If you’re coloring your hair, you can avoid mishaps by knowing the dos and don’ts. This article helps you determine if you can bleach hair with product in it.
When you bleach hair with product in it, the chemicals can prevent the hydrogen peroxide from saturating your hair evenly. However, bleaching hair when it’s oily is beneficial because the oils protect your hair and scalp from chemical damage. That’s why you shouldn’t wash your hair just before bleaching.
Is It Better To Bleach Hair When Greasy?
There are several reasons why your hair can become greasy.
Some people naturally have sebaceous glands that produce large amounts of oils. The sebum travels from the scalp and coats the hair shaft along its length.
Sometimes, the sebaceous glands are triggered to produce more natural oils than usual to compensate for the dryness caused by over-washing your hair.
Other times, greasiness happens when you over-condition your hair, which weighs down your strands. Over-conditioning might also increase oil production.
If your hair is greasy because it contains an excessive amount of natural oils, then it’s better to bleach your hair the way it is. The natural oils help protect your hair from the chemical damage caused by bleach. However, greasiness caused by product build-up can interfere with how the color/bleach works.
Some people worry that greasy hair can affect the bleaching process.
But this should not be a problem as long as your hair is not dripping with grease. Most hair bleaching products are potent, so they should work fine.
The extra oiliness will not only help protect your hair but will also shield the scalp, which tends to be more sensitive to chemicals.
Avoid washing your hair for at least 72 hours, as this removes the natural grease and makes your scalp even more sensitive.
If you happen to wash your hair a few days before bleaching, you should also moisturize your ends intensively.
When natural oils travel down the hair shaft, they rarely reach the tips of your hair strands, so they’ll likely experience more damage during the bleaching process.
Can You Bleach Hair With Product In It?
Hair products contain many chemicals that can interfere with the bleaching process. Therefore, product build-up can prevent the hair dye from settling evenly.
At the same time, chemicals like silicone can react with bleach badly, producing unwanted results. So, it’s generally better to wash your hair and remove product build-up before bleaching.
Make sure you use a clarifying shampoo – it contains sulfates that can remove silicones and other chemicals from product build-up.
Wash your hair with clarifying shampoo and rinse thoroughly to remove all product build-up at least 72 hours before dyeing your hair.
This allows natural oils to build up, protecting your hair and scalp during the bleaching process.
If you have to dye your hair immediately after clarifying your hair, you can still spritz some coconut oil or another moisturizing oil to keep your hair protected.
The good news is bleaching products are gentler than they used to be.
So, they won’t be harsh on your hair even without the buffer of natural oils between the chemicals and your scalp or hair.
In the past, it was common to suggest bleaching your hair while it was dirty because the chemicals were more damaging to hair.
But dirt, build-up, and residue may hinder dye molecules from penetrating the hair, so don’t bleach hair with products in it if you want the color to absorb evenly.
Can You Bleach Hair With Dry Shampoo In It?
Dry shampoo is an innovative product that most people rely on to prevent greasiness when they don’t want to wash their hair too frequently.
Most dry shampoos come in a spray bottle and contain a base of alcohol or starch. After spraying the dry shampoo, the alcohol or starch will absorb the extra oil and grease.
This keeps your hair freshened until you can wash it properly with wet shampoo.
The problem with dry shampoo is it doesn’t actually clean your hair.
Over time, dry shampoo contributes to product build-up, which hinders the bleaching process. In addition, dry shampoo can dry out your strands, so they incur more chemical damage from bleach.
To avoid this, you should wash your hair before bleaching to remove the residue from dry shampoo.
Then moisturize your hair with a rich natural oil to keep your strands protected from chemical damage.
You can still bleach your hair if it contains small amounts of dry shampoo, but there’s the risk of uneven color absorption.
It’s generally not a good idea to bleach hair containing chemicals from other hair products since there’s no way to know how the chemicals will interact.
Can You Bleach Hair With Oil In It?
Having oil in your hair will generally not affect the bleaching process. Although bleaching processes are more gentle today, the chemicals can still damage your hair, and it helps to have a protective layer of oils.
Before bleaching your hair, wash it to remove product build-up, then wait for natural oils to build up.
You can also apply coconut oil, argan oil, or another type of moisturizing oil to protect your hair.
As mentioned, product build-up contains chemicals that can interfere with bleach.
However, the oils won’t interfere with the bleach because they’re organic.
They don’t contain any chemicals that may react poorly with bleach chemicals.
So, not only can you bleach oily hair, it’s the best thing to do if you also want to protect your scalp.
If you have to wash your hair before bleaching, this will strip away the natural oils, so be sure to apply generous amounts of coconut oil for extra protection.
Can You Bleach Hair With Hairspray In It?
Hair sprays contain polymers that coat your strands, forming a lightweight film that hardens to create an invisible hair net.
This is how hairspray provides the hold you need to keep your hair in place.
However, this layer of film from hairspray that coats your strands will prevent the even infusion of color molecules into your hair. So it’s best to avoid bleaching your hair with hairspray in it if you don’t want patchy color.
Remember, for the bleach to do its job, the chemicals have to lift the cuticle, and the hydrogen peroxide has to penetrate the hair shaft and break down the natural pigments within.
The artificial pigments will then be able to deposit inside the hair shaft.
When you have too much hairspray in your hair, the product coats your strands, blocking the hydrogen peroxide and the color molecules.
So the bleach and hair dye will not saturate your hair as much as you would want it to.
If you have residue from hairspray in your locks, wash your hair well before bleaching it, and avoid applying hairspray until after coloring your hair.
If there’s not enough time, you can brush the hairspray residue out of your hair as much as possible.
Alternatively, you can quickly shampoo your hair and apply a natural oil to act as a protective hair mask.
Can You Bleach Hair With Conditioner In It?
The outer layer of your hair strands is made from dead skin cells that overlap tightly like shingles on a roof to form the cuticle.
When the cuticle is closed, your hair appears healthy, shiny, and smooth. In contrast, hair will appear frizzy, dry, and dull when the cuticle layer opens.
Applying conditioner helps keep the cuticle layer tight and smooth. This, in turn, keeps your hair moisturized by locking in more moisture.
Hair conditioner contains positively charged surfactants that bind to negatively charged hair strands.
Because opposites attract, hair conditioner can thoroughly coat your strands and cover the cuticle layer. This flattens the cuticle and traps moisture inside your hair.
Hair conditioner also has the right acidic pH to keep the cuticle layer closed.
Bleaching hair with conditioner in it prevents extreme cuticle damage.
However, over-conditioned hair may not bleach properly as the hydrogen peroxide might not penetrate the hair shaft evenly.
If there’s too much conditioner sticking to and coating your hair, you should shampoo your hair a few days before bleaching, then apply a small amount of natural oil.
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