Growing out blonde highlights, embracing my natural hair colour!

[Strawb3rryBlond]

Hi guys, long time lurker/first time poster here ;)

So I've decided that I've had enough of bleaching the heck out of my hair. It costs me way too much (around $200 per hairdresser visit) and I'm just over it. I haven't really seen my natural hair colour since I was 14 (I'm 21 now) but judging by my regrowth it appears to be mostly strawberry blonde with some lighter/darker bits mixed through. (Perhaps something along the lines of this PIC (http://feelgrafix.com/data_images/out/24/945276-nicole-kidman.jpg), but that might just he wishful thinking on my part).

I've been toying with the idea of growing it out for a while now, but a couple of recent hairdresser visits have tipped me over the edge. I have a pretty good head of hair and it has always taken the abuse relatively well, until the last two times, the hairdresser must have changed their products or technique or something because I have noticed quite a bit of breakage. My hair is significantly thinner - though it's probably still considered to be 'thick' by most peoples' standards, I have definitely noticed it.

This made me really think about WHY I feel the need to have my hair a totally different colour than what it is naturally. And the truth is, most of the reason why I dislike my natural hair colour is due to a couple of remarks that were made to me by a childhood friend (enemy). She said that my hair was the same colour as our orange/yellow school shirts, and so the hate of my natural hair colour began (and so did the highlighting). Only now am I realising how ridiculous this all is.

Anyway, enough of that nonsense, time for some pictures. Now my hair has been highlighted again since these pictures were taken (darn it) so it is in slightly worse condition than pictured here. My hair actually looks totally different colours, but these photos were taken only one day apart (funny how lighting works, eh?)

http://i.imgur.com/SB5go52.png

http://i.imgur.com/zvgKyUz.png

My hair was highlighted about 2 weeks ago so there's now regrowth to show you unfortunately, but the pictures will be coming soon, don't worry.


I have no idea how I'm actually going to do this. Cutting off large amounts of hair is totally out of the question, I'm way too attached to it. My regrowth doesn't come through too bad so I'm considering just letting it grow and not trying to dye over the top of the ends or anything. Once the regrowth gets past my ears it will probably look like ombre/balayage (hopefully). Thank god the 'regrowth' look is in.

Once I get some regrowth happening I will be off to the hairdressers for a big trim, trying to get rid of the majority of layers, at least until I'm done growing the blonde out. I assume it's easier to keep hair healthy with regular trims when you don't have layers to contend with.

Wish me luck! And if you have any suggestions or advice please chime in!

[Scarlet_Celt]

I'm sure growing out the dye will take patience, but there are plenty of people on here growing out dye and they still have gorgeous hair :) You can do this! SingingBird comes to mind as a good example of a person with gorgeous long hair that looks amazing despite having old dye on a significant portion of the length.

[aspartame gram]

Welcome to the fold!

Your hair doesn't look that damaged, so don't go in and chop it all off! It's traumatic to make a drastic change like that, especially if your roots aren't much darker than the highlighted portions. I cut my hair after it was around MBL because I have medium to light blonde hair color and the rest was a bright henna color. The line of demarcation was horrible. It doesn't seem like you'll need to do this though, and I'd look at boards that support those who are growing out their virgin hair color.

Good luck! I'm excited for you! You'll save so much money, too. Heh. That's definitely one of the perks of not dying your hair. I'm pretty happy about it since I stopped a few years ago. :)

[endlessly]

Growing out dye takes time and a lot of patience - I'm in your exact same shoes right now, so you are definitely not alone! The hardest part is denying that urge to color your hair again - especially when you start to have more new growth and the contrast between your color-treated hair and natural hair becomes more noticeable. For me, what worked best was to dye my length a color closely resembling my roots so that the growth wasn't too noticeable and truthfully, it helped quite a bit. I recently used henna to color my hair (not the best experience), but it didn't cause any damage and the resulting color was much closer to my natural than my previous attempt with a chemical dye.

Because it sounds like your natural color is somewhat close to the color-treated portion, you hopefully won't have that "awkward transition" phase to endure. And yes, like you mentioned, it just so happens to be a popular look right now, so that will again work in your favor. As far as trims are concerned, wait and see. You mentioned not wanting to lose a lot of length, so as long as you stop using chemical dyes and really baby your hair, the overall health should improve. I also recently went in to have my hair evened to one length, but it took me nearly 4 years to grow my shortest layer to a point that I felt comfortable cutting it - I chose to wait until the shortest bit was at tailbone length, which took a very long time! You can always go in for microtrims and just have your stylist touch up the ends to prevent splits, so that's definitely an option as well.

Best of luck! It isn't easy resisting the urge to dye, so just keep your goal in mind and you'll be able to power through.

[Betazed]

Like endlessly, I dyed one last time to get my hair as close to my natural color as I could get. This definitely helped with the growing out process. The worst part, for me, was resisting the urge to dye. It's been almost 10 years since I went dye-free. I'm back to 100% natural color again (excluding the 1 big chunk of blonde I have) but I still feel the dying urge! Since coming to LHC, I've been tempted more than once to henna.

You're not alone. Have patience and I hope you enjoy your natural color (the extra $ in your pocket is definitely a plus!).

[M-L-E]

Welcome! I have been growing out bleach since last year, so it looks like an "ombré" now (So i have been told!) I think micro trims help if your ends start to get too dry and you don't want to lose length. I find conditioners with silicones to be helpful, as bleached hair can become dry and rough and these help to give it slip and smooth down the cuticle, protecting it from further mechanical damage... But each to their own, some don't like 'cones :) My hair was very damaged and I've had to have a lot cut off over the course of a year. But the progress feels good! Don't give up, your hair looks beautiful.

[meteor]

Welcome aboard, Strawb3rryBlonde! :D

You are definitely not alone. :D
I'll say, it's a very long process (with lots of new bleach/dye/etc temptations along the way), but it's very, very rewarding and lots of fun, too, because you learn how to really treat hair well, probably more so than if the hair was all virgin and problem-free. :)
I went the no touch-ups ombre way and I love it. Some people choose to dye one more time to match colors or blend in the demarcation line with a combination of balayage highlights/lowlights or use deposit-only temporary dye in the demarcation area so that by the time it fades, the ombre stage will be easier to deal with. Those are all awesome options. And it's all up to you, really! :D

Your hair looks amazing, by the way! :crush:

As for maintaining bleached hair in great condition, I highly recommend pre-poo oiling with coconut oil or any other penetrating oil, hydrolyzed protein treatments, ceramides and silicones. Generally, I'd go for intense conditioners/masques and oils.

Here is an excellent article by Nightshade that really helped me at my early stages of growing out highlights: Damaged Hair: Understanding, Preventing & Rehabilitating - http://web.archive.org/web/20081225035949/http:/forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79

A few things that help me keep my old blonde highlights without any splits/white dots or any other visible damage:
- no heat styling, no chemical processing;
- wearing hair up to prevent tangles and mechanical damage (and covered with hat/scarf/etc if out in the sun/cold/wind for too long);
- sleeping on silky smooth materials with hair contained (braided);
- careful detangling with a wide-tooth comb only once the hair is dry, no brushing;
- low manipulation;
- using oils as pre-poo treatments, sometimes LOC, oil rinses, and regular gradual oiling (topping up leave-in oil every other day or so);
- diluting shampoo when washing - I can rinse and repeat a couple times, but I almost always dilute it to soften the blow of the cleansers;
- heavy conditioning (I use 10x as much conditioner as shampoo, but my hair is Classic length);
- protein treatments every few months;
- frequent scalp-only washes to stretch full washes a bit and avoid too much hygral fatigue and wet manipulation.


Obviously, those are just some quick ideas that may or may not work for other people (YMMV, as always :) ), but I really think these are highlights-friendly ideas, as highlighted hair has multiple textures going on and does need additional care to grow long and silky.


Oh and there is a on-going huge thread on growing out dye/bleach/henna that you might find helpful, there is lots of great support there :) : http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51155&page=701

Best of luck! :love: And happy growing! :flowers:

[vpatt]

Good luck on growing your hair out to its natural color! I grew mine out a couple of years back and now I'm enjoying my silver/gray. It grew out quickly because it was so short......now I'm waiting for my length, sigh, lol.

I bet your hair was a much nicer color than that of your frenemy.....which is probably why she told you what she did.

[Strawb3rryBlond]

Thanks for your replies everyone! I didn't think I'd get so many :o

I am trying to resist the urge to go and get a bunch cut off it :( It's not my ends that are damaged, it's bits here there and everywhere from the bleach. It's hard to explain, but when they've done the roots they have overlapped the bleach onto the areas that were already highlighted, so it's the overlapped parts that are damaged.

I've decided to avoid my usual hairdresser throughout this process as I don't feel like they would be supportive (very commision based salon, I think. Always flogging products)


Good luck on growing your hair out to its natural color! I grew mine out a couple of years back and now I'm enjoying my silver/gray. It grew out quickly because it was so short......now I'm waiting for my length, sigh, lol.

I bet your hair was a much nicer color than that of your frenemy.....which is probably why she told you what she did.

Funny you mention that, because hers was a total dishwater blonde colour, pretty much grey, no golden tones in it at all. (Which I actually liked) but I do recall her hating it with a passion lol.

[Chocowalnut]

Very nice of you to give your cat privacy :) hehe and your hair is very pretty. Looks a lot like mine did a few years ago when I bleached it and straightened it all the time. Good luck growing out your natural color, I'm going through it as well. Maybe we'll see you at the growing out natural hair color forum.

[Horrorpops]

Ahh how exciting! I too gave up highlighting my hair because the damaged kept catching up with me and I never really seemed to gain much length because I was constantly getting trims to remove split ends! I have to say I have no looked back my hair is in much better condition since I stopped bleaching it! However, from the pictures you posted your hair looks lovely, long and sooooo much healthier than mine did! :D

I second meteor's advice, definitely come hang on the "Giving up bleach" thread, it's a great place to get sympathy over growing out roots, hairstyles which hide the 'two-tone effect' and just general chit chat. Good luck with the growing out process :)

[Strawb3rryBlond]

Hey friends, it's been like 6 months since I last posted.

I was an idiot and got my hair highlighted fully again once since I last posted (so twice since my original post pictures were taken). Major lapse in judgement, oopsie. That was probably 3ish months ago. A couple of weeks ago I went to hairdresser and got a couple of inches cut off (really evened out/got rid of my layers)and I had her put a few highlights through my 'mohawk' section to try and break up the re-growth where it parts.

My regrowth isn't too bad, but it definitely looks much worse in person.

Here's a pic of the regrowth before I had the highlights put in. This is probably the most accurate/true to life pic I've managed to get.

http://i.imgur.com/st5ppre.jpg

After highlights

http://i.imgur.com/rxUYBs6.jpg

Pics of the regrowth (underneath) (as of right now)

http://i.imgur.com/cdOScGk.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YNglrBZ.jpg

And now the front and the back (as of right now)

http://i.imgur.com/xtvTAdy.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ufppfiR.jpg

I've decided I'm not going to get my hair cut for like 6 months. I'm kind of unhappy with the length. It looks good from the front but weird from the back. Anyone else hate the way your hair looks from the back? Maybe it's the shape of my head or something.

Some bonus pics:

Attempted weird hairstyle. Note the colour in the gaps. That is my natural colour but I have no idea what it really looks like because it hasn't got enough length to really see it. Isn't it funny how your mind plays tricks on you and interprets colour in weird way. Like the blue dress/white dress debate.

http://i.imgur.com/MSbCc34.jpg

And then me as a child (I'm on the left) Also my roots look way darker than the ends but I think it's the lighting because I don't remember my hair ever coming in dark like that at any point. Also my sisters hair, she has never dyed it and now it is what can only be described as RED. She keeps it fairly short which is a shame because it's so pretty.

http://i.imgur.com/UEfOkr2.jpg

[Scarlet_Celt]

I don't think your outgrowth look(ed) bad at all. It's really common for hair to lighten further down the length. I'd totally recommend Olaplex if you're looking to help your hair back to health. It might be available from your salon, or you can look online. Good luck growing!

[Strawb3rryBlond]

I don't think your outgrowth look(ed) bad at all. It's really common for hair to lighten further down the length. I'd totally recommend Olaplex if you're looking to help your hair back to health. It might be available from your salon, or you can look online. Good luck growing!

Thank you :) They have Olaplex at my salon and despite reading quite a bit about it I still have no idea what it actually is/does. The re-growth isn't too bad, really, compared to what some people's looks like. Definitely looks worse in person though. I'll probably get another small amount of highlights through my mohawk section in 3 months or so and I should be good after that, won't have to colour my hair ever again. Wearing my hair in the middle part definitely helps to hide the re-grown on the sides.

[Scarlet_Celt]

There's an Olaplex thread on the forum, and there's some useful links in it. Basically Olaplex re-forms the bonds in your hair that have broke, so it actually improves the health of your hair. Check out the thread if you're intrigued.

[Strawb3rryBlond]

http://i.imgur.com/Q03TwuH.jpg

My dark bits are really starting to come out which I'm really happy about. It's crazy to think of how it's going to look in 3, 6, 9, 12 months. Exciting!

[Brunettebybirth]

I grew out my blonde highlights about two years ago. It was a painstaking process but well-worth it. My natural hair color is now an unexpected chestnut brown shade (was born white blonde). Plus, not to mention, the ton of money I save from not coloring it. I included a photo (my face is blocked out) of what it looks like currently. Unfortunately, the lighting is weird in my kitchen so it looks like there's no reddish tint to it. Lol.

Your hair is about the same shade mine was before.

http://i66.tinypic.com/28i809h.jpg

[AJNinami]

http://i.imgur.com/Q03TwuH.jpg

My dark bits are really starting to come out which I'm really happy about. It's crazy to think of how it's going to look in 3, 6, 9, 12 months. Exciting!

I think your hair is going to be very beautiful. It looks somewhat similar to mine, especially the length of the roots I'm also growing out. I died mine to platinum blonde though :justy:

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Oh your hair is so pretty - I love your natural colour and will enjoy seeing your progress :) I am also growing out my dye ;) and loving the natural variations in my own coloring as opposed to the blandness of dye which just covers all.

It is a very long process though, so it's important to find ways to enjoy the lengthy (ha, pun!) wait.

[Strawb3rryBlond]

Oh your hair is so pretty - I love your natural colour and will enjoy seeing your progress :) I am also growing out my dye ;) and loving the natural variations in my own coloring as opposed to the blandness of dye which just covers all.

It is a very long process though, so it's important to find ways to enjoy the lengthy (ha, pun!) wait.

Thank you, and thanks for your reply :) And sorry for my late one. You have beautiful hair!

I was naughty and self-trimmed since my last post. I just had to do *something* to feel productive about it. I followed this (http://feyeselftrim.livejournal.com/) method, doing the V shaped hemline. I also trimmed my fairly grown-out bangs, just to get the damage out. Overall I didn't take off much length, but soo many long wispy bits came off.

Took a couple of snaps today. I swear my pony tail looks way better on camera than it does in real life. I tried to capture the colour difference of my regrowth but the lighting hides it really well.

http://i.imgur.com/0rfxl4M.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/oEa4cLb.jpg

Now I've got to try not to trim for at least 3 months. I'm aiming for June/July, but we'll see.

[lapis_lazuli]

Your natural colour is very pretty :flowers: I am also growing out blonde highlights. Wish I could take it back as they still cover 2/3 of my hair. wehh... :wail: Ah well, hair grows thankfully.

[Strawb3rryBlond]

Your natural colour is very pretty :flowers: I am also growing out blonde highlights. Wish I could take it back as they still cover 2/3 of my hair. wehh... :wail: Ah well, hair grows thankfully.

Thank you :) It will be interesting to see what colour it actually is, it's still not really long enough to tell.

Yours is pretty too, and I honestly couldn't even tell that you still have highlights in yours, it just looks like how hair gets lighter towards the bottom due to sun exposure and whatnot.

Yes, thank god it grows.

Is anyone good with the hair number whatsies? What would you say mine is? It tends to be fairly straight but has a bit of wave going on in the back.

[lapis_lazuli]

Thank you :) It will be interesting to see what colour it actually is, it's still not really long enough to tell.

Yours is pretty too, and I honestly couldn't even tell that you still have highlights in yours, it just looks like how hair gets lighter towards the bottom due to sun exposure and whatnot.

Yes, thank god it grows.

Is anyone good with the hair number whatsies? What would you say mine is? It tends to be fairly straight but has a bit of wave going on in the back.

Aw, thank you, I'm glad my line of demarcation isn't too noticeable.
Do you mean hairtyping? Straight with a bit of wave could be within the 1b-2a range.
Here is the visual hairtyping guide for your reference :) http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=116252

[Strawb3rryBlond]

^^^ thanks for that lapis_lazuli


I'm really missing my super-blonde hair lately. Looking back at old photos and it really does look good (though I have to remember that it looks way better in photos than it ever did in person). It used to be a lot longer too :( Damn hairdressers.


I'm seriously considering bleaching the front of my hair like this (please excuse the creepy mannequin head). I've had that picture saved on my phone for ages but because my hair was always blonde all over, I could never have done that. And I'm finding that the light blonde was a lot more flattering against my face, so it could be a nice compromise. I will wait a couple of months though, and really think about it for a while, let my hair get some length again before I let the hairdressers anywhere near it. What do you guys think?

http://i.imgur.com/JLAVOXp.jpg

[AJNinami]

^^^ thanks for that lapis_lazuli


I'm really missing my super-blonde hair lately. Looking back at old photos and it really does look good (though I have to remember that it looks way better in photos than it ever did in person). It used to be a lot longer too :( Damn hairdressers.


I'm seriously considering bleaching the front of my hair like this (please excuse the creepy mannequin head). I've had that picture saved on my phone for ages but because my hair was always blonde all over, I could never have done that. And I'm finding that the light blonde was a lot more flattering against my face, so it could be a nice compromise. I will wait a couple of months though, and really think about it for a while, let my hair get some length again before I let the hairdressers anywhere near it. What do you guys think?

http://i.imgur.com/JLAVOXp.jpg

I have a fellow classmate with naturally golden blonde hair who got this done. It looks completely natural/sun induced on her and I had no idea it was bleach until the roots started showing. I wouldn't get too much of a lightening done, she certainly didn't. It's very flattering on her and seems to lighten her face area and expression.

*Afterthought* You might want to cut in a few face framing piece though, it helps control bleach damage and keeps the lightened bits framing the face.

[lapis_lazuli]

I think it could look very pretty :) although I think you are right to think on it for a few months. Consider things like are you planning to maintain it, how will you feel about the re growth, etc. I'm assuming you'll have to cut those bits pretty short which would give you layers. Things to think about :)

[Strawb3rryBlond]

^^^ I keep going back and forth on it. There's a part of me that wants *interesting* hair, and another part of me that gets super jealous when I see anyone who has really nice natural hair.

[Strawb3rryBlond]

Sorry for the double post - but posting pics helps to keep me motivated. Freshly washed, still a little damp. For once my hair actually looks good from the back. Maybe it's just the way I stand in photos that makes it look bad?

I go back and forth with the idea of getting a big chop, but my friend (a guy) has really long hair and I get soooooo jealous of him that it makes me never want to cut it again. Probably a good thing haha.

http://i.imgur.com/ajMNpAa.jpg?1

[lithostoic]

Loving the progress! I too am growing out highlights but they are more subtle, as they were achieved using the evil product Sun-in.

[maegalcarwen]

Sometimes we just get stuck in doing things that we once started for the wrong reasons.

Your hair is so beautiful! I don't see a really big difference between your colors, it looks like a natural gradient. But I know the difference can be HUGE when you start growing it out:D Later you look back at it, and its like wow, what was my problem?:D

I am curious to follow your progess! Maybe you can ask the hairdresser to create a "fade" between the natural and the dyed color, to ease the difference between the two if it bothers you. Good luck!

[Strawb3rryBlond]

Hi all, thought I'd pop in and post an update.

My growout process is really not going as expected.

Last weekend I got a few more highlights put in, just to assist in breaking up the regrowth.

There's no way to explain my feelings right now, other than I HATE my natural hair colour. Not necessarily the colour itself, but the way that it looks against my skin tone.

Also my hair seems to still be in not-as-great condition, despite the fact that I have cut back on the bleach.

I think I will give my hair a few more months, taking hair vitiamins and eating properly and drinking more water and all that to see what happens.

Here is a current pic. Unfortunately, the camera just does not pick up the colour. I am feeling so dull and not myself. (note, i got the hairdresser to put more highlights in the front bits than at the back because I just couldn't stand it)


http://i.imgur.com/hn0cP3c.jpg



I am going to give my hair a while to recover while I think about it, but for the longest time, I have wanted to dye my hair half and half down the middle. Like this

http://i.imgur.com/6QFZlYh.png

Although I'm reluctant to commit to black, so perhaps more like these tones

http://www.sophiegee.com/wp-content/uploads/half-light-brown-hair-blonde-color-just-lovely-47263.jpg

God i hate my hair so much right now D:

[Johannah]

Been there, done that. I used to HATE my blonde hair color as well and put some heavy highlights in my hair for years and years. Tried to grow them out in the past and failed because I felt so bad because of my hair color. The growing-out proces was more mental than physical tbh. You can only do this if you're willing to accept your own color. But if coloring/bleaching it makes you feel good, then obviously go for it. I used to grow my hair out for the damage, but if you don't really mind about that... Why stop? :blossom:

[Strawb3rryBlond]

But if coloring/bleaching it makes you feel good, then obviously go for it. I used to grow my hair out for the damage, but if you don't really mind about that... Why stop? :blossom:

This is exactly how I'm feeling at the moment. I'm still going to give it a while to think about it, just so that I don't end up regretting a decision.

I don't know if it's a coincidence, or due to other stuff that's going on in my life, but since I've been doing the growing out thing, I've felt the worst I ever have about my appearance.

[sommer]

Good luck on growing your hair out to its natural color! I grew mine out a couple of years back and now I'm enjoying my silver/gray. It grew out quickly because it was so short......now I'm waiting for my length, sigh, lol.

I bet your hair was a much nicer color than that of your frenemy.....which is probably why she told you what she did.

I agree with you! :o In my case my hair grows rather quickly but it really depends on what colour it was before that... I mean that if the colour was more natural and closer to your original one, the process can be much more pleasant and you won't look funny with different strands on your head :D I was a great fan of different bright colours like in this gallery http://stylemann.com/best-hair-color-ideas/ and when my hair started to grow again, the contrast of the colours was very noticable and didn't look cool at all :eek:
I'm glad that my last hair dying was in the black colour, not smth like bright red or green :D

[hopefulred]

Hi do you have a pic of your roots from the top in natural daylight as from that pic you can't see any roots so the highlights seem to be working! I know what you mean about hating your appearance during the grow out, I'm the same but my hair is far more damaged than yours (beyond repair all of it due to hairdressers ruining it with hugely overlapping bleach) and so I can't dye it all the same colour and I'm never having bleach near it again as its scared me so much but I do feel like the blonde suits my skin tone more than my natural strawberry blonde because I find my natural colour shows blemishes and bags under my eyes (which have become worse with having an 8week old baby!! They weren't this bad with my 6yo but he was a much better sleeper) but I know that when it's all the same colour it will look better I just hate the difference in colour because the bleached hair is ashy and my natural is very vibrant with a lot of red and orange in so the contrast is bad so it needs to grow quicker!!!

[kattmara]

This is exactly how I'm feeling at the moment. I'm still going to give it a while to think about it, just so that I don't end up regretting a decision.

I don't know if it's a coincidence, or due to other stuff that's going on in my life, but since I've been doing the growing out thing, I've felt the worst I ever have about my appearance.

I have also grown out from bleached blonde to my natural light-medium kind of ash blonde and I can tell you that from where you where/are at your latest picture it only gets better! I'm guessing your hair (like most light hairs) bleach and lighten up from the sun and that helps it to blend a lot, I even forgot I was growing out a couple of times because of that. If your colour is anything like mine it has darker roots but they stop looking so dark and dull very soon if you just let it grow a bit more.

A tip can be to google hair colours similar to your own instead of "dream hair" to get motivation and see that your colour can be beautiful too! It really helped me a lot, I think it is because you can more easily visualise what your goal is. Try "ash blonde" "medium ash blonde" "natural blonde" and similar stuff, a lot of models and pretty people have this pretty hair colour, like Cara Delevingne, Amanda Seyfried and Frida Gustavsson (Swedish model). Maybe this thread could be something too: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=80416 and this: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51155 or maybe this one if you are a bit lighter than blonette: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=73751

Another one is hats and buns or braids. A good dry shampoo have helped me a lot since my hair looked greasy a bit easier in the beginning when only the roots where darker. Slightly messy hairstyles (if you like them) are super good in my opinion since it makes it look more varying instead of a sharp line where the bleach ends, but you don't seem to have that anyway so I don't know if you even need to.

I don't know if this is too personal so you don't have to answer but have you processed what got you bleaching in the first place? It is much easier to let your natural hair grow out if you have, I got some remarks about my colour too and it went from very light to kind of dark very fast just when a lot of things happened in my life so it was important to acknowledge that to accept my own colour and I'm happy I did so because now I love it and don't even have to do anything for it to be the perfect shade for me. I wish you the best of luck and if you continue I would love to see the progress :o

Also: all you have to do is not do anything to your hair, except washing ;)

[OhSuzi]

I love the golden brown colours in the last pic of girl with hat on. Perhaps if you dyed it this colour it would be easier to let the naturel roots grow out as the colour seems more similar - there would be less contrast. Even if you kept the front sections white blonde like the wig pic, so you don't have to have the darker hair right next to your skin.
The blonde is nice and it's your hair so if you're enjoying that colour and you're happy with the up keep, keep going, but what I have seen if your naturel colour it looks pretty too. It's not had much of a chance to see what colour it really is though,it's difficult to tell until it's gotten a bit longer and you can see how sunlight reflects on it etc.
,

[Strawb3rryBlond]

Hi everyone, OP here. I'm still holding on and haven't dyed my hair. I might post some pics tomorrow if I remember (hair is super oily right now and it's too late in the day for good lighting).

I think I might have come to some sort of a compromise. I think I will get some kind of toning shampoo type stuff and see if I can get it to me a more rose/pinkish type colour as opposed to the brassy mess that I've got going on at the moment. I think a lot of my unhappiness with my hair comes as a result of not really doing stuff with it anymore. I do wear it out but it's rare that I'll ever straighten it or even blowdry it.

Despite the lack of dye, my hair is still not as good as it has been in the past. I've decided to get back into the hair vitamins (I'm lazy and haven't taken any for a while). Once I finish up the ones I already have, I will buy some biotin capsules.

[lapushka]

Hey OP! Nice to have you check back in.

Glad you're hanging on! :)

[LadyCelestina]

http://www.sophiegee.com/wp-content/uploads/half-light-brown-hair-blonde-color-just-lovely-47263.jpg


This haircolour looks so cool! When my dye grows out a little bit I might try something similar with a semi.

[Strawb3rryBlond]

Ok guys, time for some update pics

I will admit that my hair does look pretty nice in these pics. My hair is freshly washed and blow dried, and that is the issue. It only looks good when it's 'done'. The slightest bit of oil makes it look awful, but never mind.

The back

http://i.imgur.com/cgtuV13.jpg

Of course the cat has to get in the picture.

From the front

http://i.imgur.com/hVRwyYg.jpg

Still trying to grow out those stupid front bits. I will admit that I trimmed them quite heavily. I think I'll have to stop bleaching them :mad:

http://i.imgur.com/QapDCKY.jpg

Here's my attempt at showing you the colours (the light blond bits are highlights)

http://i.imgur.com/4VntMtC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OYeEIlF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TPYlM0a.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3lWwZoV.jpg


I'm going to try and stop complaining so much about my hair. No one likes a Negative Nancy haha.

I think I'm finally at a point now where I can let it grow out on it's own, and stop messing with highlights.

Now I need to source some better hair ties (any recommendations??) and start actioning more buns!

[wispe]

I think you have a good base to start really growing out your natural color. Definitely feel free to stop by the growing out dye/going natural thread as you grow!

As for hair ties, I like nylon ponytailers (mine are goody brand (http://www.target.com/p/goody-ouchless-ponytailer-boho-blue-8-ct/-/A-26397802) but I see different types around on amazon). Telephone cord-type ties are also popular, and my sister is a big fan of them.

[Zindell]

There's no way to explain my feelings right now, other than I HATE my natural hair colour. Not necessarily the colour itself, but the way that it looks against my skin tone.

I just wanted to say that I absolutely adore your real strawberry blonde hair colour! It's so beautiful. :crush:

[Strawb3rryBlond]

I just wanted to say that I absolutely adore your real strawberry blonde hair colour! It's so beautiful. :crush:

Awww haha thank you. It's a love/hate relationship.