Experience with going blonde?

[Vaas]

I've always, always wanted blonde hair. I'm a light auburn/brown. I know avoiding damage is really important 'round here, but I'm curious what the consensus is. Way too damaging? Would you never ever do it again? Or is it worth trying for holy grail-status color?

[Rebecka]

I've gone from black and brown to blonde many times in my life. All times have resulted in big chops and years of growing out.:spam:

[dezibela]

I've done it many times, too, although always with shoulder-length hair or shorter. It never caused noticeable damage. When I went platinum, my then-stylist said he wouldn't do it if my hair was long. Too damaging. And my current stylist said the same.

If you do it, find a color specialist. When I went from brunette to platinum, it took hours because he did a lot of extra steps to make the process more gentle. I have no idea what he did, but I was in that chair for HOURS.

[Unofficial_Rose]

I have medium brown hair with some grey which I had been dyeing with L'Oreal Excellence Light Brown and intermittently with Surya Henna Cream Light Brown and Dark Brown mixed (they don't make a medium brown for some reason).

I used Color B4 to remove these colours and after a week or so I got it coloured at the hairdresser: brown base colour with Majiblond highlights. It's quite a quite obviously streaky blonette but I like it very much. It's fairly damaged, but then I had done a fair bit to it before. I'm not planning on growing it any further than a couple of inches above APL, though - if that.

I'm much happier with my hair and seem to need much less makeup than with the darker colours. If you've always wanted it I would definitely recommend it. There's nothing like it in my opinion!

[LadyCelestina]

I never dyed my hair blonde,but there is this guy on youtube named Guy Tang (just type in the search bar) and he lightens hair considerably with weak bleach left on for a long time and it is supposed to be gentler on hair which theoretically makes sense but I'm not sure if it actually works like that.
Also,use plenty of coconut oil before you dye.

[Melispelos]

After trying every hair color there is, I went blonde a few months ago, just because I wanted to try it, and because it was the only color I had never had. My natural color is a medium and very ashy brown (almost greenish in certain lights), but part of my length was dyed a darker brown, so I had to bleach. Even using coconut oil in the whole process, and knowing that without it I probably would have ended up with fried hair, it was fairly damaging. I liked the color once I toned it correctly (I went for a light cool toned blonde), but doing the roots so often ended up boring me. Besides, I think it's really difficult to achieve a natural looking blonde even with a good stylist. I have a few friends that are real blondes and the difference is notorious.

Long story short, I used the bleached ends to make a pink ombre and darkened the rest so it would match my natural color, but had to chop off the length a while later because it was too damaged. I would never go blonde again, I know now that it's not for me.

[Sparklylady82]

I have about 16 years worth of experience with bleaching my hair haha! I am finally growing out natural but anyways, if you want to "go blonde" from a auburn color I would recommend finding a stylist that will do very little highlights only at the crown. You could even do just face framing highlights to keep it up front! Then when you go in for touch ups you have to be very firm that they ONLY TOUCH UP THE ROOTS! <<This is almost impossible I think but it could happen.

Deep condition often! Good luck :-)

[blue_eyes]

I'm in the same boat as you OP!! :P I've got blonette hair with a lot of red tones in it and I've always wanted to go blonde. 10 years ago I dyed my hair red and then black, tried going blonde many times, and never managed to do it. I'm growing out all my dyed hair and was planning to go blonde once my virgin hair reached my goal length (waist) but as of right now I'm really uncertain.

From all the reading I did about the topic, it seems the best way to do it is to reach your goal length first, that way as you maintain you are always chopping off the worst of the damage. From what I've read, it seems really hard to gain length while maintaining blonde hair. I think it also really depends on how much your hair can handle. I dyed my hair at least once a month (black permanent dye) and tried bleaching it to blonde about 4 or 5 times in the span of 3 years, and I still made it to waist (even though it was very damaged & breaking). Knowing my hair still managed to grow that long, even though I put it through hell, makes me think that if I only colored my roots blonde my hair would probably stay relatively healthy, especially if I can keep trimming the ends regularly.

I'll be reading this thread with interest, hopefully it'll help me decide what to do as well. :)

[meteor]

I never went all-over blonde, only highlights (from just a few foils to full head), and for me it was a question of how much damage, root touch-ups and expense you are ready to put up with.
I only had it done professionally, and generally I do recommend professionals over at-home treatments, because natural-looking blonde is not a simple all-over color, but tends to require foils, hand-painting/balayage techniques, toning to avoid brassiness... to look really natural. The upkeep is definitely PITA, unless your starting color is already pretty light (medium/dark blonde).

I had it done on TBL hair and even though my hair is naturally thick and strong, after many months/years I definitely experienced straw-like hair, split ends, breakage and had to cut shorter, slowly but surely damage accumulates and the older the hair is the worse it will show. I decided to grow it out because I love light brown hair more now - and I find blonde not too hard to grow out thanks to the ombre trend.

If you decide to go blonde, I highly recommend using: 1) coconut oil pre-bleach and post-bleach and 2) hydrolyzed protein treatments pre-bleach and post-bleach (e.g. Aphogee 2-step). They will help reduce the overall damage. Also, you'll need to avoid other damage (heat/chemical/mechanical), since bleached hair is less strong and elastic.

For post-bleach care, look for very intense conditioners for porous, chemically treated hair, rich in ceramides, penetrating oils, hydrolyzed proteins, 18-mea, panthenol, artificial peptides, silicones...


I never dyed my hair blonde,but there is this guy on youtube named Guy Tang (just type in the search bar) and he lightens hair considerably with weak bleach left on for a long time and it is supposed to be gentler on hair which theoretically makes sense but I'm not sure if it actually works like that.
Also,use plenty of coconut oil before you dye.
Oh yes, ombre (Guy Tang likes to call himself an "ombre king") is definitely a less damaging and easier-to-maintain kind of blonde/bronde, especially if it's done very well.

[Vaas]

Thanks everyone for the responses! I feel certain I will try this at some point. I've had a lot of experience with dying in general, even blonde highlights and ombré, but never full on blonde. I will start researching *which* blonde color I prefer and would look best on me. The grass is always greener, ehh? :)

[LadyCelestina]

Do update this thread please if you decide to dye /or not/! :popcorn:

[Johannah]

I got highlights and they weren't even really strong (my natural color is golden blonde) and it ruined my hair. But it's a personal thing off course.

Like LadyCelestina said, don't forget to update with pictures if you decide to go for it!

[Felix_D]

I've had highlights and platinum, both done and maintained by a salon.

Highlights are easier to maintain. The grow-out isn't as bad and it's not as hard on your hair. I could have maintained it indefinitely, but it's f**ing expensive.

I was platinum for 2 years and while I loved the look and the attention, I had to eventually stop. It ruined my hair, damaged my scalp. I lost half my hair volume and had to keep it very short. I tried to dye it back to my natural colour, but the colour doesn't hold (too porous).

[LadyCelestina]

^ Hm,I had a classmate who went blonde-ish from dark red hair(dye).It took a lot of work to get it back to dark,she went through all sorts of funky (meaning 'should be normal looking but isn't') hues before she somehow managed to get it to black-ish sort of colour,it looked pretty but it must have cost a lot of money and time.She cut around half her hair off and even the rest was quite damaged.

I know you said you really want blonde,but please do the (at least) two week rule before dyeing :flower:

[Rosetta]

I'd at least recommend having a look at the "Giving up the dye/bleach and growing out natural" thread before dyeing, that may well change your mind ;)

You say blonde has "holy grail status" for you, but if you've never had it and your natural color is auburn, you cannot know if blonde suits you at all or not; and to be honest, most people who it suits have it naturally. (I was myself light blonde as a child even, but nowadays I don't think it suits me at all.) So you may then end up with having damaged your hair for nothing... And this is coming from a former dye addict, so I should know what I'm talking about ;) OTOH, I do understand there are things you just have to get out of your system, come hell or high water :)

[Laurenji]

There was a member on here years ago who who got his (Hip? At least waist length) hair from black all the way to a dark brassy blonde, and he claimed it was only minimally damaged, but I think he did it very slowly, a little bit at a time over the course of several months. He did lots of protein and deep moisture treatments in between.

[blue_eyes]

I'd at least recommend having a look at the "Giving up the dye/bleach and growing out natural" thread before dyeing, that may well change your mind ;)

Having been an active member on that thread for over a year now, I totally agree. I started growing out my dye & damage with the intent to go blonde once it was gone, but now that I know how hard it is to grow out, and how long it takes, I don't know if I'll ever dye my hair again. I can't imagine having to do this all over again, what a nightmare.

[diddiedaisy]

There's a thread on here somewhere, I think it's called bottle blonde grows long, or something to that effect.

I personally dye my hair blonde. Up until recently though I've kept my hair at cbl so I never noticed any damage as it was cut frequently. Since I've been growing and trying to look after my hair, I only do roots now. It's hard to tell if I've got dye damage as I have a substantial amount of thin ends from shedding. I don't really have a lot of split ends though, the only ones I ever find are on my face framing layers.

A lot of people coat hair with coconut oil before dyeing to limit damage. Dyeing will most probably make your hair more porous, so you will have to change your routine to accommodate the change in your hair. But there are people on here who have grown very long hair whilst dyeing blonde.

[Vaas]

I do understand some damage is probably to be expected. But I know I want to avoid losing length in exchange for color. Thus far I have had little damage from coloring, shedding being the worst(I shed a lot anyhow). I am up for the maintenance, the cost, etc. I do think I will attempt to reach goal length(at BSL, going for waist) before moving into the bleached arena.

My hair is all natural except for two very recent colorings. I hate my natural color. And I was blonde as a child as well, so I think it *may* do well for my hair. Perhaps I'll look into trying on some blonde wigs first(where can one do this)? :)

[meteor]

I do understand some damage is probably to be expected. But I know I want to avoid losing length in exchange for color. Thus far I have had little damage from coloring, shedding being the worst(I shed a lot anyhow). I am up for the maintenance, the cost, etc. I do think I will attempt to reach goal length(at BSL, going for waist) before moving into the bleached arena.

My hair is all natural except for two very recent colorings. I hate my natural color. And I was blonde as a child as well, so I think it *may* do well for my hair. Perhaps I'll look into trying on some blonde wigs first(where can one do this)? :)

Avoiding losing length in exchange for bleach is hard but doable. And it also depends on how long you want to grow - medium length is pretty easy to maintain, especially if you avoid all other damage, but extreme lengths are a lot trickier. Be very diligent about regularly using penetrating oils and hydrolyzed proteins, use intense conditioners for damaged/porous/chemically treated hair and you should be good. Your hair is medium/coarse which is also helpful: the thicker the hair strands the better they can take damage. Dye is really a lot less damaging than bleach, so even if you had good experience with dyes, it may not necessarily mean smooth sailing with bleach.
Do check out wigs and/or blonde clip-in extensions for damage-free blonde look. Beautyklove did a video with blonde extensions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAr3VS0vvMk Since your hair is a lot lighter, it would look a lot more natural on you.
And if you choose to go blonder, strategically placed minimal highlights are less damaging than all-over color.
Good luck! :D

[Dark40]

I've dyed my hair blonde off and on throughout my life for the last 28 years that I've been coloring my hair. I've also always wanted to be blonde too. My natural hair color is medium brown. I've always thought that I look much better with light hair rather than with dark hair. Well, to minimize damage just stay away from the bleach. I never use bleach. I've used it before but I can't no longer use it because of my relaxed hair. I also use box dye.

[2gaits]

I wouldn't recommend it if you are trying to maintain long hair. I have light to medium brown reddish hair naturally. I've had it professionally highlighted and after a few times of highlighting it was quite a bit blonder. The highlighted parts are damaged. It looks okay but I can tell a difference in the texture and how it tangles. The last time I highlighted was last November so about 5 inches of natural growth and the difference is noticeable with the texture. I'm going to have to keep cutting over time to get rid of the bleach damage. I would like to grow to waist length but I doubt it will happen until the highlighted areas are gone. So...that said do you want blond or long? You probably really can't maintain both and have it look healthy.

[Dark40]

Yeah, I would prefer the long instead of the blonde. I bet you can see the difference in hair texture with the highlighted parts. You'll make it to waist length after all of the highlighted areas are gone.

[Lady Winchester]

Worst mistake of my life! If I could go back in time and tell my sixteen-year-old self to keep the red and get rid of the blonde, I would. I think I did it twice, and then started going darker to get my (then) strawberry blonde hair back (more medium golden brown now, so it would take even longer to go back to even my old color). When you have any kind of red in your hair, it will turn it this yucky orangey yellow color that kind of resembles a yield sign if you don't leave it on long enough. The last time I did it (probably still in high school), when I got to the "orangey" stage, I covered it up, went to the closest drugstore and bought a darker color (probably reddish blonde, since I was more red in high school). Unless the sun lightens it naturally, I'm never going lighter again (too much work). If the grays ever appear, I'll just blend it away with Natural Instincts for Medium Golden Brown (which is closest to my current color).:shake:

[angel-baby]

I went platinum blonde from permanent jet black dye. It was a multi step process, and it took about a year to get the shade I wanted. It took longer than that to really get my hair feeling healthy again.
Recently I had a lot of damage happen all at once, and I’ve started growing out my natural hair. Now I can’t wait till more of my natural color grows in and I’m on my way to hitting each milestone with virgin hair.