About 10 months ago, I sat happily at my usual hairdresser, unaware of what was about to happen to my perfect blonde lob as I had a colour refresh. What transpired next has haunted me ever since - my hair snapped. I'm not talking a little bit of breakage at the ends, I mean I was sporting an 80s mohawk with a 2cm spike down my centre part.
So no, I couldn't really disguise this little (major) mishap, but luckily I'm a haircare buyer and I have my ways. I immediately switched to a side part and incorporated some heavy duty styling products to tame the mohawk. I was mortified to say the least. The photo below was taken in July, so imagine how short it was in February.
How Does Bleach Cause Breakage?
Scalp bleaching is a high-risk intense colour process that must be handled with precision and care, and is used to achieve a high impact blonde (think Lady Gaga circa 2010, or Christina Aguilera circa 2001).
If the hairdresser overlaps the product, or the product swells with the heat from your head mixed with oxygen and touches the previously lightened hair, it can cause damage and/or breakage. But, I can't blame my hairdresser - I hadn't used my Olaplex No. 3 for 2 months.
They'd warned me to do this at-home treatment every week to maintain hair strength throughout my lightening process to reduce the risk of damage and breakage. Take it from me - listen to your hairdresser's advice, I had to learn the hard way.