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How to Hydrate Your Hair After Bleaching

Updated on June 24, 2025 | 10 min read

Jaclyn LaBadia, Davines Writer

Bleaching dark hair can give you a bold, bright new look, but it also leaves your strands vulnerable, dry, and fragile. The good news? With the right routine, you can restore hydration and keep your bleached hair looking healthy and vibrant. Below, we break down what bleach actually does to your hair, plus professional tips, treatments, and DIY remedies for deep hydration. This includes expert advice from Davines Regional Master Trainer Julia Tomczek.

Key Takeaways

How to Hydrate and Repair Bleached Hair

Bleach weakens and dehydrates hair by opening the cuticle and stripping natural oils.
Wash less frequently and use ultra-moisturizing conditioners to avoid further drying.
Weekly DIY or store-bought masks can deeply nourish fragile strands.
Always treat bleached hair gently—especially when wet or towel-drying.
Add oils before and after washing to lock in hydration and protect from damage.
Avoid hot tools in the first 3 weeks post-bleach; opt for gloss or keratin treatments instead.
Support hair health with hydration, diet, and protective habits like silk pillowcases and UV defense

What Does Bleach Do to Hair?

Understanding the science behind bleach can help you better care for your hair. Here’s what happens:

Bleach opens the hair’s cuticles to allow alkaline agents in.
These agents dissolve melanin (your natural pigment) and break down fatty acids.
As the cuticle opens and weakens, moisture loss and breakage follow.
Eventually, this leads to exposed hair cortex, split ends, and significant dryness.

How to Make Bleached Hair Soft and Silky

These essential habits and product swaps can help you bring softness and shine back to bleached hair.

1. Wash Your Hair Less Often

In the first three weeks after your bleach treatment, your hair is weak and more susceptible to breakage (and this is especially the case for wet hair). Using shampoo strips the cuticle of even more of the natural oils you need for hair growth and health. Wash your hair every three to four days, and use a shower cap on the non-wash days. You can stretch out washes as long as possible by incorporating a dry shampoo into your hair care routine.

2. Choose Ultra-Moisturising Conditioners

Washing your hair less often doesn’t mean giving up your hair care routine entirely. Bleaching your strands leaves them very dry so it’s important to switch out your shampoo with hydrating conditioners and deep conditioners.

Expert tip from Julia Tomczek: "Your hair needs more moisture and getting wet just isn’t enough. Imagine jumping in a pool vs. drinking a glass of water. If you’re parched, the first doesn’t do much to quench your thirst. Using moisturising conditioners will push the hydration back into those weakened locks (like drinking a glass of water) and repair the hair to give it softness and shine. Make sure all your products are made for bleached hair to give max moisture."

3. Use Weekly Hair Masks

After undergoing the stress of bleach, treat your hair to weekly nourishing hair masks. Coconut oil, avocado, and olive oil masks are perfect for replenishing essential lipids. Focus application on your ends, where dryness and damage are most pronounced. DIY recipes work too! Try using a DIY coconut oil mask overnight or honey and olive oil for a 30-minute boost.

DIY Coconut Oil Hair Mask

Heat two tablespoons of coconut oil and apply it to your hair, damp or dry. Wrap it in a microfiber towel or old t-shirt and wear it overnight. In the morning, rinse out the mask with your preferred shampoo and let it dry. If you don’t want to sleep in this mask, we recommend keeping it on for at least seven hours

DIY Olive Oil and Honey Hair Mask

Use three tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of honey and whisk them together until smooth. If it’s still sticky, add more olive oil to the mix. Wash your hair with shampoo and let it completely dry before dividing it into sections and applying the mixture. Leave it in for about 30 minutes and rinse it out with warm water, following with your normal hair wash routine.

DIY Brown Sugar and Coconut Oil Hair Mask

Combine two tablespoons of brown sugar and one tablespoon of coconut oil. Work the mixture into the hair after shampooing, focusing on the scalp. Rinse and continue with your favourite conditioner.

DIY Yogurt Hair Mask

Mix one cup of yogurt with a tablespoon of olive oil to add shine and sleekness to damaged strands. Apply the mixture to your hair for 10 minutes and rinse with warm water.

DIY Avocado and Olive Oil Hair Mask

Use half of an avocado and a half cup of olive oil. Mash together in a bowl with a fork and apply the paste to your split ends. This one is best when left on for about 30 minutes.

4. Be Gentle When Drying Your Hair

Wet hair is extra fragile. Use a microfiber towel or cotton T-shirt to gently blot water instead of rubbing. Comb while your conditioner is still in to prevent snagging.

Expert tip from Julia Tomczek: "Be gentle with your bleached locks when drying. It is the most fragile when it's wet, so being too rough can further the damage. Use a softer towel or t-shirt to squeeze the water out rather than rubbing and try detangling while the conditioner is in to reduce roughing the cuticle and creating more harm."

5. Add Hair Oils to Your Routine

Oils are key to making bleached hair soft and silky. As both a pre and post-shower treatment, a nourishing hair oil helps hydrate and protect roughed-up cuticles from the bleaching process.

Expert tips from Julia Tomczek:

"Using a hair oil before shampooing can be a great way to lock in moisture. Pre-treating your hair with oil before shampooing can create a buffer to your strands to keep the shampoo from stripping your hair.”
“Using oil after you get out of the shower helps lock hydration in. Oil creates a layer that moisture can’t escape. Bleached hair needs all the help it can get.”
“The first 3 weeks after bleaching are the most crucial so use that oil every day to repair the lack of that natural oil barrier."

6. Avoid Hot Tools Temporarily

If you’re using hot tools on bleached hair, you're exposing dry, vulnerable strands to even more damage. Heat styling can rough up already-delicate hair. Let your hair air dry and use a leave-in heat protectant if you must style.

7. Apply a Gloss or Keratin Treatment

Your hair stylist will usually follow your initial bleaching session with a hair gloss treatment to seal and protect your colour, as well as add loads of shine. A hair gloss works by smoothing out rough cuticles and filling in any holes in the hair shaft. If your strands are looking dry and lifeless, a gloss treatment can bring your colour back to life.

Bonus Lifestyle Tips for Softer, Healthier Bleached Hair

Hydration isn’t just topical. Support your hair from the inside out by making a few simple lifestyle tweaks.

Drink Plenty of Water

Soft, shiny hair starts with internal hydration. The answer to most beauty woes is usually to drink more water. Make sure you’re drinking enough water to hydrate your body from the inside out. After bleaching your hair, aim to drink 11-15 cups of water daily.

Adopt a Hair-Healthy Diet

What you eat directly affects the health of your hair. Add foods rich in omega-3s, biotin, and antioxidants to your diet for healthier, shinier hair. Try adding some of the following into your breakfast, lunch, snacks, or dinner!

Salmon

Avocados

Blueberries

Leafy greens

Wash Your Hair With Cool Water

Hot water can strip the moisture from your hair, so keep it lukewarm when you wash. Finish with a blast of cold water when rinsing out your conditioner. This seals your hair’s cuticles and the pores in your scalp, locking in moisture, and adding a boost of shine.

Protect Your Hair From UV Rays and Chlorine

Bleached hair is vulnerable to sun and pool damage. Use hats and SPF hair treatments outdoors, and rinse hair before and after swimming to avoid damage or greenish hues.

Sleep on Silk Pillowcases

It's important to protect your fragile dry strands while you sleep. A silk pillowcase is much gentler on hair than cotton pillowcases or hair scarves. Hair glides against silk while it clings to cotton, preventing further damage on your hair follicles. This creates friction, leading to breakage. Plus, cotton sucks the moisture out of your hair leading to more dryness.

Get Regular Trims

The more you can keep those tresses in check by trimming off the damage, the less likely they are to become dry and brittle. Trimming your hair every 6–8 weeks keeps it feeling healthy and looking silky.

Opt for Balayage Instead of All-Over Hair Colour

Balayage highlights are a lot gentler on your strands than all-over hair colour (and a lot easier to maintain). If your hair is dry ask your stylist for balayage highlights instead of going fully blonde.

Your Soft, Silky Bleached Hair Revival Plan

Wondering how to make bleached hair soft and silky? It comes down to this:

Be gentle and consistent with moisturising products
Avoid heat and harsh treatments
Feed your body and hair the hydration they need

Whether you're struggling with dry ends or overall breakage, knowing how to repair hair after bleaching is essential for restoring strength and shine. With the right mix of TLC, science-backed products, and pro guidance, your bleached hair can look and feel silky smooth again.

Visit your local Davines salon to get customized treatments for your hair type and needs.

Find a Davines Salon Near You

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How to Hydrate Your Hair After Bleaching