- To do a bleach bath to your hair with coconut oil, you only need 4 things: shampoo, bleach powder, peroxide, and oil.
- You need to know that even if the mix has oil, it’s still a bleaching treatment, which is an aggressive process for your hair.
- Even if the oil does lessen the effects of the bleaching, it’s also true that the mix has a shampoo. And the shampoo sulfates + the peroxide ends up being an aggressive combination for hair.
- If you want to lessen some of the mix’s negative effects on your hair, you can apply coconut oil before and after the bleach bath. Here I’ll let you know how to do it step-by-step.
You should never take bleaching lightly. And even more so if you believe that by adding a little coconut oil to your hair, the risks will disappear completely.
The truth is that coconut oil in the last 15 years has become an undeniable ally in matters of hair care and styling. But it also has its limits.
The fact that it’s an excellent product doesn’t mean it can produce a miracle. I’ll give you some examples.
- If you use coconut oil to nourish your hair, you’ll need to use it at least once every 15 days to see results.
- If you want to apply coconut oil to hydrate really dry hair, you’ll need to use it as a night mask, at least once a week for a month.
- If you want to use coconut oil to lessen the damage done by bleaching, you’ll need to use it at least before, during and after applying the bleaching mix.
But I want this to be super clear. The only thing that coconut oil will be able to do is minimize the damage that bleaching can do to your hair.
Because after bleaching your hair, unfortunately, you’ll lose part of your natural moisture, and it can even damage your ends.
The new trends talk of a “bleach bath with coconut oil”. For me, they can call it whatever they want, but both you and I know that it’s not anything more than a bleaching treatment. And if you didn’t know, now you do.
Here we’re not talking about dye or a color rinse, we’re talking about raising your hair cuticles, to eliminate the pigments.
In this bleach bath, shampoo and coconut oil are added to the traditional bleaching mix, which is made up of peroxide and bleach powder.
Maybe you think that, because shampoo is added to the bleach mix, it’s less harmful to your hair. But in reality, it’s still an aggressive chemical process, even if you add coconut oil to the mix to protect your hair.
The damage done to your hair will still be the same.
Coconut oil indeed protects your hair during the bleaching process, because when the cuticles open up, the hair fiber will be hydrated as it’s absorbing it.
But in this bleaching mix, there is a substance that makes it more harmful: the shampoo.
If you don’t want to run any risks, stay with me, because I’ll let you know:
- Why shampoo can make the bleaching process more harmful
- How to make a bleach bath for your hair with coconut oil
- What to keep in mind before applying the bleach bath to your hair
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Why the bleach bath can be more harmful for your hair
Since I started to write this blog, I’ve always had the purpose of telling the truth, as hard and cruel as it can be sometimes. I also want to help you with advice so that your hair can be as healthy as possible.
So, when I tell you that the bleach bath with coconut oil is dangerous for your hair, it’s the truth. I don’t want to scare you, but once you know all the facts, you’ll be able to decide whether or not to apply it to your hair.
These types of mixes are more harmful than common bleach because they add a factor that damages your hair even more: shampoo.
Do you know why?
Because it contains sulfates, which are what helps the shampoo eliminate oil and clean your hair to keep it healthy.
Sulfates can eliminate too much moisture, leaving your hair dry and unhealthy. Also, if your scalp is sensitive, they can irritate, such as reddening, dryness, and itchiness.
Can you imagine if you add these sulfates to the active ammonia of powder bleach and peroxide?
And you’ll say to me, but Carina, doesn’t coconut oil reverse the effects of the chemicals, including those of the shampoo?
The coconut oil can be a good swordfighter, but you need more than just one swordfighter to fend off an army of aggressive chemicals.
As I said before, if you protect it during the bleaching treatment with the coconut oil, it won’t be enough.
Now, what you can do is double your defenses, like a good strategist would do when confronting an enemy on the battlefield.
And how do you double your defenses?
By applying coconut oil to your hair before and after the treatment, in addition to adding it to the bleach mix.
If you’ve made up your mind, let’s go through it step-by-step.
The materials you need for a bleach bath and how to apply it step-by-step
The mix is easy to make. In a plastic container you should add:
- 2 spoonfuls of bleach powder
- 2 spoonfuls of 20 volume peroxide
- 2 spoonfuls of your regular shampoo
- ½ spoonful of coconut oil.
It’s very important that you make sure to maintain these proportions. That is, if you always use three spoonfuls of bleach powder, you should use three spoonfuls of peroxide, three of shampoo and 1 ½ of coconut oil.
Also, you should keep in mind the size of the spoon, which you should choose depending on the amount and length of your hair.
This is a logical matter. You wouldn’t need the same amount of bleach mix for hair down to your waist as you would need for medium-length hair.
If your hair is short, use a teaspoon; if you have shoulder-length hair, you can use a medium-sized spoon, but if your hair is longer, the best option is a soup spoon.
Step-by-step
- Once you have the mix ready, you should apply it to your wet hair and put on a shower cap.
- Now, you just have to wait until the bleach mix takes effect, which should be between approximately 10-30 minutes.
- I recommend that every five minutes, you check how your hair is responding to the bleach mix.
- Once the time has passed, rinse your hair and apply conditioner.
How to lessen the negative effects of bleach baths
- In addition to adding coconut oil to the bleach mix, I recommend that you apply oil before bleaching your hair. If you apply it three hours before the bleach bath, your hair will be more protected.
It can even be the night before. This will help to create a protective film around your hair and it won’t be as damaged during the bleach treatment.
- And it’s also advisable that you apply the oil to your hair once you’ve finished bleaching it. In this way, you’ll seal the cuticles, and it’ll help them heal from the damage produced by the peroxide and ammonia.
Lastly, before applying the bleach bath, evaluate your hair health, to avoid greater damage. And here, I’ll tell you about three easy tests.
3 very important things you should do before applying a bleach bath to your hair
Don’t let your anxiety get the best of you, and before applying the bleach bath, do any one of these three easy tests or even all three.
- Take a section of hair between your fingers, and holding it straight, place a drop of water on it. See how long it takes to absorb the water. If it does it within 10 seconds, the cuticle is delicate and your hair is too damaged to bleach it.
- If you see that when your hair is wet it stretches more than normal, don’t apply the bleach bath. Because that elasticity is a symptom of fragile hair.
- Lastly, do the hair strand test, which is always irrefutable. Apply the bleach bath to a small section of your hair and see how it reacts. If you don’t observe severe damage, apply first the coconut oil and then the bleach bath.
