Hair Stripping

Recently I decided that I was quite tired of the 4 different hair colors I had going on in my hair, so I decided to strip it.

I had been looking for cheaper ways of doing it at home instead of going to a salon and paying lots of money.

Here's what I came up with:

What You'll Need

Vitamin C tablets 

(capsules or packets work just as well)

Clarifying shampoo 

(Head and Shoulders is recommended but if you don't have it, any shampoo will do)

Dish Soap

(Again, the blue or the clear kind is recommended. I used green and it worked just fine)

What To Do:

If you're using Vitamin C tablets, grab a Ziploc bag and a spoon to use to crush the tablets.

Place about 10 tabs in the bag and press down with your spoon to crush them.

The amount of tablets you'll need really depends on the length and thickness of your hair. My hair is fairly long and I used around 25-30. If you're using capsules or packets the amounts may vary. 

Once you've got your tablets crushed up, put the powder in a bowl or cup. I prefer a bowl because it's easier to get to with your hands if that's what you decide to use. Add in equal amounts of the dish soap and the shampoo and mix well. If you use Vitamin C tablets, you may have small pieces left over that didn't get crushed enough. It's okay, they'll dissolve.

Once you get it mixed you should have a paste-like consistency.

( I didn't think to take pictures at the time, sorry.)

Add the mixture to your hair and make sure it's evenly distributed. After you've applied it, leave it on for 20 minutes. Now, that's the recommended time to leave it on, if you've got a lot of color in your hair or it's been a while since you've dyed your hair you should leave it on longer. I only left it on for 20 minutes and it would have taken more color out if I had left it on longer. Once it's been on for you desired length of time then rinse it out with warm water. You may have to do it over again to get the desired effect. You can to it as much as you want, just keep in mind it will dry your hair out. I noticed it as soon as I rinsed it out of my hair. Just make sure you condition well.

The reason I initially tried this was because I wanted to see if it worked. I didn't want to take the time to reapply it over and over until I was happy with the way it looked. I ended up purchasing a product from Sally's Beauty Supply before I tried this trick so I already had an alternative on hand.

This is what I bought:

This box includes your color reducer, your conditioning catalyst, and your processing lotion. I only used the first 2 bottles because I heard that the processing lotion could make your hair darker than you'd like it and then you'll have to reapply the stripper. If you know what you're doing it doesn't seem to take long. If you don't know what you're doing then it's definitely a learning process. 

This works best if you're using a bowl specific to hair dye or hair products and a brush. (Not a regular hair brush, but a brush meant for hair dye). You can also use the applicator bottles like boxed hair dye.  I purchased everything from Sally's. Once it's applied, leave it on for 45 minutes. I was nervous about what it might do and if my hair would turn orange so I left it on for an hour.

This product really does work. It worked the first time I did it but I wanted to see if I could actually get my hair lighter (and a missed a big spot by my ear) so I did it again.

It worked just fine, but didn't really make my hair lighter so I decided I was ready for dying it.

I bought professional hair dye from Sally's as well. I decided not to go with a boxed hair dye from a pharmacy and it's really not that much to buy the professional stuff. It's around the same price as you'd pay for the boxed dye.

I'm pretty happy with the way my hair turned out. It's a little bit orange-y around the roots but that's something that can be taken care of with a little toner or purple shampoo.

All in all the entire process wasn't terrible. I stripped it on a Friday night using both the Vitamin C method and the color fix and then Saturday I stripped it again and dyed it.

I recommend both methods of stripping, one would just be for those of you that have more time than others.

Good luck!