Will bleaching natural hair damage it? Yes! bleaching natural hair might cause a whole lot of damage to the hair if not done right. Bleaching hair removes the color by decolorizing the pigment in the hair shaft through oxidation.
The most damaging of all coloring methods of bleaching usually use ammonia or hydrogen peroxide (often these two are mixed) to permanently lighten the hair by reacting to hair’s melanin.
The problem is that it’s pretty easy to avoid thinking about how badly hair dye can damage your hair. Bleaching is a damaging chemical process on anyone’s hair but especially on curly hair. Bleaching raises the hair’s cuticle to remove the color or pigment from the hair shaft, which also removes the hair’s moisture
First, if you want to ensure that you are getting the absolute best result from your dye job, visit a trained professional stylist if you don’t know what you are doing because a bad coloring experiment can result in all types of unfortunate outcomes, but a professional colorist can guide you through the coloring process.
What Bleaching With Dye Does To Your Hair
Below are what dye actually does to your hair:
1. The Longer You Dye, The More Damage You Cause
Most people don’t realize this but most hair color has a built-in timer. After a certain point, the color will stop working. The goal with bleach is to lighten the hair to your desired level of lightness, anything beyond that is removing stuff that doesn’t need to be removed, and that’s where the damage comes in.
2. Ammonia Lifts The Hair Cuticle
To penetrate beyond the cuticle, hair dye uses ammonia to elevate the pH of the hair and to relax and lift the cuticle. Immediately, you’ve damaged your hair, since the cuticle isn’t meant to be lifted. Once the cuticle is lifted, the next step is to dye the hair with your intended color.
Ammonia is needed to lift the cuticle of your hair and to start the whole process of using dye.
3. Peroxide Destroys The Color
Peroxide is extremely drying to the hair and is the reason why colored hair can take on a straw-like texture. As the peroxide developer sits, the cuticle remains lifted for the dye to penetrate the open cuticle and hair shaft. The longer the cuticle is lifted, the more it weakens. Once you rinse your hair, the cuticle comes back down. But the damage has already been done.
Will Bleaching Natural Hair Damage It?
Yes, bleaching can greatly affect your curls and make your natural hair lose its strength and elasticity. Bleaching is one of the harshest processes for any hair type and natural hair can be extremely fragile. Bleaching is a harsh coloring technique that is especially hard on textured hair, so expect noticeable changes to your hair health.
Color doesn’t change the texture of the hair, but bleach definitely does. “The reason for that is because bleach is removing the melanin in your hair that’s protecting it. The lighter the hair is, the more exposed the hair will be, which makes the hair dry out.”
Final Thoughts
If you absolutely want to bleach your hair I would advise doing so with a professional colorist starting with a consultation to address your lifestyle. Make sure you are protecting your hair before swimming by wetting the hair and adding a cheap conditioner to keep out as much chlorine as possible.
Pamper your hair with thick, rich deep conditioning treatments after your shampoo.
