How to fix patchy bleached hair

Nobody is perfect all the time. When it comes to do-it-yourself hair bleaching, this saying is especially true. One quick look in the mirror can reveal the shocking results of a botched bleach job. The stark reality of seeing your uneven bleached hair can be alarming.

Fortunately, you don’t have to pretend you’re starting a new hair trend. There are several options you can take to even out your hair color. The most obvious step is to seek help from a professional hairstylist or colorist. However, if you persist in doing it yourself, there are two good options. We will guide you through both.

Why Your Bleached Hair is Uneven?

It helps to find out what went wrong the last time. You can begin by retracing your steps before you discover the horrible results. As you review the process, consider these four leading causes for uneven bleached hair and see if they apply to you.

• Not using enough product: If your hair is dark, you should use more bleach. By falling short, your hair could turn orange or red after bleaching.
• Choosing the right product for you: You should take your time shopping for the right bleaching product. These products have various volume strengths, ranging from 10 to 40. A volume 10 product won’t get the job done if you have very dark hair.
• Poor product mixing: Make sure the product is not outdated. Also, it is imperative to mix the developer and bleaching powder evenly. While stirring the mixture with your brush, take your time, and don’t stop until a homogenized blend.
• Not sectioning your hair: Applying bleach on unparted hair is an invitation to a hair coloring trainwreck. Long and thick hair is particularly vulnerable. Starting from the lower part, use rubber bands to tie off small sections until you get to the top.

Will Toner Fix Uneven Hair?

It is possible to use toner on uneven bleached hair. After several washes, you’ll most likely end up with slightly uneven toned hair, but it is not a clear pathway to your desired hair color. However, if you prefer to skip the harsh effects of bleach, toning may be a viable option.

Toning may work for you, but it doesn’t correct all types of uneven bleached hair. Before considering this option, try to determine the degree of your hair’s unevenness. If severe, you may be better off with the other methods.

Toning your uneven hair involves the same steps as dying over uneven bleached hair. Just substitute the bleach for toner.

Two Ways to Fix Bleached Uneven Hair

Want to know how to fix uneven bleached hair? These are two successful ways to take care of the problem.

The Quick Way

If you dread the thought of appearing in public with a multi-hued hairdo, the quick way may appeal to you. Of course, you still have to wait a few days before doing it, but your days of embarrassment will soon be over. All you have to do is dye your hair a darker color. This method is simple and safer. It just requires walking around with a darker shade of hair color for a while.

At the offset, it is essential to choose a hair dye that will adequately cover your mistake. For instance, if you’ve bleached your hair to a blond color, select a light brown hair dye or darker.

When you’re ready to start the hair dyeing process, do the following:

• Wear gloves throughout the whole process.
• Put cream or vaseline on your face to avoid getting it stained.
• Follow the instructions closely.
• Apply the dye evenly and wait within the specified time limit in the instructions.
• After washing the dye, rub in the conditioner to nourish your hair.

The Slow Way

If you are dead set on achieving your desired uniform color, you can bleach your hair a second time. The bummer is you must wait at least three weeks after your first try. Bleach dries out the hair and roots. If fact, the damage can get to a critical level.

It takes three to four weeks for your hair to recuperate from the first bleaching. This would be the perfect time to enrich your eating routine with high-protein, low-fat foods during the in-between time. Eat plenty of veggies and berries. A nutritious diet will help nourish and strengthen the roots.

Plus, massaging your scalp with Ayurvedic oils will prepare your hair for the next round of bleaching.

Successfully Completing the Bleach Job

After the three or four weeks have passed, you’ll be ready to give it another try, but this time will be better. Hopefully, you have followed our instructions for preparing your hair and scalp for this moment.

Before starting the second bleaching session, make sure your work area is clean, and all surrounding surfaces have a protective layer of cloth or newspaper. Also, to expand your view, position two mirrors in the front and back of your head. Now, you are ready.

As you go through the process again, keep these key elements in mind.

• Slip on your gloves and protect your face with a layer of cream. 
• Prepare the bleach mixture precisely as the instructions dictate.
• Remember to split your hair into different sections.
• Apply the mixture the same way you would apply the hair dye.
• Start with the back of your head and end in the front.
• Wait around 20 minutes before evaluating the results.

After completing the process, wash your hair, and use an extra conditioner on it. Your shampoo should have a balancing pH level to rejuvenate your hair. Because the bleaching process leaves your hair very dry, skip blow-drying your hair this time. Finally, wear a shower cap until the color has completely set.

FAQs

How to ‘Fix Patchy’ Spots After Bleaching?

It is possible to fix patchy spots after bleaching, but it isn’t straightforward. If you plan to fix it yourself, it is better to dye all your hair darker.

Can I Dye Over Uneven Bleached Hair?

You can always cover up badly bleached hair with dye. To find out how to do it,  read this next section.

Bleaching related other posts:

At-home coloring products are convenient, but they aren’t error-proof, especially in an amateur’s hands. Fortunately, uneven bleached hair is one of those blunders you can fix in life. So it comes down to whether you want to cut your losses or get it right the second time. Either way, these two methods should help you fix the uneven bleached hair.

Is your bleached hair uneven?

Does it have two or more different colors?

If your bleached hair is uneven, don’t panic. There are two ways to fix unevenly bleached hair.

• A fast way
• And a slow way

The fastest method is to use another, darker hair dye to cover the unevenly bleached hair.

If you bleached your hair to a medium blond, for example, you could cover it with a light brown.

That being said, I only recommended this option if your color is so wrong you can’t wait a few days to change it.

If you’re able to wait a few days, I recommend taking the slow route.

Which is to bleach your hair again.

Yes, you read that right.

But of course, you can’t bleach your hair again right away, bleaching your hair twice so soon could be fatal for your locks.

Your best option is to wait at least 25 days before bleaching your hair again.

If you can’t decide what to do, don’t worry. We’re going to discuss each option in-depth.

But first, let’s learn why your bleached hair turned out uneven in the first place.

Four possible causes of unevenly bleached hair

There are four reasons the bleaching process might not be effective or create an uneven result.

• Your hair had a very dark base color
• The product mixture was not prepared correctly
• The mixture was not applied evenly
• The mixture was not left in long enough

• Your hair had a very dark base color

The bleaching process tends to change black or deep brown hair into orange or red tones.

This is because dark colors are often created with large amounts of red pigment.

• The product mixture was not prepared correctly

When mixing bleaching powder, it’s not only important to measure the correct proportions of bleaching powder and developer, but also to make sure that the mixture is completely homogeneous. If it’s not very well mixed, you could end up with an uneven color as a result.

• The mixture was not applied evenly

Here’s a question to think about, and I want you to be completely honest with yourself.

Did you apply the mixture evenly to every inch of your hair?

If your answer is no, that may be right, the color turned our uneven.

This allows the bleach to process all of your hair, creating a more even color.

• The mixture was not left in long enough

The bleaching mixture should be allowed to work for forty minutes.

If you rinsed out the solution too early, some of your hair might not have been fully bleached.

Which could cause a patchy color.

Two ways to even out a bleached hair

Now that you know why your hair may have turned out uneven, let’s take an in-depth look at how to fix it.

1- Cover it with a darker hair dye

If you decide to even out your hair color with dye, I recommend matching the color to the darkest shade in your hair.

Let’s take a look at an example.

If your bleached hair is blond at the roots but orange or red at the ends, you could apply a chocolate brown color.

This way, your hair doesn’t get too dark, and you can use that as a base color and gradually lighten your hair later.

And keep your hair as healthy as possible.

Because all you have to do is buy a box of dye and apply it, it’s certainly the easiest option, but it’s not always your best idea.

Remember, both permanent hair dye and bleach contain peroxide.

Which can severely damage your hair.

That is why it’s better to be patient and wait three or four weeks before bleaching your hair again.

2- Wait three to four weeks and bleach your hair again

• If you decide to even out your hair color by bleaching it again, it’s best to wait three to four weeks between bleaching treatments.

Exactly how long you should wait depends on the health of your hair.

• If your hair is damaged, you may have to wait a bit longer then three weeks.

But don’t spend those three weeks binge-watching Netflix! Instead, take steps to help your hair recover.

What can you do?

Give it a bit of love, some TLC.

And buy it chocolate.

Ok, the last one was a joke.

Bleaching is a chemical process that opens the hair cuticle so it can absorb or release pigment.

This means you have to rebuild your hair after bleaching it.

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There are various ways to help rehabilitate your hair. You could apply a keratin creme once a week.

Or use coconut oil to hydrate it.

Or use one of the many excellent products available, such as reparative ampoules.

If you don’t do anything else, moisturize your hair!

Which is what I recommend to my clients after two bleaching treatments.