Bottle blonde grows long!

[Sofialu]

Skychild if you dont mind waiting then I would personally grow your hair to the length you want it to be and then dye it all in one go as you will then be able to keep trimming off your old dry ends. I found with mine that because I was trying to grow it I wasn't getting the drier ends cut/trimmed off so they would absorb the dye noticeably more than my roots and often I'd have a different tone on my newly dyed root area than my ends.

[MadeiraD]

I'm here for my hubby so I'll answer the questions for him (he's been trying to grow his APL length hair out to MBL or waist, but likes a very light platinum blonde... so it's hard)

1) What is your starting color?
Medium brown

2) How do you get your beautiful blonde color?
Double process bleach, then use manic panic virgin white toner, and a purple shampoo, go over with fanciful purple rinse in ultra white mink.

3) How do you care for your hair?
Wash very rarely (mostly with root touch ups) groom with a BBB, use a tangle teezer for tangles, use scrunchies for ponytails and keep it in a pony at night and in the shower, sleep on satin pillow cases. Coconut oil treatments pre bleaching and most nights, and chi silk infusion serum to minimize frizz

4) Any problems that you've solved (such as brassiness)?
We're working on solving brassiness and breakage (he wants his hair basically white/silver, it's hard to achieve, and honestly I think a warmer blonde works better on his complexion but he won't listen to me)

5) Last but not least - how long is your hair?
a bit past APL

[Larki]

Am I the only person who likes gold tones in my hair?? *sigh*

Hehe I do! Not a bottle blonde though. Mine is all gold, but I have recently noticed that parts of my hair are starting to get an orange tinge - I'm blaming the hard water in the dorms. I think I'll try using a toning shampoo once a week this summer, to kill the orange.

I actually remember being little and reading fairy tales, and all the blonde characters were described as having golden hair, so that's always what's I've associated blonde with; blonde = gold. I had platinum blonde hair at the time, and I remember wishing my hair was gold, not white. I guess I got my wish?

[kidari]

I've been blonde before, but that was a long time before I discovered LHC. I went to a professional colorist to achieve my blonde back then but I was also super mainstream with my hair care and styling routine back then. I've been dying my med-dark brown hair black for years and went blonde by myself at home. It took more than 6 months to achieve my color I have currently. I've learned a lot along the way and thought I would contribute since reading through these threads have helped me loads.

1) What is your starting color?
My natural is around a level 5. I dyed it to a level 1, currently I am around a level 7-8.

2) How do you get your beautiful blonde color?
I did several rounds of bleach baths. I have done a lot of color correcting by using strategically placed lightener/bleach as well as dyes and toners. After trimming off the ends for months and waiting for my hair to recuperate, I did intense balayage on the stubborn ends two months ago. My virgin hair lightens easily: I only touch up the roots with an ash or violet level 8 dye with a 30 volume developer. Since I have been completely happy with my color, the roots-only touch up is the only thing I have been doing, I fear my ends cannot take another round of coloring, let alone any more bleach. I like to mix colors and try out new blends, so far I like mixing 8violet with 8neutral and adding a bit of avocado and coconut oil to my mix.

3) How do you care for your hair?
I wash about every other day, sometimes every day, alternating a CO wash with a diluted shampoo mixed 50/50 with a moisturizing SLS-free one with a purple toning one. This keeps my hair bright, light, and brass free without the drying effect from the shampoo. After each wash, I alternate the conditioner I use. Since going blonde, I am back to microtrimming religiously every single month. Chelating shampoo wreaks havoc on my hair now so I use vinegar rinses instead about 2-3 times a month. SMTs used to be part of my routine but now I feel like my hair gets over-moisturized easily and it likes protein more than it used to. I am careful to find a balance between protein and moisture. I still adore coney leave-ins but I find that when my hair feels especially dry, straight oils soaked in overnight really remedy the situation in a way coney products cannot. My hair used to love plain oil and didn't like shea butter but now it loves shea butter. So instead of doing a coconut oil soak, I do a soak with shea butter mixed with coconut oil. I believe that years of avoiding heat styling has helped me to keep my hair past BSL even with all the bleaching and dying in the past 9 or so months. I am still heat-free.

4) Any problems that you've solved (such as brassiness)?
In the beginning I didn't think I wanted to go blonde so I used a "lightest ash brown" demi to sort of stain my lightened hair. As it faded it completely got rid of my brass for good, without me having to always fight it. However, since going lighter I have found that traditional toners are too damaging in the long run and don't work as well as I wish since my hair doesn't seem to be light enough for them to really work effectively. Plus, it occurred to me that with long hair, it isn't the best idea to even run a demi through your length on a regular basis. I have tried semis but find them too expensive to keep up. (I tried doing things like Roux color refresh masks followed by a vinegar rinse to really seal in the color). Ultimately, my holy grail product for fighting brass is Clairol Shimmer Lights shampoo- so many people have said this works better than any toner and I have to agree with them. Instead of lathering up twice, leaving it on for a few minutes, and only using it a couple times a week, I use it every time I shampoo but diluted with distilled water and mixed with a moisturizing shampoo that has a rich lather. The shampoo is so drying on my hair and I dislike the strong smell, so this fixes both of the problems I have with it. I haven't tried using an ash color additive to my dye yet but I am thinking of trying that next.

5) Last but not least - how long is your hair?
I have been trimming and keeping it between BSL-MBL, only because of personal preference. I like a shorter length with lots of layers. However, I am tempted to try to grow it to waist again but with my lighter color.

[Firefox7275]

I might have completed this before but things will have changed so ....

1) What is your starting color?

Dark mouse. Not ash blonde or blonette, a real grey tone.

2) How do you get your beautiful blonde color?

I am semi permanent pink, but a brassy blonde shade underneath. I use a Garnier Nutrisse peroxide only blonde box dye (sulphate, silicone and ammonia free).

3) How do you care for your hair?

Curly Girl method. Conditioner only washing, wash out conditioners used as leave in, plenty of hydrolysed protein and penetrating oils (sweet almond for neatening buns, coconut for overnight treatments). Very wide tooth combs or fingers only, almost no brushing, flour sack or microfibre towels. Protect lengths from UV light by bunning, stretch washes to three days with dry shampoo.

4) Any problems that you've solved (such as brassiness)?

Reduced damage and porosity by adding coconut oil to the dye bottle, using hydrolysed protein before and after dying, only ever touch roots only.

Use a shower cap when processing: ammonia-free is sensitive to temperature variations from scalp to an inch away. Previously the lift was uneven.

5) Last but not least - how long is your hair?

An inch past bra strap length stretched, no splits nor velcro ends, some mechanical breakage tho.

[TaterTot]

I have wanted to go white platinum for a while now, I think I'm finally brave enough to start since I have short virgin hair.
I got a wig to see what it would look like at my dream length... It made me love it more!



wizard chic!

[leilani]

Looks great! But, there's a reason why even rich celebrities who can afford anything can't manage to grow that level of processing past their shoulders or so without terrible thinning/tapering. (it's extensions if you see someone with very long hair that is platinum white --or a wig like that!). It's just too much on the hair shaft to then ask it to live a long life.

That said, short platinum hair is stunning! I think of Linda Evangelista. Or maybe a shoulder length Gwen Stefani look could be for you, if you're careful about overlap while you bleach the growth and grow out. I'm just saying I'm a fan of the look and if that's what you want, go for it! Just wanted you to be realistic about growing very long while bleaching to that extent. Oh, the third option would be to grow out long and baby your virgin hair and then bleach it all at once in one go and then baby the heck out of it and find someone who can bleach your roots every 3-4 weeks who is excellent about avoiding overlap. That could work but requires years of waiting for that color you're longing for.

Hey, best of luck!

[TwilightShadow]

I've been an off and on bottle blonde for the last 10 years.

1) Well, last time I saw it, it was a dark ashy blonde, but it did get more golden highlights in summer especially.

2) I used Revlon Colorsilk 99% of the time when I dyed it blonde, which is ammonia-free and less damaging. I say this because I've used permanent dyes with ammonia a few times (they were red dyes, not blonde) and I noticed a difference; my hair was definitely more affected with the ammonia dyes.

3) I wash once every 5-7 days; shampoo on my scalp only and conditioner on my length twice. Sometimes I use coconut oil. I let my hair air dry.

4) Well, I've tried many different shades and I can't say I mind the golden or reddish tones, because I actually like strawberry blonde hair and had my hair dyed in this shade a few times.

5) My hair is hip length. It's not blonde now, because I dyed it with a mix of Manic Panic Wildfire and Vampire Red over the champagne blonde I had 2 weeks ago.

[TaterTot]

Looks great! But, there's a reason why even rich celebrities who can afford anything can't manage to grow that level of processing past their shoulders or so without terrible thinning/tapering. (it's extensions if you see someone with very long hair that is platinum white --or a wig like that!). It's just too much on the hair shaft to then ask it to live a long life.

That said, short platinum hair is stunning! I think of Linda Evangelista. Or maybe a shoulder length Gwen Stefani look could be for you, if you're careful about overlap while you bleach the growth and grow out. I'm just saying I'm a fan of the look and if that's what you want, go for it! Just wanted you to be realistic about growing very long while bleaching to that extent. Oh, the third option would be to grow out long and baby your virgin hair and then bleach it all at once in one go and then baby the heck out of it and find someone who can bleach your roots every 3-4 weeks who is excellent about avoiding overlap. That could work but requires years of waiting for that color you're longing for.

Hey, best of luck!

Thanks for the warnings and encouragement! I've had mid back length green hair before, I maintained it for about a year before I didn't want to deal with the roots anymore. For that I didn't tone it, I just dyed directly with vegetable dye - it seems like that is the only difference between the upkeep. I don't use heat, I keep it in a hat most of the time, I think with coconut oil and steady slow work I can keep it okay n_n I don't really desire anything longer than BSL anyway.

[leilani]

Well it sounds like you know what you're doing. Plus it depends on your starting level,and starting condition, of which I have no clue. So good luck and I hope you get exactly what makes you happy!!!