I'm really trying! Natural hair color rant...

[jeno]

Yes, I'm blond. Ok, not THAT blond as I was as a kid, but still blond. And I want to stay blond. I want strong, silky virgin hair but I still want to be blond.

I'm trying to like my natural color but I think I look better during the summer when the hair becomes lighter in the sun. I havn't highlighted my hair in 18 months and my ends are much lighter and more golden than my natural hair color. Right now I'm hoping for a sunny summer to even it out a bit.

A recent picture taken in Greece, after a week in the sun. Lighter, but not light enough. Because I'm blond and never satisfied?

http://i50.tinypic.com/2wobu3k.jpg

[Beatrice]

I'm of no help here, because I've always liked dark blond! I guess it looks more natural, mellow, and womanly to me. And I have bad memories of blondes in college with fried, highlighted, and flat-ironed hair. That said, the color you have here is lovely. Have you considered honey or cinnamon to even out your darker roots? Honey is a pretty subtle lightener, but I've seen some pretty stunning results when it's combined with cinnamon.

[spidermom]

Now my scalp area is light (going white) and the bottom is darker. Two-tone is a way of life with blondes.

[hemolymph]

I am going through the same thing. I got high lights for years, and while I am a natural blonde, I am not a "bleach" blonde! So my roots are a level 7 blonde, and the rest of my hair is closer to a level 9 or 10 in some parts!

The cinnamon & honey thing sounds interesting, but does it damage your hair at all?

[Clarisse]

Can I ask you why you like light blond hair that much?

It is almost impossible to go lighter without damaging the hair at all. You have to chose between your natural color (or something as dark as your natural color) and more or less damaged but lighter hair. There is only one way to go platinum blonde if you aren't born with the color, and that is peroxide. Peroxide is a hair-killer.
Sun bleaching is damaging too. And too much UV radiation on the scalp isn't healthy either.
Honey lightening is a gentle way to lighten hair, but it isn't 100% healthy for the hair.

I like the hair color you have right now, but I'm sure a darker color would suit you too. :flower:

[Beatrice]

Can I ask you why you like light blond hair that much?

It is almost impossible to go lighter without damaging the hair at all. You have to chose between your natural color (or something as dark as your natural color) and more or less damaged but lighter hair. There is only one way to go platinum blonde if you aren't born with the color, and that is peroxide. Peroxide is a hair-killer.
Sun bleaching is damaging too. And too much UV radiation on the scalp isn't healthy either.
Honey lightening is a gentle way to lighten hair, but it isn't 100% healthy for the hair.

I like the hair color you have right now, but I'm sure a darker color would suit you too. :flower:

This is probably true. People who used just honey or honey with a tiny amount of cinnamon haven't reported dry hair, but sometimes very slight amounts of damage aren't noticeable. Ktani does think that ingredients in the honey may render the peroxide safer for hair. She's also suggested using coconut oil before coloring hair, to protect it further.

However, among people who used a lot of cinnamon to get much lighter hair, I have heard talk of dryness. Indigonight just made a post about this on the cinnamon thread (though to be fair, she had also used an egg treatment and might be experiencing protein overload or honey residue. And she's trying to lighten over henndigo).

[MsBubbles]

Hey Jeno! I'm on the same journey as you! Although for me, I have about 5" of natural dark blond at the roots and the rest is old highlights and at-home-peroxide-disaster. I don't think it looks as bad to everybody else as it does to us in our own photos/mirrors!

Well hang in there. The long, silky, naturally-colored hair you desire will be yours (and mine too hopefully!). It's just the harsh contrast that puts a wrench in the works for now. I've started focusing purely on my roots when I look in the mirror these days. Maybe I'm just the queen of denial.

[jeno]

Can I ask you why you like light blond hair that much?

It is almost impossible to go lighter without damaging the hair at all. You have to chose between your natural color (or something as dark as your natural color) and more or less damaged but lighter hair. There is only one way to go platinum blonde if you aren't born with the color, and that is peroxide. Peroxide is a hair-killer.
Sun bleaching is damaging too. And too much UV radiation on the scalp isn't healthy either.
Honey lightening is a gentle way to lighten hair, but it isn't 100% healthy for the hair.

I like the hair color you have right now, but I'm sure a darker color would suit you too. :flower:

Hmm, I don't want to be platinum, that would look "cheap"... Maybe I should dye the lighter parts of my hair to match the hair on my canopy? What I don't like is the contrast between roots and ends.

[princessp]

I love your golden color too, sorry no help here :p

[UltraBella]

I totally understand how you feel, I am trying to get back to a more natural color but I can't give up my highlights. I use a low volume bleach and then tone afterwards. I don't have any damage so I am going to continue doing it.......

[Alaia]

If you don't like the contrast between the light length and the darker roots, pick a shade that's close to the root colour and do that (like you said).

It's less damaging to go darker than lighter, but all colouring does something (unless you use henna etc etc).

I have major roots too, though I have evened out the difference a bit, so I can understand where you are coming from.

[angelperception]

Hang in there....!

[Capybara]

I actually think, that with your skin tone, you could rock a darker shade of hair really well!

Roots are frustrating though ...

I'd second the honey lightening. I did it on my sister, and we could see a difference after only one application. It works really well if you are already a blonde :D

[GoddesJourney]

You have about a year maybe to get to your hair length goal. Don't fret. It will definately get lighter by then and summer's coming in! One thing I've noticed about light hair is that the lightest part is the most noticeable. If someone has really dark roots, I still mostly notice the blonde parts. Yours is already sort of a strawberry blonde (at least in that picture). If the last six inches of your hair is much lighter, people will sort of group all of it into that color. I think our minds look at the darker area as if it were a shadow and we sort of dismiss the actual color of it. Your hair looks nice. Don't worry about it.

[jeno]

Thankyou for all your comments! I've decided to leave my hair as it is through the summer. And later, maybe in November or so, I will try some non-permanent hair colour and match the roots and see how I like it. Maybe beeing darker will suit me better?