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View Full Version : I want to go blonde again! But can I?



Pear Martini
April 27th, 2010, 07:54 AM
I used to get my hair dyed blonde at a salon. I am not sure if my stylist used bleach or peroxide but my natural color is med/dark brown.

After some contemplation and my boyfriend (:o)telling me how bad he wanted to see with my natural color, I caved and dyed it back myself. I rationalized it as I would be saving some money too. I know, I know, it sounds bad but thats what influenced me.

It been a year since I dyed it back and I miss being blonde. I don't feel like myself. My mother even tells me a looked better blonde but I don't want to pay out the ass again(excuse my french).

So I gave myself a few highlights and I am thinking about doing more. But if I ever wanted to go back to blonde completly I don't know if the highlights would make it harder since I would have to be very careful to not bleach them twice.


My questions are:

Can I go blonde again without sacrificing over an inch of length?



Will highlights make it harder for me to go blonde since I will have to make sure I get no bleach overlap?

Can I do it myself and have it come out looking professional/natural?


Any other advice is appreciated :D


Thank you

lapushka
April 27th, 2010, 08:48 AM
You can used boxed dye to go a shade, maybe even two shades lighter (depends on the dye). No need to use bleach for that. But... if you're med/dark brown and are wanting to go towards a lighter blond, that requires you going more than a few shades lighter, and that involves a bleaching process. I'd not try that at home at all, unless you know what you're doing esp. if your hair is partly dyed. If it's partly dyed, then you cannot go a shade lighter with boxed dye, you'd have to use bleach for that too.

Snowcold
April 27th, 2010, 08:53 AM
Tracking this, planning to do the same. :D

Shermie Girl
April 27th, 2010, 08:54 AM
If you have dark dye over blonde dye, you will have to have the dark dye removed. Blonde dye will not take your hair to pale over the dark dye.

Since you need brown dye stripped away and you have bleached highlights, my suggestion is to go to a good colourist you trust to have this process done. It is really easy to scrag your hair if you get your timing off or pick just the wrong product. (Ask me how I know this... ;))

After you are back to your desired shade, if you feel confident about doing it, there is no reason why you can't do your own root touch-ups. :D


ETA: If you simply can't afford a salon, you can buy colour removers. Loreal makes a good one. Buy a box and DO STRAND TESTS and see if it will work for you. If you used permanent dye, you can also strand test ColorFix and Colour Oops. Please! Strand test before you put anything all over your head! These will not restore your natural colour and you will have to dye over after you use them. Remember to strand test that, too. :D

kwaniesiam
April 27th, 2010, 09:03 AM
STAY AWAY FROM BOX DYE. There is no guarantee they will come out with the results you want and will very likely end up uneven. Color doesn't lift color, ever. You need a very strong peroxide based developer to do that or bleach.

I highly recommend you go to a professional. If you have dark color on your length already, you will need to have a color remover applied before attempting to get to blonde. You're risking the length coming out many different brassy, uneven shades by trying to do it yourself in one application. Seek out professional help from the get-go rather than wrecking your hair and having even more to fix plus losing extra length.

missjessiecakes
April 27th, 2010, 09:07 AM
If money is really important you could always try the local beauty college. They are pretty dang cheap and with chem processes the teachers watch you like a hawk.

Pear Martini
April 27th, 2010, 09:20 AM
Yes, I have been looking into Aveda Schools in my area. Its so much cheaper than the salons here in Miami. Maybe I can strip the color myself with that color remover that you can buy at sallys and from there have them lighten that?


I really like Adriana Lima's hair when its highlighted blonde and I would be perfectly happy with a color like this:

http://www.wallpaperez.info/wallpaper/models/m/Adriana-Lima-wallpapers-796.jpg

Anyways, I need to go out and take care of a few errands but I'll be back on later and hopefully one of you LHCers or I have come up with a plan :D

TXbarbie
April 27th, 2010, 07:37 PM
I'm not a big fan of box dye - I've never tried it myself and my sorority sisters who have tried it always ended up going to the salon to get it fixed.

According to my stylist, box dyes only really work on about 10% of the population. I don't know how true that is, but at the rate my sisters have tried and failed, she might be right :D

It's important to take good care of your hair. I wouldn't cut corners with it but good luck with the box dye if that's what you want to do!

MsBubbles
April 27th, 2010, 08:16 PM
Can I go blonde again without sacrificing over an inch of length?


You mean from having to cut off past highlights, or just overall damage?

There's no telling what your hair will do once it gets to BSL and beyond, if you have highlights. Mine doesn't seem to be doing so well in that department, but I have fine hair and those are years worth of old salon highlights.

What's the longest you grew your hair as a blond?

tokidokichi
April 27th, 2010, 08:18 PM
I honestly don't think you should do it anything all. Even if you have it done professionally you will end up damaging your hair and yes, you will probably loose an inch or two in the process due to damage. I am speaking from experience.

I have gone from dark brown to blonde a couple of times in the last 3 years. Every time i bleached it, I had to cut off at least an inch and my hair has not gotten much past neck length in 3 years due to this! I work in a salon, and had it done professionally each time, but the damage is inevitable. Bleach is EVIL. I finaly learned my lesson and have sworn it off forever. I could be at APL by now, but the bleach has prevented me from it because I have to do frequent trims!! I seriously regret it, and I think you will too.

Also, I'm afraid that your hair will lift unevenly because the last time you colored your hair back was over a year ago right? You would have 6 inches of virgin hair (minus the highlights you would have to avoid). If you bleach your hair or if you put a color remover on it the new growth will lift a lot faster, and end up a lot lighter. Your ends will probably end up orange/yellow.

It is your choice, though. If you do decide you want to be blonde again, go to a professional stylist. Ask for a few more highlights, book an appointment for every 6 weeks and ask her to add more highlights every time you go. You will be back to blonde again within time, and it will be less damaging then doing it all at once (Baby your hair in between visits!)

A better idea though, is to try honey lightening! It works, I promise! It just takes a few treatments to see results. It is not damaging, its actually very conditioning! There is a great thread about honey lightening in the "Recipes, Henna, and Herbal Haircare" board. It will tell you everything you need to know.

It is your choice, but think really hard before you go and put bleach on your head! And keep us updated ^_^

Fadedbluedreams
April 27th, 2010, 08:27 PM
When I was young, I used to use sun-in on my hair. I have light/medium brown hair with very subtle blonde strands through it. I sprayed it on dry and then blow dried it. It gave my hair a nice golden color that isn't as intense as bleaching and it's quite cheap.

StephanieB
April 27th, 2010, 08:49 PM
Pear Martini... I may be darker than your natural hair color , but I've gone to an almost platinum blonde and then to a slightly more golden blond - and then to red - and kept right on perming the whole time.
My then hairdressser (at a salon gone out of business after they paid all of my medical bills and all other Court-ordered damages (including custom human hair wigs and punitive damages to me) was stripping my natural dark brunette hair color first, then she was bleaching me to true platinum, and finally coloring the whitened hair a light golden-yellow blonde as you see in the picture below.

I'll dig out a few pix to post here for comparison... but long story short: I ultimately lost all my hair in one final chemical accident and ended up hospitalized for a months and months while treated for chemical burns to the scalp.

Now, granted - I not only had three-step chemical coloring processes, my hair was also being permed... and obviously my hairdresser didn't have a clue what she was doing with my fine/thin hair to begin with... but I really urge you to get professional color stripping if you choose to strip your dark dye out to recolor to blonde.

The photo on the left - circa 1998 or '99 - was my lightest color - which I maintained by keepig the short pixie for about 2 years (as that kept most of the damaged-beyond-repair hair cut off regularly)
The photo on the right - taken on Stormegadden (this past March, 2010) - reflects my natural hair color -----

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/StephaniesPix/Me/StephanieBlonde.jpghttp://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/StephaniesPix/Me/SEB_2-28-10-2.jpg

StephanieB
April 27th, 2010, 08:52 PM
HA HA HA

I have to laugh at the one pic vs the other: flying my fave small non-competition kite at Liberty State Park (or was it Berkeley State Park, down the shore?) vs me all dressed up, wearing my princess strand of pearls plus my opera strand of pearls. Two very different Sundays - recreation versus Mass.

How much have I changed in 12 years?! :-/

Pear Martini
April 28th, 2010, 07:05 PM
You mean from having to cut off past highlights, or just overall damage?

There's no telling what your hair will do once it gets to BSL and beyond, if you have highlights. Mine doesn't seem to be doing so well in that department, but I have fine hair and those are years worth of old salon highlights.

What's the longest you grew your hair as a blond?

I got up to APL as a blonde. Now I am at BSL.

MsBubbles
April 28th, 2010, 07:11 PM
I got up to APL as a blonde. Now I am at BSL.

Oh! Your details still say APL. What did you mean by sacrificing an inch?

Pear Martini
April 28th, 2010, 07:12 PM
I honestly don't think you should do it anything all. Even if you have it done professionally you will end up damaging your hair and yes, you will probably loose an inch or two in the process due to damage. I am speaking from experience.

I have gone from dark brown to blonde a couple of times in the last 3 years. Every time i bleached it, I had to cut off at least an inch and my hair has not gotten much past neck length in 3 years due to this! I work in a salon, and had it done professionally each time, but the damage is inevitable. Bleach is EVIL. I finaly learned my lesson and have sworn it off forever. I could be at APL by now, but the bleach has prevented me from it because I have to do frequent trims!! I seriously regret it, and I think you will too.

Also, I'm afraid that your hair will lift unevenly because the last time you colored your hair back was over a year ago right? You would have 6 inches of virgin hair (minus the highlights you would have to avoid). If you bleach your hair or if you put a color remover on it the new growth will lift a lot faster, and end up a lot lighter. Your ends will probably end up orange/yellow.

It is your choice, though. If you do decide you want to be blonde again, go to a professional stylist. Ask for a few more highlights, book an appointment for every 6 weeks and ask her to add more highlights every time you go. You will be back to blonde again within time, and it will be less damaging then doing it all at once (Baby your hair in between visits!)

A better idea though, is to try honey lightening! It works, I promise! It just takes a few treatments to see results. It is not damaging, its actually very conditioning! There is a great thread about honey lightening in the "Recipes, Henna, and Herbal Haircare" board. It will tell you everything you need to know.

It is your choice, but think really hard before you go and put bleach on your head! And keep us updated ^_^


Thanks for the advice. I have tried honey lightening and it worked *slightly* but it just felt so gross on me. No matter how tight I would wrap my hair, I would still feel honey dripping down my neck.

I like your idea of just getting highlights every 6 weeks. Do you think I could do my own with a cap every 6 weeks? I am just really trying to save money since I am in between jobs and living off of student loans right now.

If its better off at a salon, I will do my best to find one, but I will have to find a really good and trustworthy colorist.

Pear Martini
April 28th, 2010, 07:14 PM
Oh! Your details still say APL. What did you mean by sacrificing an inch?

:o

I meant as in, if I do bleach my hair how much of the ends will need to be cut from damage caused by the bleach?

Thanks :D

Pear Martini
April 28th, 2010, 07:18 PM
Pear Martini... I may be darker than your natural hair color , but I've gone to an almost platinum blonde and then to a slightly more golden blond - and then to red - and kept right on perming the whole time.
My then hairdressser (at a salon gone out of business after they paid all of my medical bills and all other Court-ordered damages (including custom human hair wigs and punitive damages to me) was stripping my natural dark brunette hair color first, then she was bleaching me to true platinum, and finally coloring the whitened hair a light golden-yellow blonde as you see in the picture below.

I'll dig out a few pix to post here for comparison... but long story short: I ultimately lost all my hair in one final chemical accident and ended up hospitalized for a months and months while treated for chemical burns to the scalp.

Now, granted - I not only had three-step chemical coloring processes, my hair was also being permed... and obviously my hairdresser didn't have a clue what she was doing with my fine/thin hair to begin with... but I really urge you to get professional color stripping if you choose to strip your dark dye out to recolor to blonde.

The photo on the left - circa 1998 or '99 - was my lightest color - which I maintained by keepig the short pixie for about 2 years (as that kept most of the damaged-beyond-repair hair cut off regularly)
The photo on the right - taken on Stormegadden (this past March, 2010) - reflects my natural hair color -----

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/StephaniesPix/Me/StephanieBlonde.jpghttp://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p44/StephaniesPix/Me/SEB_2-28-10-2.jpg


Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. You must have built a lot of strength going through all that. Its nice to see you are fine now though. Thanks for the advice.

What kind of perm was it? I know some people get perms that curl their hair and others get perms that straighten it.

MsBubbles
April 28th, 2010, 07:22 PM
:o

I meant as in, if I do bleach my hair how much of the ends will need to be cut from damage caused by the bleach?

Thanks :D

Well I thought that was what you meant but I didn't want to just go off on a tangent :). Sorry.

Here's a lot of 'if's: If you know what lightening products didn't fry your hair in the past, and you don't overdo it, you shouldn't need to sacrifice any length initially. And damage might not happen until, say, 2 years down the road when you're at waist perhaps. Everybody's hair is different, so you probably know best what the odds are of that happening with your hair.

I understand your dilemma! It's nice to be blond(er) but at what hair cost? Some people have tough-as-nails hair (I don't!).

Pear Martini
April 28th, 2010, 07:30 PM
Well I thought that was what you meant but I didn't want to just go off on a tangent :). Sorry.

Here's a lot of 'if's: If you know what lightening products didn't fry your hair in the past, and you don't overdo it, you shouldn't need to sacrifice any length initially. And damage might not happen until, say, 2 years down the road when you're at waist perhaps. Everybody's hair is different, so you probably know best what the odds are of that happening with your hair.

I understand your dilemma! It's nice to be blond(er) but at what hair cost? Some people have tough-as-nails hair (I don't!).

I love your color in your avatar. Is that your natural color, if not what was your starting color?

tokidokichi
April 28th, 2010, 07:38 PM
Thanks for the advice. I have tried honey lightening and it worked *slightly* but it just felt so gross on me. No matter how tight I would wrap my hair, I would still feel honey dripping down my neck.

I like your idea of just getting highlights every 6 weeks. Do you think I could do my own with a cap every 6 weeks? I am just really trying to save money since I am in between jobs and living off of student loans right now.

If its better off at a salon, I will do my best to find one, but I will have to find a really good and trustworthy colorist.

I'd really advise going to a stylist and letting her foil the highlights for you. As for finding a good one, when you are out in puplic and you see someone with pretty highlights ask where they got them done! Also, a lot of salons have websites with costumer reviews and pictures =]

The problem with highlighting with a cap is that it isn't precise at all, you are just picking up hair at random. That means it will be hard to avoid hair that has already been highlighted, and you DO NOT want to put more bleach on those pieces.

To save money, you could go to the stylist only every 2 or 3 months, but I wouldn't stretch it out further than that because your roots would be terrible! =P It would take longer to get blonde that way, but its definitely safer for your hair!

StephanieB
April 28th, 2010, 08:41 PM
Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. You must have built a lot of strength going through all that. Its nice to see you are fine now though. Thanks for the advice.

What kind of perm was it? I know some people get perms that curl their hair and others get perms that straighten it.
Oh, don't feel sorry for me. I've survived that - and much worse - in my life.

The loss of my hair hardly compares with the loss, say, of 9 days. I was beaten so badly, in the early '80s, by the boyfriend with whom I then lived, that I was in a coma for 9 days. I was raised with abuse before that, and I survived more abuse after that, too. My hair is comparatively irrelevant.



:o

I meant as in, if I do bleach my hair how much of the ends will need to be cut from damage caused by the bleach?
BUT --- the problem is that one never knows - until it's too late - how much damage any chemical process can do... even when it's a process that you've done/had done before.

It could be no damage, it could be an inch's worth of damage, and it could be 5 inches - or all - of your hair.

pilateschick7
April 28th, 2010, 09:19 PM
I definitely recommend Aveda schools. I have had platinum highlights, golden and then a warm reddish brown done over the last 6 years. My hair maintained at BSL without difficulty.

The instructors are very fastidious and watch the process like a hawk.
My most recent was Fall of 2008 (the reddish brown) The cost was $40 at the Aveda Institute in New Orleans.
HTH

justgreen
April 28th, 2010, 09:50 PM
Go to a salon, really. My length is 40+ and the only reason I'm able to grow so long, I let a professional do the roots every 4-6 weeks. I finally broke down last month and got my first real trim in over 2.5 years.

Please stay away from caps. My two cents worth here.

ETA: I second the beauty schools.

Pear Martini
April 28th, 2010, 11:10 PM
Go to a salon, really. My length is 40+ and the only reason I'm able to grow so long, I let a professional do the roots every 4-6 weeks. I finally broke down last month and got my first real trim in over 2.5 years.

Please stay away from caps. My two cents worth here.

ETA: I second the beauty schools.

Is your color only from highlights? Why is highlighting not as damaging as full color?

Pear Martini
April 29th, 2010, 08:07 AM
I definitely recommend Aveda schools. I have had platinum highlights, golden and then a warm reddish brown done over the last 6 years. My hair maintained at BSL without difficulty.

The instructors are very fastidious and watch the process like a hawk.
My most recent was Fall of 2008 (the reddish brown) The cost was $40 at the Aveda Institute in New Orleans.
HTH

Only $40? No way, that sounds awesome :cheese:

pilateschick7
April 29th, 2010, 08:27 AM
Yes $40 BSL length hair..using Foils and I have a ton of hair.:)

LHktress
April 29th, 2010, 12:51 PM
Pear Martini, this is my experience: I am a natural brunette, my hair was dyed red (chemical dye) and I wanted to be a blonde. The hair stylist told me she would have to bleach it to remove the red. I did my research found out about the color removers (like L'Oreal Color Oops) which are not supposed to ruin your hair. I used that and it worked beautifully -- underneath the red, my hair was yellow (discolored from the peroxide in the red dye I had been using). Afterwards, an ashy blonde was enough to remove the yellow tones and make my hair an even color all over. No bleach = little damage. You might want to have a professional colorist do this step.

For maintenance I went with the advice of the stylist and had regular professional highlights for a while. This didn't work for me (but might work for you), my hair is too fine and porous for bleach, so it got fried after a few months. You know your hair best, so you can make your decision on how you can maintain. (I am using a super-lightening ash blonde dye at home now -- it works great for me because my hair is so porous, the dye is enough to make it super light blonde, with less damage than bleach. I know my hair *very* well though and have dyed my own hair since forever so I am very comfortable coloring it myself. )

ktani
April 29th, 2010, 01:17 PM
Oh, don't feel sorry for me. I've survived that - and much worse - in my life.

The loss of my hair hardly compares with the loss, say, of 9 days. I was beaten so badly, in the early '80s, by the boyfriend with whom I then lived, that I was in a coma for 9 days. I was raised with abuse before that, and I survived more abuse after that, too. My hair is comparatively irrelevant.



BUT --- the problem is that one never knows - until it's too late - how much damage any chemical process can do... even when it's a process that you've done/had done before.

It could be no damage, it could be an inch's worth of damage, and it could be 5 inches - or all - of your hair.

You are a survivor from your posts not a victim - you go girl!

Re the damage - this may be helpful whichever way you go except for honey lightening (no damage reported from lightening with it in over 4 years), http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2009/11/part-1-of-3-part-series-on-innovative.html

justgreen
April 29th, 2010, 10:25 PM
Is your color only from highlights? Why is highlighting not as damaging as full color?

I get woven foils done, roots only. I have a dark panel underneath (natural haircolor), then highlights all over. I don't like full blonde, I like my natural roots to show.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b168/justgreen_/LHC/001-22.jpg

BTW, if anyone is interested, that is a WoodbyC hairstick.

Pear Martini
May 9th, 2010, 04:57 PM
Thanks for that great link, ktani. All of this advice has been so helpful. I am thinking of oiling my hair tonight and giving myself more highlights