Leery Locks writes… I am wondering if you could explain any differences between products to bleach/lighten hair like “Sun In” spray, drugstore purchased bleaching/lightening boxed kits and the stuff they use at salons? I have dark blonde/light brown hair and would like to lighten it and remember how easy it was to control the effect and areas of lightening with a spray in product like “Sun In” but hear it’s really harsh on the hair (but I think all lightening/bleaching stuff is supposed to be pretty harsh.) My main question is, if you want to lighten your hair is there any difference between the products results? I know there’s different shades of blonde to choose from in the boxed kits and in the salons (unlike Sun In, which you control by using less or more), but I am a little hesitant to use a boxed kit as I don’t want the same color all over. I liked how w/the spray I could apply extra in areas I wanted to highlight and enough in other areas to generally lighten, but the lure of a kit is calling, as there seem to be more color shade options. Dilemma! My other thought is if I did go with a kit that seemed to have an attractive shade can you only touch it up by using the same product later, for roots and such? Would using a different lightening product create a bad situation? As an example, say you splurge and get highlights at a salon, but can’t afford frequent salon visit touch-ups to keep it fresh. Could you get a simular looking color in a drug store kit without much worry, or are you in for a nasty surprise?!?

The Right Brain lightens up:
Leery, first of all, you need to switch to Decaf. That’s the most typing we’ve ever seen in a single question!

Lightening strikes

Lightening products like “Sun in” contain common bleaching agents, usually peroxide, at low levels. As you use the product over time, you begin to destroy some of the darker shades of melanin (the pigment that gives your hair its natural color) until your darker colors get a little more blonde. Exposure to sun can ehance the effect but basically, you’re doing a low level bleaching treatment on your hair. And yes, this does cause some damage. How much depends on how much product you apply and how often you use it.

The store-bought coloring kits use a stronger, higher level bleaching agent and, depending on the shade, they may include some oxidative colors that put a little dye back in your hair. (For example, strawberry blonde shades add back a little red color.) The same is pretty much true for the coloring treatments you get in salons.

As far as using a combination of Sun-in type products, home coloring kits, and salon coloring, well, that gets complicated. Each of these processes does damage your hair – multiple bleachings should be avoided under any circumstances if you want to avoid making your hair porous and brittle. If you are going to mix and match you should wait as long as you can between processes. We’d recommend talking to your stylist about this assuming you can trust him or her. It’s tough for us to make that kind of call without inspecting your hair.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Most importantly, be careful with all that lightening. You could end up damaging your hair pretty badly. And be sure let us know if bleached blondes have more fun.

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