying bleach to hair that has already been treated can exacerbate these issues, leading to discomfort and potential scalp damage.
- Long-Term Hair Health: Consistently bleaching toned hair without adequate time for recovery can have long-lasting consequences. It might result in irreparable damage, thinning, and even hair loss.
How To Fade The Toner Faster To Avoid Bleaching Your Hair
To fade toner faster and avoid resorting to bleaching, try these methods:
- Clarifying Shampoo: Use a clarifying shampoo designed to remove product buildup and color. Wash your hair frequently with warm water and this shampoo to help fade the toner.
- Hot Water Washes: Hot water opens hair cuticles, allowing color molecules to escape. Opt for warm to hot water while shampooing and conditioning.
- Vitamin C Treatment: Create a paste with vitamin C tablets and anti-dandruff shampoo. Apply to damp hair, leave on for 30 minutes, then rinse. Vitamin C can help break down the toner molecules.
- Baking Soda: Mix baking soda with water to form a paste. Gently massage onto hair, leave for 5-10 minutes, then rinse. This can help lift toner gradually.
- Vinegar Rinse: Rinse hair with a mixture of equal parts vinegar and water. Let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse. Vinegar can help strip away color.
- Sun Exposure: Spend time in direct sunlight as UV rays can lighten hair. Protect your skin and use a hair sunscreen to prevent damage.
- Swimming: Chlorine in pools can fade hair color. Swim in chlorinated water, followed by a clarifying shampoo to speed up toner fading.
- Color-Stripping Products: Some color-removing products are designed to strip out semi-permanent color, which may help fade toner.
- Avoid Heat Styling: Heat styling tools like flat irons and curling irons can accelerate color fading. Minimize their use.
- Deep Conditioning: While not a fading technique, deep conditioning helps maintain hair health during the fading process.
The Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, it is not recommended to bleach your hair again after you have already toned it. Why not? By doing so, the toner put into your hair would be removed, and it could start to fade if you continued bleaching it.
Other methods can be used to keep the color in, such as using purple shampoo or conditioner to help lock the colors into place. One of the essential things when coloring your hair is being gentle with it and taking care of it while applying a new hue.
Suppose you want more information on how to properly take care of colored hair and learn what products may work best for you, consult a stylist and ask about these options before deciding which route is best for you!
Reference: https://botoxcapilar.org/en/bleaching-toned-hair
Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwf96dmHJGw
