Do You Shampoo After Bleaching? How Long Do You Wait?

Bleaching your hair opens the door to a whole new world of color. Many people bleach their hair first to remove the dark colors so they can have the pink pastel or rainbow hair that they dream of. 

Before dreaming of color, your bleaching procedure should be a success first. There are many different mistakes that can be made with the bleaching procedure and those could lead to undesirable results. 

Most of us know that it would be best not to shampoo your hair just before bleaching it. But what about after? Do you shampoo after bleaching?

No, you shouldn’t shampoo immediately after bleaching. Wait to shampoo until after you’ve toned your hair.

Shampooing isn’t a good idea assuming you plan to use a toner afterward. It is a very common mistake that can lead to undesirable results.  

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What Should You Do Right After Bleaching Your Hair?

Whether you are bleaching your entire hair or placing highlights or balayage, the thing that you should do after letting the bleach work on your hair is to thoroughly rinse it out. 

Some people choose to shampoo their hair after bleaching because they think that it will fully remove the remnants of the bleach. However, simply using cold water is enough to rinse out the bleach used. You just have to be thorough about it. 

Some people choose to shampoo their hair after bleaching because they think that it will fully remove the remnants of the bleach. However, simply using cold water is enough to rinse out the bleach used. You just have to be thorough about it. 

You don’t really need to use shampoo right after bleaching your hair. This is because you still want to keep the cuticles open to absorb hair toner or other products that you might want to use after bleaching.

There is no denying that bleach is a harsh substance for the hair. It opens up the cuticles and works on the pigment so you’ll have lighter hair. With that, you’ll get dryer hair due to it the intense process. 

It can be tempting to try and rescue your dry hair by using shampoo or conditioner afterward. But resist the urge to do so, especially when you are still using a toner afterward.

Shampooing hair will just close up the cuticles and prevent the toner from efficiently getting rid of the brassiness or other unwanted color tones.

Shampooing hair will just close up the cuticles and prevent the toner from efficiently getting rid of the brassiness.

With bleached hair that’s rinsed with water, you can apply the toner immediately.

At this point, the cuticles are still open.

When you apply the toner at this point, it can efficiently penetrate the hair strands so it can cancel out any unwanted tone in your hair. 

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Do You Shampoo After Bleaching?

If you shouldn’t wash your hair with shampoo right after bleaching, then when is the right time to wash it with shampoo? You should be ok to wash your hair with shampoo after you’ve toned it. 

You should be ok to wash your hair with shampoo after you’ve toned it. 

Toners are great at making your hair look even better, but they can only do that if you apply the toner correctly. And that means you have to apply it on the hair that’s only been rinsed out with cold water. 

Toners come with instructions on how long you should place them on the bleached hair. After reaching the time required, you can now thoroughly rinse out the toner. 

After that, you can now shampoo and condition the hair. Shampooing and conditioning the hair at this stage will help make sure that the toner has first done what it is supposed to do before you close the cuticles. 

Additionally, shampooing and conditioning will help remove the excess toner so that your hair doesn’t become over-toned. 

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How To Care For Your Bleached Hair

Bleached hair has been through a chemical process that damages it. After getting it to the color or shade that you like, it is best to care for your hair properly. That will help make sure your hair doesn’t get further damaged.

Here are a few tips: 

1. Shield It From The Sun

As we’ve mentioned, bleached hair has already been through a chemical process, which means that it is more prone to be damaged again by other elements. 

The sun’s heat could very well damage them easily plus the UV rays as well. It could easily make them brittle and dry. 

You need to protect your hair by using an spf spray  for the hair. Plus you could physically cover up to prevent such exposure. Not only are you protecting your hair strands by doing that but protecting your scalp as well.

2. Minimize Chlorine Exposure

Chlorine is a chemical used to treat water. However, it is also capable of oxidizing copper particles in the water. If you use chlorinated water in the swimming pools, it is possible for the oxidized copper particles to stick to your hair. 

When the copper particles stick to the hair, it produces a not-so-great color for those with bleached hair. Ever seen someone who developed greenish hair even if they didn’t dye it green? Well, that could be due to the over-exposure of the bleached hair to the chlorinated water. 

3. Close Your Hair Cuticle Afterwards

Bleach opens up your hair cuticles in the process to gain access to the pigments. Open hair cuticles are useful for toner. However, after the toning process, you should close the hair cuticles to prevent further damage. 

There are various products that can help you seal the cuticles. Olis like coconut oil, argan oil, olive oil, and almond oil are all great aftercare products to prevent further damage to your bleached hair. 

4. Avoid Heat Styling

Another way to damage your hair s to always use heat for styling. As your hair is already prone to damage, always exposing it to the heat of blowers, hair irons or curlers could just damage it further. 

It would be best not to use them for at least 3 weeks right after bleaching. You may use them afterward but do it sparingly and not daily to avoid the risk of damaging your hair.

5. Keep Up With Your Hair Care Routine

We all know the importance of a good skincare routine but you should also not forget about having a good hair care routine. Your newly bleached hair needs extra care at this time, so make sure you use hair masks or hair spa treatments to hydrate it.