Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Skipping over "bleach" blonde and going straight for "platinum" aka WHITE--all at home, of course

I've been rocking white hair for like, 5-ish years now, with only a few changes in between.
I am naturally white haired, meaning of course I was BORN with white hair, not necessarily that it would be white whether or not I colored it.
It started darkening up at the roots when I was in junior high and by the time high school came around everyone asked me why I only dyed my hair once and let my roots out.
EMBARRASSING! Its not cool to have roots showing during the in between salon visits and its even more uncool to have never dyed it to begin with and everyone just assume you need to get your hair done!
So once I turned 18 and could do whatever I wanted to my hair, I went straight for bleach thinking it would turn it white again.
WRONG.
I was yellow. Very quickly.
I looked like I belonged in a trailer to be completely honest. 
It was horrible.
Oh well, you live and learn... and in my case that means lots of experimenting.

So now here we are, five years later, and I've got it down.
No more yellow hair, I go straight for white and still get it by using bleach ( hey at least I had one part right to begin with!)
I want to state first of all that
i am not a professional hair stylist!
I don't recommend you doing this unless you have naturally blonde hair or have bleached it before and know how your hair will react to bleach.
This is basically a tutorial for those who ALREADY color their own hair and are familiar with bleach and know the side effects of using it!
I am simply telling you what works for me so I don't have to go into detail every time someone messages me on Facebook and asks lol.

First of all, here's what I use:
from left to right... 
Salon Care Extra Lift 30 vol. developer
Roux Fanci Full rinse in White Minx
Wella Color Charm permanent toner in T18 lightest ash blonde (formerly known as White Lady)
Wellite lightener (bleach)
Aussie smoothing serum (for styling after)
Herbal Essences heat protection spray (styling)
Avon Advance Techniques frizz control (styling)

You can find the developer, rinse, toner, and bleach at Sally's or whatever beauty supply store you have in your town, or do as I do and order from Amazon!
I use the styling stuff when I blow dry and straighten my hair because I want to keep it in the best shape after coloring it so my hair doesn't break.

Here's my before.... I haven't bleached since October and its February now so I'm definitely in need of some touching up.
I actually used a highlighting kit in between October and now which is why I have more yellow tint that usual... and also my flash added some more :)

Step one:
Mix 1 scoop of Wellite with 1 scoop of developer.
Apply directly to your roots.
If you already have bleached hair, only touch up the roots!
This prevents breakage! No sense in damaging the rest of your hair! Your roots are "fresh", the bleach won't damage them much!
I leave the bleach in about 45 minutes which works perfect for mine, but again, this is just my experience and I don't recommend you leaving it on that long unless you know your hair can handle it!

So then you're going to rinse out the bleach with cool water, shampoo it. I don't use conditioner here since I'm about to use toner.
Notice the roots are completely lightened now but there's lots of yellow left.

 Now for the messy part.
With gloves on apply the Wella toner all over your hair.
Saturate it REALLY well.
YES your hair is supposed to turn purple!
And you may notice this part can hurt a little.
If you have any cuts or sores anywhere that this touches its going to sting but luckily it doesn't stay on the hair long!
I wait 10 minutes at the most before I rinse this.
The bottle says to leave it on up to 30 minutes but I'm telling you your hair will be BRIGHT purple if you do that!
I shampoo about 4 times and rinse with cold water each time.
Then I put TONS of conditioner on the ends and let it sit for a minute before SHAMPOOING the conditioner out (if that makes any sense) and then rinsing it all out again with cold water.
It can be pretty tricky getting the purple tint out. If you work I would recommend you do this when you won't be going in for a couple of days just to be on the safe side. Sometimes it takes upwards of 3 days to get the color out. I like to do it in the morning, and then follow the rinsing steps about 3 times that day, and then by the end of the night its usually all out. Or you can just rock the purple tint for a couple of days! I happen to like it!
This is where mine is after one wash... there is still a little purple there but not much.
Before I blow dry I put the White Minx all over my towel dried hair and then apply my heat protectors.

Here's my roots after blow drying. You can see my little frizzies sticking out but they really aren't that bad for someone who has been bleaching for 5 years lol. Smoothing serum helps this a lot!

Finished product!
And MINIMUM yellow!
For those of you who are wondering why the longer layers of my hair are more "blonde" than white
its not because they're extensions or anything,
I had the underneath part dyed black for about 8 months and this is only the second time I've bleached that part to get it back to white.
So really if you're doing this with black or dark brown, the underneath tint is about what you'll be until the 3rd or 4th time you bleach, then you'll be where my top layers are.
And obviously if you're already a blonde and doing this, my top layers should be where you are already!

Easy enough right?
Feel free to comment with any questions and if you try it out and have good results let me know! I'd love to hear from you!

42 comments:

  1. I would LOVE for my hair to be this blonde again but I'm terrified of damaging it! It looks great on you!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. thank you, thank you! Mine is surprisingly healthier than its ever been but I'm sure it has nothing to do with the color lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't find big bottles of the toner! Help anyone

      Delete
  3. I'm sure it's because you take very good care of it. I'm just too chicken to do my own hair. I color my mom's, but that is the extent of my hair experience.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for this! :-) I'm currently bleach blonde but would like to be white blonde. Seeing your pretty pics has convinced me to go buy more bleach and toner today, rather than go back dark!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yay!That makes me so happy! Its such an easy process!

    ReplyDelete
  6. did you apply the toner to wet hair right after washing out the bleach?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks fabulous..... what if any problems have you run into? Also how did you correct them if you did have issues? I like many girls pay very good money for my hair but you have the color I adore...and you did it at home.. and dang it looks PERFECT n costs less I am so sure. Thanx...keep it rockin girl.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! It took a really long time for me to figure it all out and get it the way I liked it. No salon has ever gotten my hair that white either! The only issues I ever had was leaving the toner on too long and it being REALLY purple and hard to get out. All I had to do was wash it several times and it was gone.

      Delete
  8. You are a life saver! I had used the T18 and it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. So I went out and got the white minx and love it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What volume developer did you use with the T18 Toner??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can use any. I like Sally's Salon Care and Wella both! I use 30

      Delete
  10. what did you do/use to get the purple tint out of your hair?
    -SaraH

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really wish I would have been keeping up with the blog and would have seen this! Sometimes when it is especially tough to get out, I've used regular dish soap or liquid Dial. Both of them are AWESOME at pulling that purple out.

      Delete
  11. I've been trying to get to that color for the past four months. I have been going to the salon every 1-2 months so that my hair doesn't get damaged, and it indeed has gotten lighter. However as incredibly light and bright as it is, there is still remnants of yellow, and it's certainly not where you are. I'll probably be going back in another month, however I'm spending a lot of money doing this and I'm wondering: Maybe I should just get the Wella toner and try it myself like you? I know the toner she uses at the salon isn't purple, it's just white, and since purple cuts out yellow(and my hair pulls red/yellow), should I just try it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would definitely try it. I've seen so many stylist say they get their client's hair "platinum" when its just yellow. I hate it. There is a huge difference. Purple and blue are the only toners that will get you to white, I don't think there is any way around it at all. Give it a shot! It washes out in a few weeks anyway and its not all that damaging either.

      Delete
    2. Yeah! My problem is no matter how any times I go the yellow doesn't disappear. How much of the peroxide do you use? The last time I tried over a month ago I only had a small bottle of 20 but your bottle is much larger and 30.

      Delete
    3. Btw this is my hair currently.
      http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h395/JMuttface/Hair_zpsc4d2eeb9.jpg

      Delete
  12. Do you use 20 or 30 with your toner?

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is fabulous!I can't wait to try it on my hair. Do you use the White Minx after every wash? Or only after the application of toner?

    ReplyDelete
  14. The White Minx can be used as often as you need it. The yellow likes to sneak back in fairly quickly so I would recommend once a week or at least a couple of times a month. There are also some shampoos you can use like Shimmer Lights by Clairol that will help neutralize the yellow. Look for any "blue" shampoos that are formulated for getting brassiness out of blonde hair. You'd be surprised how much longer your color will last with the added steps! :)

    Glad you've enjoyed it! Send pictures of your hair if you can! I'd love to see!

    ReplyDelete
  15. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OMG I love it! I'm so glad it works well for guys too! Did you leave the toner on for a shorter amount of time since you have less length or did you stick with 10 mins? It looks great!

      Delete
  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Absolutely fantastic. I've been trying to get white hair since I was 15 (I'm 17 now) and the best I could get was your 'just before toner' picture. I've been using all the semi-permanent white toners, nothing works. I just had a couple of questions?
    1. Do you think one container of Wella Toner T18 is enough for waist-long hair?
    2. Do you mix the toner with anything?
    3. Does the toner dry your hair out? Because I've been using Clairol Shimmer Lights and it dries my hair out horribly.
    4. How often do you re-apply the toner? Like, is it permanent or do you do it when you do your roots?
    5. Any other white-hair upkeep things you do? Special shampoo/conditioner, etc...

    Thank you!

    PS You're sooo pretty, you look great in black hair too. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have really thick hair and I was able to cover mine pretty well but the longer it got the less saturated to became so I would at least do a bottle and a half for longer hair. 2 bottles would probably be a bit much and might give you too much purple. I would just part the hair and do the bottom section first and then the top since the top will take it quicker anyway.

      The toner is just mixed with developer. Nothing else. Its a 2:1 ratio so 1 part Wella 2 parts developer. Most people have better results with 20, but I used 30.

      The toner made my hair feel a lot better condition wise. It would look fried and dried with just the bleach and when I put toner in it looked soft and shiny. You can put coconut oil on the ends of it does make it dry. It won't fade the color.

      Its best to reapply the toner around every 3 weeks. I always just touched my roots up and then applied to toner so it would all be one nice white color. Its only a temporary fix for it, but with good upkeep it lasts a good bit. My ends always stayed really white, the top layers just got more yellow.

      Upkeep is really important.... I used all "blue" products... Shimmer Lights and White Minx rinse are essential if you want to keep the yellow out.

      Thank you very much by the way! The black has ended up being MORE upkeep than the white was because I have naturally very light blonde hair so my roots show CONSTANTLY. I'm having to do touchups every 2 weeks! Brutal!

      Come back and send me a pic of your hair if you get a chance! I love to see the afters!

      Delete
  18. Hey! I simply wish to give an enormous thumbs up for
    the nice information you might have here on this post.
    I can be coming again to your weblog for more soon.


    Also visit my webpage; semi formal dresses short

    ReplyDelete
  19. Howdy! I just wish to give an enormous thumbs up for the good information you’ve here on this post.
    I might be coming again to your blog for extra soon.


    Also visit my webpage ... seo friendly wiki

    ReplyDelete
  20. not "everyone" Ivan...just those who are lucky enough to have to?
    visit school. In the united states we give absolutely everyone an training, so we have to
    decelerate a little.

    my web blog :: marcus london 60 minute stamina Download

    ReplyDelete
  21. Does it work if you have light brown hair??

    ReplyDelete
  22. I don't use direct heat in my hair. I bleached my hair, it's pretty brassy. The toner I used didn't work. I tried Shimmer light shampoo and other yellow out shampoos and it didn't work. I want white hair so bad. I am definitely going to get the toner you used. But as for the rinse, how do I apply that really? Does it seal with heat ? Do I really have to ?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow, gorgeous! Love, as a color changeling I am very familiar with bleach and wella, found this very helpful ;)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hey just want to say, awesome job. I do my platinum at home too, for about 7 years. I Wanted to say I'm a t18 girl myself. However, I switched to schwarzkopf BlondeMe collection, I find it leaves my hair a little less dry. You can also get toners that lean slightly to violet, or steel, or strawberry platinum.they're designed for platinum vixens like us! They're a blast to mix! You can do icy blonde all over with a blue or pink blonde section (it's subtle too). Also, the bleach powder performs like a saint! Its pricey, but lasts me a year or two per tub. They're developers are more creamy, even visually, and they seem to be more soothing than whatever generic brand I used to buy. And I don't work for them lol, I'm just a diy blonde like you. P. S. What's that rinse you put in? The minx one?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Earlier today I accidentally made the ends of my white hair bright purple by using shimmer lights. My roots it hardly fazes, but the ends suck it up quick. I put this Uncolor system semi-perm haircolor remover on the purple parts for 5 min, washed it out and it worked. I wonder if this would work on the purple ends I get from t18 toner (since I have to leave it on so long to faze my roots...). It says it does not affect permanent color or hair, just removes semi-perm color quick. Does that include toners? I may try it next month instead of walking around with purple ends for a week.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I accidnelt dyed my hair platnuim blond when I wnated bleach blond. If I bleach it again will it go back to bleach blond?

    ReplyDelete
  27. I agree with many of the comments here that your hair looks beautiful and that it's an inspiration to others to give it a try. However, I would also like to address the earlier comment referring negatively to those who live in trailers. Living in a trailer doesn't automatically diminish your intelligence, social skills, character, or level of attractiveness. I enjoy your blog but would appreciate that statement being re-worded in order to avoid promoting hurtful and untrue stereotyping. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi,
    I decided to bleach my hair platinum again after 8 years of natural blonde. I used to use Clairol 323d, but now find it's been discontinued. Sallys Beauty employees recommended I use the T14. I did and now my hair still has some yellowish parts and the rest is an ashy white that is not flattering to my skin tone at all. When I used the 323d, my hair was the color of yours.
    You think I can fix this by using the T18?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thank you so much for sharing this information!!!! Love your results!!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thank you so much for sharing this information!!!! Love your results!!!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love your haircolor! I'm trying to get my hair to this level for the second time. Mine's super short so it grew out completely since the last time, when my friend helped me do it. It took like 5 or 6 bleaches at 20-30 vol that time, and I'm only dirty blond naturally! This time I went to a student salon that got me to super yellow with a 35 bleach and a wimpy toner that left me super blond. I did a quick 30vol bleach (I didn't leave it long enough, I think. I was worried I'd overprocess) and wella T18 today with a little bit of violet additive, and although I'm not quite where you are, it's looking much better. I'm gonna try 30vol developer with the T18 in a couple days, like you said. I'll see where that gets me, because short of bleaching completely white, I don't see how I'd get much lighter just bleaching it.

    ReplyDelete