Why You Should Absolutely Never Bleach Your Roots At Home

If you've ever thought about bleaching your roots at home, think again. According to celebrity hairstylist Rikki Gash, it's a major no-no. "A $10.99 box of bleach can quickly turn into a $500+ color correction salon visit and permanent damage for the next few years," Gash tells The List. Here's why you should absolutely never bleach your roots at home. 

The first reason is simple: breakage. Gash claims that bleaching your roots at home is the number-one cause of this type of damage. "Bleach has a different consistency than regular hair color, so it has a tendency to swell and expand," she explains. "This is why it's so important to be precise when applying the bleach, so when it swells it won't travel to your previously bleached hair." If it crosses over, your hair is likely to break off at the root. "It's a super fine line that's hard even for hairstylists not to cross," says Gash.

The second reason you should never bleach your hair at home is uneven color. As Gash explains, hairstylists will always customize the strength of bleach according to your hair type in order to reduce the risk of breakage at the roots and ensure they can do a precision application. "Most of the time there are [three] different strengths of bleach being used, so all areas of your hair can process evenly," says Gash. "The boxes of bleach from the store [however] usually have the strongest (most damaging) solution and will over-process your hair in some areas." This will leave you with varying shades, which you can only hide with a hat.

And lastly, if you decide to bleach from a box, it won't include a toner, which is an absolute necessity. "Bleach alone will always leave a yellow result, and it's crucial that you tone your hair to neutralize some of those yellow pigments," explains Gash. "Some areas will need a different toner and color combination and doing this by yourself is hard, if not impossible."