Hair bleach often gets a bad reputation.

And it’s not unwarranted. There’s an entire TikTok page dedicated to horror stories on bleaching hair at home. Some of these videos detail hair breaking off after a bad DIY bleach job. Other concerns people have about bleaching include ending up with damaged hair, discolored hair or even a chemical burn.

After hearing these issues, you might start to wonder if you should choose a different product for turning your dark hair blonde. We talked to Annie Joerger, curriculum specialist for Nurtur Aveda Institutes, about lightening your hair without bleach.

What is the safest way to bleach your hair?

Joerger says that bleach can indeed cause your hair to break off. "Bleach could potentially break down the integrity of hair and cause it to break off," says Joerger via text message. "If done without knowing what you are doing, it could process beyond what the hair can handle and actually break down the protein structure of the hair causing breakage."

Despite the online horror stories, Joerger assures you do not need to avoid bleaching your hair as long as it’s done correctly. That’s why it’s always a good idea to leave any drastic hair changes to the professionals.

If you are committed to bleaching your hair at home, there are precautions you can take to limit any adverse reactions, according to Healthline. Test the hair beforehand. If the ends of your hair look frizzy or frayed, don’t bleach it.

And it may sound obvious − but make sure to read the directions very carefully. Leaving bleach on your hair for too long can lead to serious damage. How long you should leave bleach on your hair varies. To determine this, you must take into account your current hair color, hair texture, your desired color, and if you’ve colored your hair before.

How to get blonde hair without bleach

If you’re still feeling worried about bleaching your hair, there are alternatives you can try. One option is to lighten your hair with a permanent hair color.

This product is limited though. Permanent hair color only works to lighten natural hair color, says Joerger. If you try to put permanent hair color on hair that is artificially pigmented you will see very little to no “lift,” which is the salon term for lightening.

Permanent color can also only lift your hair four to five levels. Stylists divide hair color into levels of lightness on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the darkest color and one being the lightest.  If you want your hair lighter than four or five levels, then you will need to choose a more intensive product like bleach.

Can I lighten my hair naturally?

You can lighten your hair with at-home products like lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide or vinegar. These products might feel more “natural” because they react with the sun to change your hair’s hue.

While you technically can use these products as an alternative to bleach, Joerger advises against it. “I spend most of my time trying to teach my students why not to use those,” says Joerger, “because you don’t have any control over how much they are going to lift.” This lack of control can leave you with a hair color different than what you intended.

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