Welcome to the TLDR; page!
Disclaimer: Information provided below are based on web research and my personal experience in Do-it-Yourself (DIY). This is not to, in any way, discredit hair professionals. Please be reminded that doing it yourself may exhibit different results than expected. DIY at your own risk.
QUICK TIPS ON BLEACHING:
- Schedule when it is going to happen and prepare. Most probably before you take your bath after 2-3 days of no shower.
- Don’t wash your hair at least 2 days before the day; oil build-up helps lessen the damage especially for bleaching.
- Be sure to do a lot of research about hair toning before execution. Trust me. I’ve been there.
- Ventilate the room. Let the air circulate.
- Use plastic or glass tub and brush for mixing the chemicals. Do not use metal / metallic containers as it has reactions with most developers.
- Remove your earrings and all other metal accessories on your head (and may be the entire body because the deed may get messy) for reasons same as above.
- Use hand gloves with a snug fit.
- Use a developer of maximum 30 Vol. (9%); 40 Vol. (12%) Might give you a slightly more lift but the damage is not worth it.
- Vigorously mix the bleach and developer. Make sure you mix ’em up well to avoid blotchy or uneven lifting results.
- Part your hair into smallest possible sections.
- Comb your hair while the mixture is on your hair to even
out the application. - Leave for about 20-30 minutes; maximum 45 minutes or you’ll end up damaging your hair even more without the additional lift.
- Check from time to time if lifting is taking up. Take a small section and wash it out to check
- Wash and rinse hair thoroughly with shampoo in running *cold* water. Hot water would add more damage.
- Purple shampoo and conditioner are preferred.
- Apply generous amount of conditioner and/or oils in your head after the bleaching process.
TOOLS:
BASIC TOOLS
- Plastic or glass mixing bowl
- Plastic dyeing / tinting brush
- Plastic narrow tooth comb (preferably with rat tail)
- Gloves
- Petroleum Jelly
- Old shirt / cape, apron, ear caps
- Shower caps
- Aluminum foil (optional)
- Old papers and rugs/towels
BLEACHING
- Hair Developer / Oxidizer (9%, 30 Vol.)
- Hair Bleach — comes in powder or cream form
- Hair Toner (and developer, when needed)
AFTER CARE
- Conditioner
- Hair Mask
- Hair oils; preferably Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO)
HAIR DYES
- As much as possible, use vegetable-based or organic hair dyes
iamdyeing.com 
[…] Bleach & Dye-ing 101 […]
Hi 🙂 I’ve been reading all your blogs regarding hair dye and bleaching. And they’re all very informative. I just wanna ask, how can I remove permanent hair dye? I usually use semi-permanent and just wait for it to fade out then dye my hair again. But now, I’m about to use permanent hair dye and I’m worried about not being able to dye different color. Hoping for a [response]. Be safe. ♡
Hi Carlstine! I’ve been away for so long that I’ve only got the chance to read and reply to the comments just now. In my experience, even “permanent” hair dyes fade as well. I had applied a permanent hair box dye (I got it from the drugstore) in jet black before and it faded into an ash grey shade after a month. Permanent hair dyes just takes more time to fade than semi-permanent ones! However, if you wanted to strip the permanent hair dye in an instant, you could always try out color removers readily available in some online stores.