Ask Fashion Girl

Dear Aaron,

Boy, is she ever right! DO NOT use household laundry bleach to bleach your hair! I repeat, DO NOT do it! Terrible things will happen, and if it accidentally gets on your skin or in your eyes, things could get REALLY bad. This is your body we're talking about, not your dirty laundry!Hair bleach is a different animal entirely, and it's made specifically for lightening hair. It isn't liquid like household bleach, and it's far gentler. If you don't want to have your hair lightened professionally (which can be expensive!), your best bet is to go to the drugstore and buy a hair bleaching kit, which will set you back about $10 to $15. Look in the hair dye section. A good choice for first-time bleachers is L'Oreal's "Feria" bleaching kit. It has a picture of a guy on the box, but it works equally well for girls. The kit will contain everything you need, including gloves, applicator bottle, and after-bleaching conditioner. Be sure to follow the directions exactly! Recruit a friend or family member to help you. Hair bleach is a different animal entirely, and it's made specifically for lightening hair. It isn't liquid like household bleach, and it's far gentler. If you don't want to have your hair lightened professionally (which can be expensive!), your best bet is to go to the drugstore and buy a hair bleaching kit, which will set you back about $10 to $15. Look in the hair dye section. A good choice for first-time bleachers is L'Oreal's "Feria" bleaching kit. It has a picture of a guy on the box, but it works equally well for girls. The kit will contain everything you need, including gloves, applicator bottle, and after-bleaching conditioner. Be sure to follow the directions exactly! Recruit a friend or family member to help you. Experimenting is good and fun, but remember that if you don't like the look or the feeling, you may still have to live with it for awhile. If you want to stay blond, it's going to take some serious upkeep. When your hair grows out, there will be a distinct line between the bleached hair and the new hair roots. Even with a spray-on, "Sun In"-type product that's meant for gentle or medium lightening, you'll still have a line when your hair grows out. This "dark-roots" look actually looks really cool on some people. If you want to stay all blonde all of the time, you'll need to bleach the roots about every 2-3 weeks.Enjoy your new look!

Sincerely, Fashion Girl