I've decided to write this post because there is not a lot of info out there on what to do to get platinum blonde hair or lilac hair (especially with products coming from the UK).
So far, it has been a long road from very dark brown hair to what I was looking for, it took a very long time, around 8 months to be fair. I recommend people to not try bleaching at home, I've done it, but my hair is very strong and I have some experience. Also, be patient, it takes a very long time, especially if you have dark hair like myself and if you have used dark hair dye. Use plenty of conditioner and let your hair rest, especially after bleaching.
Initially, I had very dark dyed brown hair (my hair now has a lot of grey hair, so I have to dye it), which had been dyed over and over for ages.
To remove the brown, I had to bleach it a couple of times and I got the hideous orange hair (NOTE: I have very strong hair, I don't recommend people to bleach at home without previous knowledge or to do it twice in a row, let your hair rest). I had a wedding coming up, so I decided to turn my hideous orange bleached hair into a nicer ginger colour.
After that brief ginger month (which I loved) I went back to my search of the allusive platinum blonde / lilac hair. The bleaching process was horrific and it damaged my hair quite a bit. It was still very very orange (even after 2 bleachings and a colour B4), so I decided to use Schwarzkopf Live Color XXL in purple pink to let my hair rest a little, and I got a very interesting pinkish-purple that lasted 1 month (as I continued my bleaching process very soon after that). I wasn't super happy with the colour, and to be fair, I should have used Directions instead (as they are very good for the hair).
Removing that purple took a colour B4 and some bleach, but I still wasn't blonde enough.
I continued bleaching every month (from september till november), without using a toner (only directions silver, which did nothing, and silver shampoo, which didn't do much either), until I decided to try using Directions Lilac, mixed with conditioner 50:50, and I got my hair toned, without knowing it.
I finally achieved platinum blonde! But my search didn't stop there! In december I mixed a little bit of Directions Violet with a lot of conditioner, and I finally got my lilac!
Since then, that's what I've been doing, mixing Violet hair dye (either Directions or stargazer, I prefer Directions) with loads of cheap white conditioner until I get the colour I would like my hair to look, I then apply it on very bleached hair (it has to be yellowish, no orange in it, or it wont work!) and leave it on for at least 1 hour and then wash the excess out. The conditioner will improve the appearance of your hair, so you get the colour and the texture you want!
My advice to have lilac hair is:
1- Bleach until you get a very light yellow hair (go to a salon for this)
2- Use Violet hair dye mixed with conditioner (leave on for at least 1 hour), I recommend Directions.
3- Don't wash your hair every day, I wash once every other day and my colour fades after 1 or 2 weeks.
4- Use silver shampoo and or/ add some dye to your daily conditioner.
Also, Directions in silver does NOTHING to me, not even a slight silver tint, it just acts like a toner, and not a great one.
Other recommendations that were very helpful to me can be found here. the Daintysquid has wonderful coloured hair and you should at least have a look at her blog.
Hope this post helped! If you have questions or comments, don't hesitate to ask! Also, if you have other tips or brands you like, let me know!
