Ever wanted to bleach your hair blonde but didn’t want to pay salon prices? If you’re pretty familiar with coloring your hair or visit a professional stylist fairly often, then you probably think you know everything there is – or at least a lot – about hair coloring.

However, as ‘easy’ as hair coloring can seem, it’s one of those things that should always require a bit of thought before attempting yourself, especially if you’re considering bleaching your hair.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, ‘Should I bleach my hair?‘ there are a few things you should know before you try it yourself or consider even having it done by a professional colorist. Even women who consider themselves experienced have a few things to learn!

Misconceptions About Bleaching Hair

If you must know anything about bleaching hair, it’s these 10 common misconceptions and their truths.

1. It Doesn’t Take Long to Bleach Hair.

It’s a common misunderstanding that a woman just needs one afternoon in the salon to get her dream shade of sexy platinum color on her locks. However, anyone who has ever gone lighter will tell you you will most definitely need more than one session; in fact, you’ll probably need two or three, depending on how dark your hair is to start with.

Because there are so many different shades of blonde (levels 1-10), each shade takes a different amount of bleaching to get to, especially if you’re starting with dark hair.

Be prepared to spend as little as 30 minutes bleaching to an hour, depending on how much hair you have. For example, just going from black to platinum will take as much as nine hours!

And remember: more bleaching sessions mean more money so consider how much you’re willing to spend.

2. Bleaching At Home Isn’t That Big of a Deal.

Actually, bleaching hair isn’t something to take lightly, literally, at home in your own hands. Unless you’re a certified hair colorist yourself, save this work for the professionals. One mix of the wrong chemical or too long left on the hair and your final result could be something you hate or something not fixable (aka frying your locks).