how long to leave bleach in hair to avoid damage?

If you would like to know how long to leave bleach in hair, you are in the right place.

Bleaching our hair is always a necessity if we want to achieve lighter, blonder hair. But if you don’t know how to do it right and you leave it too much time, you can completely destroy your hair!

On average, you should leave the bleach in your hair for about 45 minutes. However, the exact time you should leave it in your hair change a lot depending on what condition your hair is in, the color you want to achieve and the technique you are going to use.

For example, if you have very weak hair, you should not leave it in your hair for more than 20 minutes, and if your hair is very thick and resistant, you should probably leave it on for an hour.

In this article I will explain how long you should leave the bleach to act according to your needs so that you have the best possible results.

Discover how long to leave bleach in hair

You already know that you would like to bleach your hair. If you want to keep your hair healthy and not get a bad surprise, you should first know the key points of bleaching.

First of all, I will always recommend that you go to a professional hairdresser. Nothing better than a specialist who can take care of keeping your hair in optimal condition.

But if you can’t go to the hairdresser and you have to do it yourself, you should know the essential points that will keep your hair healthy and strong during bleaching.

Essentials of bleaching hair

The first thing you have to do before thinking about bleaching your hair is to know if your hair will really resist bleaching. The last thing I want is for you to end up with broken, stretchy hair.

If you haven’t bleached your hair recently, or if you’ve done it no more than twice a year, you probably won’t have any kind of problem. But if you bleach frequently, you have blonde hair with highlights, or your hair is breaking a little at the ends, it is very likely that your hair will not resist one more bleaching.

When in doubt, I recommend that you make an appointment for a consultation with your hairdresser. These types of consultations are usually free and quick, and here the professional will tell you if your hair could resist bleaching or not.

If you think you can bleach your hair, take these tips into account to minimize the damage to your hair:

Use a good quality bleaching

Using a good quality bleach is essential if you want to keep your hair healthy. Cheap bleaches are extremely aggressive with the cuticle of your hair.

Bleaching your hair with a cheap bleach equals the damage of bleaching your hair 3 times with a better quality one. Invest in a good bleach!

Be careful with the developers

If you use a very powerful developer (like 30vol or 40vol) you could risk damaging your hair too much. If you are going to bleach your roots you can NEVER use a developer stronger than 20vol or you will burn your scalp.

I will always recommend that you use 20vol peroxide to bleach your hair. Using a 30vol is more risky, and with a 40vol you will fry your hair.

If your hair is very weak and thin, a good option would be to use 10vol to take maximum care of the damaged areas of your hair. Remember that a more powerful peroxide will only make the hair lighten faster, but not achieve a greater lightening.

Take time gaps between bleachings

Taking a break between bleaching is very important! You should never bleach your hair twice on the same day or in the same week (even if you’ve seen videos of hairdressers doing it).

I recommend that you wait about 12 weeks before bleaching your hair again. If you bleach earlier than that, you can take the risk of sensitizing your cuticle and damaging your hair. Be patient and remember at the end of the day you want to have beautiful hair.

SUGGESTIONS FOR YOU: A guide for bleaching your roots

How long to leave bleach in hair depending on your case

Cool! Now let’s see how long you should leave the bleach on the hair. As I mentioned before, this depends on various factors such as the quality of your hair or the color you want to achieve.

However, although here I will explain different examples in detail, when in doubt, always leave it a little less. It is better that your hair lightens a little less but is in perfect condition, than leaving it longer and damaging your hair.

The times that I will give you here are for your reference. Trust your instinct and check the hair throughout the process. Don’t just leave the bleaching process for an hour without checking your hair!

How long to leave bleach depending on the condition of your hair

The biggest difference in the timing of letting the bleach work is how resistant your hair is. The most common cases are:

• If your hair is virgin or you have only had permanent dyes (never bleached), you can probably leave the bleach on for about 60 minutes.
• On the other hand, if you have colored hair or have highlighted it once or twice in the last year, you can probably leave the bleach on for about 45 minutes.
• If you have previously bleached your hair, or you often have blonde highlights, it is recommended that you leave the bleach on for about 20 minutes or less.

How long you leave the bleaching depends in the thickness of your hair

The thicker our hair, the more resistant it will be to damage from bleaching. The finer our hair, the more fragile our hair will be and it will break more easily.

• If you have thick and resistant hair, you can usually leave the bleach on for about 60 minutes.
• If your hair is of medium thickness, about 45 minutes will be a good time to leave it in your hair.
• And if your hair is fine, I recommend that you do not leave it for more than 30 minutes.

SUGGESTIONS FOR YOU: Everything you need to know about the bleach bath hair technique

Let’s take care of ourselves

Now that you know the recommended times to leave the bleach in your, do your math. I recommend that you take into account all the factors so you can have an idea of how long you should leave it.

Another point you should consider is how much lightening you are looking for. The lighter you want your hair to be, the longer you need to leave the bleach on.

For example: If you have thick and resistant hair, but you only want to lighten it a couple of shades, you do not need to leave it for 60 minutes! This would be damaging your hair for pleasure. With about 30 minutes you will be ready.

That is why I recommend that you analyze your situation first, and based on it, make the best decision. And don’t forget to check the condition of your hair several times during the bleaching!

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments. Until next time.