There is no better way other than bleaching to lift your hair color and flaunt with a cooler and incredible-looking tint for a long time. But, as you may already know, playing with harsh chemicals in your beauty regime always cost you some damage. Often, you experience that bleaching makes your hair curly and a bit rough or falsely thicker.
So, what is the main reason your hair gets curly after bleaching, and what can you do to evade it?
Bleaching involves harsh chemicals like the developer, which rips your hair strands of proteins and moisture. It breaks some of the bonds that get reconfigured asymmetrically, temporarily making your straight hair curly.
Also, your hair loses proteins to these chemicals, which leaves the cuticle raised instead of being compact and composed. So, when you touch your hair after bleaching, it feels thicker. But it’s just an illusion!
But it is not always the case, especially when the hair is healthy enough to withstand bleach. If bleaching made your hair curly, there are different things you can do to make it sleek and straight again. However, if you are loving the curly texture, you need not do anything.
Also, you can take a few steps before bleaching your hair to prevent it from turning curly and rough. So, let’s dive further into some of the details to see what you can do.
Why Bleaching Makes Your Hair Curly?
Typically, people with straight hair have a symmetrical arrangement of proteins, which are the building blocks of the hair strands. The outer layer of their hair, also called the cuticle, remains tightly closed, giving their locks a smooth and sleek appearance.
On the other hand, curly hair does not have the same arrangement of proteins as straight hair. The proteins are configured in more of an asymmetrical manner, producing bends and curls all along the hair strands.
However, when you bleach your straight hair, the chemicals break the protein bonds, and some of them are reconfigured irregularly, making your hair appear curly. Also, the outer layer of your hair strands loses some of its proteins to bleach. So, its smooth texture changes to the rough.
Some like the curly hair they get after bleaching their straight manes because it looks more voluminous and wavy. But to their misfortune, curly hair from the bleach turns straight again after a few washes.
If you want to turn your straight hair curly for months, you might want to consider perms instead.
Why Bleaching Makes Your Hair Appear Thicker?
Before explaining if bleaching makes your hair thicker or not, let’s first understand the difference between thick and thin hair strands.
A thick hair strand means it has more proteins in its shaft and on the outer protective layer, making it stronger. It is always more challenging to lift color from thick hair strands than thinner ones. Therefore, you have to use a high volume developer.
A thin and delicate hair strand is one with fewer proteins keeping it together and protecting the hair shaft from outside. It is prone to damage. You can more easily lift its color by diluting a robust developer with a weaker one.
The bleach chemicals, primarily the developer, damage your hair by ripping it off its moisture and proteins. So, how do you expect bleaching will make your thin hair thicker?
Bleaching does not make your hair thicker in reality but gives it a rough texture by breaking proteins off from the cuticle. Your hair gets dry, frizzy, and curly, which seems thicker when you touch or feel it.
According to a study, the hair cuticle, which was initially compact, becomes slightly raised because of the lost proteins from bleaching. So, when you touch it, you feel your hair is thicker after bleaching. But, factually, your hair has gotten weaker and thinner after losing proteins and moisture.
How to Prevent Your Hair Getting Curly From Bleaching?
Bleaching agents can be harsh on your hair strands and always cause varying degrees of damage no matter how healthy your hair is. As I have explained above, the bleach damage renders curly and falsely thicker hair appearance.
Therefore, if you want your hair not to get curly from bleaching, you need to take a few steps. If you employ the following ways, your hair is less likely to get dry and damaged from the bleach.
1. Use a Low Volume Developer
A developer is the main ingredient in bleaching, where it lifts your original hair color by oxidizing the melanin pigments. Mostly, it is hydrogen peroxide chemically and comes in different volumes.
Each volume (10,20,30, and 40) specifies the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (3%,6%, 9%, and 12%) respectively in the developer.
The higher the volume of a developer, the more you’ll be able to lift your hair color. However, you are hair will also suffer more damage. And there is nothing better to replace the role of developer.
If you don’t want your hair to get dry and curly from bleaching, go for a 20 volume developer that will lighten your hair to two levels. It is less damaging because it contains a small amount of hydrogen peroxide.
2. Prepare Your Hair For the Bleach
If you bleach your weak straight hair, it is most likely to feel gummy after bleaching because a lot of its internal bonding gets devasted by the chemicals. Therefore, it is crucial for your hair to be healthy and robust enough to withstand the chemicals.
When you plan to bleach your hair, start preparing your hair almost a month before the procedure. You may use a leave-in conditioner to moisturize and nourish your manes regularly.
Employing coconut oil can also be a valuable option for your hair. According to a study, it is the best of all oils at preventing the protein loss from your hair strand from bleaching.
However, it is not recommended to bleach your hair while it contains coconut oil unless you want to keep the actual action of the chemical at a low minimum.
3. Use Essential Oils After Bleaching Your Hair
Experts always recommend regularly nourishing and moisturizing your bleached hair to compensate for the lost proteins and moisture. So, if bleaching makes your hair curly and rough, make sure you apply the essential oils suggested for chemically treated hair.
Within a few days of a good aftercare routine, your curly and falsely thicker hair from bleaching will become smooth and sleek again.
Wrapping Up
Bleaching your hair means voluntarily making it suffer some protein and moisture loss for color lift or lightening. Some people think their hair has become thicker after the bleach, which is not the case. And for others, bleaching makes their hair curly. In any case, the changes to your hair texture are short living.
