John Frieda Controlled Lightening Spray Review & Instructions

So I've recently done something, not great for my hair. I started using John Frieda (sheer blonde, go blonder) controlled lightening spray. On the bottle it suggests to only use with light brown to blonde hair and not on dark hair. This is important as it could turn dark brown hair to an orangey colour as opposed to blonde. So please keep that in mind, it's not to bleach dark hair only to lighten already light hair.
          So I've done this about 3 times in my hair so far and I haven't noticed obscene amounts of damage besides what was already there. The spray bottle says you should see a difference of color between 3-5 times of use. I can confidently say that I think I see a difference. It is really hard to tell as I already have highlights and the summer sun begins to lighten my hair as well. But I definitely do think it has made a difference. I'll let you know in a few weeks how it is. For now I am quite pleased with the product. After 10 uses they say that's the lightest your hair will get.
              The bottle itself is quite cheap in my opinion, it's around 10 dollars at most drugstores. I've seen it at almost every drugstore I've checked in Canada. The downfall is that the bottle is quite small so if you're doing very long or thick hair you may run out quite easily. The product does smell nice in my opinion. Maybe slightly acidic but also very clean. I know that's a strange combination.
       So far the product has done a lot less damage than I would have thought it would do as it contains hydrogen peroxide. Although I have taken cautionary steps (some from other blogposts) to keep damage minimal. See below:

1. You're to use the product on towel-dried hair so I start with a shower. During this time I condition my hair TWICE instead of once just to be sure it's lathered in as much moisture as possible. Also you'll want to apply it on as clean hair as possible. When conditioner is in run your fingers through your hair to eliminate most tangles.

2. Once I'm done showering you're to towel dry your hair and then spray in the product. You can either spray it in sections to create highlights, I just spray overall. I concentrate on my roots as my highlights are growing out.

3. Then it instructs you to comb out your hair. I'm sure to use a wide tooth comb while doing this as it will be more gentle on your hair. I also quickly spray in some detangler just to reduce the pulling that goes on.

4. Last but not least you are to blow dry your hair, and when doing this I do have my blow dryer on the warmest setting as that is what will actually cause your hair to lighten. However the lightening spray does have a heat protector in it, so you'll have a bit of protection.

5. Once the hair is completely dry, before I style I always apply Moroccan Argan Oil to the ends to help put the moisture back into them.

6. Also on days where I don't use the product I try to not use heat on my hair and leave it natural. This just gives it a bit of a break after all the strain on 'blondifying' days. And if you want to be extra careful you can also cut off any split ends you may notice

Pros:
>it truly lightens the hair
>doesn't cause too much damage
>easy to use
>smells good
>cheap (I got it for $9.99)
>found in most stores

Cons:
>itchy scalp
>creates slight damage
>less noticeable than getting highlights at salon (this could be a 'pro' for some)
>must be done more than once
>small bottle

Tip 2: Be Gentle and Use Detangler

This is a pretty straight forward tip. Be gentle and use detangler. First of all a lot of us like to just rip through our hair when we brush it like it's not big deal. We're old enough that we don't scream at the pain and have learned to endure it so why not just make it quick and easy? Here's why, when you brush a whole tangle through your hair harshly it rips your hair so much, it's not even funny. It tears at your ends and destroys them completely. It literally ruins your hair. So when brushing your hair you always want to start at the ends and work your way up. That way it's not so hard on the ends of your hair. It's also way easier and hurts a lot less.

Also try using a detangler. I know some people may think it's for children who can't handle their hair being pulled at very hard but it's actually for everyone to reduce damage. In most cases the less it hurts your head, the less it's damaging your hair. But keep in mind that you want to wait for the detangler to try a bit otherwise you could get the opposite affect that you want. So spray in some detangler, wait a couple minutes for it to dry and work your way from the ends up!

Good luck on repairing your hair!