How Much Does it Cost to Bleach Your Hair?

One of the best ways to change someone’s look is by coloring their hair, but for many of us, especially those with dark brown or black hair, hair coloring often necessitates bleaching, which can easily damage hair when it’s not done correctly. The good news is, there are ways that you can safely bleach and color your hair without damaging it.

That said, another question many people have when it comes to bleaching is, “how much does it cost to bleach your hair?”

The cost of bleaching hair ranges anywhere from $40 to $250, depending on various factors such as hair length, natural hair color, the lightening and toning process, and whether you want to do the bleaching process at home or at the salon.

Now, that’s just the short answer. If you want to know more, here’s a simple guide for you:

How much hair bleach costs

Hair bleach is widely available on the market; you’ll find lots of options online, in most big box stores, and at your local drugstore, for starters. These can cost anywhere from $4 to $30 depending on quality, amount of product, and included bleaching tools. So, you’ll easily be able to find hair bleach that delivers satisfactory results and fits your budget.

Keep in mind that you always need to account for the color, density, and length of your hair when buying hair bleaching products so you don’t buy too little or too much. Read also – Ratio of bleach to developer.

Bleaching powder

One type of hair bleach is a bleaching powder, which can be purchased as $4 to $5 single packs for one-time use, $10 hair bleaching kits complete with the developer, applicator brush, mixing tub, and gloves, and $20 to $30 large tubs for multiple bleaching sessions.

While single packs are the cheapest, a bleaching kit is better if you don’t have the necessary tools to bleach your hair at home. Bleach powder tubs are also more cost-effective if you’re going from really dark hair color to a really light one, in which case you’ll likely need to do more than one bleaching session.

Crème bleach

For a much gentler bleaching solution that causes less damage on the hair and scalp, you might want to try a crème bleach, which typically costs $6 to $8. That said, one drawback is that crème bleaches are somewhat less effective than powder bleach, so you might not get the color lift you want in a single session.

However, crème bleach is so much safer to use than powder bleach. Aside from being gentler on the hair, it also eliminates any risk of accidentally inhaling bleach powder, which can be dangerous even when the product is dust-free, since it still contains a bunch of chemicals.

How much it costs to bleach hair at home

A home bleaching kit will cost you around $40, which should include the toner and developer. Again, the actual cost varies based on certain factors such as your hair length and your desired color lift, aka how light you want your hair to be. For example, if you have black hair and are thinking of going platinum blonde, prepare to spend considerably more.

Keep in mind that the best and safest way to bleach your hair is to have it done by a professional hairstylist so you don’t end up with broken and damaged hair that will need a lot more TLC and can rack you up hundreds of dollars in hair care costs.

However, sometimes we really just want to avoid spending all our hard-earned paycheck at the salon, so if you have adequate knowledge and experience at bleaching or coloring your hair, one solution would be to bleach your hair at home.

Developer

Developers are available in different strengths ranging from 10 to 40, which translates to the percentage of peroxide content of the developer. For example, if you’re bleaching your hair the first time around, it’s best to use a 6% or 20 strength developer.

The cost of a developer starts at $7 to $8 if you’re looking for an affordable option, although there are also higher end alternatives that cost roughly twice as much, and would likely come with a few extra features.

Toner

Aside from the bleach powder and the developer, another product you will need for a DIY hair bleaching process is a permanent toner that you need to apply to your hair immediately after bleaching.

A permanent toner will cost around $8 to $9, and will effectively reduce or eliminate the risk of ending up with brassy yellow or orange undertones on your hair.

What you’ll need to bleach your hair

Again, it’s still best to have your hair bleached at the salon. Despite the added expense, you won’t have to do anything other than sit and wait, you are guaranteed excellent results, and if problems do arise, knowledgeable professionals can address them immediately, so you can still go home with beautiful hair.

That said, it’s definitely possible to bleach your own hair at home. Just make sure that you proceed carefully, remember to use all the important products correctly, and apply the bleaching products evenly so you don’t end up with disastrous looking hair.

Here’s a list of things you’ll need for a home bleaching solution:

• Bleach powder or creme
• 10 to 40 volume developer
• Permanent toner
• Mixing bowl, applicator brush, and comb
• Plastic hair cap and gloves
• Shampoo and conditioner made for bleached hair

To make things more convenient, you can buy a complete hair bleaching kit like the Manic Panic Flash Lightning kit. And remember, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your current hair situation, and what your goals are.

How long is your hair, and what’s its color? How much do you want to lighten your hair? If you want to go from black to blonde, you might need to do a second bleaching session two weeks after the first one.

How much it costs to beach hair at the salon

If you want a guaranteed safe and successful hair bleaching session, and don’t mind paying extra to achieve the results you want, it’s best to have your hair bleached and dyed at the salon. This would cost roughly $150 to $200 for the bleaching process alone. Check also the best blue hair dye for dark hair.

The actual cost would largely depend on the length and original color of your hair, since longer hair requires more product, and darker hair may require a second application of bleach, which means another trip to the salon after a couple of weeks.

Toning your hair would cost an extra $20 to $40, and this is an important step to avoid getting brassy tones. Meanwhile, coloring your hair can go from $50 to $80, and if you want shampoo and conditioner for color-treated hair, that’s an extra $60-ish.

How long it takes

On average, bleaching your hair, whether at home or at the salon, would take 1 to 3 hours, depending on the length and density of your hair.

This means that if you want to lift your hair color several shades lighter, you might need to spend 1-3 hours bleaching your hair today, and another 1-3 hours after one or two weeks, all before you can dye your hair, which would take another 1 to 2 hours.

What you need to do before bleaching your hair

Regardless of where you want to have your hair bleached, there are certain things you need to do beforehand in order to ensure that you achieve the best possible results without severely damaging your hair.

To bleach or not to bleach

The first thing is to determine whether you actually need to have your hair bleached, since your desired hair color may work on your hair without bleaching, like if you’re going from blonde to brown, or you’re just applying temporary hair color.

In many cases, you really don’t need bleach unless you want to go significantly lighter. This is achieved by your hair undergoing oxidation with the use of the bleach, which in turn destroys your hair’s natural melanin to give you a lighter base color.

How to take care of your hair pre-bleaching

If you do decide that you need to bleach your hair, here are a few important steps that you need to take before the bleaching session in order to ensure that you get the results you want:

• Allow your natural hair to grow out so you can enjoy a better and more even hair color after bleaching
• One week before the bleaching session, apply a deep conditioning treatment to your hair in order to nourish it and minimize dryness that may result from the bleaching process
• Don’t wash your hair 24 to 48 hours before your bleaching session in order to allow your scalp to produce natural oils that will protect it from severe damage

Final Tips

When it comes to how much it costs to bleach your hair, the reality is that salon treatments can easily cost hundreds of dollars, but they will guarantee excellent results. If you have a limited budget but would like to enjoy a new blonde look and are willing to take the risk, you can bleach your hair at home for a quarter of the cost of a professional bleaching session.

One thing you need to understand is that maintaining bleached blonde hair can be expensive and time-consuming. This is because you will need lots of products specifically intended for bleached or blonde hair, such as purple shampoo, conditioner, toner, and so on.

You’ll also have to touch up your roots every 2 to 4 weeks so you don’t have an ugly mishmosh of black roots and blonde hair shafts. Once-a-month protein masks will also help bring back your hair’s health.