Changing It Up
For the past 5 years I have been dying my hair from my natural blonde to black and I've finally decided to try and get back to blonde after so many years of battling with the bright roots. Looking online I didn't find many people who have been dying their hair for as long as I have and managed to change their hair without damaging it to almost straw like texture. Through this blog post I will let you know all the products I have used to get it back to blonde and keep it healthy.
The First Attempt
Doing my research into other people trying to get any shade dark like mine, either black or a very dark brown, I came up with a few options but looking at reviews and YouTube videos I found this Garnier Olia Super Blondes Extreme B+++ which had the best reviews and even a hairdresser commented saying it is better for the hair than the products they use at the salon which really peaked my interest. Since I've had black hair for so long I brought 2 boxes on a 2 for $11 deal and got started with the help of a friend who has stripped her hair before so knew what to do with it as it is different from just dying your hair. Reading the intructions carefully we set to work mixing the bleaching powder and bleaching cream into the developing cream putting the multi-application conditioner to the side. Putting my fringe in a bun with most of my hair apart from the bottom layer she set to work covering my hair as close to the roots without getting it on the blonde then worked her way around my hair, this took up a bottle and almost half of the second one. We left it on for around half an hour even though it says to leave it for maximum of 25 minutes but as I have so much black in my hair I left it in for a little longer to get more of an effect. For the rest of my hair she used the rest of the second bottle until it was empty massaging it into the rest of my hair to make sure it was fully covered and into my roots as some parts started to go platinum blonde and I didn't want it to be so miss matched so all platinum is better than patches of it. Overall we spent around an hour and a half developing with another half an hour minimum making sure it fully covered all of my hair. To wash it out we put warm water into a water bottle then poured as we massaged it out until it was out then added the conditioner before leaving that for 2 or 3 minutes before
using the shower to rinse it out fully.
Once I towel dried it enough I used my life saving Organic World Brazilian Keratin that has been making my hair healthier for the past month I have been using it. My hair didn't feel any different apart from being slightly dry afterwards but putting this on before using my hair dryer let the oil sink into my hair. As you can see at the roots it has gone platinum then went into orange with the rest of the hair being dark ginger with a black tinge so I will need use some more dye to even it out hopefully making it either the platinum blonde or the bright orange which I am totally loving! If you have been dying your hair or have hair damage then I would highly recommend using the hair oil and if you have been dying your hair and fancy a change without damaging it further then I would highly recommend the Garnier Olia brand as it doesn't damage it at all! Me and my friend were really surprised how well it took to my hair considering how long I have been dying it for and how nice my hair feels afterwards. I'm not sure how long I have to leave it before dying it again so I'm giving it a week before using another two boxes mainly focusing on the darkest point which didn't dye as well as the roots or close to the roots so we have already planned to put my hair in ponytails to avoid getting any more on the roots or close to it and stop the bleach going completely everywhere like it seemed to the first time.
The Second Attempt
Another trip to Superdrug down and two more boxes of the Garnier Olia Permanent Bleach later we started on my hair again this time we covered my fringe, both sides then the back/top and left to develop for at least an hour. This time we could see white, pink, ginger, light brown and dark brown starting to form leaving the black behind! I actually love how my hair turned out! We did get the roots again so they are back to platinum and in one place white, but it all seems to blend now and is really less patchy than it was the first time!. Using the conditioner in my hair then leaving it for 3 minutes to settle helped it feel alive again as well as the Organic World Hair Treatment I use almost every time I wash my hair. There might be a gap in this blog post as I am getting the back of my neck tattooed so I have to wait for it to fully heal before doing anything to my hair so it doesn't get into the healing tattoo but as soon as I decide what I am doing I will add to the blog post! I really hope this helps you change your hair without killing it! I would say for best results to use this product all at once all over the hair (if you are wanting to bleach all of it of course) then leave for about an hour even though it says to leave for maximum of 45 minutes and to invest in the Organic World Brazilian Keratin as it is only a pound from Savers and has worked miracles on my hair!
The Third Attempt
I gave it a few weeks before trying it again, not only was I waiting for payday but I also wanted to give it time to settle before using bleach on again so I brought another two boxes of the same Garnier Olia Permanent Bleach and got to work. This time we wrapped the parts of the hair which needed to develop faster than the rest in tin foil as a person I work with who used to be a hair dresser told me it would help even the colour out around the whole of my head. We left it on for the same 45 minute time but didn't check on it as we didn't want to unwrap the tinfoil and have to put more on as it would be a waste. My hair still feels very soft, hasn't lost any shine and it is still a natural colour!. We could tell even from washing the bleach out that it had pulled a lot more colour out! The brown was completely gone and instead a really nice blonde/light ginger colour was there. It still isn't completely what I am hoping for but for now I am just going to try some shampoos to get rid of the brassiness and bring out some more blonde then I'll check in and let you know how it went!.
The Forth Attempt
It wasn't long before I headed back to Super Drug to see if they've restocked and to my luck they had another 2 boxes which I sold them out of again. This time my boyfriend wanted to do it so I put my trust in him, applying like usual leaving for around 40 minutes this time while we played a bit of Xbox. I noticed a difference as soon as I washed the bleach and the conditioner out with the slightly dark ginger going more and more bright and some more blonde peaking through. My hair still feels amazing and the bleach hasn't effected it at all! I am finding I need to wash my hair less and less (probably twice a week now) as it just doesn't seem to get oily/greasy! There were a few little bits he missed but I am hoping using the shampoo will make it at least blend a little more into the hair colour now. I think I am going to leave it for a little longer now, a few months as I want to see how the shampoo does to help lift some of the colour out and make my root go lighter as they grow. Wish me luck! I'll keep updating!.
Shampoo
Talking to a hairdresser I work with they were telling me to buy some shampoo to remove the brassiness from my hair and to help the blonde come through so I brought two John Frieda shampoos to try and help my hair along without using more bleach on it as Super Drug had a 2 for $11 deal on so it is worth a try. The first one I brought is the Sheer Blonde Colour Renew Shampoo which is meant to banish brass tones and orange as it cleanses and the second one I brought is the Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Shampoo which is meant to renew the hair's healthy appearance and touch without drying it out so I am feeling hopeful this will make a difference. I will use the renew shampoo on the orange parts of my hair then the go blonder on my roots where the blonde actually is and hope it makes a difference.
I've used the purple shampoo around 3 times now and I have noticed a difference, not only does it make my hair look a long brighter but it completely blends now! (aside from the platinum roots but they seem to look good!). I have used the go blonder once but as I have been out and about quite a lot I tend to just take the purple shampoo with me instead as it is something I need a lot more. I will update with images when I start to notice a big difference and I'll let you know how many washes it took!
I've been using the shampoo for about a month now and it has changed slightly however it hasn't changed it much so I've decided to bleach it again.
The Fifth Attempt
What a difference! I was starting to loose hope with my hair as the past few times I've bleached it I didn't seem to budge the orange hair really and this time I chose to do it on my own as my roots were coming through really badly (damn the cooler tone to my natural blonde looking almost grey against the platinum). This time the colour seemed to really lift and brighten, the roots going an almost yellow shade instead of the white it went a few times before which looks a lot more natural. There is a little bit of a light orange colour left so I used the Jerome Russell Bblonde Maximum Colour Toner which was the only toner in my local Superdrug as a few people told me using a toner would really help so straight after bleaching I towel dried my hair then my friend came over to help just put the toner on the orange parts as the worst thing would be the rest of my newly natural hair turning silver! Looking at the instructions we followed them almost exactly as they say (we didn't have a plastic hood so improvised with a sandwich bag then didn't pile it on top of my head to stop the toner from going on the platinum parts). My friend used the hair drier until it had been the 5 minutes then we played a little xbox until it was time to wash it out. As it is such a thick purple you couldn't see any difference until you washed it out as it looked darker with it on. We didn't notice much of a change which is a shame, maybe if it was the whole head or if it was a darker orange it would of worked better, I'm not sure which one, but I won't be using it again. I think I'll stick to the shampoo still. I'm not sure if this will be the last time I will bleach it as there are still parts of it but for now I am happy with the colour, not only is most of it a light blonde but the orange parts look more like a strawberry blonde than anything else.
Thank you for reading through this long blog post on how I changed my hair, the thing that I most learnt was after years of trying to change how I look because I didn't feel confident with how I looked with my natural hair is that I have gained confidence through each session of bleaching my hair now. I know I could of chose a more harsh bleach or actually used proper bleach but considering I have used 10 boxes in total my hair feels like normal! No change at all in it! This is why I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about lightening their hair to bleaching it and it didn't work out that expensive.
Since I have started going to The Body Shop more and testing out their products I saw their spring/summer feel good box on their website and decided to try it out as everything in the box I have been either looking at trying or it sounded really nice to try out. The packaging matches the theme with the bold colours but opening it up everything is wrapped in black tissue paper held together with The Body Shop logo tape keeping everything hidden until you rip it open. Inside there are pamper treats as well as one of their matte lipsticks all perfectly going with the season. 
Inside you get a matte lipstick in the shade Havana Red Matte, the British Rose Instant Glow Body Butter, Swietenia Fresh Flora perfume, Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask, the Oils Of Life Sleeping Cream and the Drops Of Youth Concentrate which is a lot for the $12 it costs!. The product I am most looking forward to trying is the Drops of Youth Concentrate as I have been wanting to try it since I first went in!.
To start off with I swatched the lipstick, the colour is perfect for summer as it is nice and bright but doesn't have any orange undertones which I tend to find in most lipsticks in similar shades. The formula is velvety and none drying (I would go to say it is quite moisturising) and stayed on my hand even when I tried to get it off with a make up wipe which is an achievement for just a regular lipstick!. This is defiantly something I will be using all summer!.
Every time I go in The Body Shop I always see the Oils of Life products and say I will try some out but inside the box is the Intensely Revitalising Sleeping Cream which is a nice change from using my normal moisturiser before bed. The smell is a little strong for something I would usually put on my face but I gave it the benefit of the doubt getting a dab from the pot and putting it on before I went to sleep. It is a little thicker as I currently use a gel moisturiser but it felt nice. I didn't see much difference but like the Drops Of Youth I am going to use it a little longer for it to have the full effect and let you know!.
The next product I tired out I haven't really noticed they sell (more heading towards the make up or the body butters to notice) so it is a nice treat to try out. The Swietenia Fresh Flora perfume is a little strong compared to what I would usually choose but the sweet smell is very summery compared to my other ones which will be good to go out with in the day time. I love how they tell you exactly what is in it and about the main ingredient as you normally just smell and if you like it buy it.
The last product in the feel good box is the Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask which is the perfect trick! I normally use Lush masks but as it was in the box I thought I would give it a go. I love charcoal so was really excited to use this and it really did pay off! I only needed about half the packet to fully cover my face, rubbing in circle motions to cover my whole face then I waited about 10 minutes before rinsing it off again using the circle motions. My skin looked clear and lightly glowing, there was no irritation and it smelled amazing like all Body Shop products do!.
