“It’s just hair, it’ll grow back!” is an affirmation I repeat to myself before every hair appointment. As someone who has been living with bleached bits since the pandemic first hit (I was bored!), I know how much the pigment redaction helps with experimenting with the look. And it wasn’t just me who fell for bleached lengths; many walked out of the pandemic with at-home box-dye jobs on their last legs that weren’t perfect but still pretty fun. But it seems that 2022 is already nostalgic for 2020’s bleached hair renaissance because the beauty girls can’t seem to help but dip into that sweet, sweet hydrogen peroxide without any fear.
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Leading the pack of summer hair colour trends is the zesty tangerine, which also supports our theory that hair colour enthusiasts are most looking for delicious, food-inspired tints to drench their hair in. Jennie from Blackpink, who happens to be a black minimalist as compared to her K-Pop peers, lightened her gorgeous, shiny black hair to debut the orange tint. Fashion’s ‘IT’ girl’s stamp of approval on this quirky colour is enough to convince many to try it, even ones who are not BLINKS. The popular artist isn’t the only one in music who has made a case for bleaching your hair this summer, Lady Gaga and Doja Cat happen to be rocking an icy, bleached mane as well.
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Fresh off of her Grammy 2022 win, Doja however is experimenting with pastels while her tresses are devoid of pigment. Her bubblegum pink hair is one of our favourites, and a legit trend RN – it’s such a yummy colour! FYI, while you may not have to push your hair to Doja’s level of lightening, a tangerine tint or anime pink hue will need you to lighten your hair to a very pale yellow. If you are hoping to start small, choose a deeper, jewel or metallic-toned version of the tints to skip a couple of rounds of bleach.
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Apart from colour play, you can also just wear and style bleached hair as is. Gigi Hadid is the recent bleach devotee to join the movement. and we can’t wait to see what she does next.
A couple of things you need to keep in mind before taking the plunge, though –
1. Bleching virgin hair is far easier than previously-coloured hair. So if you are bleaching over artificial colour, the final look of your bleached hair will have undertones of the older hue.
2. Bleaching dark hair to a pale yellow or lighter will take hours, and may more than one session. This also includes the times it’ll take to apply the bleach and the wait time to let it set. All these details will be acquired from your stylist who will do a thorough check of your hair texture, density and natural colour. Just an FYI, the darker your natural colour, the trickier it will be to bleach it. The same goes for the damage that your tresses will have to endure in the process!
3. Bleached hair runs the risk of turning brassy, it can happen to anyone. This can affect the look of your bleached mane and the colour you pick after that. Make sure to follow proper after-care and include a silver shampoo in your hair care routine.
4. While choosing a colour for your freshly bleached hair, make sure to ask how the pigment fades. Colours like anime pink or lime green will fade into their lighter versions, but something like a powder blue might leave remnants of green while fading out.
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Pro tip: If a global bleach job seems too overwhelming, the next best thing to try, without risking too much damage, will be the money pieces paired with an underlayer of lightened strands. The styling opportunities of this dye job are endless, with half-up-half-down mini buns being a street style fave right now. We’re pretty sure bleach purists will accept this as a “good effort” from bleach novices and beginners!
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