How to Get Silver Blonde Hair

Last Updated: May 6, 2021 References

Silver hair never goes out of style. It's chic, it's fresh, and it's sure to turn heads. Unfortunately, attaining true platinum blonde hair is also a long, difficult process, and you will need all the help you can get.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Preparing Your Hair

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Start with a clean slate, if you can. Virgin hair is best for achieving the platinum blonde look – this means all dye should be grown out of your hair.^{[1]
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Expert Source

Christine George
Master Hair Stylist & Colorist
Expert Interview. 10 January 2020.} It might take a while. Hair grows about ½ inch per month, so you’ll have about 3 inches of virgin roots in 6 months and 6 inches in a year. If you’ve dyed your hair recently or still have dark ends, you may find it has an orange tinge after bleaching.^{[2]
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2
Condition your hair. For best results, you should get a professional deep conditioning treatment. If this is out of your price range, use a couple deep conditioning hair masks in the weeks leading up to bleaching.^{[3]
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3
Stop washing your hair. Your body’s natural oils will help protect it from the bleach. Your hair will inevitably be damaged by the bleaching process, but going into it with freshly washed hair can make it a lot worse.^{[4]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Getting Your Hair Professionally Bleached

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Find a good salon. Attempting to dye your hair platinum blonde by yourself is a bad idea.^{[6]
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Research source} The process tends to be very long, and involves a lot of chemicals that can seriously damage your hair if you don’t know what you’re doing. You may be able to go blonde out of a box, but to achieve truly silver hair you should enlist a stylist’s help. This can get expensive, but it’s not something you want to skimp on unless you want to risk ending up with fried, orange hair, and a burning scalp.^{[7]
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- If you have very light blonde hair to begin with, you may be an exception to this rule. In this case, a quality toner applied to your hair may be enough to get silver hair. Even so, if you have never used toner before, it is highly recommended that you go to a stylist the first time around, so they can show you the ropes.^{[8]
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Bring a photo. You might be surprised at how many shades of white and silver there are. Bringing in a photograph to show your stylist will help ensure you get exactly what you want.^{[9]
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Have realistic expectations. It will probably take a few sessions to get your hair truly silver. This is especially true if you have naturally dark hair or have colored your hair before. You should also be prepared for the process to be painful, as the bleach often creates a burning sensation on the scalp.^{[10]
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4
Set aside a decent chunk of time. Don’t expect to be in and out of the salon in an hour. Keep your schedule free on the day of your appointment, and be prepared for it to take a while.^{[12]
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- Don’t panic if you don’t see ideal results the first time. You may need to lighten your hair to a darker blonde first, then gradually lift to silver.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Doing It Yourself

1
Consider carefully. If your hair is short, straight, light in color, undamaged, and neither very thick nor very fine, you may be able to successfully bleach it at home. If your hair does not meet all these criteria, you can certainly attempt to bleach it yourself, but you should be aware that the odds are significantly against you, particularly if you have never bleached hair before. Whatever kind of hair you have, if you decide to bleach it at home, you should be prepared for the possibility that it will go very wrong. If having fried, yellow hair for a while would make you feel awful, it’s best not to attempt this.
2
Get your supplies. You will need a powder bleach (like L’oreal Quickblue), developer (ideally the same brand as the bleach), toner (Manic Panic is a popular brand), a plastic mixing bowl, a plastic spatula, a plastic rat tail end brush, deep conditioner, a few pairs of rubber gloves, some cotton strips, and a friend to help you.
3
Mix the bleach. There is no universal rule and you’ll need to follow the instructions on the bleach you purchased. Usually, though, the ratio is between 2:1 to 3:1 of developer to bleach. Use 10 or 20-volume peroxide developer for the best results. Higher volume developers will not lighten your hair better – just faster – and cause more damage.
- Be sure to mix the bleach thoroughly. Use a whisk and mix till no powder clumps remain.
4
Apply the bleach with your rat tail end brush. Use the tail end to section off very thin segments of hair, and the brush end to spread bleach onto both sides of your hair. Start at the crown and work down through the sides and back.
- Start about 1 inch away from the scalp and work to the ends, saturating very thoroughly. Apply the bleach to thin sections of hair and put cotton strips at the roots – this will stop bleach from running toward the scalp.
- The parts of your hair that already have bleach on them will begin to lighten as you work. If you notice any spots you missed, reapply bleach to those areas.
5
Let the bleach do its thing. Consult the instructions that came with the bleach to determine how long you need to wait. Check your hair as you go. It will not be platinum blonde yet, as you have not yet applied toner. The important thing to look for is lightness. You don’t want orange hair, but yellow is fine. If you do wind up with orange hair, it’s time for an appointment at a salon. When your hair is pale yellow, hop in the shower, rinse out the bleach, shampoo, and deep condition your hair.
- You will feel itching and burning on your scalp. This is natural, but if you are in serious pain you should rinse it out and make an appointment at a salon, rather than burning your scalp.
- If your hair is still quite yellow, it hasn’t been lightened enough and may turn green or brownish when toned.
6
Apply toner.^{[13]
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Expert Source

Christine George
Master Hair Stylist & Colorist
Expert Interview. 10 January 2020.} There are many brands you can buy and the application will vary based on which one you select. In general, though, you’ll need to towel dry your hair, apply the toner, and then comb it into your hair and let it sit for a while. When the right amount of time has elapsed, hop back into the shower and deep condition again.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Taking Care of Bleached Hair

1
Use purple shampoo and conditioner. These often smell a little funky, and the color can be scary at first, but purple shampoo and conditioner will help keep your hair that striking white color, without developing brassy tones. The concept is similar to when people with blotchy skin use green face powder to reduce the redness of their complexion; because purple is the opposite of yellow, it counteracts those unwanted hues, and keeps your hair looking silver.^{[14]
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- You can use these once or twice a week. Don’t overdo it – everyday use will give you too strong a hue.
2
Touch it up with toner. This will help keep your hair that pristine white color. Some toners are also purple, like shampoos and conditioners designed for bleached hairs. The application process will be different for different toners, so follow the instructions on the box.
- Again, be sure not to overdo it. Touch up with toner every couple of weeks at most. More than that and your color might start to look drab and flat.
- Consider having this done professionally the first time around if you have never done it before. Your stylist can teach you some tricks to make sure you are comfortable doing it on your own.^{[16]
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3
Baby your hair. Bleaching does an incredible amount of damage. It will need to be treated with extra care.
- Only wash it a 3 or 4 times a week, and apply a hair mask every time you do.^{[17]
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- Blow dry and curl it as infrequently as possible, and use products designed to protect hair from heat when you do.
- Use only sulfite-free products, to avoid damaging and yellowing your hair.^{[18]
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- Once or twice a month, apply liquid coconut oil to the ends of your hair, wrap it in a towel, and let it sit for a few hours.^{[20]
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Community Q&A

Question

Is it permanent or just temporary?

Community Answer

Bleach permanently strips your hair of all pigment. This means that the hair that you dyed will always be blonde unless you dye it a different color.
Question

How do I get back my original hair color after dying it?

Community Answer

You could dye your hair to a color that closely matches your original color, or you can just wait until your hair grows out.
Question

I have blonde hair with a lot of orange spots, and I'm thinking about bleaching it to silver blonde. Will it work?

Community Answer

The only way to get rid of the orange spots is to use a purple or blue toner. Anything else will only cause more damage.