Thinking about going platinum. Just want opinions. :) Pic heavy.

[icallitbliss]

For the record, when I was a kid, I had hair like this:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/sistersss.jpg

(I'm the one on the left)



As I got older, it gradually got darker.


Here is my 100% virgin/natural color (before I ruined it by dyeing it really dark red/brown colors this past year):

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/IMG_0095_zpse544ebfb.jpg

It has some really light strands mixed in with the ashy brown.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/IMG_0097_zps77e77229.jpg




So after going crazy with dye I've been trying to go lighter.

Here's what I look like recently:


http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/example02_zpsee7d4a6a.jpg


http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/example03_zpsa5a01d53.jpg

(I'm on the left)



And me this afternoon:


http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/example01_zps29c13d5a.jpg

Sorry for the lack of makeup/redness/acne in this pic. Usually I look less red when I actually wear foundation to even things out. Was too lazy to really look decent today. :P



Anyway, this is what I'm aiming for:


http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/icallitbliss/exampleblonde_zps2edc0abe.jpg


Do you think I could pull it off? I feel that my coloring is quite similar to this girls'; very fair/pale and a bit of redness. I realize my eyebrows are obviously darker, but I feel that would be easier to deal with than having to constantly fill mine in when I dye my hair dark brown. Ideally, I'd love my natural ashy color with loads of platinum highlights mixed in. Unfortunately the base I have to work with now is what's in my most recent pictures. Thanks for reading!

[kitschy]

I wouldn't do it. You have to use really high lift bleach and it will over process your hair since you've already done several different colors this year. Your hair will have the texture of straw if it doesn't break off completely. And I'm not sure that platinum blonde will be the perfect match for your coloring....jmo.

I do love your natural color - it works so wonderfully with your skin and eye color!

[sisi33]

*FARE WARNING- I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE*

I, personally, would be afraid of getting brassy tones, if you went lighter. :confused: Maybe? I have no idea! :o That being said, I quite like the color that's coming out of your head! But, I deffiantly think that you could pull off going lighter, if you are so inclined!

PS Keep your eyebrows dark! They would look great with the lighter blonde that you're going for!

[icallitbliss]

"*FARE WARNING- I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE*

I, personally, would be afraid of getting brassy tones, if you went lighter. Maybe? I have no idea! That being said, I quite like the color that's coming out of your head! But, I deffiantly think that you could pull off going lighter, if you are so inclined!

PS Keep your eyebrows dark! They would look great with the lighter blonde that you're going for!"




(I edited this as I forgot to reply with quote)


I worry about the brass a lot, even with the hair color I have now. Er, ESPECIALLY with the hair color I have now. But, I do use purple shampoo every so often and it kinda helps for a few days after.

I understand that with the bleaching process, if you're coming from dark dark brown hair like I was, you're gonna have to suffer through some red tones before it reaches yellow, and then finally a pale platinum. I know my hair texture obviously won't be the same after I do it, but am big fan of heavy deep conditioning, as well as getting my ends trimmed every couple of months. Even if I have to go to my stylist 3 more times to finally reach platinum, I'll do it. I don't want to destroy my hair, hence the slow process I'm taking.

[torrilin]

Your natural color is not ash brown :). It's just plain dark blonde (in non hair geek talk, if you were a guy you'd be blonde, since you're not everyone says you have brown hair... way to go gendered appearance standards!). You're a solid 2-3 shades lighter than the average shade my hair appears to be. One of the key tells is eyebrow color here. Mine look just plain black, tho really they're a very dark ash brown. Yours are not black at all.

I'm using average with reason. My natural color ranges from medium ash brown at the darkest to 1 shade darker than the lightest light ash blonde. The average winds up as light ash brown which is a good bit darker than your hair. If I use a box hair dye, the light brown shade samples will be closest to my overall color. But because my color varies so much, I do have to look at all the samples, because some strands will come out as a lot lighter than their blonde samples, and others will come out darker than the dark brown samples.

Your inspiration pictures are both golden blondes, not platinum blondes, so working on 100% natural hair they'd be pretty achievable for you... and you'd probably hate the look as much as you hate your current red. L'Oreal Preference has a fairly good shade range and numbering system, so you can get something of an idea of where your base shade is in relation to the blondes you like. Like a lot of ash blondes and ash brown haired people, your skin is fairly pink toned, and the golden blondes you have for inspiration are going to look a bit strawberry on you. They'll also make your skin look pinker, just like the red dye has.

If you try to dye over your existing color, you're going to get kind of weird or unpredictable results. Pretty much everything will wind up looking a *lot* warmer than the box predicts, which will lead to continued extra pink skin.

If I hate a dye job that much, I'd just get it chopped off. YMMV :).

[Magalo]

Blonde hair will make you look 10 times redder. I don't think you have the right skin tone for it.

Plus bleach is bad. Like real bad. I bleached 1-2 inches at the bottom of my hair in january, and despise deep conditionning, it feels VERY different from the rest of my hair.

[cooklaezo13]

If you decide to go blond, go to a competent hairdresser. Don't do it yourself! Starting from dyed hair, the results will be really unpredictable if you try to do it at home.

[Nebulae]

I think you would look better in your natural hair color, it looks better with your skin tone. Plus I would worry about the damage from bleaching, especially since you have dyed it many times lately. I know my hair took a lot of damage from chemical dyes..
My vote is grow it out, and then if you still want to, some highlights in your virgin hair could be a better idea than to bleach now. :)

[Macaroni]

Is the last pic with virgin hair? If so, I'd choose an excellent colorist. If not, that's all the more reason to choose an excellent colorist. A good one will know how quickly you'll lift and will help you choose a blonde that compliments your skintone. Platinum may not be flattering.

[akilina]

If you decide to go blond, go to a competent hairdresser. Don't do it yourself! Starting from dyed hair, the results will be really unpredictable if you try to do it at home.

THIS. and I am not just saying this because I am a hair dresser. Your hair isn't terribly dark, so its not like you are going from black to blond... And no, your hair will not be fried off. There are many people who have bleached hair with no problems. When mine was bleached white blond it actually felt better than my hair ever has.

A reason to go is because, and don't take offense, they know what they are doing more than you do. A huge reason you should not do it yourself is because you are talking about bleaching your hair past pale yellow into platinum and you do NOT need to do that. Once you get the pale yellow, you TONE IT and its perfect.

So, yes, I have to agree with cooklaezo that you should have a professional do it and in that case, you need to be very very honest about what dyes are already on your hair.

[SerinaDaith]

Buy a wig and give it a go before you dye. If you love it I know that a few LHCers use bleach with coconut oil to defray some of the damage, don't ask me how I am a reformed dye/bleach addict so I won't touch the stuff...

[Addy]

And no, your hair will not be fried off. There are many people who have bleached hair with no problems.

To be honest, you don't have her hair in hand to specifically tell her that her hair *won't* fry off. Just because your hair can handle bleach (kudos for you), you don't know what her's can and cannot handle IMHO without actually having her right in front of you in a chair.


icallitbliss, you seem bent on going platnium. I can't say whether your hair will stand up to the challenge or not but once you turn mushy, gummy, and stretchy when wet and dry, broken, frizzy and matted when dry there is no amount of conditioning that will save your hair. You will need what is discustingly known as a chemical cut and it will be short!

[akilina]

To be honest, you don't have her hair in hand to specifically tell her that her hair *won't* fry off. Just because your hair can handle bleach (kudos for you), you don't know what her's can and cannot handle IMHO without actually having her right in front of you in a chair.


Okay thats great but generally, if you are very careful and take precautions (coconut oil before bleach is wonderful), do it as a process slowly, and dont use too high of a volume of developer ever for the hair in question, it won't melt or fry their hair.

No, I am not touching her hair, but based on seeing many of the OP's thread posts over the last year or so (haha I swear I am not a creep) about her hair journey, it sounds like her hair could handle this process in the most healthy way possible. Based on her removing henna thread, it sounds like her hair is very strong and has been in great condition thus far.

Its just as bad of you to insinuate that her hair will turn mushy, gummy, and stretchy. That is a bad generalization too because it does not happen to everyone.

[Addy]

I can't say whether your hair will stand up to the challenge or not but once you turn mushy, gummy, and stretchy when wet and dry, broken, frizzy and matted when dry there is no amount of conditioning that will save your hair.

You was meant in a general sense. Once one gets to that stage, it's over. Wouldn't you agree?

[Addy]

Its just as bad of you to insinuate that her hair will turn mushy, gummy, and stretchy. That is a bad generalization too because it does not happen to everyone.

Her hair could make it or not. You and I don't know. That's all I'm trying to say.

[MidnightMoon]

I think it would suit you
you have the complexion to go for it (long face/nordic type-like), light eyesm fair skin, etc.

[winship2]

How do you feel about the maintenance needed to keep the roots blonde and the eventual process (assuming you don't bleach forever) of returning to your natural color? These are always discouraging factors for me.

[icallitbliss]

Just wanted to clear this up: I always go to a professional if I'm using bleach--always always always! And I would be willing to do it in stages. I don't have to be platinum right away. I got my hair trimmed 3 weeks ago and my stylist said it was in great shape. I had no split ends or breakage. I know how to take care of my hair!

All I really wanted to know was if I have the right color/complexion to pull off super light blonde hair. I like to think things through majorly before I decide on something, hence why I was asking for opinions! So again, I'm not worried about damage as much as I'm worried if I would look strange with that color hair.

The only box dyes I've ever done on my own were auburns, chocolate browns, and ash browns.

[icallitbliss]

Accidentally posted twice. Stupid iPhone!

[icallitbliss]

And I plan on returning back to my natural color once I get sick of changing it up. I'm not afraid of my natural color. In 2011 I buzzed my head to less than one inch all over just to start fresh again with virgin hair. I'm not afraid of having short hair or doing that again if I see its right for me at the time. What can I say? I just like to experiment.

[Malibu Barbie]

When I was younger I changed hair color all the time, I am a natural blonde but when I grew older it grew in darker. I color my hair but use a high lift color, its not as bad as bleach. My hair was red the last time I wanted to be blonde again. It took about 5 months to get it to the color it is now. I do go once a month for up keep. If you have hairdresser that you trust and knows what she is doing you should be fine.

P.S. I had a mishap 3 months ago a women used bleach on my hair. I did have some breakage but it was due the way she brushed and pulled my hair. I did not have to cut off my hair nor did it turn to mush. I have been coloring my hair for over 20 years now.

[earthnut]

I think the current oranginess of your hair does not suit you at all. I'd definitely go ashier & cooler whether you go lighter or not. A cool hair color would suit you much better. I think your goal hair pics would suit you if you could keep them from going brassy like your current hair. :)

[EtherealDoll]

All I really wanted to know was if I have the right color/complexion to pull off super light blonde hair.
Only if that light hair has an ashy undertone. Those inspiration pictures you posted are light blonde with warm/neutral undertones and that colour will not suit you.

[SleepyTangles]

I got that you really want to go platinum, you like to experiment, and don't fear damage. This said, go for it. Just keep in mind that damage is really annoying when need to deal with everyday... expecially if you have "played" with your colour recently and your hair is still stressed, I'd say to apply the 2 weeks rule, and pamper it in the meanwhile.

IMHO, and this is totally personal, I'd see better a light neutral blonde against your skin, than a platinum/almost white shade. Human complexion changes so much from childhood, that really few people can pull off the same colours.
Just my two cents :flower:

[oktobergoud]

Oh I thought you wanted to go really platinum, as in my siggy platinum :P I was shocked (that will ruin your hair but I don't think I have to tell you that haha)

I think you can pull the blonde off, but I really like your hair now. Since you already have red tones in your hair, it will be a pain in the ass to get proper blonde. It will turn out all kinds of oranges first :(

[Siiri]

I think an ashy light/medium blond would look good on you. Like others have said, don't go too warm, because it wouldn't match very well with your cool skin tone. The lighter (or darker) your hair, the more it accentuates any imperfections you may have in your skin, like acne or dark circles, so you might want to keep that in mind. Also your skin probably isn't as light as it was when you were a toddler, so hair that light might not look the same on you now.

[jacqueline101]

I agree go to a hair dresser.

[goldloli]

If you want it then go to a hairdresser :) plus as it grows out you could touch up the roots with highlights and transition to your natural ash with highlights... Or you could just go ash with highlights from the start.

[icallitbliss]

Thanks guys for all the comments!

I really want to say that my face doesn't look THAT red when I'm actually wearing makeup/foundation. I don't usually look as bad or red as in that last picture. :D I might still have a few slight peachy tones but really that's more rosacea than anything else. The skin on my neck is very white and I always buy the lightest color in any foundation I buy. :)

[HylianGirl]

You seem to be well informed and willing to take it in steps as well as take proper care of your hair, and I think that's the most important thing when you're thinking of going platinum ^-^

I think you may be able to pull it off, you seem nordic-looking. And correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't people who have naturally vey pale blond ususally have a pinkish skintone too? At least the ones I've seen ^-^

Also, judging from your skin on pics 3 and 4 I think it can look good on you. But keep in mind that the roots will appear vey obvious very fast! I used to be platinum blond, and my light brwon roots seemed really dark while on contrast to the rest of the hair, I redid them every moth because they annoyed me, heheh

[MiaBeth]

I think you'd look great as a blonde. Definitely go to a professional to ensure a good result!

[leslissocool]

I say go for it. I think you have the complexion.