Ion

I use this on my granddaughter’s hair. She has very light, buttery blonde hair & when she & her folks moved to an acreage with iron rich well water her hair turned brassy pink. She hated it as kids called her Strawberry Shortcake:). Anyway I found the clarifying treatment at Sally’s and never looked back. Now that she’s 14 she does the treatments herself & it’s amazing how it sucks the iron deposits out of her hair & she’s back to her natural buttery blonde. Just wish it came in a tub & was more reasonably priced.

I bought the 9v and 10v and Ion brand developer (20V). They were labeled as lightest ash blonde and light ash blonde. I pre-lightened my hair, to a level 9 then mixed each in its own bowl to alternate through the hair. There was ZERO ashing. neither bowl changed color from white solution, not even a teensy-tinsy shift change in a blue or violet direction. I left it on for a half hour, and still no change to the solution at all. Washed it out and my hair is the exact same color. Also, the color was tough to get out of the tube. It was thick and waxy and difficult to evenly blend into the developer. Bummed that I double-processed my hair for absolutely no gain/change/toning.

My hair did not come out at all.

Ever since my late teens I have always been the type to change my hair color often, even if its mostly by just throwing in peekaboos with a pop of bright color here and there or a caramel colored ombre. Throughout the years in my search for an effective yet more gentle bleach to keep up with my hair chameleon ways while still aiming to keep my hair from breaking and falling all out I am happy to say that this has now become my new go to.
I just finished my second tube and Its the only bleach that I have ever used on myself and my sister that still manages to keep the integrity of the hair in a decent state afterward and lifts super quick! The consistency is creamy and smooth, perfect for application without running or bubbling up or leaving any chalky powdery residue while developing on your strands.
It claims to lift up to 8 levels and they aren’t kidding. I used it with a blond brilliance 25 volume developer in a 1:2 ratio and my natural dark brown hair lifted easily. As a matter of fact, I just used it to lift my entire head of hair from dark to deep auburn red for the fall and oh lordy was I scared. Just to give you an idea of my hair type: length wise it’s halfway down my back and my hair is thick in diameter meaning I have a lot of it but the strands themselves I believe to be more on the thinner than thick side despite my hispanic heritage. (I wasnt blessed with our usual super thick and luscious looking hair... le sigh =,() so despite me being confident in this product’s abilities from my experience of using it in the past on smaller pieces I was still scared as hell to throw it on my entire head. so I just said a little prayer, crossed my fingers and went for it. I used the same 25 volume by blond brilliance (sold at sallys) and left it on for the full 45 mins (since I know thats when it stops oxidizing) after then I washed it off in lukewarm water and proceeded to use my aphogee two step amino acids deep repairing and conditioning treatments that I usually always use after processing with bleach which always help. Prior to blow drying, I was so surprised to find that my hair didnt feel gummy or on the verge of breaking off and snapping like usual bleaches in the past would leave it feeling and it was lifted enough to throw on my red auburn color, YAAS!!! The feeling of dread was gone! I got to keep the hair that I worked so hard to grow after nearly 2 years which usually doesnt happen for many after bleaching your entire head of thin hair on a whim! at least not for me in the past without it looking drab and completely lifeless. Prior to the experience with this product, I would notice that despite following directions and using the knowledge that I had for chemically processing hair, most of the bleaches that I used would shrivel up my poor thinner strands and would make them somewhat gummy and sometimes felt like they were just a gentle pull away from snapping off. Yeesh..just remembering that makes me Cringe.. needless to say, I would end up just having to cut much of it off.
Now, down to the nitty gritty.. yes this is a great bleach. But to say that I couldn’t feel any damage done to my hair at all after using it would be a big fat lie. I know some people get a little hype and exagerate after finding a HG product but I’m still gonna be honest..yes you could feel that it was bleached and it did look less healthier and felt drier than before despite how well it worked. But with any bleach that will always be a given no matter what. Bleach is always just going to do what bleach does so unless you can afford going the olaplex route with a professional hairdresser at a salon, dont expect it to be this miracle product that lifts without any type of damage. However, compared to most other bleaches on the market the damage with this one seemed tolerable if not definitely minimal than the rest if used correctly. Overall, for such an affordable price tag, good amount and ease of access to purchase (again at any sallys) this bleach is exceptional. Believe me, I have tried nearly every one of the “go tos” on the market i.e clairol quick white, loreal quick blue, kaleidecolors, salon care, manic panic, blond brilliance, one and only argan etc. and none of them were as good. Perhaps for lightening they were but only if you want to play Russian roulette with the possibility of needing to cut your hair off afterwards for thinner hair types when it comes to damage control. Off the product subject, I will say blond brilliance liquid lightener and argan oil bleaches are better than the first ones that I mentioned above but still, this one by ION remains the best.
Bottom line, being a bleach, of course expect some damage but rest assured that if you use it correctly and mindfully it wont damage it as much as other traditional powder bleaches.
Just make sure that you use a really good protein treatment along with a really good deep conditioning treatment afterward and up keep with good leave in conditioning sprays and heat protectants (as you always should) and your hair will be ok for the most part. I am so glad that I got to keep my hair and that it still looks somewhat healthy and I know that it will get better as I continue taking care of it.
So, If you are gonna use bleach and cant afford or cant have the acess to olaplex do yourself a favor and reach for this tube, just be mindful of how much lift you will need to choose the right volume of developer for minimal damage and again, make sure to follow with conditioning treatments to keep your hair’s integrity.
Sorry for the bible long review y’all, but i have always believed that when it comes to bleach things are not so black and white. Especially when it comes to different hair types. So I just wanted to give a full disclosure of my experience for anyone who might be scared and wondering about doing the same.
Will definitely be purchasing again.
Holy Grail status fa sho

This review is for the formula WITH sulfates as I only wash my hair 2 times a week and I really need something that will protect my level 5 light chocolate brown hair color that I get done in a salon while throughly cleaning my hair of all of my built up dry shampoo from the days I don't wash. This works for exactly what I need it to do. It's a light, pink gel consistency that lathers very well but keeps my ends moisturized at the same time.