Guide · 5 min read
Can you digital perm coloured or bleached hair?
The short answer
Coloured hair, usually yes. Bleached hair, sometimes, and only after a strand test. Heavily bleached hair is often too weak to take the chemistry and the heat together, and the honest answer is then no.
Want this done properly?
In my chair it's called WavementUP.
Curl built for your hair, 6+ months. Cold £299.95–£499.95 · Hot £389.95–£659.95, by length.
See WavementUP →Colour
Permanent colour opens the hair, but most coloured hair can take a permUP. I adjust the strength of the lotion and protect the most porous parts. Leave a gap between colour and perm: I’ll tell you how long for your hair.
Highlights and balayage
Possible, with care. The lightened sections are weaker than the rest, so they’re protected or processed less.
Heavy bleach
This is where it gets risky. Hair that has been bleached several times, or lifted to very pale blonde, has lost a lot of its inner structure. A permUP needs that structure to hold a curl. Add heat, and you can end up with frizz or breakage instead of a wave.
The strand test
Before I permUP bleached hair, I test a small hidden section. If it takes the curl and stays strong, we go ahead. If it doesn’t, I won’t do it: no curl is worth breakage.
Order matters
If you’re planning both, permUP first and colour after, with the right gap. It’s easier on the hair than the other way round.
Keep reading
All Hair Guides →Want this done properly?
In my chair it's called WavementUP.
Curl built for your hair, 6+ months. Cold £299.95–£499.95 · Hot £389.95–£659.95, by length.
See WavementUP →Are you a pro? The full technique is on tecSture. tecsture.com →