I dye my hair, I dont dye it. I have layers, I dont have layers....

[Kitty]

I'm sure I'm not the only one!

I'll be growing my hair sort of neglectfully for awhile, but it will nonetheless get long. Then i get these "brillant" ideas to dye it, or cut it, or get layers!!!!

This past nightmare, I decided to cut about 5 iches off, get a few layers around the edges (so not fully into my length THANK GOD!) as well as dye it!!!! I did use a semipermanent dye for dark brown.

Now I do like the colour, but I really dont want the up keep since my hair is naturally a lighter brown. I'm missing those 5 inches now. And I dont even know why I cut them!!! Even the hairdresser said "you know, you dont need to cut off that much length, your hair is really healthy"

ERG!!!! I'm having a quarter life crisis or something.

Anyone know of any gentle ways to get semipermanent hair dye out faster??

[lora410]

I think you did it out of boredom. I always think of dying or trimming because I am bored but stop myself. Try some color oops to lighten or honey and baby shampoo worked EXTEREMLY well to lighten my black hair to a medium brown in a matter of minutes of lather sitting on my head. I am sure it was the baby shampoo but the honey helped with moisture a bit. I just made sure I did a deep oil after that.

[Kitty]

I think I'll try the baby shampoo and honey. Thanks! And I also think you're right. Out of boredom part. Plus I've had some stressful stuff going on lately so at the time, I "think" I'm "pampering" myself. But it only makes me miserable later.

[Katze]

Yeah, it sounds like pampering or even just escapism - nothing wrong with that! hair is there to be played with, after all.

But with layers, bleach, or dye, you just might have to live with the results of your "playing" a lot longer. I know I wish I had stopped bleaching my hair much earlier than I did, and almost 4 years later the bleach is still with me.

Why not practice some mini decorative braids like braiding in a headband, or braiding stuff (feathers, ribbons) into your hair?

[Kitty]

Thanks Katze. And I'm sure you're right as well! The problem with playing with hairdos when I'm bored is that I SUCK at them! LOL!! I know if I just practiced I'd probably get better, but I'm so impatient. I guess I'll have to give it a try next time!!

[sandigirl]

... I know I wish I had stopped bleaching my hair much earlier than I did, and almost 4 years later the bleach is still with me...

How did you quit the bleaching? I have my hair highlighted and they do touch-ups on some areas of the scalp. This can NOT be good for my head. My hair is in perfect condition. I LOVE the blonde and will NEVER go back to my original color which is now an ugly dark brown with 10% gray. Suggestions?

[SweetPea88]

I have to agree that one thing that helps beat boredom is to find new styles to try. When I do that, I often find myself saying that I wish I had MORE hair so the styles would look even better. HTH!

[Linda K]

I think I'll try the baby shampoo and honey. Thanks! And I also think you're right. Out of boredom part. Plus I've had some stressful stuff going on lately so at the time, I "think" I'm "pampering" myself. But it only makes me miserable later.

I was thinking about that same issue (Why did I ____ to my hair?).
Seems to me - no matter the impetus - you have to admit it's INSTANT Gratification! I learned it from the kids!

[funnybunny668]

you have to admit it's INSTANT Gratification!

I think that's it exactly. Instant gratification.

I waffled a LOT on coloring it/gowing out color, cutting/growing length. Everytime I decided to do something to it, I'd wait a while, ask myself "am I sure I want to do this?" and I'd think "yes, I want to do this". A few weeks later, I'm wondering why I did it.

Now I'm tring to grow my lenght back out.

[BritHair]

I have to confess.....I get my hair highlighted. I have brown hair and my skin tone has changed since I have gotten older. I find the gentle honey blonde highlights soften my face and help my gray grow in gently. My gray is on each temple and if I left it as is I would look like the bride of Frankenstein. Not very attractive. But mixed in with the honey blonde it looks quite good lol.

My hairdresser is awesome and she is so gentle with my hair. I am 4 inches away from sitting on it.....I have never had it this long. It is in very good condition as my highlights are sparse.

Since I have been here I have been oiling and co-ing and keeping it up most of the time it feels so soft....like silk. I think my hair will forgive me for the little naughty splurges I do at the hair dressers.

I love this site :)
BritHair

[Nocturnal]

Kitty, I hear ya! I'm also going through a stressful time in my life. They didn't have dark brown semi colour in store, so I coloured my light brown hair blue black. :eyebrows: I still can't believe I dyed my hair blue! I've been doing deep oiling followed by baking soda hot water soak and rinse. So I think I did it on average twice a week for a month now. My hair is back to brown now, thank God! But there is still a green glow in my hair and it is ashy as opposed to original golden hue. I think I will do one more baking soda rinse in a week and live with that. Baking soda is really drying, so if you choose that route make sure you do a lot of conditioning.
I was thinking about Color Oops/ Fix too, but I have discovered that there is a risk for hair to become black if you don't rinse it out very well. So I decided not to use it since my hair is already back to brown.

Sandigirl, maybe you could try using 20 vol peroxide instead of peroxide + bleach? :confused: Depends on you original hair colour a lot.

[Kitty]

Kitty, I hear ya! I'm also going through a stressful time in my life. They didn't have dark brown semi colour in store, so I coloured my light brown hair blue black. :eyebrows: I still can't believe I dyed my hair blue! I've been doing deep oiling followed by baking soda hot water soak and rinse. So I think I did it on average twice a week for a month now. My hair is back to brown now, thank God! But there is still a green glow in my hair and it is ashy as opposed to original golden hue. I think I will do one more baking soda rinse in a week and live with that. Baking soda is really drying, so if you choose that route make sure you do a lot of conditioning.
I was thinking about Color Oops/ Fix too, but I have discovered that there is a risk for hair to become black if you don't rinse it out very well. So I decided not to use it since my hair is already back to brown.

Thanks Nocturnal! How exactly do you do the baking soda rinse? I tried the baby shampoo with honey today and although it looked as if some brown was rinsing out (the suds looked a little brown) it really doesnt seem that different, but just left my hair a bit dry. Hopefully it will just fade and not be noticable to grow out since my hair is already brown to begin with, just lighter.

Thanks for all your comments. :)

[Delilah]

A lot if not all of it should wash out, but you may have to live with it for a few months. Honey does help- check the honey thread for more information.
I would say wait a few months before you consider bleach or peroxide. If you damage your hair and have to cut it off or live with fried hair you will regret not just waiting for it to wash out. Trust me, I know...

[Nocturnal]

Kitty, first I do overnight oil treatment. And in the morning I do baking soda thing. I use a plastic 650-750 mg yogurt jar. I put half teaspoon of baking soda in it and fill it up with hot or warm tap water. Baking soda will be fully diluted. Then I dunk bottom half of my hair in it and swoosh it in there. I usually get a noticeable change in water colour. Pour the water out and repeat until the water is clear. I usually alternate rinsing bottom half with top half of hair. It is a little trickier for the hair on top of my head. I bend over bath tub and pour baking soda water on my nape. Then I rinse all my hair with plain tap water and follow up with shampoo, conditioner and vinegar rinse. For vinegar rinse I like less then a teaspoon of white vinegar per said yogurt jar. And follow up with cold water. Vinegar and cold water smooth hair shaft "scales" after baking soda has raised them.
Hope it helps!

[Katze]

How did you quit the bleaching? I have my hair highlighted and they do touch-ups on some areas of the scalp. This can NOT be good for my head. My hair is in perfect condition. I LOVE the blonde and will NEVER go back to my original color which is now an ugly dark brown with 10% gray. Suggestions?

I just stopped. Actually, a year or so after my last highlights (self done, woo hoo) I went to a salon and had the ends dyed darker (pic with horse in profile) but within 2-3 months that faded out and I had two toned orange again.

Sticking it out, wearing lots of French braids, or wearing it down only (having it up accentuates the orange ends) was the only way I could get through it. I also cut a lot of the bleach out.

I have always wanted long hair, and it never grew. I started bleaching when I went darker at age 13, using Sun-In because my cousins did, and went lighter and lighter over time. When I came to LHC, my hair was bleached on the length and highlighted on the ends and mostly looked yellow-blonde.

Highlights are not as bad as full bleaching, but I have yet to see a salon where they do not pull the bleach through to the ends. My ends were and still are a bit porous, dry, prone to breakage, but after LOTS of trimming, they are in better shape than they have been in 15+ years.

If you are determined to stay blonde that's your decision. It was important to me to be blonde for a long time, but now I really like my natural color (see profile pic) and especially the sparkly silvers that are coming in. It's like going back to my childhood color of pale ash blonde again! :D

If you do decide to get off the bleach bandwagon, there is a 'two toned heads' thread here, and lots of other LHCers have indeed managed it...good luck! :flower: