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| From my Instagram: @coffeeandundercuts |
I bought the Bleach London White Toner care when the salon’s home haircare range first came out - exclusive to Boots and Bleach’s own website - in October 2013, but have honestly only just gotten around to using it! I bought one of their “Super Cool Colours”, in the shade Out of the Blue (it appears to have been discontinued, but there’s still two blue shades: Blullini and Washed Up Mermaid) and had a rather unfortunate experience with it. Because my hair was already bleached, it grabbed onto the blue and would not let go. I was blue-haired until I finally managed to grow/cut it out about six months later. Not great for a “non-permanent hair colour” that was recommended for previously lightened hair and supposed to last “2-5 washes”… I think they probably had a fair few people complain, because I notice that the colour range now comes with more detailed advice: “fades out over time depending on hair porosity”, and the blue shades in particular carry the warning “because of it's blue base, this colour can fade to green/blue which can be stubborn to remove. We recommend you do a strand test before use”.
Anyway, I should’ve been aware that my hair was too porous from the constant bleach, so I put it down to a bad experience and resolved to be more careful in the future. I was blonde for about another eighteen months, before deciding to go dark due to finance/time restrictions. I’m naturally a mousy brown/dirty blonde colour, so this just meant shoving a brown colour on it from time to time. However - predictably - I changed my mind within a couple of months, and am now in the process of lightening it once again. I’ve done this through several highlighting sessions, and in between these I thought about the box of Bleach toner that had been under my bed for three years! So one evening last week, I got my sister to whack it on for me, waited the twenty minutes that the box instructed, and rinsed it out again.
The application was quicker and easier than I thought. You get quite a lot of product, although those with particularly long/thick hair might want to have two packs to hand, and it didn’t drip, so I wasn’t constantly worrying about getting it on the towels or bathroom walls/floor/sink/etc. There wasn’t any burning or itching, and it washed out relatively easily. You also get a intensive treatment masque (quite a generous tube, for a colouring pack) to follow up with; Bleach recommend using their silver shampoo and conditioner to help the process, but I used Fudge’s purple shampoo because I had some left over from my last blonde stint. My hair doesn’t feel in any worse condition than before I used it, which is great.
I can’t say I’ve noticed a huge difference, although I’m definitely lighter than I was. It’s knocked out some of the orange-y tints that were there from highlighting over the brown colour, and I’m grateful for that, as that was my biggest concern. I’ve included a before and after picture below, both taken on the same camera. I’m also aware that the product may not have been at its best having been stockpiled for three years! I think it’s a good, cheap option to keep everything looking a little fresher between salon trips, and will probably be repurchasing with the hopes that it’s slightly more effective for being new. They also do a Total Bleach pack, but I don’t know how I feel about full-on bleaching my hair without a hairdresser - it seems like too much of a risk. Hairdressers have access to much stronger products than can be sold in an at-home pack, and have the knowledge to treat the hair properly before and after application.
I’ll keep you updated on the process - I think there’s a way to go before I’m back to peak blonde status!
Product: Bleach London White Toner Kit
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