Let me guess. You grew up playing with Barbies and watching beautiful women like Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson in movies. Ever since then you’ve harbored this dream of going blonde yourself some day. And now the day has come. You’re all grown up and you don’t need to take your mum’s permission when making any major decisions concerning your hair (or, at least, I hope you don’t!). And thus begins your research. You spend hour after hour doing endless Google searches with the same damn question – “How to color your hair blonde?”. And each subsequent website you open confirms the same thing that the very first one stated – that bleach damages your hair. Irreparably. You scream, you cry, you mourn. “Is this the end of my blonde hair dreams?”, you wonder despairingly. Well, I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be. We’re living in the 21^st century after all! Scientific advancements are being made every day and the hair coloring industry is no exception. And since more and more people were forgoing bleaching their hair altogether owing to the damage it caused, a new type of hair color was developed – high lift hair color. And it has revolutionized the way people are going blonde now.

But what is this mysterious new color, you ask? Well, read on to find out…

What Is High Lift Hair Color?

High lift hair color is nothing but a permanent hair color that lightens your hair without the help of a bleach. It basically strips or “lifts” some of the natural pigment from your hair and deposits the dye onto it, both at the same time. The higher level of ammonia and color pigment that are found in high lift hair color are what help it do this job. The ammonia especially helps open up the cuticle and helps your hair take up the color. High lift hair color is used in combination with a double ratio of 40 volume developer that activates the lightening agent in it and tones your hair at the same time. However, a number of stylists do recommend toning your hair once more after using a high lift hair color to get the exact hair look that you desire.

What Are The Differences Between High Lift Hair Color And Bleach?

Now, before you start celebrating the downfall of bleach and start dreaming about dyeing  your hair blonde yet again, there are some major differences between these two products that you need to take note of:

 

• The first (and perhaps the most important) difference between these two is that while bleach can lighten your hair from anywhere between 3 to 8 levels, high lift hair color cannot lift pigment and lighten your hair more than 5 levels. This means only people with dark blonde hair can go light/platinum blonde using high lift hair color. So, if you have dark brown hair and dream of going to a super light blonde shade, then bleach is going to be your best option.

• Though high lift color lightens as well as tones your hair, stylists still recommend toning your hair again to get the exact color that you desire. When it comes to bleaching, toning is absolutely necessary to get rid of orange/brassy tones.

• You know that irritation and burning sensation you experience when bleaching your hair? Those are a thing of the past when using high lift color.

• High lift color cannot be used to lighten dyed hair as dye cannot lift dye. Hence, it can only to be used on virgin hair. If you have dyed hair, you will need to use a hair dye remover before bleaching it.

• High lift hair color is relatively less damaging to your hair than bleach. However, it can still wreak havoc on your hair if used incorrectly.

When Can You Prepare High Lift Hair Color?

Before you decide to lighten your hair using a high lift hair color, there are a few requirements that you need to meet. You need to have virgin hair that is in healthy condition and already dark blonde/light brown in color. If you have gone through a permanent hair service (like straightening, perming, etc.), wait two weeks before using high lift hair color on it. As to exactly when to prepare high lift hair color, make sure it is right before you apply it to your hair. Since it requires a fair share of chemical reactions to lighten your hair that take place immediately after mixing it, leaving it out for a long period of time before applying it to your hair will weaken its lightening properties.

 How To Apply High Lift Hair Color?

Now you know everything that you need to know about how high lift hair color works and how it differs from bleach, let’s look at how you can actually use it to lighten your hair!

What You Need

• High lift hair color
• 40 volume developer
• Hair brush
• Old t-shirt
• Rubber gloves
• Bowl
• Hair dye brush
• Sectioning clips
• Shampoo
• Conditioner

How To Apply High Lift Hair Color

1. Start by mixing your high lift hair color and your 40 volume developer in a bowl with the help the of a hair dye brush in a 1:2 ratio (i.e., if you are using 1 oz. of hair color, add 2 oz. of developer to it).

2. Put on an old t-shirt to avoid staining your good clothes.

3. Put on your rubber gloves.

4. Part your hair first horizontally then vertically to divide it into 4 sections.

5. Pin up 3 of the sections of your hair with sectioning clips, leaving loose the section you want to start applying the high lift hair color to first.

6. Picking up 1/4 to 1/2 subsections of hair at a time, start applying the high lift hair color to all your hair using a hair dye brush.

7. Use your fingers to pull down and work the color through the length of your hair.

8. Leave the hair color to develop for the duration of time indicated on the box (which should be somewhere between 45-60 minutes), making sure you check the shade your hair has reached at regular intervals.

9. Wash off the high lift hair color with warm water until the water runs clear.

10. Shampoo and condition your hair.

 So the question remains – high lift hair color or bleach? The answer lies in what hair color you’re aiming for. If you have dark brown and want to go totally blonde, your best of action will be to bleach it. But if you possess a light brown or dark blonde mane, high lift hair color will suit your tastes perfectly.

Have any more questions regarding this intriguing new hair color? Comment below and we will get back to you.

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