Ok, this is a very long-winded question, but I promise to eventually get to the point...

My hair has been bleached a LOT, although not in the last few months. It feels fine but I know that doesn't mean it IS fine... I had to dye it black a few months ago for this school thing, then bleached it straight afterwards because i couldn't stand the dullness (I know...that's a terrible reason!) Anyway... most of it went orange/brown, so i just threw some atomic pink over it and it went a sort of dark purplish colour.

Alright, as promised, i will now get to the point:

I was browsing the internet and came across Manic Panic Flash Lightening. The reviews raved about it, so I bought some on impulse (40vol!). Then it occurred to me I should probably find out a bit more about it before i slap it on my already frazzled hair... so has anyone tried it, and can i expect to get my hair blonde with it?

If you've taken the time to read the whole of that rant I'm really grateful!

My hair turns white-blond with just 30 vol.
Um...here's my natural color:

Sorry...the best I could do was find a picture of roots. My hair hasn't been fully natural for 4-5 years.

And here's the blonde I get with flash lightening:


So I guess judging by that you could say that it works pretty well? I always get very consistent results and it works quickly (20-30 minutes). I've never burned my scalp with it, it's not extremely drippy like some brands...the only problem I've ever had with it is that the bowl they give you to mix the peroxide and bleach is too small. But I just use a plastic bowl from the kitchen to fix that.

I haven't used Flash Lightning yet, but from personal experience I'd say go really careful with 40vol, if your hair is already damaged it is not gonna like a 40vol bleaching much! I recently put 40vol on top of previously bleached hair and had to have a big cut soon after because it was so split and dry.
Also, don't put it on your scalp because it is way too strong and is likely to burn your scalp.
The best thing to do is a strand test, time how long it takes to get the blond you want,then check how stretchy/knackered your hair is.
Good luck!
love
Xx.

I've heard the results can be pretty uneven. And although it worked for jhop, she was bleaching out semipermenent dye and her roots, which is easier than bleaching out remainders of permanent black.
My friend burnt her scalp on 40 vol so just be careful not to get it too close to your head and make sure your hair is strong enough.

Vicious_Badger wrote:
I've heard the results can be pretty uneven. And although it worked for jhop, she was bleaching out semipermenent dye and her roots, which is easier than bleaching out remainders of permanent black.

That's true, I forgot she had said that. I had permanent black in my hair about 3 years ago, and it took several bleaches (and hair cuts) to get that out. It totally fried my hair. :(

Thanks everyone! I think I'll take your advice and do a strand test first, and maybe get hold of some 30vol for my roots. I'll let you know how it turns out!

I"ve heard good and bad things - strand tests are def a good idea and avoiding high vol is very important, 30 will do it trick sometimes just takes longer. A lot of 'prof' bleach kits actually suggest doing a strand test to determine the amount of time you personally need, they don't even list times often. the fact that its not drippy is good - too drippy and evenly mixed means uneven results!

when trying to get 'tones' out, like if its well bleached but still orangey or yellow a toner is a real good idea to try first, so you don't over bleach. that happens a lot. you can also try a colorfix type product in that type of situation.