I have been buying this for years, and use it to strip my hair of color before dyeing it the color of my choice. Remember, people, this is a BLEACH, not a hair dye. I naturally have very dark brown to black hair, and this does an excellent job of evenly stripping my hair of all the color....better than the salon brands I've tried. Each box contains 2 packets of bleach powder, and I can get 4 uses out of each box since I only use this to streak my hair. I do NOT get a platinum blonde out of it, as my hair is very dark, but a brassy yellow that is the perfect base for the dye I apply over it later.

I think the negative reviews on this product are just people that don't understand what this product actually is.....

This is a hair bleach! It's not really meant to produce perfect blonde results it's meant to lift the dark pigment out of your hair so you can then use a blonde toner or hair dye to achieve the desired blonde shade.....this is true of all hair bleaches/lighteners not just this brand....

I personally feel that there are other bleaches available at Sally's that are more comfortable on the scalp and leave the hair in better condition than this one but as far as overall results Born Blonde works just as good as any other bleach/lightener.....If you are trying to go from brown or black to blonde you have to bleach your hair and the darker your hair is the more difficult it's going to be. If your hair is ending up orange or gold/yellow this is completely normal because as I said this product is meant to lift the dark color out of your hair not necessarily give you your desired shade of blonde, I will go into how to fix it if your hair does turn orange or gold.

If your hair is totally orange then you have no choice but to bleach it again ....I recommend waiting at least a week and doing a good protein treatment and deep condition in between....once your hair is gold or yellow you can proceed to tone it.....I prefer Wella Color Charm toner from Sally's in shade T18 which is called White Lady. This toner has a violet base and will therefore counteract any of the harsh yellows in your hair (keep in mind you will have to purchase separately a bottle of 30 volume developer to mix with this toner 2:1 ratio of developer to toner) If you use this toner you'll end up with a really pretty pale cool shade of blonde. If you don't have a Sally's or BSS near you just go to your nearest drug store, Wal-Mart, Target etc and find the lightest, palest shade of ASH blonde hair dye they carry....this will work almost just as good just make sure you get the lightest shade and make sure it says ash blonde....that's the only shade that will remove yellow/gold pigments.

All in all Born Blonde is a good product particularly for those people that don't have access to a Sally's because it's available at any drug store, Wal-Mart etc (otherwise I would recommend Ion Color Brilliance Creme Lightener from Sally's mixed with 30 or 40 vol developer) but if Born Blonde is what you have you can definitely make it work just remember this product is a bleach so it's designed to lift the dark color out not necessarily to give you your desired blonde shade.....be sure to use a good blonde toner or dye after you bleach with Born Blonde and you'll love your results!!!!!!

***I almost forgot when using Born Blonde or any bleach for the first time do not apply to your roots first apply to the mid lengths of your hair and ends and apply to the roots last...the reason is that your roots are closest to the scalp where there's body heat and heat makes bleach process faster so you'll end up with white/platinum roots and orange/yellow hair....so only apply to roots once the rest of the hair has reached an orange or yellow color to ensure even processing***

I bought this product hoping to lighten my already dyed hair, but secretly hoping also that it would help me achieve a blonde look that I've always wanted... Well needless to day I was COMPLETELY wrong. My hair was dyed a very dark auburn from a natural red, and yes I know that it is incredibly hard to dye red hair blonde but the first time I ever did this with a different brand it came out OK. With the Clairol, I now have about 13 different colors all ranging from brown to platinum blonde in my hair and it looks HORRIBLE!! Very disappointed with advertising of this product.

I read the reviews and thought that as some were good maybe I'd be lucky. Oh no. My hair turned orange. Almost neon orange. I followed all the instructions and it was a complete disaster. I had to go to the hair salon in a hat.. For reference my hair is blonde and I'd dyed it brown a few months ago and was trying to go back to blonde. If that is what you are looking for I recommend a hairdresser and don't try it at home!

Help Tone Out Yellow Tones!

I have naturally dark brown hair. I had it foiled to a really light blonde. I bought this product after reading many mixed reviews. I did the patch test as directed. It lightened well enough to give me the confidence to try it on my hair. I had about 1 1/2 inches of roots showing. I followed the directions exactly. My hair has a terrible tendency to pull brassy color. The end result is platinum blonde hair everywhere except the roots where it is still a slightly 14k yellow gold wedding band color. I need advice on what to do to tone the yellow out and keep the light light blonde color.

Finding the right bleach product is important if you want light blonde or platinum hair. I've been going back and forth from dark brown to platinum for years now. I know that is a no no but i normally use color opps and my stores were out of it! So i saw this product. tried it. AND I LOVE IT! Easy to follow directions! The smell is a strong bleach smell so do use a fan or open a window. Do the strand test because your hair will go through stages to go from dark to light. Also in comparison to the Prism Lites collection from Sallys...THIS CLAIROL BORN BLONDE MAXI WORKS !!!! My hair didn't feel dried out unlike the Prism Lites and i have less of an orange color.

***Buy Toner & Developer*** you will need it!!*** & none of the reviews I read anywhere mentioned Toner/Developer**
Before & After I purchased this I searched online for reviews & I was scared because whenever I dye my hair it pulls the REDS out & I have a hard time getting a true dye, so I did a little more research & found that born blonde also comes in an 'Ultra Blue" shade, for people who pull brassy. IF YOU HAVENT BOUGHT YOUR PRODUCT YET, YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER THAT OPTION but of course I already bought mine & couldn't find the Ultra Blue in any store in my area (NJ), so with tips from another review on this site I also decided to make the best of it.
Here's my suggestions to you:
1. GO TO A BEAUTY SUPPLY STORE. (Sallys in my area) - purchase a) Wella or Clairol TONER, 30 or 40 Creme Developer & Clairol Professional Lightening Acitvator 7th Stage Instant Whip Ultra Blue Born Blonde. - The born blonde kit you purchased has 2 packets of lightening powder
2. Mix contents of Clairol box as directed, once you have added the two packets of powder included, & Ultra Blonde *blue Packet & shake it [til you see a consistent BLUE color w no lumps] . Add 3rd step, the lightening creme.
3. Section hair - the more sections, the more consistent/even coverage you'll get.
4. Section by section, apply liberally to bottom, and head up to your roots. DO Your scalp LAST!!
5. Once your head is covered, cover your head in a plastic shower cap [& wash out the bottle to use for the Toner/Developer after the bleaching process].
6. Rinse out as directed on package & apply Toner/Developer in same manner & leave on for 20-30 min.
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I love this product. It works fast and is the best for bleaching hair. Nothing compares to it in any salon.

I am not a hair professional but I have gone to many to try to achieve a platinum blonde look. It costed too much, took too long, and was high maintenance. The color would never come out how I wanted plus my hair was always cut 2 inches every time I retouched my hair. Who wouldn't want long platinum blonde hair?

My hair is dark brown naturally. Now, I am platinum blonde and I did it by myself!

I've been using this for about 3 years. It works better than the other products I've used for lightening it and doesn't damage my hair too much. The first few days, it looks fake, but then it looks the way I want it to. I always use it the full 90 minutes. The other lighteners I've used, including at the beauty salon, never got my hair this light. I was always disappointed. My husband, who passed away last year, loved this color and always wanted me to keep using it.

I used this on my lightish brown hair that had been previously dyed an auburn color, but had faded back to a brown. I had about 2 cm of new root growth and i decided that i wanted a change and decided on going blonde. I have been blonde before, with the use of highlights, but i wanted somehing a little more dramatic, all over color. I had researched and read up about bleaching hair, and about clairol born blonde maxi. I had read pretty bad reviews on it, hair turning wrong color etc but decided to go ahead and give it a shot.I did a strand test, on the darkest part of my hair- underneith, where its darker brown/red color. The strand test took 90 minutes to lift my hair to a golden blonde color- not orange really, and i figured i could use a ash blonde over it to bring it to the natural blonde shade i was wanting. So after 5 hours of deciding whether to do it or not ended up doing it. The smell is so strong and burned my nose hairs and eyes, but it is bleach so what do you expect. I followed the directions to "a T" and after 90 minutes, my hair looked a gingery color, and my roots were pale blonde/yellow color!!! I didnt want to leave it on any longer as it had already been on maximum time, and didnt want to risk damaging my hair anymore. I washed it off, used the conditioner and got out of the shower and look in the mirrir. Oh my god. My hair was an ugly shade of light orange, dark orange, yellow, pale yellow, all with a brassy tone. It looked hideous. I dried my hair hoping it would somehow miraculously turn into a nicer shade when dry, but nope, ugly color hair still there. It was lighter when dry but it was just gross. My daughter who is 4 told me "mommy your hair looks kind of wierd" AHH!! So i decided to put a loreal superior preference over it, in ash blonde and it litterally did nothing to my hair. Barely toned it down. The next day i called clairol, they are sending me a refund, but the told me i needed to go to a salon for it to be fixed..I decided once again to do my hair myself (couldnt really afford a hairdresser) so i got garnier nutrisse color foam in medium brown 5, and it covered the ugly mess very well, no strange green tones, just a beautiful brown color. So- thank you garnier and i will never use clairol born blonde again!!I suggest you don't either unless you want freakishly colored hair!!