How to Bleach Your Hair Without Breaking It

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A few things about Lou Teasdale: she's a mom. She's got over one million Instagram and Twitter followers. She's part of the reason why hair tapestry has been blowing up, and she travels the world with One Direction as the boys' resident hairstylist. You could say that most teens and a majority of stylists covet her life (and her hair!).

While a lot of beauty experts are married to the polished, perfect look — which is great, we might add — Lou isn't about beauty perfection. In fact, the messier the better! Spider lashes, texturized and chalky hair — that's what it's all about.

The London-based stylist, author, and Fudge Urban ambassador made her way to Los Angeles during One Direction's Where We Are tour, where we were able to chat all about hair, from weaves to hair wax. Source: Getty, Instagram user louteasdale

On the Boys . . . and What Boys Like
Instagram | louteasdale

On the Boys . . . and What Boys Like

POPSUGAR: If you could change any of the boy's [in One Direction] hair, whose would it be and what would you do to it?

Lou Teasdale: Um, well . . . we kind of just, naturally, let it progress. I try not to do anything dramatic. I don't think it's cool for boys to have a new look, like a girl does. [Girls can] come back and they can weave out, but it's kind of weird for a boy. So I like to keep them looking like they've rolled out of bed. Really cool, really fit, just how they are, instead of really done. If for someone reason I had to do that, I would be like, "I don't want to!"

PS: You're so right. If I see a guy with a brand-new hairstyle (that's too done), it's a little off-putting.

LT: It's kind of cringe-y! I do too. So I don't like them to look like they've had transformations. It's not cool, is it?

PS: Do men gravitate toward specific looks on a woman?

LT: I don't know. I do think guys really respond to a girl doing something a little bit cooler and a little bit experimental. Especially young guys. I think anyone can walk in with superglam hair and will look really nice and classic. But then when someone comes in and they've done something with an edge, guys are like, "She's hot." And they're like, "I haven't slept with a girl with pink hair before!"

On Maintaining Blond Hair
Instagram | bleachlondon

On Maintaining Blond Hair

PS: What's the key to bleaching your hair without it breaking off?

LT: The key, I think, to a good bleach, is to have it done more often. A lot of people try to hold off and get their roots longer because they think they're damaging their hair less. If you want a really nice white bleach, the best thing to do is have it done every four to five weeks. So your roots are only a centimeter, and then your colorist won't have to use a stronger bleach, because right in the root, the heat from your scalp, makes it lift. [This way] you can put a really low percentage [bleach] on. If you have longer roots, you need a higher percentage.

Also, keep the same colorist; find someone who is good and who knows what they did last time so they don't overlap. Overlapping bleach is what will make your hair break. So don't overlap it! If you use the same colorist, they'll do the same pattern in your hair, and eventually your hair will get healthier. Also, what I started doing is highlighting the bulk of my hair and just bleaching my part, to try to get my hair to grow. As little bleach as you can. You can use little tricks like that. Because once your hair is broken off, you can't do much about it. It's gone! So . . . you just gotta style it out.

On '90s Hair and Enhancing Your Braid
Instagram | louteasdale

On '90s Hair and Enhancing Your Braid

LT: We've been moussin' and scrunchin' for '90s grunge hair. You don't want to look like you just got out of bed. Use mousse, scrunch it on wet hair, and diffuse it. Same with salt spray, especially if you're brunette. When you're blond, your hair is dryer anyway, but the salt spray is great if your hair is a bit limp.

PS: And what about braids?

LT: Use a powder styler. Sprinkle it in, do your braid, and then mess your braid up. On blondes, chalk braids and buns with white. I make the braids, pin them, then use white chalk on the ends. It makes them look dusty. And gives it more texture than color.

PS: Perfect hair is so out right now!

LT: I know, that means it's going to come back then. Right? Everyone is going to try to figure out how to get their hair back tidy!

Hair Color of the Future
Instagram | tasher_spencer

Hair Color of the Future

PS: What's the hair color of the future?

LT: Well . . .

PS: I know there's drainbow . . .

LT: There's drainbow, but you know, it's the antipretty colors. The greens and the oranges. The grungy colors, which I love. That suits Winter, as well.

PS: What's the big trend over in the UK? We have blow-dry bars here . . .

LT: In London, it's definitely the colors. Salons are doing the dip-dyes and rainbow colors. I remember when we started doing it about five years ago and just putting little bits of color in, like crazy colors with our conditioners. And companies were like, "Yeah, but what celebrities are doing it? Is this gonna catch on, really?" It's such a strong trend now. It's not an experiment anymore. They're really accepting of it.

On "Cool" Wedding Hair and Hair Gel
Getty | Steve Granitz

On "Cool" Wedding Hair and Hair Gel

At this point, our conversation turned to weddings — being a perpetual bridesmaid (me) and getting hit up to do everyone's hair and makeup (Lou).

LT: I used this [Fudge Urban Iced Raspberry and Vanilla hair spray ($8)] for some wedding hair recently because it's really good for brushing out. So tong [curl] in and set in. If you use the hair spray before you tong, you can brush it out, and it just gets really nice and soft. It's really workable. That's one of my favorites at the moment.

And you know how we were talking about the Kardashians? They do that really nice thing where they have their hair all straightened out, then they gel the top, put a part in it and brush it behind their ears. It's really slick. Something different for like a wedding if you want to look really dramatic. You wouldn't think to use gel on long hair, but it's cool at the moment.

PS: See, I've never really been a gel girl. I used it in third grade to keep my ponytail perfect and with no flyaways, but I haven't really used it since. I think about men when I think of gel.

LT: This is also nice for boys. The wax is great for boys and of course if you want texture, but I use [Fudge Urban Coconut Rush Power Gel ($8)] on the boys. I put it on my fingertips, work it through the hair so it looks messy, and then blow-dry it. It totally stays and it's a lot stronger than the waxes. The waxes are great though for boys to use on their own.