The times have changed, and I am blonde.

[amaiaisabella]

:D

Well, I've been on here several years now, and most of you who have been around know that I was big into henna for quite a while. Sadly, as it's grown out, and my virgin hair has grown in, I realized the color doesn't quite suit my complexion anymore. Being the naturally impulsive type :rolleyes:, I decided to bleach on my own after being quoted an outrageous price at the salon (and this after 5 stylist crowded around my head after I mentioned the word "henna"). In certain lights I like the color, in others I feel it is too yellow, but right now I've determined to start fresh and baby it like I was taught when I first joined this site. Since we're all about the "pictures or it didn't happen," here y'all are:

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z20/amaiai64/Image2-1.jpg

It's more yellow than it appears in that photo, actually, which is a bit concerning to me as I feel it is too brassy, but others insist it is just golden and I am not used to it after years of henna. That may well be, but I'd like to see where it takes me. I'm not going to cut, and I'm finally going to make it to my coveted goal of BSL, hopefully with this hair and minimal trims.

Who's with me? :cheese:

[spidermom]

You can tone it with something to neutralize the yellow.

[amaiaisabella]

I keep trying to figure out exactly what to buy that counts as a toner. The lady at Sally's insists I can dye it over with a darker dye but I'm concerned as to future damage. If I had something clearly labeled as a toner, and knew what colors to buy, I'd go for it, but otherwise I'm somewhat lost :shrug:

[whoanellie]

Yes, definitely if you find it brassy you can tone it. I remember in my bleaching days I used a shampoo from Sally's that was basically meant for people with white hair to tone out any yellow. It was deep deep purple. Something like that might help a bit. I only needed to use it a couple of times a week (because too much and it can deposit color) and it helped.

Congrats on the impulse decision... I am familiar with those. ;)

[apynip]

If you have a sallys near by there are toners by wella and they have a yellow box. get one with a violet base. ther is another brand too but i forgot what the name is.

[apynip]

Yes, definitely if you find it brassy you can tone it. I remember in my bleaching days I used a shampoo from Sally's that was basically meant for people with white hair to tone out any yellow. It was deep deep purple. Something like that might help a bit. I only needed to use it a couple of times a week (because too much and it can deposit color) and it helped.

Congrats on the impulse decision... I am familiar with those. ;)
Shampoo is Shimmering lights by clairol

[halo_tightens]

Didja hear that? My jaw hitting the floor?? :D

Amaia the blonde... I can't believe it! It looks good, though, and I guess that's more important than my little moment of almost peeing my pants! :cheese:

[amaiaisabella]

Haha, so sorry Charity! But as gorgeous as the red looked from the back, it was not looking so hot from the front :(

apynip, I did purchase the conditioner rather than the shampoo, and have used it today but didn't want to use it too often for fear of going dingy. It didn't seem to make much of a difference. Perhaps I should purchase the shampoo as well? I did use a toner from the yellow Wella line, but it also did not produce much of an impact. I don't think I used one with a violet base, though, and I only used 10 vol as I did with all other stages in the process.

[Rini]

I can totally relate!! As a former henna head, and now ash blonde, I went through the bleaching and then the chop. I'm also pretty good with toners :) IMO, I like Goldwell Colorance mousse (in the blue can) in 10P or 10V. I also like the Schwarzkopf Igora mousse in Ice Flower. If you want to really amp up the effects of these deposit-only toners, then apply generously, cover in plastic wrap and add a heat cap. Leave it on for around 45 mins. Trust me, it will make a difference. It will gradually wash out, but you can reapply as much as you like as it does not damage your hair at all (in fact I find the Schwarzkopf one to be VERY conditioning!).

Good luck, enjoy your new colour :D

[amaiaisabella]

On further examination, it appears my hair is still a shade of light red, so I think it's stuck between red and blonde. I don't think the toner would do its designed job as of yet. Now what to do? :hmm:

[Unzadi]

Well! Lay low for a while and see what happens. Amaia the Golden does have a nice ring to it. Enjoy the new color.

[halo_tightens]

On further examination, it appears my hair is still a shade of light red, so I think it's stuck between red and blonde. I don't think the toner would do its designed job as of yet. Now what to do? :hmm:

I'm not even going to begin to give any advice on this subject... In the past, this sort of situation was usually the cause of another short haircut. I always wanted to go just a leeeeeetle lighter, and I would invariably fry my hair completely in the process. It seems that I'm not very good at lightening "just a little bit more."

I will say that back in the day when I played around with lighter colors, I swore by blue/violet products to tone it down. There are lots of tinted conditioners, rinses, and toners out there. I even used to color whatever styling product I was using at the time with a little blue or purple, which worked well in situations where I knew there was no chance of getting wet. :D

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide to do! :flowers:

[MsBubbles]

Woo hoo! You're right. The times they are a-changing. Way to enjoy your hair! (I can't see it properly on my stupid monitor.)

[Alaia]

Welcome to the blonde side, Amaia! ;)

Sorry I couldn't resist. I like the colour, though I can see that the pic might not be the best representation of it. I still think it's lovely.

I'm too scared to try toners on my hair. And too lazy to do my roots. ;)

[amaiaisabella]

Haha, thanks Alaia! I do appreciate a good pun :)

The trouble is that in some lights the color looks appropriately golden and toned, and in other lights looks extremely yellow, and in still others a light red. So I'm not precisely sure it is problematic enough to do the toner at this time, although I went ahead and purchased it anyway (thanks to Rini! :)) For now, I'm going to continue to pamper it. I did an S&D yesterday, which wasn't too bad- no splits, just several broken ends.

On the plus side, I'm officially APL once more after chopping to my chin last October! :cheer:

[amaiaisabella]

Here's an updated photo for those rare few who care to see it ;)

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z20/amaiai64/newhair.jpg

[rags]

I think the color is gorgeous! Kind of a beautiful dark strawberry blonde in the second pic. Alas, I am no help with toners or such, however......

[Medievalmaniac]

yes, the color in that second picture is lovely. :)