Ever wonder why raw hair can be bleached to #613, while virgin hair can't go beyond #27?

The key lies in the health and quality of the hair cuticle and cortex. The more intact and healthier the cuticle, and the stronger the cortex, the easier it is to bleach to #613. Otherwise, #27 is the limit.

1. Understanding Hair Strand Structure

1.1 Hair Strand Structure

To grasp why this happens, let's first understand the structure of hair. The basic structure of hair includes:

• Cuticle: The outermost layer that protects the hair.
• Cortex: The middle layer that contains pigments.
• Medulla: The innermost layer, often absent in fine hair.

1.2 Composition and Functions

The primary component of hair is protein (insoluble keratin). The structure of hair from the outside to the inside consists of the cuticle, the cortex, and the medulla.

The cuticle is where the well-known "hair cuticles" are located. They are colorless and transparent, overlapping like fish scales, covering 6–12 layers on the outermost part of the hair. In daily life, when we talk about whether hair is smooth, it is largely related to the cuticle. If the cuticles are neatly arranged, the hair will be "silky smooth." If the cuticles are raised for various reasons, the hair will feel rough and look coarser.

The cuticle is composed of several overlapping scales that protect the inner layers of the hair. Healthy cuticles lie flat and tightly packed, giving the hair a smooth and shiny appearance.

Additionally, we can feel the presence of the cuticle by touch. By pinching a few strands of hair and running your hand downwards in the direction of hair growth, you will feel smoother because you are going with the direction of the cuticles. If you run your hand upwards against the direction of hair growth, you will noticeably feel a much rougher texture.

The cortex, which makes up the majority of the hair’s structure, contains fibrous proteins and pigments.

The cortex makes up 77%–80% of the hair's volume and is typically composed of spiral protein fibers. Every 6–9 fibers form microfibrils, which then coil together like a rope to form a macrofibril, and this method ultimately forms the cortex of a hair strand. 

The medulla is the innermost structure of the hair, accounting for about 5% of the hair's volume. It has a tubular structure, forming a loose central shaft that supports the hair. Although it is also composed of fibers, it is colorless like the cuticle. Interestingly, not every strand of hair contains a medulla; some hairs have only a cuticle and a cortex.

1.3 Hair color Determined by Cortex

The cortex is the core part that determines many characteristics of the hair, such as its color and curliness. Hair color is determined by pigments in the cortex, primarily black, brown, red, yellow, and blue. Different ethnicities have different combinations of these pigments. For example, Asians generally have black, red, yellow, and blue pigments, resulting in black hair. Europeans typically have brown, red, and yellow pigments, leading to brown or blonde hair. 

Evidently, chemical hair dyeing mainly alters the cortex.

2. How Hair Bleaching and Dyeing

2.1 The Principle of Hair Bleaching Dyeing

Knowing the structure of hair, we can easily understand the principle of hair dyeing. Generally, there are two methods of dyeing hair: physical dyeing and chemical dyeing.

Physical dyeing is easy to understand. It involves directly covering the outermost cuticle layer of the hair with colorant materials. Hair dyed this way lasts for a shorter period, usually washing out completely after one wash. Temporary hair sprays and dyes sold online work this way, suitable for cosplay, music festivals, short-term visits to parents. Since these temporary dyes do not chemically alter the hair's original structure, they cause almost no damage to the hair. After use, washing with regular shampoo can restore the hair's original color.

Chemical dyeing, on the other hand, requires altering the hair's original structure, penetrating the cortex to change the internal pigments of the hair. Therefore, the 1st necessary step bleaching the hair, and then dye it.

2.2 How to Bleach hair

Since color is determined by the cortex, and the cuticle protects the cortex, it is necessary to first open the cuticle. The cuticle has the characteristic of opening in an alkaline environment and closing in an acidic environment. Therefore, we use developer, whose active ingredient is hydrogen peroxide and is alkaline, which is why it has a strong pungent smell.

After opening the cuticle, bleaching powder can enter the cortex to dissolve melanin and achieve a bleaching effect. We generally use a 20-volume (while mostly clients may use 30-volume) developer mixed with bleaching powder to bleach hair. In 30 minutes, it can bleach hair to a level 27. If a level 613 is desired, the time needs to be extended to 60 minutes or it might require another round of bleaching.

Therefore, bleaching inherently damages the health of the hair strands.

To reduce the damage caused by bleaching, we recommend using high-quality bleaching products along with Olaplex No.1 or No.2 repair treatments. While bleaching, these products help repair the damaged hair core and medulla, minimizing the harm to your hair. Olaplex No.1 works by repairing the broken disulfide bonds in the hair.

2.3 Hair Bleaching Level

Under normal circumstances, the bleaching sequence for Asian hair is as follows: black -> brown -> brown -> reddish-brown -> light brown -> dark gold -> gold (27) -> light gold -> very light gold (613) -> palest gold (60)->platinum gold

2.4 Using Toner Shampoo

Sometimes you need to dye your hair light pink, light green, or gray. In such cases, you need to bleach your hair to level 9 or above. However, simply bleaching the hair can be challenging to achieve level 9 directly because yellow pigments remain. These yellow pigments interfere with these colors during dyeing. That's when you need to use a toner shampoo.

Compared to regular shampoo, toner shampoo contains purple pigments and usually appears dark purple. These purple pigments can neutralize the remaining yellow pigments in the hair, making it appear beautifully light blonde after bleaching and greatly reducing the impact of yellow pigments during subsequent dyeing. However, it is important to note that toner shampoo is only effective on hair bleached to level 9 or above. For hair colors that do not require bleaching to level 9 or above, toner shampoo will have no effect.

2.5 We Recommend Buying #613 Hair for Coloring

If customers already have a clear coloring requirement, we strongly recommend they purchase our #613 hair products.

First, we offer four types of #613 hair series to meet different coloring needs. If you only need a short-term color, lasting one to two weeks, we suggest purchasing BVRG613, which is priced as low as $22.22

For customers with very high coloring requirements, we recommend VR613 or TR613. These are our best #613 hair products, created through slow bleaching to protect the hair cuticles and quality to the maximum extent. They also allow for very fast coloring and the best results.

Purchasing 1B products for coloring requires additional bleaching, which increases costs and time. If not done correctly, it can easily damage the cuticles and cortex result in less-than-expected coloring effects. 

3.Why Raw Hair Can Be Bleached to 613? 

Our Top Raw and Vietnamese Raw, contains more brown pigments compared to the more black-pigmented Burmese hair. This makes it could be bleached to #613(around level 9-10), anyway sometimes, you may have to use a toner shampoo to bleach the hair color up to level 9

Additionally, the cuticles of Top Raw hair and Vietnamese Raw are very healthy and intact, and the cortex is strong and undamaged. Thus, even after hair bleaching to 613, the hair remains strong and healthy. 

As for Burmese Raw, because it has relatively more black pigment, although its cuticles and cortex are also very healthy and intact, it can only be bleached to a color lighter #27(around level 7-8) and cannot be lightened further.

4.Why Virgin Hair Can't Be Bleached to 613? 

Why can't virgin hair be bleached to 613 and can only be bleached to 27?

First, the cuticles of virgin hair are straightened by machine. Compared to raw hair, the cuticles of virgin hair are not as intact, and the virgin hair cortex is not as strong as that of raw hair. Additionally, Burmese virgin hair and Indian virgin hair has more black pigment. After being bleached to 27, the hair quality remains usable. However, if bleaching continues, the hair cortex will dissolve and become like dry straw, or even break off completely. Therefore, virgin hair cannot be bleached to 613.

In summary, you get what you pay for. The value and price of the hair are very well matched—the higher the price, the stronger and healthier the hair you receive.

5.Post-bleaching Hair Care

After bleaching, conditioner is crucial for keeping your hair smooth and shiny. Since the main cleaning ingredients in shampoo are strongly alkaline and can open the cuticles, drying your hair directly after shampooing can easily make it rough and excessively frizzy.However, hair conditioners can temporarily close the cuticles, making the hair smooth and less prone to tangling in the short term.

Many people like to apply conditioner directly to their hair right after washing, rub it in briefly, and then rinse it out. However, this method is entirely incorrect, and your hair will not become smooth. The correct way to use conditioner is to first towel-dry your hair after washing until no visible water droplets remain. Then, apply a suitable amount of conditioner or hair mask evenly to your hair.

You don't need to rinse out the conditioner completely because the silicones in it will adhere to your hair, making it smooth. When rinsing, you can stop as soon as you notice that the water is no longer white and cloudy or feels slippery.

As for choosing specific products, most conditioners do not differ significantly. Therefore, if you have a brand, you like and find effective, you can continue using it. 

6.Conclusion

In theory, all 1B hair can be lightened to #613, but the process is damaging. Only strong, raw hair is suitable for bleaching to #613. For the best results, virgin hair should be bleached no further than #27 to avoid dryness and breakage.

I believe this explanation can help you educate your clients on different hair experiences and effects. We are here to help you choose the best products for your business and customers with our expertise.