Are you thinking about turning your yellow hair into a stunning shade of platinum? While platinum hair colors look gorgeous, achieving this look is difficult and can damage hair without the right approach.
You cannot just apply platinum hair dye to your hair and expect to get your desired shade of platinum.
This step-by-step guide will teach you how to bleach and dye your hair to achieve platinum hair from yellow hair while avoiding disaster.
Get ready to transform your light golden or yellow hair into striking shades of platinum with the right tools, techniques, patience, and care.
Ideal Base Hair Color for Platinum Hair Dye
The ideal base color for a perfect platinum look is light blonde. The lighter your hair, the better the platinum dye will turn out.
Starting with this base ensures that the platinum dye or toner can effectively neutralize any remaining yellow tones, resulting in a clean, icy platinum finish.
Cooler blonde base colors are easier to transform into platinum, as warm shades of blonde can compromise the icy platinum color.
Do I Need to Bleach My Yellow Hair Before Applying Platinum Dye?
The answer is 100% yes—you must. Platinum is a very light color, and if you do not lift your hair before using platinum hair dye, you won’t achieve the light, cool color you want.
Platinum hair requires a very light base, specifically a pale yellow, almost like the inside of a banana peel.
Bleaching helps lift the color to this necessary level. Since you are going from yellow to platinum, one lift should be enough.
If your hair is a warmer yellow or golden blonde, it might need to be lifted (lightened) twice if one session doesn’t lighten it enough to reach the pale yellow base color. Do not bleach twice in one day. Wait at least a day or two between sessions, check that your hair is not breaking or overly damaged before a second lift, and see a licensed stylist if you are unsure.
How to Go Platinum from Yellow Hair
If you’re ready to transform your yellow hair into gorgeous, luxurious, and playful platinum blonde or silvery hair, follow the steps below!
1. Gather Supplies and Prepare Your Space
Below are all the materials you need to get started transforming your hair:
- Hair bleach
- Platinum blonde hair dye
- Purple shampoo (optional)
- Plastic gloves
- Vaseline or Aquaphor
- Old towel or rag
- Old shirt
- Plastic bowl
- Tinting brush
- Plastic or glass measuring cup or hair dye beaker
- Timer or your phone
- Newspaper
To prepare your space, place the newspaper on the floor, put on your old shirt, and cover your counter or the sides of your sink with towels or rags. Gather all the supplies and lay everything out neatly on one of the towels.
2. Clean Your Hair
Now that all the prep and setup are out of the way, it is time to focus on your hair. Whether or not to wash your hair is a hot debate, but the general advice is to wash it 24 to 48 hours before dyeing it.
Neither freshly washed nor extra-greasy hair is ideal for dyeing. If your hair is knotty and super greasy, wash it. If it’s only moderately dirty, this is ideal.
3. Section Your Hair
Divide your hair into a minimum of four sections to make dyeing easier. If you have a lot of thick hair, you may want to create more sections.
For people with full manes, six to eight sections are better. Try to make the sections as even as possible and use rubber bands or hair clips to keep them in place.
4. Protect Your Skin
Even milder hair dyes can irritate the skin or trigger an allergic reaction in some people, so a patch test is always worth doing. The bleach and platinum dyes used here are especially harsh.
Generously slather petroleum jelly or barrier cream along your hairline and on the tops and backs of your ears. Avoid putting jelly or cream on your hair.
5. Lift Your Hair to Level 10 with Bleach
While the bleach is processing, rinse it out immediately if you feel burning or stinging or see blistering. Get medical help if you notice facial swelling or trouble breathing.
The ideal base hair color for a yellow-to-platinum transformation is pale yellow, which is level 10 blonde.
If you have orange-yellow or golden blonde hair, it means your present hair color is at level 7. You would need to lift your hair color by at least three shades. For at-home lightening on the scalp, stay at 20 volume or lower, since stronger developer is harsher on the hair and scalp. 30-volume and 40-volume developers are for professional use or off-scalp foil highlighting only, so if 20 volume cannot get you there, book a licensed colorist rather than reaching for a stronger developer.
With a 20-volume developer, expect a slower lift and a longer processing time. Timing varies depending on your hair, so do a strand test first, check often, and never leave bleach on longer than the product label allows.
If your hair is already a light, yellowish blonde, it may be at level 8 or 9. Do not use a 30-volume developer. Use a 20-volume developer and check the result every 20 minutes.
Remember to work swiftly when applying the product. The time it takes you to apply the product from the bottom to the top of your hair can cause different areas to process at different rates.
Therefore, it is better to bleach your roots and the top of your hair first and the bottom of your hair later.
Once you’ve achieved the desired level of lightness, rinse out the bleach completely. If your hair reaches the desired platinum shade with bleach alone, you can skip all the steps below!
If your hair is still too yellow, it’s time for the platinum dye. Wait 24 to 48 hours before applying the dye, as bleaching and dyeing your hair on the same day can damage it.
6. Apply Platinum Hair Dye
Platinum dyes are specifically formulated to give a light, cool-toned blonde finish. They are usually more effective when applied to hair that has been pre-lightened (bleached) to a pale yellow.
Look for high-quality platinum blonde dyes, and consider whether you want a platinum blonde or silvery platinum hair color.
Mix your platinum hair dye according to the box instructions. Most box dyes have pre-measured hair color and developer.
If you’re using professional products, the rule of thumb is typically two parts developer to one part dye. Always follow the specific mixing ratio in your product’s instructions, since ratios differ by brand and getting them wrong can damage the hair or irritate the skin.
Use the beaker or measuring cup. Mix the developer and dye in the plastic bowl using the tinting brush. Mix thoroughly!
Start with a front section, applying the dye from the roots down. If your roots are slightly darker, let the dye sit on them for a minute before brushing it down the hair shaft. You can do this with your hands or the tinting brush.
7. Set a Timer and Wait
Cover your hair with a shower cap when you’re done applying the dye. Set a timer according to the box or hair dye instructions. It’s usually between 30 and 45 minutes.
Since you want platinum blonde, you may be tempted to leave the dye on longer, but do not exceed the time on the product label, as overprocessing damages the hair. If you have particularly thin or fragile hair, err on the side of caution and check it early.
When your timer goes off, you can rinse and condition your hair as you normally would. Your hair will look darker when wet, so wait until it dries to judge the color results more accurately.
8. Use Toning Shampoo
Once your hair has fully dried, assess your color and decide if you want to tone it for a cooler result.
If you still notice hints of yellow or your hair has an overall warm tone, purple shampoo can help cool down the color so you get striking platinum blonde hair.
Use the purple shampoo on your hair. Allow the shampoo to sit on your hair for three to five minutes, and then rinse it out. If the color is still too warm, repeat this step as needed.
Now you know how to get platinum hair from yellow! The hardest part is lifting your hair to the right level of lightness, so make sure you lighten your hair thoroughly before reaching for the box of platinum hair dye!