There is a point in almost everyone’s life when they want to go blonde from dark brown or jet black. Doing this is only possible if you bleach your hair and get a lighter base. While everyone knows that bleaching damages the hair, not everyone knows how much it costs.
How Much Does It Cost to Bleach Your Hair? Depending on how long and dark your hair is and whether you want to bleach your hair at a salon or at home, this procedure can cost you from $40 to around $250. The cost includes lightening and toning the hair.
Read on to learn more about what goes into the whole hair-lightening procedure and what makes it so time-consuming and somewhat expensive.
How Much Does Hair Bleach Cost?
There are so many hair bleaching products on the market that you can easily find one that fits your budget.
If you are thinking of bleaching your hair on your own, all you have to do is to go to your local drugstore. There you can find and choose a bleach that suits you not only financially but also based on the result you want to achieve.
Hair bleaching products come in different shapes and forms. Bleaching powder comes in packs or tubs. If you know you will be bleaching your hair for multiple sessions, it is recommended to buy bleaching powder that comes in a tub.
This way you will get more products at a reasonable price and it will be much more cost-effective for you.
Hair bleach is sold for a few dollars – $4-5 for a pack, up to $30 for a bigger tub and everything in between. You can also buy kits for bleaching the hair for around $10.
These kits include the bleach powder, developer, the mixing tub, a brush, and gloves. In a word, everything you need for your at-home bleaching session.
Aside from powder bleach products, you may also come across crème bleach ones. For these much gentler bleaching products, you will need not more than $6-8.
Crème bleaches are said to be less damaging. They also contain added ingredients that are supposed to protect the scalp from getting damaged.
On another note, many people consider powder bleaches to be much more effective, leaving aside the risk of inhaling the powder particles.
Although most of the manufacturers claim that their powder bleaches are dust-free, it is advised to be attentive to not breathe in any powder as it is all chemicals.
If you are trying to allocate a budget to buy some hair bleach, you should also consider the length and density of your hair. In addition to that, if you want to go from jet black to platinum blond, for example, you will need two sessions of bleaches.
This, of course, doubles the amount of money you will need for bleach powder (crème).
How Much Does It Cost to Bleach Your Hair at Home?
If you are new to dyeing and bleaching hair, you better leave the job to the professionals. Although undergoing these hair procedures at a reputable salon may be expensive, growing out damaged and broken hair, later on, will cost you more money and nerves.
However, if you do decide to bleach your hair at your own, prepare to spend around $40. Note that the budget needed for bleaching and dying your hair varies depending on such factors as how many inches your hair is and how light you want to go. If you have long black hair you may need to exceed this budget quite a bit.
Keep in mind that if you want to bleach your hair at home not only do you need the bleach powder itself but also a tub of developer and toner.
When choosing a developer pay close attention to its strength. It may be from 10 to 40 in strength. If you are not a professional and are lightening your hair for the first time, go with the 20, i.e. 6% peroxide.
There are many options on the market as far as developers go. You can go with more affordable options and buy one for $7-8. If you are willing to spend more, there are of course more expensive alternatives.
If you are doing the bleaching procedures at home, do not forget about the toner. Buy a permanent toner ($8-9) to apply it to your hair right after bleaching.
Using a permanent toner will help you get a base that is free of yellow-orange undertones. You will end up with a beautifully even blonde shade all over your head.
What Do I Need to Buy to Bleach My Hair?
Bleaching your hair at a salon may be expensive. However, the best thing about it is that you do not have to do everything except for sitting and waiting until your hair is light enough.
You do not run the risk of forgetting any of the products you need to lift your previous hair color and get an overall even tone that is light enough for dyeing blond on top.
If you are determined to bleach your hair at home, make a list of everything you need:
- Bleach powder
- Developer (10, 20, 30 or 40 volume)
- Toner
- Hair dye (optional)
- A bowl, tinting brush and a comb
- Gloves
- A plastic cap
- Shampoo and conditioner for bleached hair
Before you head over to the nearby drugstore, decide what is the end result you want to get. Do you want the platinum blonde or deep blonde? In addition to this, take a closer look at your hair – how long and dark are they?
If you have a lot of hair that is also dark brown or black and is quite long, you are recommended to buy two packs of bleach and developer and do two stages of lightening.
To make the whole process less intimidating for you, you can buy a kit that has the essentials – bleach, developer, a bowl and a brush.
How Much Does It Cost to Bleach and Dye Your Hair at a Salon?
Bleaching and dying your hair at a salon may be expensive. However, this is the safest way of undergoing this hair procedure.
The cost of getting your hair bleached at a salon is around $150-200. The price largely depends on the length of your hair. One more thing you should consider is that if your hair is jet black and you want to end up with platinum or very light blonde color, you will need more than one application of bleach.
This, of course, implies spending more money. The interval between bleach applications is one or two weeks.
Aside from the bleaching costs, you should also be prepared for spending more money on toning and dyeing. Toning usually costs $20-40. Hair coloring at salons may cost anywhere between $50-80.
You may also spend an additional $60 for a color-safe shampoo and conditioner.
How Long Does It Take to Bleach Your Hair at a Salon?
Bleaching hair and achieving a gorgeous blonde color that is not patchy is quite tedious, especially for those who have such hair colors as black and deep brown.
Every bleaching application at a salon may take from 1-3 hours. In addition to this, more time is required for dyeing the hair. Dyeing may take from 1-2 hours.
What You Should Do Before Bleaching Your Hair and Do You Really Need It?
Before you make the decision to bleach your hair, there are a few things for you to consider.
First of all, do you need to bleach your hair? You will need to bleach your hair only if you are planning to go lighter than your natural or already dyed hair color.
Bleach destroys the natural melanin of the hair due to oxidization. So, you get a lighter base to work with which guarantees to get a good “blonde” result.
Before bleaching your hair, there are a few steps you should take:
- Let your natural hair grow out as much as possible. This way you will get an even color after bleaching.
- Do not wash your hair 24-48 hours prior to the bleaching sessions. Your natural oils will protect the scalp against getting too damaged.
- Do a deep conditioning treatment a week prior to the bleach application. This will nourish the hair and minimize dryness that bleaching products cause.
How Much Does It Cost to Maintain Blonde Hair and Why Is It So Expensive?
If you have bleached your hair and dyed them in a blonde color, maintaining it in a good state may be a little time-consuming.
It may also be a little on the expensive side as you will need shampoo, conditioner, and toner specifically designed for blonde hair. Additionally, if you are not dyeing your hair at home occasional salon visits may also cost you money.
To maintain blonde hair, you will need to touch up the roots every 2-4 weeks and use purple shampoo (toner) once a week. It is also helpful to use protein masks twice a month.