I recently bleached and dyed my hair at home, and I really enjoyed the end result. A few people expressed curiosity, and I will probably want to refer to the process later, so here's a writeup.

My factors:

• I'm of South Asian descent and my hair is darkest black. So I needed to bleach it before adding color.
• The quantity of hair I wanted to color was pretty limited: a fauxhawk-type stripe from forehead to neck, maybe two inches wide, each strand 1-2 inches long. So I didn't need the whole bleach kit. I figured I needed maybe a quarter of it.
• I chose a few different colors of hair dye thinking I'd create a cool swirly blendy pattern. It basically worked!
• I thought I'd be able to do all of this myself, but as my spatial skills and dexterity weren't good enough, Leonard helped me with the top and back of my head. I don't know what additional stuff you might need to do this solo.

On to the hair bleaching & dyeing process!

Objects needed

1. bleach kit (Arctic Fox's "Bleach, Please!"; I chose this because people on hair care subreddits recommended it)
2. hair dye(s) (I picked cheapo clearance dyes from the beauty supply store: Color Jamz brand Tripped Up Turquoise, Designer Denim High Pigment, and Pastel Chic In Pink)
3. kitchen scale for weighing out a portion of the bleach kit
4. nitrile or food-handling gloves
5. timer
6. mirror(s)
7. ratty towel
8. showercap
9. ratty clothes that are ok to get bleach and dye on
10. electric fan
11. plastic bowl & brush for applying bleach/dye (bought these for like $8 total at a local beauty supply store; reusable)
12. maybe a square foot of aluminum foil
13. Vaseline
14. book to read while waiting

Phase 0: Testing

1. bleach sensitivity test
   1. A few days in advance I ran the bleach sensitivity test on my skin and had an unpleasant mild tingle for like 40 minutes but then no ill effects. So I figured I was good to go. (The bleach kit also suggested doing a strand test in advance, to check whether the color would be good enough, but I didn't care about that and figured if I hated the end result I'd just cut it all off.
   2. I saw that the dye bottles also suggested doing a patch test and a strand test, but I decided to skip those, and perhaps got lucky.)
2. leave hair unshampooed & unbrushed for like 2 days (to protect the scalp; brushing hair can introduce tiny tears in the skin of the scalp, and bleach on those is very ouch)
3. a friend advised: like an hour before bleaching, work in some coconut oil, which protects the hair but doesn't interfere with bleaching; I didn't have any around, so I substituted olive oil, then washed it out

Phase I: Bleaching

1. prep objects (bleach kit, fan, etc.) in bathroom
2. open bathroom window and turn on fan
3. change into ratty clothes
4. use Vaseline to protect hairline -- in my case, at the edge of the forehead and at the nape of my neck
5. weigh like 1/4 of the kit into the bowl
6. put gloves on
7. open kit; mix developer & bleach together
8. apply bleach mix, starting with ends, working down to roots - stay 1/8 inch away from roots, to avoid scalp irritation (I probably did not manage this)
9. finish applying to whole fauxhawk
10. start 45-min timer
11. cover head with showercap
12. rinse out bowl/brush, take gloves off
13. wait 45 minutes
14. rinse with lukewarm water (both my head and the showercap, since I'll want to reuse the showercap)
15. wash head with shampoo

Many years ago I got my hair bleached and dyed at a salon; it was so cool (and cheap) to do it at home! (Like $40 total, including bleach, dyes, and reusable bowl and brush, instead of like $200+ at a salon.) And safer for COVID risk, too!

While researching this, I read a lot on the Arctic Fox knowledge base: general instructions, general bleach safety tips, what bleach does, how long to leave the bleach in, using heat, the scalp, bleaching tips, re-bleaching, foils and showercap, and dyeing after bleaching. Thanks to Leonard for assistance, and to various advice-givers on the Internet for confirmations and tips that I was on the right track. And I got specific tips from several friends – thanks, Liz, Denise, and Yuvi!