10 Tips for Maintaining Bleached Curls

Now, since I have bleached my hair twice, I have to handle and care for my hair differently. Here are my 10 tips on how to maintain bleached curls.

1. MOISTURIZE, I cannot stress this enough. Curly hair is already very dry and bleach will have your hair dying of thirst. Moisturize when it’s wet, moisturize when it’s dry. Whatever you do, don’t quit moisturizing.
2. Wait 5-10 days after bleaching to shampooing your hair, if you shampoo, because it can dry out your hair and your hair really needs time to rebuild its natural oils.
3. If you MUST wash your hair, try co-washing. Only use conditioner in the shower. It’ll help cleanse as well as moisturize.
4. DON’T brush your hair, especially if it’s dry. Finger comb your hair in the shower with conditioner or use a wide tooth comb. Bleach weakens your hair, so you have to very careful, to avoid breakage or shedding.
5. STAY AWAY FROM THE STRAIGHTENER. I know it’s tempting to see what your new do looks like straight, but if you know what’s good for you, refrain!!! Give your locks a break from the heat it’s already under a lot of stress, hold off on the heat for a while.
6. PROTEIN TREATMENT. Glory in a jar. This is good to use after bleaching your hair. The protein will help strengthen your hair. This is good to do anytime your hair is feeling damaged, weak or brittle. Make sure you condition well after, because protein, although it strengthens your hair, can dry it out.
   

   I’ve been using this for years and it works wonders!

7. Try a purple shampoo. This is great for blonde hair because it helps restore the vibrancy of your color as well as tone down brassiness. Try to use only once a week because it makes your hair EXTREMELY DRY.
   

   The absolute best toning shampoo and was under $10.

8. Purple moisturizer. I’ve been using this one by Loreal and I love it. It’s super moisturizing and also helps maintain your color longer.
   

   Beats brassiness and it so moisturizing compared to purple shampoo.

9. Deep condition your hair once a week or when needed. I use coconut oil, conditioner or both. Just slather your hair with it, cover it with a cap or plastic wrap and let it sit a few hours or overnight. Your hair will be soft and forever grateful.
   

   This is a curly girl’s best friend. It’s affordable and as long as its 100% pure the brand shouldn’t matter.

10. OWN IT! Whether everyone else likes it or not, as long as you love it, rock it. It’s your personal style and as long as you’re confident in it, your locks will be fierce and flawless. Nothing looks better than confidence.

Blonde Hair Update

Hey guys, so if you’ve read my previous posts, you know that I have recently transitioned to blonde. Well, I decided to do one more lightening process because I still wasn’t at my ideal blonde. This process did include bleaching my hair again, but I want to clarify that I waited an entire 3 WEEKS after my last bleaching process, in order to give my hair a break and time to strengthen. When I went in originally I just wanted to tone down the orange I had in my hair from the last time, but ultimately decided I wanted to go lighter. Therefore I had to use bleach to achieve my desired color.

Golden Blonde [curly] before second bleach process.

Golden Blonde [straight]before second beach process.

               This time around I soaked and I mean SOAKED my hair in coconut oil the night before my salon appointment. This would replenish the oils, soften and strengthen my hair before the harsh bleaching process it also helps reduce the itching and burning that occurs from bleaching. So the next day I my tolerance for the bleach was a lot higher than the first, where I literally though my scalp was going to fall off. Not kidding. Once I processed for about thirty minutes, washed and dried I came out with a highlighter yellow looking color. GROSS! But, I had a violet based hair dye applied afterwards to help tone down the yellow. Because violet is on the opposite side of the color wheel from yellow, it helps cancel it out. We didn’t know how it was going to come out but we were hoping for the best. After another wash and dry I came out with a beautiful bleach blonde color that I absolutely love! Finally, my color is where I want it to be and I couldn’t be happier.

After the second bleach process.