Can You Lighten Hair With Just Developer?
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Can you lighten hair with just developer? Yes you can, but how does it work and why does it work?
Here are some tips and what you need to know about lightening hair with just developer.
What is Developer?
Hair developer is a hydrogen peroxide based product usually mixed with colors and dyes to activate them.
The hydrogen peroxide opens the cuticle, the outside shaft of the hair, to allow the color or dye inside the strand. The developer then oxidizes the color to allow it to bond to the natural color pigment molecules inside the hair strand.
Lightening hair with just developer means that there is no color or dye to bond to the natural pigment molecules and it oxidizes it – allows more oxygen to get to the natural pigment – permanently lightening the natural color of the hair.
Developer comes in two forms, liquid and cream. Both can lift hair color though when lightening your hair with just developer cream works best.
Lighten Hair With Just Developer- About Developer
When trying to lighten hair with just developer it is very important to never leave the developer on the hair for more than 20 minutes.
Developer is available in 4 different volumes. Which just means each one contains a different percentage of hydrogen peroxide.
The higher the volume the stronger it gets. But be aware that developer is still a chemical and can chemical burn you, so be very careful when applying it to your hair and scalp.
10 Volume Developer – 3% hydrogen peroxide
10 volume is the most gentle of the developers only because it contains the lowest amount of hydrogen peroxide.
With this volume you can lighten your hair with just developer 1 to 2 levels. We’ll talk about levels in the next section below.
Get 10 Volume Developer from Sally Beauty Here
20 Volume Developer – 6% hydrogen peroxide
20 volume is the most common developer because it is strong enough to help color gray hair and lift natural color 2 to 3 levels.
Get 20 Volume Developer from Sally Beauty Here
30 Volume Developer – 9% hydrogen peroxide
30 volume is stronger and has the ability to lighten the hair 3-4 levels.
Get 30 Volume Developer from Sally Beauty Here
40 Volume Developer – 12% hydrogen peroxide
40 volume is the highest volume developer available to the public. It has the ability to lighten hair up to 8 levels! 40 volume can lift from 4 to 8 levels, but needs to be watched carefully.
Being the strongest developer because of the high peroxide content, it also has the capability of causing the most damage to the hair. And can burn the scalp more than the other volumes.
Even if you want the most amount of lift available, don’t be over-zealous but be cautious and patient with the process. The last thing you want to do is damage your hair to the point of ruin.
Get 40 Volume Developer from Sally Beauty Here
Last Note on What is Developer
Remember, using developer to lighten hair is permanent. And the higher the developer volume the higher risk of chemical burn on the skin. So even if you want 8 levels of lift and your hair to be lightened that much be very careful and wash the developer out of your hair if you begin to feel any burn on your scalp or skin.
DO NOT LEAVE DEVELOPER ON THE HAIR FOR MORE THAN 20 MINUTES MAX!
Developer oxidizes hair, longer than 20 minutes only causes more damage to the hair it will not make the hair lighter the longer you leave it on because like we explained above, only the volume will determine how light the hair will become.
Levels of Color- How the color level system works
From levels 1 to 10 or sometimes 11.
1 being the darkest raven black and 10 being the lightest blonde.
To lift one shade means that wherever your natural level is you go lighter just a tiny bit. A level 6 for example by lifting one level will become a level 7. If you lift 3 levels, a level 6 will become a level 9 blonde.
If you have ever been to a salon where you were told that you are “A natural level 6” this just means that on the color scale, you are in the middle, not quite blonde but not a dark brown either.
Various levels of blonde generally start at a level 8, but can also be various shades of red or be toned other warm, cool, or neutral colors. For example, you can have a level 9 rose gold blonde (almost a pink shade). Though still a level 9 blonde, it doesn’t have to be gold, or neutral to be. blonde.
Levels 1-5 are dark brown to midnight black. These levels can also be toned to various neutral, warm, or cool tones.
The American color level system and the European color level system both have the same levels except the American system stops at level 10 and the European has a level 11, which is just a half a shade lighter than the lightest 10 in the USA.
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How to Lighten Hair With Just Developer
What you need-
- Color Bowl
- Color Brush
- Gloves
- Cape or towel
- Timer
👉 Your hair should be fully dry before you start to lighten your hair with just developer. Start this process by testing the elasticity of your hair. This means you are making sure that your hair is healthy enough and can take lightening a few levels with developer.
To test your hair’s elasticity you take a single strand in the middle, not at the roots, and pull on it with medium strength. If it stretches a tiny bit or not at all you can go ahead and lighten your hair with developer.
🛑 If your hair stretches and breaks, your hair’s integrity is compromised, it’s not strong enough to be lightened without causing worse damage to your hair and possibly breaking it off entirely.
When your hair passes the elasticity test you can proceed with preparing your hair.
👉 Place the cape or towel around your shoulders to prevent the developer dripping on clothing. If it does drip it will lighten the fabric as well, or can burn your skin.
👉 Next, part your hair into four sections or quadrants. Two in the front and two on the back of your head to make the application of the developer easier.
👉 When your hair is sectioned and you have the developer in the color bowl, use the color brush to apply the developer to the edges around your hairline but be sure that it doesn’t drip into your face.
👉 Continue to apply the developer to each section, starting with the front two sections. With the color brush work the developer through the section with your gloved hands to ensure even distribution throughout the section and avoid patchy color spots once the developer is rinsed out.
👉 Once all four sections have developer set your timer for 20 minutes. If your hair has lifted to the desired level before your timer goes off, it’s okay to rinse it out early! IF IT BURNS WASH IT OUT! Do not try to bear through the pain. If the developer is burning, it is chemically burning your scalp and needs to be rinsed out right away.
👏 Keep in mind that heat makes the cuticle to open and allows the developer to work faster. With this being said, developer applied to the scalp will process faster than the rest of the hair because the scalp is warmer from the body heat. So be quick when you apply the product to the four sections.
Can You Mix Shampoo With Developer?
You can mix shampoo with developer. When trying to lighten a color you are unhappy with this is an excellent alternative to bleach.
It is less affective when trying to lift several levels, but it can lighten permanent color and lighten some shades of color if you are trying to eliminate a toner that you just received that you might be unhappy with.
👉 Add about two tablespoons of cream developer with the regular amount of shampoo that you use.
👉 Wash your hair like you normally would, and when your hair towel dried – no longer dripping but still damp- then you can apply this shampoo-developer mixture with gloves. Again, make sure that you use gloves and use a towel or cape so that it doesn’t drip and cause any chemical burns.
👉 Leave this shampoo-developer mixture on, like a mask, for 10-15 minutes, then wash it out and apply conditioner.
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Pros and Cons of Lightening Hair With Just Developer
Like anything, there are pros and cons to lightening your hair with just developer.
Pros
- Using developer is less harsh and damaging than bleach
- Developer permanently lifts color and you don’t have to constantly reapply
- You can do this at home
Cons
- Developer is still a chemical and can cause chemical burns
- Any developer can damage compromised hair further
- The color is permanently lifted to a lighter color. So if you don’t like it, you do have to tone to a darker color
Can you Mix Baking Soda with Developer?
It is not recommended to use baking soda with developer.
Baking soda is excellent for clarifying and stripping buildup off of hair. If mixed with a developer the chemical compounds would be too strong for the hair to take and cause more damage than good.
This combination would be deeply clarifying the hair while the cuticle is lifted, which is bad. It would strip all of the good things out of the inside of the hair instead of helping the developer do it’s job.
Using developer to lighten hair and using baking soda mixed with shampoo are both fine if used separately, just not together.
Conclusion- Can you lighten hair with just developer?
Lightening hair with just developer is simple and less damaging to the hair than bleach. Just remember these few things and use the guidelines above when applying the product.
Be careful not to chemically burn your scalp or skin.
Use cream developer and the correct volume to lighten to your desired level.
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