Amazon Haul - Hair bleach and color

Bleaching My Hair

I just got my Schwarzkopf package from Amazon and i'm so excited to share my loot and my experience!

Background story - I'm an Asian with very, very black Asian hair so it's supremely difficult for me to get my hair bleached to a level 10 in a single day - i either get a bright orange (if i bleached once) or a rich lemony yellow (if i bleached twice), both of which i couldn't carry off and, oh THE PAIN. I literally cried so many buckets if i were a unicorn selling my tears, i'd be rich.

Having tried both drugstore box bleaches (L'Oréal Preference in Extreme Platinum and GATSBY Hair Colour Ex Hi-Bleach) as well as one from indie Singaporean label Dixmond (which i really loved cause it left my hair silky smooth even after 4 consecutive bleaches of an hour each!), i wanted to compare them to a professional salon bleach. Okay, to see if they would make me cry less, or make my hair turn any other shade besides orange and yellow.

The inspiration for my entire Schwarzkopf haul came from watching this video:

I'm a sucker for marketing videos and what sold me was that the model went from black to platinum blonde with such apparent ease.

Here's what i got:

1. Schwarzkopf BLONDME® Bond Enforcing Premium Lightener 9+

What it does:

Blue powder lightener that offers up to 9 levels of lift (9!!) with Integrated Bonding Technology to protect hair and minimise breakage.

My opinion:

Loved it! Tolerable sting; Lightened to level 10 from a level 1!

2. BLONDME® Premium Developers

What it does:

Use with BLONDME® Bond Enforcing Premium Lightener 9+ to lift hair color.

Crash course on common developers:

2%/7 Vol

Best for:

- Gentle on-scalp lightening when used with bleach.

- Use with toner/no lift colors when you only need to deposit color with no lift.

6%/20 Vol

Best for: On or off-scalp lightening; use with heat or foil to accelerate lifting.

9%/30 Vol

Best for: On or off-scalp lightening when used with Olaplex, cause you need to bump up Vol; Off-scalp when used without Olaplex, or if not using heat.

My opinion:

It pairs nicely with the BLONDME bleach. Enuff said.

**WARNING:

- I wouldn't recommend using the 12%/40 Vol cause it's too harsh and frankly there's no need to, when paired with BLONDME® Bond Enforcing Premium Lightener 9+

- Do a strand test so you can gauge the timing.

- Although bleach theoretically never stops processing after a certain time unlike hair color, once its dried up no significant lift will occur.

- Start with the back cause its the slowest to process. Do the front lafter you have done the back and sides of your hair. Scalp should be the last.

3. BLONDME® Keratin Restore Bonding Shampoo

What it does:

Gentle shampoo with Integrated Bonding Technology to build new bonds, smooth and condition hair.

My opinion:

Lovely lather. Smells like an expensive salon treatment. Hair didn't really feel smoother (or stronger) after use though. Must use with conditioner.

4. BLONDME® Keratin Restore Bonding Conditioner

What it does:

Cream conditioner with Integrated Bonding Technology to build new bonds, detangles, smooth and condition hair.

My opinion:

Rather runny. Smells like an expensive salon treatment. Definitely smoother hair after use.

5. BLONDME® Keratin Restore Bonding Mask

What it does:

Intensive mask with Integrated Bonding Technology to build new bonds, detangles, intensely repair, smooth and condition hair.

My opinion:

Very Thick. Luxurious. Don't use on towel dried hair! Smells like an expensive salon treatment. I like to leave it on for an hour to amplify effects.

6. BLONDME® Keratin Restore Intense Care Bonding Potion

What it does:

Care concentrate with Integrated Bonding Technology for extra bonding care, boost BLONDME® Keratin Restore Bonding Mask effects. Contains sillicone oil.

My opinion:

Runny. Smells and feels like an expensive salon treatment. No comments on efficacy since its not used alone.

7. BLONDME® Blonde Toning in Steel Blue

What it does:

Pastel toners for use on level 9 and above pre-lightened or natural hair.

My opinion:

Really turned my hair white!

Use this color wheel to decide which color toner to get:

**WARNING:

For the next item on this list - DO Not use on any hair other than a level 10. You will NOT get a nice grey/silver color if used anything other than a 10, toned white. Ask Google.

8. IGORA ROYAL ABSOLUTES SilverWhite Tonal Refiner in all four shades - Silver, Grey Lilac, Dove Grey and Slate Grey

What it does:

Low ammonia low pH cool silver tones.

My opinion:

Can't say - I never used them. Not. One. Of. Them.

Why? Cause i also bought the Pravana ChromaSilk VIVIDS in Silver. And i ended up using it over the SilverWhites. After buying all four SilverWhite shades. And i even bought 3 boxes of the Dove Grey cause i was so sure I'd like the color. Don't judge!

Anyway i've also included the swatches off instagram for anyone interested:

Besides the Schwarzkopf range, i also go the following:

9. Davines LOVE Smoothing Shampoo

What it does:

Gentle cleansing with smoothing effects.

My opinion:

Need to use with conditioner to get the smoothing effect.

10. Davines LOVE Smoothing Conditioner

What it does:

Gentle conditioner that smooths and straightens hair

My opinion:

Smoother hair. Love the scent of the LOVE range - its faintly powdery and fresh; like freshly laundered clothes! One of the few products that really made a difference right after bleach.

11. Davines NOUNOU Hair Mask

What it does:

Deep conditioning mask for bleached or processed hair, making them soft without weighing down hair.

My opinion:

Loved it! Makes my hair so soft after leaving on for an hour. Smells faintly spicy.

12. ApHogee Two-Step Protein Treatment

What it does:

With modified proteins to fuse to hair with the application of heat.

First of two steps - the second step is to use the ApHogee Balancing Moisturizer (which i didn't get because i didn't realise they were sold separately).

My opinion:

Works great even alone! Messy though. Used a hair dryer on it until hair becomes hard and loses any trace of stickiness. Washed and conditioned hair with hair mask instead.

13. Sachajuan Silver Shampoo

What it does:

Shampoo with dark purple color depositing pigments to counter yellow and golden tones. Comes with UV protection and their Ocean Silk Technology to hydrate, increase shine and give light volume to hair.

My opinion:

Loved it so much i reordered the 1 litre (33.8oz) bottle! Very dark purple! It stains but thankfully they wash off. After a couple of times. Or so. Hair is so soft and smooth after the shampoo! Also love the scent - faintly sweet yet fresh.

14. Sachajuan Silver Conditioner

What it does:

Conditioner with purple color depositing pigments to counter yellow and golden tones. Comes with UV protection and their Ocean Silk Technology to hydrate, increase shine and give light volume to hair.

My opinion:

Loved it so much i reordered the 1 litre (33.8oz) bottle! A lighter shade of purple from the shampoo (but still purple)! Stains as well but not as much as the shampoo. GET THEM NOW!!!

15. TONI&GUY Damage Repair Mask

What it does:

Intense reconstruction of hair to deeply nourish and enhance shine and softness.

My opinion:

It. Really. Works! On my brittle, dry, frizzy, clammy hair, it detangles and smoothen the hair even if i only leave it on for 10 minutes. This is definitely on my reorder list. *HOLY GRAIL*

16. John Frieda LUMINOUS GLAZE Liquid Shine Clear Glaze

What it does:

Contains mild pigments and shine boosters. WILL NOT LIFT OR LIGHTEN HAIR COLOR.

My opinion:

I really wanted to like this but all it did was made my hair stringy. I tried using it as a stand alone pre-shampoo treatment and in shower after shampoo/conditioner treatment; both times, it made my hair super stringy and tangled up.

However, on my partner's hair, it made it smooth! So maybe you can't use it on bleached or over-processed hair?

17. Redken Chemistry Shot Phase in Extreme

(six are available and up to three may be mixed)

- Extreme; to strengthen distressed hair

- Color Extend; to protect color-treated hair

- Time Reset; to improve shine and resilience on aging hair

- All Soft; to soften dry/brittle hair

- Smooth Lock; for smoothness on very dry hair

- Real Control; to tame dry, dense or sensitised hair

**More information found here

What it does:

Concentrated dose of protein to strengthen chemically distressed hair.

My opinion:

Does its job (Extreme) but you definitely need to condition after use as your hair will be very stringy like someone poured glue all over your hair.

18. Redken Chemistry Shot pHix pHase

- 3.5; For chemically distressed hair (like rebonded, bleached, colored etc.)

- 5.5; For mechanical damaged hair (flatironed, blowdried etc.)

What it does:

With Interlock Protein Network (IPN), this acidic spray-on lotion helps lock in the specialized ingredients contained in Shot Phase onto the hair. It also rebalances the pH level of the hair and helps to seal the cuticle.

My opinion:

Again, it does its job but you definitely need to condition after use as your hair will be very stringy. I suggest a deep conditioner.

19. PRAVANA ChromaSilk VIVIDS in Silver

What it does:

Direct dye with no developer required. Long lasting and vivid color. Cream is deep greyish purple.

My opinion:

My hair turned violet grey after letting it sit 30 minutes. I suspect the porosity of my hair caused this. One tube lasts 3 color jobs on me though as i mixed them with a conditioner in equal parts.

Phew. Long List. Now to the fun part - bleaching!

For the bleaching process, i used this video as a guide:

I followed his process with a few tweaks.

- First bleach with 20 Vol off-scalp for 30 minutes.

- Next, add 20 Vol to on-scalp for further 20 minutes.

- Shampoo with BLONDME® Keratin Restore Bonding Shampoo.

- Use BLONDME® Keratin Restore Bonding Mask; leave on for 10 minutes.

- Second bleach with 20 Vol off- and on-scalp for 30 minutes (without Olaplex, sadly). Scalp starts to sting.

- Added heat from a hair dryer for 15 minutes. BURN!!

- Shampoo with BLONDME® Keratin Restore Bonding Shampoo.

- Use BLONDME® Keratin Restore Intense Care Bonding Potion.

- Immediately follow with BLONDME® Keratin Restore Bonding Mask; leave on for 10 minutes.

*Both times, i used a plastic bag to cover my head to trap heat (yes, it is "unglam, which is why you will not see any pictures of the process!).

Two things immediately struck me after the process - first, that the sting was significantly less than all the other times i bleached my hair! It wasn't even painful enough for me to cry. Or maybe that's cause i ate 2 painkillers (Panadol Extra, in case anyone's wondering). Second, my hair was a pale yellow by the second bleach! Oh My Mother F**king God - I'm officially blonde for the first time in my life!

Note to self - DO NOT believe everything the marketing videos say. The video showed the model going from black Asian hair to Platinum Blonde in one bleach and tone session. It took me two bleach sessions, and i had to add heat to achieve that.

Also, the video showed the model flipping her lush shiny presumably smooth blonde locks around and her hair even got longer, if that was possible! The exact opposite happened for me - my hair was breaking steadily with each subsequent process, from shampoo, to the mask, to the toning, and finally the coloring, until I'm left with a quarter of my original hair length.

In the end, I ran to a salon to have Olaplex performed cause the ones i ordered is taking their time to arrive.

Have you any idea just how difficult it is to find a salon in Singapore that offers Olaplex? I bought the Olaplex kit online cause i couldn't find any salons near me that offer the treatment and when i finally found one and went there, they did Smartbond by L'Oréal instead, which in my opinion feels inferior as a stand alone treatment.

Shoutout to Olaplex, please ramp up your marketing cause a lot of the well known salons in Singapore don't want to carry Olaplex and offers other products instead!

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