Are you Blonde? Share your tips and tricks (natural and bottle welcome!)

[Rini]

I did a search and couldn't find a thread for Blonde hair care, soooooooo..........

I'd love to hear your routines, problems and solutions, fave products, things to avoid etc. for Blonde hair.

I've recently returned to Blonde, having been a happy henna head for a number of years. My natural colour is a "dark blonde" shade with an ever increasing silver presence. The increasing silvers just made the henna red too hard to maintain so last year I went back to blonde. My present routine is CO washing every 3 days or so, various oil leave-ins (Jojoba, coconut, camelia....depending on the need) and I use Goldwell toners (pearl and violet) to cut down on the orangeness left over from henna. Therefore, my main challenge is the orange/brassy tones, but I do think it is getting better as the old henna grows out and my ashy blonde roots come in. My colour of choice is Loreal Excellence Light Ash Blonde which I use on my roots-only whenever I notice a colour difference. I don't pre-lighten or do any other highlighting. I find my natural silvers give lovely platinum streaks :) The main difference in my hair care now compared with when I was a red-head is that I avoid ACV as I had heard it can give warm tones to hair over time.

So that's me :o I would LOVE to hear from other Blondes!

[Riot Crrl]

Whee, I'm in the exact opposite situation as you, your before picture looks like my after picture lol! I don't have blonde now but I did for most of my life, so I hope I can answer.

These are my things.

- Do not listen to people with darker hair when they tell you things like "Yes, this rinse/Halloween hairspray/shampoo out hair color will shampoo right out!" These things could stain light hair more permanently than that, if not totally permanently.

- If you like vinegar rinse, consider cheapo white vinegar. Works great, cheap, no staining.

- I had to be careful with leave-ins and stylers. Seemed like just about anything could make it appear dark n' dreary. Especially oils. (I'm actually liking my darker color now because I'm able to rock more oil.)

- Avoid the substance known as "protein filler." Not protein treatments, protein FILLER. It's in small bottles at the beauty supply store, and some use it as a protein treatment because it's really cheap. Its main intended use is to temporary fill in damage to help color go on more evenly. It is a bunch of hydrolyzed keratin and stuff. But even the "neutral" can go greenish on blondes.

That is about all I can think of for now!

[FrannyG]

Hi Rini! :waving: I'm pretty sure that when you last saw me on the old board I was blonde. I think you were away from the board during the time that I decided to go brunette. It seemed like a good idea at the time, as these things always do, but as I'm predominantly silver these days, the roots would show days after touching them up. It was very high maintenance, and really, I've always been a blonde at heart

So I had to remove the brown dye and then dye my hair back to light blonde. Like you, the part of my hair that had the darker dye on it is much more golden than my new growth is. I'm not letting it get to me too much, as I can't be bothered with toners and such.

When I touch up my roots, I make sure I do roots only, but in the rinsing process, the length does take in some of the colour, so that does help cut down on the brassiness.

The biggest change I've made is using products that are more specifically for colour treated hair. They don't allow the colour to fade as quickly, hence my hair doesn't get too brassy. I will say that in some flash photos my hair looks far more brassy than it does in real life, indoors or outdoors.

I've been using ACV rinse for years, and I've never really noticed that it deposits colour on me, but I do suggest that you use plain white vinegar. That seems to be what most blondes do.

I also use jojoba oil or coconut oil on my ends.

Well, I guess I really haven't told you anything you don't already know, but you are correct when you say that once more of your own unhennaed hair grows in, you will definitely see much less brassiness. In fact you probably won't see any at all, once the old formerly hennaed hair is grown out, especially now that you have a few silvers. My new growth has no brassiness whatsoever.

I don't know if this will help you at all, but I find that L'Oreal's Preference seems to resist fade longer than Excellence. They both have the same shades, just with slightly different formulations.

Anyway, you look wonderful. I'm surprised to say that I don't miss "Rini red" at all. :flowers:

[blondecat]

Natural blonde [also in South Australia lol].

I use a honey rinse after conditioning [very dry hair, only wash once a week]. It helps to even out the tones and be not so 'brassy'
1/2 cup of honey in warm water. If you want to you can do a vinager rinse over the honey rinse. Both brings up a good shine.
cold water rinse as well, no matter the weather. Brings up a good shine also.

Avoid chlorine [pools]

A camomile rinse might help your hair tone.

I am sure I will think of something later, I'll be back :)

[Sian100]

I am a bottle blonde; I've used high lift colour for the last two years, but previous to that, I used bleach and Sun In, so the lower lengths my hair are quite fragile- so fragile that I don't dare try to correct the slight colour difference in the upper part and lower parts of my hair. :o (yes, I too have more goldeness in the length than the roots, though I am not entirely sure why :shrug:- probably just different colouring products).

Brassiness and any hint of goldenness at all is probably the biggest problem for me- my skin tone just doesn't suit it; for this, I use Superdrug wash in, wash out temporary colour in Cool Blonde. It is basically purple liquid. I mix this with some cone-rich conditioner or another and leave in on my hair while I attend to other tasks in the shower.

I lighten my hair by probably four or five shades with the high lift (darkest reddish blonde to very light ash violet blonde) so the roots annoy me no end, though I would say it's something I notice more than other people. I actually dye my roots every two weeks, though certainly not the whole head that frequently. :lol: I basically do the whole head every 4-6 weeks, and the parting I use the most every 2 weeks. It probably takes 10 mins for application for parting only, plus 45 mins hanging around. For the whole head, since I use a brush to apply it, it takes half an hour to apply (and yes, I apply to the back of my own head by using two mirrors- I am very talented in that respect :D) then 45 minutes hanging around.

I think it's worth it. One tube of tint costs about £9 from Sally, and those massive 2 litre bottles of 40 vol hydrogen peroxide only cost about £3 (though they would look a bit suspicious should the police ever call to my house :bigeyes:), and I've only bought them once this year, in January, so the hair colouring stuff only costs about £25 a year, which is approximately US$50, or €31, so not really that expensive to maintain.

Regular conditioning, i.e. no less than every other day, also seems to help me, as the length of my hair dries out really quickly. I also think the colour looks darker if my hair gets greasy, so that's another reason why I wash frequently.

I don't really do anything else special. I used to do deep conditioning treatments, but hardly ever bother now. Conditioners filled with cones and regular trims are my best allies.

[FrannyG]

I just read Sian's post and she mentioned something very important that I forgot. I agree with her about regular trims. They are essential to me. I cut off a quarter of my growth bi-monthly, but of course, as with everything else, your needs may be different.

[Katze]

I'm a blonde...sort of. :D I was blonde as a kid, I have blonde eyebrows, and when my hair is freshly washed it definitely looks (sort of) blonde. Does that count?

Actually I think I am two-toned - ashy dark blonde/light brown virgin roots, various stages of grown-out bleach length. Although I bleached, starting with sun-in, for about (GASP) twenty years, and do prefer light blonde, I have now mostly sworn off lightening my hair and am learning to enjoy, as Rini said, the platinum highlights (silver hair) coming in on its own. The damage and brassiness just isn't worth it, and I want really long hair.

Currently at BSL, about 1/3 my length is still bleached. It's very orange/yellow/gold, which, when clean, looks good, BUT when dirty, and the rest of my hair is darker looking, looks really brassy and fake. Updos often look really bad, as the ends are not only thin and dry but a radically different color from my hair at the roots.

Also, I find I have the typical "blonde" hair problems - somehow, I feel like fine hair and lighter hair are intrinsically connected, with many finehaired natural blondes darkening to what I call "hair colored" hair as they get older, but keeping that fragile, translucent hair. In addition to the white eyebrows, I BURN like a madwoman when exposed to more than 15 minutes of direct sun.

Recently I wanted to buy some sunscreen bronzing powder, and one brand had just two colors - "for blondes" and "for brunettes." the "for blondes" was pink and peach-ish in tone; the "for brunettes" more cinnamon, and suited me better. Odd, because I really FELT blonde buying powder to enhance my nonexistent tan.

I think I spend way too much time thinking about "am I blonde" just because I spent so many years thinking of myself as blonde. :silly:

[Delenn]

I'm probably no help since I am notoriously lazy with color maintenance, in fact I only re-henna every 3 months or so even with my blonde roots! (eep!) I bun most of the time so it really isn't too noticeable, that's my preferred defense. =p

With my natural color the only things I actually did to it was let the sun do it's thing or let a stylist add highlights. I loved the highlighted look I was able to get when I found someone who was patient enough to do it right, I have a lot of hair so just slapping some streaks on there wasn't going to cut it for me. Sadly that stylist shut down her business without warning and I hadn't found anyone like her since then and that happened in like 91-92. I would probably still be blonde if she was around!

[Phalaenopsis]

I also think it goes a bit together, blond hair and fine hair.
I'm a dark blonde and luckily I don't really have problems with brassiness. (Lush has a Violet shampoo that is supposed to be great for blondes and greys to keep the brassiness away)
Chammomile and honey do wonders for my hair. Makes my hair shine a lot more :)

I also have to be really careful in the sun, not only for my skin, but also for my hair. One time I had really light, translucent ends because I only protected the top of my head.

[Rini]

Oh wow!! So GOOD to see blondes I haven't seen in ages: blondecat, Sian (who had the original archived Bottle blonde thread) and Franny :waving: Thank you so much for joining in and sharing your blonde tips

Riot, you are a henna head now? That's so cool! hehehehe Interesting about the oils comment making your hair darker. Some oils seem to do that, and some don't. I have just discovered Camelia oil which is in the latter category, so that's great!

Katze, I could totally relate to your post. I was born white blonde and gradually over the years darkened to my current blonde. My colouring is quite odd though: hazel eyes, yellow tones to my very pale skin. I wasn't sure I suited "Rini Red", and I'm not totally convinced on the ash blonde, but it is my natural hair tones that should suit me best right? Are you babying your ends then, even though they have damage? I am keeping mine for a couple of years I think, then starting the gradual trims. I really want to get back to the length I was when I was doing henna, then start to grow it out again.

Thanks again girls....can't wait to read more from the blondes :D

[justgreen]

Well Rini! So glad to see you back posting. I am one who misses your henna head, but I love your blondness too!

I'm spoiled, like Carolyn, and let my hairdresser do most of the work. I only pay around $40 every 6 weeks or so to get my roots done. Last time, she bleached the roots, and did dark foils. It looks much better growing in and I think I'll do the same next time.

I use diluted shampoo for blondes and stay away from the purple stuffs. Actually I'm wanting to try a drop of Bluing in my distilled water rinse, but I think I'll do a test swatch first.

[goldilocks]

Hi Rini, I like the blonde. It siuts you. :) I have found that exclusively CO'ing tends to make my hair darker looking. So I tend to mix it up a bit either CO when it seems a bit drier or CWC when it seems a bit dark looking. Or then just plain shampoo and conditioner when I think it need to be refreshed or clarified. No real pattern I just go by how my hair feels.

I am naturally a med/dark blonde I was really light blonde when I was little but alas it darkened, so now I get it highlighted between 8-12 weeks or so. Iwent through a stretch where I tried some demi perm colors but they all tended after a couple of weeks to go gold on me. I am more of an ashy blonde color. So i try and stay away from gold. Maybe I'll come up with other stuff later.

[Oberon88]

I am blonde, and I am curious, what does vinegar do for your hair?

[Riot Crrl]

I am blonde, and I am curious, what does vinegar do for your hair?

It can do a few things. It can clarify somewhat, if the things you are trying to clarify are not too persistent like silicones. It can make the cuticle lie flatter, resulting in more shininess. Which can be especially helpful following an activity that made the cuticle stand up, like a heat treatment, color treating, or putting anything alkaline on there. It can possibly help with colorfastness.

Some people don't like it though.

[joyful373]

I'm a natural blonde, although I'm definitely a dark ash blonde. I have very fine hair (a lot of it, but fine), and have tried my hand at dying. However, I'm back to my natural shade. I don't really use a lot of products that are tailor-made for blondes. In fact, I use AC vinegar in my vinegar rinses. My hair seems to like it, and hasn't darkened- just become more shiny. I agree with those who mentioned chamomile- I like to add it as a rinse with the vinegar. I also use honey. I think my hair loves moisture. I suppose that's it. :)

Oberon.. although I'm not a guru, I'll try my hand at explaining.... Vinegar rinses (dilluted with water) can help to smooth down the hair's cuticle after washing. It also can help balance the PH (being acid and all). There are many threads on here that provide more information. I hope that helps. Many people find that Apple cider vinegar (ACV) will darken hair- so they choose to use white vinegar.

[joyful373]

Riot Currl beat me to the vinegar post :) Great explanation :)

[Oberon88]

Thanks for clarifying you guys!

and Joyful, I also dont use alot of those products made for blondes. My grandma sent me a bunch of 'Blonde shampoo" and it made my hair really greasy...

[Flaxen]

Hi Rini :waving: I really like your blonde color, and I think it suits you very well. :grin:

I also am darkening from white blonde as a child, and I will continue to darken (a lot :blueeek: ) before going gray (very late), judging by how other female relatives' hair has aged. Before I found the boards, I was using Ultress Champagne 7AG (yes, ash gold, lol) once or twice a year just to brighten the dullness a bit, but I quit it, along with 'cones, in an effort to stop the breakage I was having. It worked, and now I'm trying to embrace my natural color. I like it, but it's difficult because I think it's pretty common among blondes to like going lighter and fight going darker.

Up until recently, I was shampooing with Earthly Delight liquid, soap based shampoo, and my conditioner was a vinegar and honey rinse. I used ACV, but in such a weak dilution (1 tsp. each, ACV and honey in 1 pint water) that I didn't notice any color change. When my hair was fully dry, I applied a drop or two of camellia oil (still do; more on that in a minute). I also did a quarterly Phytomoelle treatment (now discontinued) with a heat cap. Fortunately, I have a nice stash, lol.

My biggest problems are these: So many products (leave-ins, heavy conditioners) and routines (CO, baking soda, herbs) make my hair look darker, and every time I find a conditioner I do like, it gets discontinued or reformulated. I'm really sick of it, so...

I'm experimenting with Indian herbs again. :D The last two washes have stained my hair a bit, but they have left the length softer and silkier and for a longer time than anything I have ever tried. I prewashed with coconut oil, and applied the camellia oil on my dry hair as before.

I am really hoping to come up with a recipe that won't stain. I did it once before, but it cleaned too well, and my poor, dried out hair actually crackled with static when I combed it. :wail: Aritha (soapnut) is the cleanser, and it is used to wash saris, so it can't be what is staining. I'm pretty sure it's one of the conditioning herbs. I just have to keep trying recipes.

Well, that's where I am. :grin:

[kettle]

I'm a natural blonde, though I'm closer to the ginger end of the scale than you rini! The only thing I really do to bring out the natural tones in my hair is, I use cammomile tea as a spritzer, pretty much daily. I'm not sure it has any real effect, but I know I wouldn't use it if I wasn't blonde!
I have found that cassia seems to give extra shine and, to my mind at least, define and bring out the different tones in my hair.
However: the best thing for me in terms of enhancing my blonde - lightening and bringing out its different shades - is just letting it have a little sun. That is, what little sun we get here in the UK... :p

Congratulations on rediscovering your Blonde! :cheese:

[shellblue1]

I'm an ex-blonde so I can help some. Hmm, all I can really think of is:

-Baby your hair because blonde/bleached hair can be more prone to breakage.

-When you have your roots done, don't let the colorist overlap the color/bleach because it will cause your hair to break off.

[shelleybean]

Another blondie checking in. I have to agree with Flaxen that almost all blondes are trying to retain the brightest version of their particular color. :) Myself included. It can be challenging as a lot of things that are healthy for your hair can darken even just too much conditioner will do it for me. I am most horrified by my hair when it looks too dark to me because of over conditioning and tend to want to throw a bag over my head when it happens, though I doubt anyone else would notice or think I'm "not blonde" when it looks that way.

Things I do for my hair...wash fairly regularly, greasy roots means dark hair for me and it is impossible to hide without actually covering it with a hairband or scarf. I try to condition in stages as well, I use conditioner in the shower but follow with a light leave-in that doesn't cause darkening for me (BWC leave-in at the moment)mostly on the length. I find this helps a lot with the overall condition. Camilia oil is really fabulous stuff and I'm so glad folks started talking about it here recently. I find I can put much more of it in than I can other oils with very little greasyness. I also do overnight conditioning of my sleep braid. Usually with the camelia oil, focusing on the tassel and smoothing what's left on the outside of the braid.

I think most of the LHC haircare advice works for us blondies except too much of a good thing can really affect our color more than it would a brunette or red-head.

I was really surprised to see you go away from the henna but your natural color looks lovely. It definitely works with your coloring though the henna did too. :) Your very versatile.

[julya]

As a child I had the palest blonde hair. It started to darken in middle school, and now it's at the dark end of blonde. I am not super attached to having light hair, but I too would like to find a routine that suits my hair color.

WO, CO have produced darker looking roots, which makes my hair appear dirty. I want to try my hand at herbal washes, but I am nervous about staining my hair.

[spidermom]

Compared to most of you who posted here, I am brunette. But I do have my blonde moments:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/blondes.jpg
I don't do anything to my hair but CWC with diluted shampoo, occasional deep moisture treatment, regular trimming, and oiling. It has always had red and gold tones, but I made it look a lot more ashy with a senna mix awhile back. The color comparison is in my blog if anyone cares to look. It's back about 6 entries ago; good photos.

[Rini]

Ah the darkening problem that Goldilocks, Flaxen and Shellybean were all talking about......I have that too! I didn't realise how using certain oils or products will make such a difference to how light/dark your hair appears until now :shrug: You really notice when you are stretching the time between washes don't you? And I find if I don't comb my hair, it is quite a lot darker than if I comb it. Weird! :confused:

Flaxen, I'm interested in your Indian herb washing experiment. I hope you will keep us updated. I have a good collection of Indian herbs (and a good collection of Saris.....but I digress!) and have not experimented with them since I was a redhead. Might be worth looking into again though.

Spidermom, I looked for the Senna pics in your blog but could not find them? I would love to see the colour difference. Intriguing about it making your hair ashier....sounds like something I should try too!

[Speedbump]

Rini, I am a natural dark blond who has never colored, and the main challenge I face if I want to keep my color "natural" is minerals in my water depositing in my hair. I have hard water here, and the iron and manganese in the water tend to give me a reddish-brown cast after a while. I start really noticing it after about a year.

I usually do a super-clarifying shampoo/treatment once every couple of years -- or if it's really bad, once a year. In the past I used Aloe Rid shampoo and treatment, but they got rid of the shampoo. Now I use Aveda Detox shampoo with the Aloe Rid treatment after. Then I will spackle on a super-rich conditioner like SMT afterward and leave it on for a good half-hour before rinsing. I might also need to use a leave-in for a couple of weeks after doing this big clarifying treatment.

It sure works though! All of the red-brown goes away, and my hair looks markedly more blond than it had before, at least to me. And since I'm the one who cares, that's what counts. :D

Also, Spidermom, I have always considered you a dark blond. :cool:

[spidermom]

It was a pretty interesting shade change so I'm going to attempt to copy/paste pictures here.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/before.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/after0508.jpg

I used a product called "Smooth Move" in my hair because I'd heard of the conditioning properties of senna. It gave me such cramps that I knew I'd never drink it as tea again. I cut open the tea bags, mixed with conditioner, gooped it into my hair, put a shower cap over it, put a wool hat over that, and left it for about 2 hours. It took a soak in the bathtub to get all the particles out of my hair.

[LadyMoon11]

That's quite a noticeable color change, Spidermom. Looks like it definitely toned done some of the reddish hues.

Is this Senna the same plant as Cassia?

[justgreen]

I usually do a super-clarifying shampoo/treatment once every couple of years -- or if it's really bad, once a year. In the past I used Aloe Rid shampoo and treatment, but they got rid of the shampoo. Now I use Aveda Detox shampoo with the Aloe Rid treatment after. Then I will spackle on a super-rich conditioner like SMT afterward and leave it on for a good half-hour before rinsing. I might also need to use a leave-in for a couple of weeks after doing this big clarifying treatment.


. :cool:

Hey Speedy!
WE have the shampoo here at both wally world and Walgreens.

[spidermom]

That's quite a noticeable color change, Spidermom. Looks like it definitely toned done some of the reddish hues.

Is this Senna the same plant as Cassia?

I am not positive, but I believe it is. Same family of plants, anyway.

[Carolyn]

Hi Rini :waving: I'm coloring and high lighting mine to cover my silvers and keep up with that sun kissed look I loved in years past. When I use vinegar, I always use white vinegar. I never use ACV as it really does add red tones in my hair. I want to stay very ashy blonde. I'm also fond of the blue and violet shampoos and conditioners. I try to use them maybe once a week and it seems to help keep me ashier and away from the gold and red tones. I add a few drops of bluing to my version of the HALO rinse. I don't know if it does anything but I don't think it can hurt.

[Sian100]

Also, Spidermom, I have always considered you a dark blond. :cool:

I agree- her hair looks blonde to me too.

[spidermom]

I've always thought of it as blonde, too. It was very light during childhood.

But my DD insists that, while I may have been blonde at one time, I am now brunette. She's very opinionated and always right (bless her heart). Compared to those of you who use bottle blonde especially, my hair looks quite dark. Compared to Shellybean, too.

That's o.k.; it's becoming more silver all the time.

[rhubarbarin]

I don't think of myself as blonde, but I guess I am now.. I have light brown hair when it's short (which it was for years), but it bleaches dramatically and very fast in the sun. So as of now my hair lightens a lot down the length, and I have bright blonde ends and highlights. Just one day in the sun makes a difference.

Unlike most people it seems I am trying very hard to keep my hair darker! I think my two or three-tone hair looks beautiful, but the sun is so damaging.

[savi]

A blonde checking in. :waving: It's not all my own shade of blonde though, but I do have 14 months worth of my own hair color peeking through.

I don't mind the slight darkening caused by CO, or some other sources of darkening. I'm more bothered if it gets brassy or too yellow looking. Which reminds me I need to use some toner soon. Even though I am golden (?)blonde by nature, I don't like too much golden color, picky perhaps?

I have a creaping suspicion that jojoba oil darkens the hair color a bit, but I'm not completely sure yet. Honey also seems to add some golden tone.

[Shell]

Another natural blonde checking in! I've never been a white blonde, it's always been honey, ashy, or strawberry. I have darkened with age, but if I spend time in the sun it tends to lighten up quite a bit. I guess I get a bit of damage on the ends, but not too bad, and not enough to keep me out of the sun.

I have noticed some darkening from oils; in fact, I think all oils do it--I haven't noticed too much difference in different types. Natural shampoos and soap bars also seem to darken, but I'm convinced that commercial shampoos have something in them that helps lighten/or at least cool hair tone--maybe that's my imagination, but when I used those drug store products, my hair tended to be lighter and ashier. Now that I use all natural, it's definitely redder.

I'm doing HO again too, and I think that the aritha and amla mix I'm using is keeping my hair blonder; however the oils I have started using again may change that!

Flaxen, amla is reported to darken, but I've not found that to be true. You're using Tulsi right? I think that may darken, as does neem. I don't remember your exact mix, but I know that you've got 5 or 6 herbs in it, right? Also, if you let the mix sit for a while, that's supposed to make the amla "dye release" (again, I'm not sure this is happening, but that's what I've read). I always use it right away, just in case.

And spidermom, I hate to tell you and your DD, but you're a blonde baby--live with it!

Oh, and Rini, you are lovely as always; it's nice to have you back.

ETA: Chamomile, cassia, and marigold all tend to enhance yellow tones (or green for me in the case of cassia!), so don't use them if you want an ashy tone. Stick to blue/violet shampoos or lemon juice, but use lemon juice carefully, as it can be quite drying.

[Ponytale]

Great post!

Wow Spidermom, I am awfully tempted by the Senna. I like my hair ashy--and your color change is exactly what I would like. I found honey worked to do this, but since it had to sit so long *and* was mixed with conditioner, my hair got darker at the same time... half a dozen of one, six of the other.

Shell--I am so glad you posted the results of Cassia. I have been tempted to try it, but I worried about the potential yellow cast.

[goldilocks]

spidermom, I really like the change thaqt Senna made it loks great. It might be a good rinse for me to use when my hair starts to go gold. I'll have to try it out. maybe my local health food store has leaf senna that I could try out.

[Magdalene]

Natural blonde here! I too notice darkening if I use pretty much any styling product, heavy conditioner, or oil. Must wash with shampoo pretty much daily, as I exercise alot. I think I've gotten more strawberry over the last year or two, whether that's due to the hard water here or since I've been going cone-free I dunno.

[Flaxen]

You really notice [darkening] when you are stretching the time between washes don't you?
Oh, yes, definitely!


Flaxen, I'm interested in your Indian herb washing experiment. I hope you will keep us updated. I have a good collection of Indian herbs (and a good collection of Saris.....but I digress!) and have not experimented with them since I was a redhead. Might be worth looking into again though.
I sure will keep you updated. I did another wash last night, but it wasn't quite right, so I have nothing to report, lol.




Flaxen, amla is reported to darken, but I've not found that to be true.
I've read that, too. I noticed that an amla rinse left a tan stain on the shower curtain liner as well the caulk between the tile and the tub. It was very light, but it was there, nonetheless. I hope I won't have to give up the amla, because that's what gives my hair the silkiness.

You're using Tulsi right? I think that may darken, as does neem. I don't remember your exact mix, but I know that you've got 5 or 6 herbs in it, right?
I'm eliminating them one at a time, so it's going to take a few weeks :lol:, but the tulsi was the first to get the boot. Neem, too? Mine is very, very pale, so hmm...

Also, if you let the mix sit for a while, that's supposed to make the amla "dye release" (again, I'm not sure this is happening, but that's what I've read). I always use it right away, just in case.
Use it right away? Yes, I'll try that. Thanks, Shell! :grin:


And spidermom, I hate to tell you and your DD, but you're a blonde baby--live with it!
Totally agree, and I really like your shade!

[spidermom]

Somebody suggested as a blog comment that it might have been the cinnamon bark in the Smooth Move preparation rather than the senna that made the color appear more ashen.

[chloeishere]

Am I blonde? I'm in that pesky zone where I generally just agree with whatever people are saying at the time. Blonde? Sure. Light Brown? Close enough.
I had medium blonde hair as a kid, but I always felt that my hair wasn't "yellow" enough to be blonde, so I guess I never really associated with being "blonde" that strongly.
I have noticed that my hair darkens easily-- any sort of deep treatment generally darkens it (but only for a day or two, until the next wash). Most oils darken it. I did used to use white vinegar instead of ACV to prevent color change, but now (if I use an acid rinse at all) I use citric acid, which also won't cause a color change.
I kind of like the extra tones and depth my color gets when it's darker, but I also feel like it looks dirty when it's darker, so I'm constantly trying to decide between liking the darkness and thinking I look dirty. :lol:
Well, you can see my siggie. Am I blonde?

Spidermom, you are definitely blonde! Though I have seen shots of your hair where you look dark brown, too! Your hair is multi-tonal, that's for sure!

[daydreamer]

I'm in the same camp as you, Chloe -- never sure what color my hair is, is it blonde or brown? My natural hair is nearly the same color as yours, I do have blonder ends from past dye.
I was golden blonde as a kid, but it darkened as I got older. Still, it seems a wee bit too light to be brown. I dunno.
Anyway, it might be my imagination but it seemed that apple cider vinegar made mine darker when I was using it.

[spidermom]

Am I blonde? I'm in that pesky zone where I generally just agree with whatever people are saying at the time. Blonde? Sure. Light Brown? Close enough.
I had medium blonde hair as a kid, but I always felt that my hair wasn't "yellow" enough to be blonde, so I guess I never really associated with being "blonde" that strongly.
I have noticed that my hair darkens easily-- any sort of deep treatment generally darkens it (but only for a day or two, until the next wash). Most oils darken it. I did used to use white vinegar instead of ACV to prevent color change, but now (if I use an acid rinse at all) I use citric acid, which also won't cause a color change.
I kind of like the extra tones and depth my color gets when it's darker, but I also feel like it looks dirty when it's darker, so I'm constantly trying to decide between liking the darkness and thinking I look dirty. :lol:
Well, you can see my siggie. Am I blonde?

Spidermom, you are definitely blonde! Though I have seen shots of your hair where you look dark brown, too! Your hair is multi-tonal, that's for sure!

The current sig picture makes your hair look a shade of red to me, or auburn, which just might mean that you're blonde. I've got pictures where my hair looks quite red, too.

[spidermom]

I'm in the same camp as you, Chloe -- never sure what color my hair is, is it blonde or brown? My natural hair is nearly the same color as yours, I do have blonder ends from past dye.
I was golden blonde as a kid, but it darkened as I got older. Still, it seems a wee bit too light to be brown. I dunno.
Anyway, it might be my imagination but it seemed that apple cider vinegar made mine darker when I was using it.

Your pictures look about the same shade as my hair! I think we're blondes. ACV really brings out the red in my hair. I like white vinegar better. I like no vinegar best. It makes my hair crazy-fly-away.

[HeatherAngela]

Another blonde here who also has to wsh frequently to keep the dark greasies away. I can't stand the dark color it gets when it starts to get greasy. I was white blonde as a kid and I think my hair is similar to what the hair samples are for a level 7 or 7 1/2 blonde dye but mine is natural. My decision to stop dyeing was made easier by the fact that I could buy my natural color in a box if I wanted so why not save the money.

[daydreamer]

Your pictures look about the same shade as my hair! I think we're blondes.

Hey, I think you're right! I just looked at your profile picture and our hair is indeed the same color. Ok, I'll be blonde then. Teehee.

[awesometruffle]

Another natural blonde here. :waving: Like many of you, I've gone from white blonde as a young kid to much darker blonde as an adult, to the point where, if my hair is dirty and up, it's been called brown before. I would say my hair is more yellow-blonde than ashy, and a lot of the blonde comes from natural highlights (much enhanced by the sun, I'm sure, but I've hardly seen sun for the past 6 months, and they haven't gone away.) Underneath, my hair is more of a light brown. Unlike many of you, I'm actually wanting to enhance the red tones a bit, but I haven't tried yet. I don't think I usually do anything special because I'm blonde, although I agree with the frustration of color changes between washes.

My husband says my hair picks up the tones of whatever colors it is near--so when I wear green, my hair looks greenish. :scared: Do any of the rest of you have this problem?

I actually tried a honey leave-in session (as in the honey thread type) for the first time last week, and I'm still trying to decide if it did anything. If it did, I think it might have lightened the bottom layers of my hair some, or made their color more grease resistant. My husband also thinks it may have helped with some of the "hair blending in with surroundings" issue. I'm a bit perplexed, though--honey is supposed to lighten, not to dye.

Anyway, enough ramblings from me.

[talullah]

I usually do a super-clarifying shampoo/treatment once every couple of years -- or if it's really bad, once a year. In the past I used Aloe Rid shampoo and treatment, but they got rid of the shampoo. Now I use Aveda Detox shampoo with the Aloe Rid treatment after.


Speedy, where are you purchasing the Aloe Rid Treatment? I searched for it about a year and a half ago and ended up writing Nexxus about it-- they said it had been discontinued. Since then, I've only been able to find the shampoo. :confused:

-----

I'm a very dark blonde with a lot of gold tones. It's natural now; I stopped bleaching it about 4 years ago. As a child I had a medium golden blonde color. Unlike most of our other blondes here, I prefer golden tones rather than a cool ash blonde. The gold goes well with my warm, yellow-undertoned skin. (Assuming it doesn't get too brassy! I haven't had brassiness issues since growing out my natural color, thankfully.)

I have trouble with hard water depositing red tones into my hair, so I do a distilled water rinse after each wash (or after any contact with tap water!) ACV does the same thing; I don't use it.

Honey seems to turn my hair more orange than blonde. It also changes the color of all my hair, rather than activating random streaks of highlights. (Sorry, I don't know how to explain that well.) I prefer a highlighted look, personally. So, I don't use honey.

Chamomile does a great job of activating my golden highlights. I did a few rinses last summer, and this summer I'm going to experiment with misting rather than rinses. (Apparently I lose interest in the winter. :lol:)

I'm with you guys regarding dirty/greasy hair being darker. Grr! My hair looks its blondest right after I've shampooed the heck out of it.

[brok3nwings]

hello there! im so glad Rini iniciatted this thread! I was really needing it
I am a natural dark golden blonde (not brassy and not too golden either), i really like my natural colour but i was stupid and when my hair was short i wanted to enrace my natural with highlights and what the stylist did was to put a toner after and well, ive been trying to get rid of the brassy tones that really gets me mad!! I hate that yellow fake blonde...i am golden but i hate brassyness! I will probably have to try a stronger toner...right now im using Redken Pure Pearl but it is not a strong one... i am growing my natural and i think i have right now about 4 or 5 inches of virgin. I dont think the lightness at my ends bothers me, what bothers me is the tone difference. My virgin roots are much more cooler than the rest..or at least not yellow.

Spidermom does cinnamon combats brassiness? its because i made one time a honey treatment and i put a lot of cinnamond...and my hair went much more ashy !!

When my hair was a natural colour i did nothing specific for it. I liked it the way it was, i didnt do anything besides washing it... but it worked! I think the mane problem for me is blond from dye.
I love the sun in my hair, i love natural highlights (i personally dont like blonde hair without them) but im having problems because i think that sun does bring the brassiness only on my dyed hair :( Any advice?

Ah! I dont have problems with the dirty hair, my hair tends to be dry and even when i have dirty roots when my hair was virgin i didnt bother much. My friends tells me that right now as i have virgin and dyed hair when my hair is dirty or oily she says she can see better the different tones. Probably the dark parts stay more darker than the light parts..and it makes more contrast

[spidermom]

I like my golden tones, too, although I think the ashy tones from the Smooth Move marinade looked pretty good. I don't particularly like the red tones, though; reminds me of my horrible experience with henna.

[lapushka]

I'm a natural blonde, although I'm definitely a dark ash blonde. I have very fine hair (a lot of it, but fine), and have tried my hand at dying. However, I'm back to my natural shade. I don't really use a lot of products that are tailor-made for blondes.

I'm a dark ash blonde too, fine haired and lots of it. :D Nice to meet you! I am currently growing out my hair color from a dyed blonde shade.

I don't use vinegar rinses at all (I thought that's only required when using soap bars because they're alkaline. Shampoos today aren't.

[brok3nwings]

Spidermom what is Smooth Move? And do you know anything about cinnamon and brassy tones?
Spidermom when i joined LHC i was tempted to try henna...once i had strawberry blonde and it made my eyes sooo green and my boyfriend loved it. I just think that if i went strawberry i would have to keep making aplicattions to avoid that terrible fading colour...
that is why i love natural colours! There is no fading !!!

[atlantaz3]

I started out with white hair when I was little and slowly darkened as I got older. I did lowlight / highlights last August and am trying to just let the sun add highlights this year. I have tried the honey treatment, but I think it turns my hair a funny beige color, so I do that sparingly and part of smts. My problem with "natural" highlights is my hair is too thick and I end up with a funny bi-tone split that show when I wear my hair up - with the under layer a dark blonde. (That's when I end up going to the hair dresser to sort of even everything out - my hair grows too slow for me to play with home coloring - and I'm chicken.)

[joyful373]

I'm a dark ash blonde too, fine haired and lots of it. :D Nice to meet you! I am currently growing out my hair color from a dyed blonde shade.

Nice to meet you too Lapushka :) I know what you mean about shampoos- I use the vinegar wash pretty sparingly..mostly after a deep conditioning, or back when I broke out the shampoo bars :)

[Rini]

hello there! im so glad Rini iniciatted this thread! I was really needing it
I am a natural dark golden blonde (not brassy and not too golden either), i really like my natural colour but i was stupid and when my hair was short i wanted to enrace my natural with highlights and what the stylist did was to put a toner after and well, ive been trying to get rid of the brassy tones that really gets me mad!! I hate that yellow fake blonde...i am golden but i hate brassyness! I will probably have to try a stronger toner...right now im using Redken Pure Pearl but it is not a strong one... i am growing my natural and i think i have right now about 4 or 5 inches of virgin. I dont think the lightness at my ends bothers me, what bothers me is the tone difference. My virgin roots are much more cooler than the rest..or at least not yellow.


Ah you're welcome :D Good that you mentioned the Redken Pure Pearl, I use that too sometimes. I like how it does make a very subtle difference and is good when you feel like some cones once in a while :thumbsup:

I LOVE reading all the info here from fellow Blondes :cheese:

[Curlsgirl]

Hi! Here I am! Love this thread, I need all the tips I can get! Rini, you KNOW it but I am SO glad you are back too!!! Your hair looks beautiful blonde, really suits your coloring!

I have been blonde most of my life. I had light blonde hair up until about 3rd grade and it turned darker, to a golden dark blonde mostly. I started using sun-in in about 7th grade probably and then pretty quickly went to highlights in a box and then Loreal. I kept my hair short so it did very well and stayed pretty healthy. Then I decided to grow it longer when I came here. It was VERY dry and bleached looking even though I was just using highlift color. Underneath was very reddish since my hair was medium brown and the blonde wouldn't lift it all the way. I was also pulling my color through every other time which gave the other part and especially the ends the bleached blonde color or lack of :shudder:.

So I started using a darker color closer to my natural when I came here and doing the roots only. I used a temporary color that became permanent to even it up more. I had small trims and gradually it became MUCH healthier. I decided after careful consideration that I would get highlights recently and my siggy pic shows them. I LOVE them! my hair still feels very healthy though a bit drier.

My best tips from years of blonding:

1. Try not to use heat any more than occasionally
2. NO irons!
3. No pulling color through to the ends EVER.
4. A leave-in is a MUST
5. For ME, cones seems to contribute to dryness mostly though I use them occasionally
6. Ends are delicate so take TIME to detangle VERY gently from the ends. I do it at night while watching TV and relaxing now. I find I don't rush as much.
7. Be three times as kind to your hair as other who do not color
8. Protect with a hat and updos when out in the sun if at all possible, sun is damaging.
9. Use diluted shampoo that is color-safe
10. Shampoo as infrequently as possibly
11. I don't trim a lot anymore as I am trying to grow but I do microtrims probably every 2 or 3 months, maybe 1/4 inch or less.

[dukkelisa]

I am natural blonde. I know that for me, I must use clear/white shampoo. If I use coloured it eventually tints my hair.

[goldenwaves]

Hi, I'm a natural blonde, but my Mum's hair went brown, and I hope mine doesn't do the same. Nothing against brunettes, but I love being blonde! I don't really use any special products. Sometimes I use shampoo designed for blonde hair or speical shampoo to make it more shiny/encourage the blondeness! I love blonde hair :)

[morgwn]

I had white-blonde hair when I was little and it's definitely darkened up over the years. It's definitely been sun-dependent for many years, at there's an extreme difference when I'm doing a lot of outdoor activities versus when I'm stuck indoors. This past year we had a very rainy year in Britain and a fellow I hadn't seen for about a year I ran into in March and he commented that he hardly recognised me because of the change in my hair colour. :( But now that we had some nice weather again and I've been back outside, my hair has lightened up very quickly and it's a noticeable difference, especially when outdoors.

I presently don't put any colourant on it, but I do use a cassia/honey combination about once a month or every two months to thicken up my hair and also to lighten it a smidgen. I have bleached my hair before when it was really short (about an inch long to 3 inches long) and couldn't possibly try that again. It was fine when my hair was short because it kept getting cut off, but my hair is very sensitive to chemicals.

I presently use CO and oil my hair's ends and then put my hair up, so I'm finally getting light to the underside of my hair and that's lightening a bit. I'm hoping by the end of the summer that my colour differences caused by the year of rain are much less.

[spidermom]

Spidermom what is Smooth Move? And do you know anything about cinnamon and brassy tones?
Spidermom when i joined LHC i was tempted to try henna...once i had strawberry blonde and it made my eyes sooo green and my boyfriend loved it. I just think that if i went strawberry i would have to keep making aplicattions to avoid that terrible fading colour...
that is why i love natural colours! There is no fading !!!

Smooth Move is an herbal tea that stimulates bowel function. It's primary ingredient is senna. When I used it for my bowels, it cramped me up so bad that I knew I'd never drink it again. That's why I tried it on my hair. It certainly toned down the red/golden in my hair, but I have no idea how long the effect will last.

[Joliebaby]

Hi, I'm back after more than a year of absence from the boards! I cut my hair to a pixie about a year ago to get rid of some icky color and have been practicing benign neglect since. Now my biggest goal is to stay away from drastic color changes ( and the growth just happens).

I'm a natural blonde, level 8 I think and level 7 underneath perhaps? As my hair grows from the roots it is more of a neutral blonde, but I really like a strong golden/honey blonde on me, the color of "old gold" as my grandma used to say.
Using honey,cinnamon and chamomile is my best bet brightening my hair naturally and bringing out the warmer tones that lurk in my hair and would normally show up with sun exposure and general long time wear on the hair....
I'm not completely ruling out some subtle highlights at some point if I feel like it.

I'm probably no use at all, as my hair isn't that blonde and I don't have to fight brassiness or odd tones.
I do remember Rini well, and I must say you look great as a blonde :D

[Unnamed]

Dark ashy?/whatever blonde. It can look anywhere from a medium blonde to a medium brown in pics, depending on lighting/cleanliness/etc. I've dyed lighter, and darker (and the bottom half or so of my hair is old black dye).

It's also very, very fine, and I do seem to have issues with the buildup/darkening from various things. I wish it'd stay the colour it is right after clarifying (baking soda, then citric acid), and not darken both with washes and with time. My hair lightens very easily in the sun, but it doesn't get much sun (as my skin has issues with UV light). I might actually see if I can get my hair some sun this year, if only to even the difference between the parts that DO get a bit. :lol:

Sometime I want to try that Aloe Rid treatment (or something similar??), as I've never tried an actual product like that, and we have nasty hard water. Right now clarifying doesn't seem to be doing as much as it used to, and I'm thinking something like that might help?

Anyway, some random things and what they do to my hair:
Chamomile -- Er, darker? I get why on the lighter parts (and they blend more with the bulk), but not on the rest (as isn't my hair too dark for that? anyway...). It's like dirty hair type darker, so...meh.
Honey -- Actually lightens/brightens/de-brasses a bit. So it must somehow be a bit clarifying, given others seem to have the opposite result.
Nizoral means less golden/brassy end result -- it's blue, so I'm assuming it's because it's acting as a mild toner.
I've only used white vinegar, as I was afraid ACV would darken/reddify -- given EVOO used as pre-wash oiling seemed to make my hair a tad greenish, I went straight to the white (my hair hates vinegar, so I doubt I'll ever try ACV).

[Oberon88]

I've been following this thread since it started, and have been trying the various suggestions out.
I had white blonde hair as a young child, but since I was about 14 its gotten darker, but it's still pretty light *contemplates posting a picture* according to an index of blonde hair I found on the internet, I'm either light or bright golden blonde.
I haven't tried anything to combat brassiness (maybe because I'm not quite sure what brassy hair looks like) my main problem is dryness.
I trim regularly enough, and never use any kind of heat styling. I wear my hair down most of the time, which I probably should not do.... so that's probably damaging it.

So, can anyone define brassiness for me? Is it an unwanted dull sheen? Because that's whats coming to mind.

[Riot Crrl]

Brassiness is an unwanted orange or too yellow color. Some people want their hair cool ash blonde, so any yellow is too much. Others like their hair yellow, so they would only worry about brassiness if it tended to the orange side.

[Oberon88]

Brassiness is an unwanted orange or too yellow color. Some people want their hair cool ash blonde, so any yellow is too much. Others like their hair yellow, so they would only worry about brassiness if it tended to the orange side.

Thank you!

[kwaniesiam]

Not a blonde, but an admirers :)

Blonde is the only color I've never had on my hair, mostly because I'd have to bleach and damage it and I don't think it would look so good on me, but I'd love to try it someday.

[spidermom]

My internet service provider is running a feature that suggests 5 aspirin dissolved in a quart of water and used as a rinse removes unwanted yellowing in hair as well as buildup. Anybody ever try that?

[Shell]

I would call chloeishere a strawberry blonde or a light red head, and daydreamer, you are definitely blonde. I think that blondes with golden or darker hair often are made to not feel blonde (or blonde enough) because many people who bleach their hair make it so very light, that they feel un-blonde in comparison. But really, blonde is a different color than brown--even if it's quite dark. I have had women who bleach their hair tell me that I'm not blonde--which I find rather irritating to tell the truth.

ETA: I like the red tones that my hair has--so I don't try to be more ashy.

[morgwn]

Shell, I love your reddish tones! I definitely agree that you ARE blonde and should keep your colour and not go ashier.

In the sunshine I can actually look to be a strawberry-ish blonde and I love that colour of my hair although it seems to only show up in really bright light.

[goldenwaves]

http://www.blonde-ambition.co.uk/blondeshades.shtml <=== that's a link to a blonde index, incase anyone's curious :)

[Joliebaby]

I added a couple of pics to my album that show my hair color in the natural, cold, rainy day light of yesterday :) And you can see the natural color well, I have quite long virgin roots and a bit of some golden tint at the ends. The color difference to the pics taken with a flash, or in warm sunshine, is :bigeyes:

[Rini]

My internet service provider is running a feature that suggests 5 aspirin dissolved in a quart of water and used as a rinse removes unwanted yellowing in hair as well as buildup. Anybody ever try that?


Haven't tried that, but it is certainly do-able! Looks like a weekend project :D

Hey I was just reading the cinnamon thread in the henna forum and was wondering if anyone uses that regularly on their blonde hair? I'm a bit scared to try it as my sons both have bad reactions to cinnamon oil and I'm worried about what it might do to my scalp :eek:

[Curlsgirl]

I would call chloeishere a strawberry blonde or a light red head, and daydreamer, you are definitely blonde. I think that blondes with golden or darker hair often are made to not feel blonde (or blonde enough) because many people who bleach their hair make it so very light, that they feel un-blonde in comparison. But really, blonde is a different color than brown--even if it's quite dark. I have had women who bleach their hair tell me that I'm not blonde--which I find rather irritating to tell the truth.

ETA: I like the red tones that my hair has--so I don't try to be more ashy.I do too! Your hair is breathtaking! Have I told you that? ;)

[Minx]

Another natural checking in.

I worry about getting darker. I think because my natural isn't as light as most bottle blondes I come across IRL. My brother is still very blonde but my dad and sis (who where also white blonde as kids) are now dark brown. I was dating a dark brown haired guy years back... we were at the beach and he was so surprised (and a little freaked) that my hair went really dark when it was wet. I thought that was funny. What did he expect would happen??

I CO and use honey. I always do an extra cold rinse. I used to do ACV but I just don't have the room in our current tiny little shower room.

[Shell]

Thanks morgwn--I do think that you are a strawberry blonde, but lighter than my hair--a very pretty color. Thanks for the blonde support too!

Curlsgirl, what a lovely compliment! Your hair is divine--I always have curl envy when I see your pictures.

I think that that blonde index only works for very light blondes, and there's not much color variation--or is my monitor wonky?

[Unnamed]

I think that that blonde index only works for very light blondes, and there's not much color variation--or is my monitor wonky?
Your monitor isn't wonky -- there's only one 'dark' blonde in the list (ash), and I saw only 3 'medium' blondes toward the end. The rest is pretty much light or very light, so, nope, not as useful for us darker ones, except to see, "Yep, it's probably blonde of some sort," i.e., doesn't really help with the different tones within it. It's mostly shade differences in the lighter levels, rather than a wide variety across all the levels.

And, as others said, I've always thought of your hair as being in the blondes, and I think the red tones look nice. ;)

[Rini]

I was dating a dark brown haired guy years back... we were at the beach and he was so surprised (and a little freaked) that my hair went really dark when it was wet. I thought that was funny. What did he expect would happen??



Yes! My hair goes really dark when wet.....I'd say dark brown actually. It's about 5 shades difference. I did not notice that when my hair was red :confused:

[savi]

I was dating a dark brown haired guy years back... we were at the beach and he was so surprised (and a little freaked) that my hair went really dark when it was wet. I thought that was funny. What did he expect would happen??

Duh. :)
Natural blonde hair also appears darker when sleeked back against the scalp versus hair open or not so sleeked. That doesn't seem to happen with bottle blonds, imho. Or atleast mine does that.

[joyful373]

hmmm... according to the blonde index I'm somewhere between a dark ash blonde and medium golden blonde. I suppose I'm a little lighter than usual because of the sun? Thanks for the link goldenwaves!

[shelleybean]

You know even I've been told I'm not a "true" blond more a light brown?!!? :confused: Then I've also been told I'm not a "real" blond as in I must lighten my hair. *sigh* Can't please all the people all the time as they say.

Savi I'd agree pulling my hair back makes it look much darker at the front/scalp area which is a pain if you're trying to hide dirty hair. I'm definitely jealous of the folks who can pull their hair up when it's dirty to make it look better.

[Flaxen]

I was dating a dark brown haired guy years back... we were at the beach and he was so surprised (and a little freaked) that my hair went really dark when it was wet. I thought that was funny. What did he expect would happen??
His expectations might have come from TV. Pay close attention next time you see anything with blonde actresses and water. Just sayin'. ;)

[morgwn]

His expectations might have come from TV. Pay close attention next time you see anything with blonde actresses and water. Just sayin'. ;)

:lol: How true. My hair's always looked brown when wet except when I was little and white-haired. Hollywood-ers, however... not the same.

[HappyHaley]

I'm a natural blonde too. My hair has natural platinum highlights and a reddish undertone to it, not ashy at all. According to the blonde index, I'm either a medium golden blonde or a soft medium blonde. I'm the blondest in my family, all of us children (5 total, except the youngest who was born a brunette) started out as platinum blondes and once we stopped being babies, we darkened a little. My sisters have darkened more when they become teenagers and they really look like brunettes now. My brother is a little darker than me, maybe a dark ash blonde.

~Haley

[MrsB]

I am a blonde too, I seem to have some reddish highlights, it will lighten in the sun...

[spidermom]

Shelleybean, anybody grouping you with the browns is just plain color-blind! With my hair color, it's understandable. No offense to bottle blondes at all -- pretty colors! -- but sometimes I wish there were no such thing as bleaching because my hair color really looks dull in comparison to the level of light and bright that bleaching can achieve.

[yuccalyptus]

Natural blondes--do any of you have ashy roots but a yellow/warm length? I only recently noticed this about myself and I found it interesting.

[Blueglass]

I just tryed honey, and it really does lighten, with enough water. Use more tonight. I was overdoing it with henna and it was starting to hide my blonde streaks.

[firebird]

Wow, so much beautiful blonde hair! I recently tried CO, but found that it darkened my hair. I wonder if it is worth trying other conditioners or if this is general with blonde hair, as some others mentioned it darkened their hair too?

About cinnamon and blonde hair (Rini, I think it was you who asked? You look great as a blonde!) - I use it (powder, not oil) in my honey lightening treatments and it does help lighten. Definitely do a patch test first though, as it can be irritating if you use too much. Also, make sure you mix cinnamon with honey/water/conditioner/whatever else you're going to use *before* you put it on your head, as it's much more irritating and easier to get it on your skin if you try and put neat cinnamon on your head after. Cinnamon hasn't been damaging to my hair at all.

[Blueglass]

Minus the auburn notes from the henna, dark ash, and light pale blonde at temples. This shows more in life then in post henna photos because sometime the camera only sees the henna cassia layer.

[Riot Crrl]

Natural blondes--do any of you have ashy roots but a yellow/warm length? I only recently noticed this about myself and I found it interesting.

I totally had that. The last time my hair was natural, anyway.

[Unnamed]

yuccalyptus -- I think my hair is that way as well, although it's not noticeable in all lighting.

[Curlsgirl]

I'm a natural blonde too. My hair has natural platinum highlights and a reddish undertone to it, not ashy at all. According to the blonde index, I'm either a medium golden blonde or a soft medium blonde. I'm the blondest in my family, all of us children (5 total, except the youngest who was born a brunette) started out as platinum blondes and once we stopped being babies, we darkened a little. My sisters have darkened more when they become teenagers and they really look like brunettes now. My brother is a little darker than me, maybe a dark ash blonde.

~HaleyHaley I just wanted to tell you your hair is GORGEOUS!!! :thud:

[SugarBabydoll]

Another natural blonde here. I'm not sure what shade of blonde my hair is, I just call it light blonde.

I like to keep my hair cool toned which isn't very easy when I want to use as natural and gentle ways to wash and care for my hair as possible. I don't use anything (oils, herbs, vineger, conditioners and so on) in my hair that is darker than the hair itself. To enhance the cool tones I sometimes mix some (like a teaspoon) purple extreme colour with conditioner and let it sit in my hair for about 1/2 hour.

[Schnee]

I'm a natural blonde too, but darker and more honey coloured. I don't really use special products for blonde other than purple shampoo occasionally to get rid of discolouration and build-up from water and products. I too was white blond as a kid, but became darker over the years. I don't mind really, I like my colour and it's variations of tones and stripes.

Never boring to be blond. ;)

[FrannyG]

I admit to missing my natural dark blonde hair. I loved the natural highlights in it. It usually tended to photograph brown though, unless I was in the sun. Do any of you other dark blondes have that problem?

Now my natural colour is predominantly white, so my natural colour is long since a thing of the past.

Shelleybean, you are most definitely quite blonde. In every photo I've ever seen of your hair, it's most clearly blonde.

[morgwn]

I admit to missing my natural dark blonde hair. I loved the natural highlights in it. It usually tended to photograph brown though, unless I was in the sun. Do any of you other dark blondes have that problem?

Definitely! Especially if my hair is wet; I've got a photo that I've got to post of that at some point just to show the diff! I am learning to like my dark blonde colours better, however, as it shows my many shades of blonde. My tips and outer bits that have been 'sunned' are a lighter golden blonde and my hair on the underside is the dark blonde colour. When my hair is dry and the shades all mix together, it looks nice, especially in the sunshine. I've done the bleached colour before and it just washed me out, so that got crossed off my list. I just love my golden blonde colour much more than the darker colour and wish it would all be closer to that, but que sera, sera. :)

[Rini]

Thanks Firebird :) (and thanks to everyone else who complimented my blonde colour :inlove: )

Haley, I second curlsgirl....your hair is STUNNING!:thudpile:

I just have a quick pic to show you guys: my little boys and I on the weekend. I think it's interesting because it shows different shades of blonde! My youngest at the front (Denver) has what I would call dark ash blonde hair. My eldest son (Balin) has hair that is now a light brown colour (I don't think I can call it blonde anymore?). Both boys started out very pale blonde. Then there's my hair which looks rather drab in that pic actually:disgust:. It's not a good hair pic, but it does show the colour.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s144/missrini8/family/kidsplayground1.jpg

[Shell]

Your monitor isn't wonky -- there's only one 'dark' blonde in the list (ash), and I saw only 3 'medium' blondes toward the end. The rest is pretty much light or very light, so, nope, not as useful for us darker ones, except to see, "Yep, it's probably blonde of some sort," i.e., doesn't really help with the different tones within it. It's mostly shade differences in the lighter levels, rather than a wide variety across all the levels.

And, as others said, I've always thought of your hair as being in the blondes, and I think the red tones look nice. ;)

Thank you! And Shelleybean, you are definitely a blonde!

[naturechild]

Yeah I have arrived at BLONDE. weeee I had a post "I want my blond back and thanks to all of the help I DO!
I am naturally a blond and have been platinum to a dark golden Blond up until a little over a year ago when I thought "Hey, lets try dark brown" well I did and I did LOVE it for a little over 2 years, but then I missed my blond hair ;(.

after honey, then lemon rinses and more honey I lightened my hair but not the blond was. SO i took a page from RINI's book and did Color OOps and man Oh man I couldn't stop looking in the mirror! Its back and I love it. I thought the dark was coming back so I once again asked for advice and Rini and the girls came through again. (THANK YOU) I used a strong shampoo on it twice. I have great highlights again, with a darkish to med. golden blond.
yeah, now to keep it!

I know I will be checking this site for new ideas to keep it this way. thank you all so much I feel like myself again.

I have noticed poo bars darken my hair. Is that because the heavy oils?

[Magdalene]

What's color oops?

[Rini]

Magdalene....it's a colour remover. Others are: Colorfix, Uncolour.....they all do the same thing. Basically, they shrink the colour molecules of the dye and then they wash away leaving the hair underneath (and whatever colour that is). Very minimal damage too :)

[Magdalene]

Ah...I wish I'd known about that back in college! My one and only time with "24 shampoo" dye took 6 months to wash out!

[cobblersmaid]

I am a blonde. Started out white blonde, and now it varies from light blonde to nearly light brown depending on how old it is, and how much sun it gets. I think some of the original lightness is also from swimming in chlorine so much as a child/teen. My hair is coming in much darker (and healthier). I am still a blonde at heart, so I have tried many things over the past year to help maintain/ bring back the blonde.

I don't know how much they will help Rini, since I am a very gold/warm blonde, with lots of red tones.

Chamomile rinses help a bit. Jason colour enhancing shampoo brings out gold tones. The cleaner my hair is, the lighter it looks, so I wash a bit more than I used too, every 4-5 days. More would make it look lighter, but I am too lazy. CO made it look darker, so I am back to 'poo and condish. I recently switched to Trader Joe's Refresh, but still use the Jason blonde sometimes. Cassia is amazing for my hair. The condition improves, and it looks much more golden.

I broke down and highlighted my hair last January. I just used a drugstore boxed thing. I didn't pull it all the way down the length, since the ends are really blonde anyway. I also failed to leave it on long enough, so the results are really subtle. I may try again at some point. I didn't notice it damaging my hair, but it probably did.

Some things that didn't work are Lush "the blonde", and Marylin. I never tired the Daddy-o, since I need my gold tones.

I also think being careful with leave-ins is important. I need them, but I try to use only a little bit of Elucence, and The Body Shop's green tea gel (contains alcohol, bad me).

[groque]

does antone use lemon to lighten? I notice after a while my highlights don't show up like they did at first and was wondering if it is only with bleach.

[Phalaenopsis]

I admit to missing my natural dark blonde hair. I loved the natural highlights in it. It usually tended to photograph brown though, unless I was in the sun. Do any of you other dark blondes have that problem?

Yes, and I hate it that I can never show my true colour. :(

Other news: very silly actually, but my sister won with a lottery at a competition. She won a hairdresser shampoo :p It's a purple shampoo for people with blonde, bleached or grey hair. It has no cones, only SLE.
I had to clarify my hair, because my hair was full of cones due to my hairdresser's visit.
I washed with it and oh my gosh, do I have blonde hair now! The blonde in my hair really came to life!
It's a shampoo like the one from Lush, with a dark purple colour. I'm thinking about buying the Lush shampoo for grey/blonde hair since it has SLE on the third place of the ingredient list and for the rest there are no unnatural ingredients.
It's weird though washing your hair with purple stuff, I really was afraid my hair would look purple :eek:

[brok3nwings]

how many of you blondies do cassia treatments? As it has a yellow cast i am so afraid that trying it would make my hair look yellow!! I hate yellow i LOVE golden. Can you, blondes, tell me if there were any colour differences with cassia? Better/ Worst blonde?

[Rini]

Phalaenopsis: purple works well for me too....gets rid of the yellow tones (blue for the orange). What was the brand you used?

brok3nwings: I'm scared to do Cassia treatments too! I did see a photo of a member's hair (can't remember who!!) who did a Cassia treatment and her hair was quite golden afterward (but I think it was initially silvery???). I will have to go find out who that was now...................

[FrannyG]

I have cassia sitting in the cupboard and I'm afraid to use it too! But I love the stuff! :wail:

[HeatherAngela]

Watching here to see if anyone tries cassia as I'm afraid it will make my hair too yellow.

[FrannyG]

I think that I'll give cassia a whirl in a couple of weeks. The effect is temporary, after all. I'll do it about a week before I do a root touch-up. I'll be sure to report in. :)

[NorthernDancer]

Count me in this group too!

My dyed color is a champange/ash (I think it's an 8.5) color that is only a small bit lighter then my natrual color. I used to have really light blonde hair as a little kid, then it darkened to a medium blond for most of my childhood, but then it suddenly went to a dark ash / dishwater blonde. I didn't like that change. It didn't help that it happened very quickly. So my first hair coloring was to take it to a REALLY light blonde. Almost platinum. But I've slowly been working my way to my natrual color.

Recently I've been thinking about trying to go without coloring. I've been coloring for so many years I'm afraid of what my hair will look like without it though. If I remember right my hair was really hard to work with before I colored. The coloring made my hair smooth and soft.
I think I might try that color stripping stuff. That way I can see what it looks like without waiting for it to grow out. I think I'll keep a bottle of my normal color handy just in case I don't like it!

I've tried chamomile and it worked great! It washed out at my next shower though, so it would have to be an every time thing. And I've also been thinking about using cassia. I'll be intrested to see what results everybody here has!

[Phalaenopsis]

Phalaenopsis: purple works well for me too....gets rid of the yellow tones (blue for the orange). What was the brand you used?

It's Schwarzkopf professional. A shampoo only sold to hairdressers. Are there blue shampoos too to get out the reddish tone? That would be fantastic, but I've never seen a blue shampoo before.

[naturechild]

I actually have never seen a purple one either? were do you find these?

[brok3nwings]

naturechild: i have never seen it on supermarkets or anything like that...only on salons AND those professional shops that sells hairdryers, rollers, scissors, and a lot of hair products...and there are several blue/purple shampoos ;) They can be for blondes or for grey hair, but the deal is all the same, to take brassiness out!

Well i will wait until i see one of you using cassia as i dont have it with me and i wont have it soon...i would have to buy online and i dont know how long or expensive it would be for Portugal. So please keep me update about the results ;)

[Phalaenopsis]

I actually have never seen a purple one either? were do you find these?

Lush has one, smelling like violets :)

This is the effect of the Schwarzkopf:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a6/naturalgirl/haar24juni2008profile.jpg

[Curlsgirl]

Count me in this group too!

My dyed color is a champange/ash (I think it's an 8.5) color that is only a small bit lighter then my natrual color. I used to have really light blonde hair as a little kid, then it darkened to a medium blond for most of my childhood, but then it suddenly went to a dark ash / dishwater blonde. I didn't like that change. It didn't help that it happened very quickly. So my first hair coloring was to take it to a REALLY light blonde. Almost platinum. But I've slowly been working my way to my natrual color.

Recently I've been thinking about trying to go without coloring. I've been coloring for so many years I'm afraid of what my hair will look like without it though. If I remember right my hair was really hard to work with before I colored. The coloring made my hair smooth and soft.
I think I might try that color stripping stuff. That way I can see what it looks like without waiting for it to grow out. I think I'll keep a bottle of my normal color handy just in case I don't like it!

Warning! Please remember if you have colored with a lighter color, color stripping will NOT leave you with your natural color!!! It will only take off an color deposits and in your case it will not make it darker and maybe not a good color to leave by itself. The best way is to either use a semi perm or demi perm color to bring your hair back toward natural but if I were you I would go to a good salon to do that. It is hard to get light blond darker but you can do it and yours will be easier being only a bit lightened. Some people go and get a couple of treatments at the salon until it "sticks" to the hair and then grows out the same as their natural color. Another way would be to get lowlights as is grows until you even it up better. :love:


I actually have never seen a purple one either? were do you find these?

They have Clairol shimmer lights and a knockoff of it too at Sally's Beauty Supply. I think Aveda used to make one too but not sure if they still do. I used to use just the shimmer lights conditioner and that was enough. The shampoo was very drying for me.

[blondecat]

http://www.blonde-ambition.co.uk/blondeshades.shtml <=== that's a link to a blonde index, incase anyone's curious :)


OK according to that,

I am a bright Goldern Blonde with light goldern streaks and light ash underneath.

[Speedbump]

Hey Speedy!
WE have the shampoo here at both wally world and Walgreens.
Whoa! Really?! Maybe the brought it back! :cheese:Thanks! :D

[naturechild]

I will have to stop in to sally's tonight. What brand do you recommend? Lush? what is the cost?
violets sound nice!

[justgreen]

Aveda makes a Blue Malva, I know this because Carolyn uses it quite a bit.

[FrannyG]

I wish we had Sally's here in Canada. I'm constantly hearing about the great things you can get there. Do any Canadians know of a similar place? :confused:

[Speedbump]

Speedy, where are you purchasing the Aloe Rid Treatment? I searched for it about a year and a half ago and ended up writing Nexxus about it-- they said it had been discontinued. Since then, I've only been able to find the shampoo. :confused:
Well, before I COULD get the treatment and not the shampoo. And then Justy said she could get the shampoo. And then YOU did...so I went and looked at Drug Emporium, a local store we have here. (I just got back in fact.) They have BOTH! :cheese: I immediately bought a bottle of both because I've been needing to do a treatment REALLY badly. Hair is definitely turning reddish-brown and not in a good way.

Is it possible that Nexxus put it back on the market after lots of demand? Because there was a whole row of the treatment there, just like the shampoo. Either that or it's old stuff and I need to BUY IT NOW! :lol:

Speedy

[justgreen]

I think the treatment was discontinued, so you might want to snatch that stuff up! I know the shampoo is a regular item at Walgreen's, in the larger size. I find the smaller size at Walmart!

[LynnM]

I've recently returned to Blonde, having been a happy henna head for a number of years. My natural colour is a "dark blonde" shade with an ever increasing silver presence. The increasing silvers just made the henna red too hard to maintain so last year I went back to blonde.

Hey Rini!! :) How short did you cut your hair when you decided to return to blonde? Do you ever miss your red?

I am a natural "dirty" blonde with golden tones in the sun... although I haven't yet gone back to the blonde because I seem to get so much more attention from the red. (People don't believe that my natural color isn't red!)

Did anyone around you mourn your red, or discourage you from going back to blonde?

[Phalaenopsis]

I've googled a bit and I can't find a blue shampoo here :( The purple shampoo already did wonders, but I still want to get rid of the reddish tones. I'm completely clueless, no blue shampoo in sight...

[Riot Crrl]

Warning! Please remember if you have colored with a lighter color, color stripping will NOT leave you with your natural color!!! It will only take off an color deposits and in your case it will not make it darker and maybe not a good color to leave by itself. The best way is to either use a semi perm or demi perm color to bring your hair back toward natural but if I were you I would go to a good salon to do that. It is hard to get light blond darker but you can do it and yours will be easier being only a bit lightened. Some people go and get a couple of treatments at the salon until it "sticks" to the hair and then grows out the same as their natural color. Another way would be to get lowlights as is grows until you even it up better. :love:

This can also happen even if you didn't lighten at all. Box dyes usually use ammonia and peroxide to help the deposited dye stick. so even if you dyed it black, the hair without the black dye particles (after removing them with ColorFix or similar) can still be lighter than the virgin hair. It can also be uneven, brassy, and generally weird. Most people who ColorFix dye out have to tint over it in some way.

[Curlsgirl]

I've googled a bit and I can't find a blue shampoo here :( The purple shampoo already did wonders, but I still want to get rid of the reddish tones. I'm completely clueless, no blue shampoo in sight...

Do you have any beauty supply places that sell to the public at all there? If so, you could go in and ask them if they sell one. I guess you don't have Aveda over there huh? They used to make something called "Blue Malva" if I am not mistaken. You might google Aveda or Alveda blue malva shampoo and see if you come up with anything.

[Rini]

Hey Rini!! :) How short did you cut your hair when you decided to return to blonde? Do you ever miss your red?

I am a natural "dirty" blonde with golden tones in the sun... although I haven't yet gone back to the blonde because I seem to get so much more attention from the red. (People don't believe that my natural color isn't red!)

Did anyone around you mourn your red, or discourage you from going back to blonde?


Hi Lynn! :waving:

I cut my hair into a chin-length bob after my de-hennaing process was over. I probably didn't need to cut that much off, but I wanted to start over as much as possible. I did enjoy that new length for a time, but am enjoying it more as it gets longer now :D Before that, I had gotten to just past BSL.

Like you, alot of ppl thought I was a natural redhead too. I used to henna my eyebrows so it all matched nicely. Personally, I could not be happier with my blonde colour now, however there are some (including my husband) who preferred the "Rini Red". I probably would have kept on with the henna, but the maintenance was just too much and I feel more natural somehow with this colour (even though I'm using non-natural dye now!). I do agree with you that the red drew far more attention :o

[Phalaenopsis]

Do you have any beauty supply places that sell to the public at all there? If so, you could go in and ask them if they sell one. I guess you don't have Aveda over there huh? They used to make something called "Blue Malva" if I am not mistaken. You might google Aveda or Alveda blue malva shampoo and see if you come up with anything.

Wait a minute, now you say that! Yes, Aveda, there's hairdressershop in Antwerp which sells that. I'll have a look if I can. :)

[LynnM]

Hi Lynn! :waving:

I cut my hair into a chin-length bob after my de-hennaing process was over. I probably didn't need to cut that much off, but I wanted to start over as much as possible. I did enjoy that new length for a time, but am enjoying it more as it gets longer now :D Before that, I had gotten to just past BSL.

Like you, alot of ppl thought I was a natural redhead too. I used to henna my eyebrows so it all matched nicely. Personally, I could not be happier with my blonde colour now, however there are some (including my husband) who preferred the "Rini Red". I probably would have kept on with the henna, but the maintenance was just too much and I feel more natural somehow with this colour (even though I'm using non-natural dye now!). I do agree with you that the red drew far more attention :o

Your blond looks great, too! :) Wow, henna your eyebrows? That's dedication! :eyebrows:

I'm at the point where I want low-maintenance... I use a shampoo bar to avoid adding all the extra crap to my hair, I'm waxing to stop having to shave everywhere every day (sorry if TMI! heh!), going to minimal makeup and easier skincare routines, etc... and henna is something else I don't have time for with one under two and another one the way, full-time school, and part-time work! (Oh, and a husband to care for, too... :D )

So normal de-coloring treatments really worked for henna?

[justgreen]

Gosh LynnM ( my middle name is Lynne!) your hair is just a gorgeous color! Cute kid too!

[Flaxen]

I wish we had Sally's here in Canada.
You do.:grin: Search here (http://stores.sallybeauty.com/canada/locator.aspx). O' course, Canada bein' so big and all, there might not be one actually near you. ;)

[FrannyG]

You do.:grin: Search here (http://stores.sallybeauty.com/canada/locator.aspx). O' course, Canada bein' so big and all, there might not be one actually near you. ;)
Well I'll be! Thank you, Flaxen. You really are amazing, the way you take the time to help others. :flowers:

[Flaxen]

You are very welcome, and thank you! :flowers:

[iris]

Phalaenopsis, can't you get the regular blue Schwarzkopf shampoo (http://www.drogisterij.net/Schwarzkopf_reflex_shampoo_zilver/P/3257065) at Kruidvat where you are? It's widely available here in drugstores, supermarkets sometimes too, and it is a bit more on the blue side than on the purple side, as far as these blue/purple shampoos go.

Iris

[detritus]

Just found this thread... On the cassia question, I found that using it straight mixed with water or chamomile tea (especially with chamomile tea) was too yellowing. I was leaving it on for a couple hours too. The color change was temporary though. I also found those mud packs drying and pain to get in and out of my hair. Lately I've been doing caramel treatments every couple weeks or so and adding just a couple tablespoons of cassia and I love it! So much easier to get into and wash out of my hair and it doesn't end up too yellow afterward. I only leave it in for 30-60 minutes. Makes the cassia (which isn't cheap) last a lot longer too.

[Rini]

Your blond looks great, too! :) Wow, henna your eyebrows? That's dedication! :eyebrows:

I'm at the point where I want low-maintenance... I use a shampoo bar to avoid adding all the extra crap to my hair, I'm waxing to stop having to shave everywhere every day (sorry if TMI! heh!), going to minimal makeup and easier skincare routines, etc... and henna is something else I don't have time for with one under two and another one the way, full-time school, and part-time work! (Oh, and a husband to care for, too... :D )

So normal de-coloring treatments really worked for henna?


I am totally trying to be low-maintenance for the past few years too (kids will do that to you!). It's a small part of why I'm growing my hair long :) I've totally given away makeup on a daily basis (well maybe some sheer mineral powder occasionally and some eyebrow pencil :o ) and I only use microfibre cloths and a variety of oils for skincare. But I digress......

No, normal de-coloring treatments do not work for henna :( It took me many months of experimentation and then eventually I went the chemical route (bleaching) to get rid of the henna. It's not an easy process, but worth it I think. You'd never know I used to be a redhead now :cheese:

detritus: now I must know what a caramel treatment is! Sounds rather yummy :p

[LynnM]

Gosh LynnM ( my middle name is Lynne!) your hair is just a gorgeous color! Cute kid too!

Thanks and thanks! :) Yeah, I joke that my names are just plain boring... I have two middle names for my names : Lynn Marie.

You know something I've noticed with those that have "lynn" as a name? They almost always have blond hair! Weird. :)

[LynnM]

No, normal de-coloring treatments do not work for henna :( It took me many months of experimentation and then eventually I went the chemical route (bleaching) to get rid of the henna.

I've tried bleaching henna out before... it's neither fun nor easy, you're right! :p bleh!

[detritus]

I LOVE the caramel treatment! There are several pages of discussion about it if you want to look them up in the archives. The new thread (with recipe) is here:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=454&highlight=caramel+treatment

I don't use molasses (darkening) and use less oils (too heavy) than the original recipe. Mine looks something like this:
Large jar of baby food bananas
3 tablespoons of honey
Mix of oils that add up to 1/4 to 1/3 the volume of bananas (I like olive oil, camellia oil and meadowfoam oil.)
2-3 tablespoons of cassia powder
Dash of ACV

At my length, it makes enough for two treatments. I store the leftovers in the fridge or freezer. It smells pretty bad but makes my hair so happy. I glop it all on damp hair and leave it on for at least a half an hour. I usually have to shampoo twice to get it all out and I follow up with a light conditioner to prevent tangles.My ends are pretty damaged from bleach and whenever I notice them starting to tangle a lot or just feeling yucky, doing a caramel treatment makes them happy again.

[ktani]

Rini

I am dark blonde.

I colour and condition with catnip - it covers my grey/white streaks with a light blonde stain.

Catnip details in this thread
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=476

You can see honey lightening results on blonde hair, in the Pictures Post, in my signature below.

[ktani]

FrannyG

Sally's has been in Ontario, Canada since 2004.
http://www.sallybeautyholdings.com/holdings/sallyCanada.asp


They do not carry all of the same products that are available in the U.S.

Locations
http://canada411.yellowpages.ca/search/si-bn/1/sally+beauty/ontario

[Phalaenopsis]

Phalaenopsis, can't you get the regular blue Schwarzkopf shampoo (http://www.drogisterij.net/Schwarzkopf_reflex_shampoo_zilver/P/3257065) at Kruidvat where you are? It's widely available here in drugstores, supermarkets sometimes too, and it is a bit more on the blue side than on the purple side, as far as these blue/purple shampoos go.

Iris

Thank you for the information :)
I may buy that one when I'm out of the other schwarzkopf-shampoo. But I don't know if this one has cones in it?
Maybe I'll try the Lush one first, because of the famous violet smell.
But for now, I still have a big tube of professional Schwarzkopf shampoo to empty.

[firebird]

I have experimented with cassia. I have tried both straight cassia and water, applied immediately, and cassia mixed with orange juice, left to stand for an hour, mixed with a little honey and applied. I noticed no difference in color with the cassia/water, though obviously my hair is not as light as some of you. The cassia/OJ/honey darkened my hair and brought out red highlights. There are pictures on the honey thread, I'll try and find them. The color effect did wash out in a few weeks, so wasn't permanent.

[ktani]

firebird

Your cassia results are here.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=94944&postcount=489

All of your posted results in Honey are here.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=133707&postcount=1095

[firebird]

Wow, thanks ktani!

[sipnsun]

There are a lot of posts in this thread and I have very limited time, so forgive me if I repeat things already said: I am a natural blonde, sadly getting darker as I get older. My roots tend to be very oily and my ends very dry. I have to use shampoo on my roots, I just dilute it with a little water first. Then I use a heavy conditioner on my length. I have to wash every other day though because of my oily scalp (yuck!). I do a protein treatment at least once a week (Redken Cat) followed by conditioning under a hooded dryer (purchased at a thrift store.) I also like oil treatments, but you do have to be careful about color being deposited. Someone mentioned earlier about never using semi-permanent color or sprays on your hair, and I can tell you from experience that this is true! I put in blue streaks one time for halloween and they were supposed to wash out in 1 shampoo. Two weeks later after trying everything including Dawn dish detergent, I had to have my hair bleached to get it out. Just baby it and it will grow!

[MsBubbles]

I don't have any tips or tricks but am hoping to find some. Echoing what many said: I used to be light blonde as a child. It gradually darkening to an unflattering light ash brown, which makes me look sick & tired as I get older. :sick: Seriously, my natural color is so ashy, it's almost grey! I do have six unruly grey hairs on my crown, now though.

I guess I dearly want to remain blonde. I had professional highlights put in for 10 years straight until last September. So I have about 6" of dull, dirty looking hair on top of my pale blonde highlights. I had my wonderful hairdresser put in lowlights occasionally. However, now I am totally torn between 'do I grow out my natural color', and 'do I attempt to keep my brighter blonde color' as I grow my hair? I have been afraid to air these thoughts on this board so I'm glad for this thread!

I want to 'tone down' my highlights myself but am too terrified to even begin! I don't want green hair and I am NOT going anywhere near a salon, so I am stuck in a circling pattern here. I'd like to achieve waist length hair but am happy to sacrifice the blonde if both turn out to be mutually exclusive (but that'll be a LONG time to wait and see!!).

Have any of you other blondes agonized over this question (to grow out natural vs. keep highlighting) and what did you decide?

[Rini]

Hi MsBubbles :waving: and welcome.

I have discovered over the time that I have been seriously paying attention to my hair (ie...trying to grow it long) that I must be happy with it's colour or I won't be happy at all. For me, that means a combination between a pleasing colour, one that suits me and one that is easy to maintain. The solution for me was to dye it very close to my natural dark blonde (but lighter) and to do roots only as they become noticeable. My large percentage of grey hair and the fact that the dyed colour is very similar to my natural colour, means that I only have to do my roots (and NEVER the lengths) every 5-6 weeks or so. As I'm using a permanent tint with no pre-lightening, I believe it is very gentle on my hair and I can SEE and feel that it is not causing any significant damage.

Of course, sticking with henna would have been the gentler alternative, but the maintenance and my own perception of what suits me caused me to turn from that path.

Personally, I don't like the look of my natural (also very ashy!) colour on me and I really don't like the uneven silver distribution in my hair. :(

Bottom line: do what makes you feel good. Don't be afraid to talk about chemical colours around here (there's even another forum for it). There are plenty of blondes who have posted in this thread with gorgeous loooooong hair who highlight or dye. I am constantly inspired by Justgreen and Carolyn to name but two :inlove:

Just want to add: I dye my own hair at home using Loreal Excellence Creme in Light Ash Blonde. It costs me about AU$14 per box and I never go anywhere near a salon. shudder:

[Lady Verity]

I'm naturally light blonde with a smattering from red inherited from my nan, and apart from the odd foray into Manic Panic, I've always kept it that way. I like Lush's The Blonde shampoo bars, but you have to use them for ages for the chamomile to take effect.

I go green quickly in swimming pools.

I also like Timotae's (I've forgotten how you spell it) blonde range. I don't like Herbal Essences chamomile stuff. It makes my hair dull and slightly sticky.

[nutsenmai]

I've always been blonde, although it was lighter when I was little. My hair has never held a perm. My sister and I have tried several times to no avail. I even spent $250 on a salon perm that fell out in a week :(. It curls really well when left in rollers overnight, or braid or bun waves.

It doesn't dye either. The permanent dye washes out in a couple/several weeks. The only dye that's lasted is Manic Panic and it's not even permanent! I dyed my hair blue for Halloween once and it slowly faded out to green and lasted past the New Year. Crazy. But I really do love my hair color and wouldn't trade it for the world.

I have oily hair and have to wash every day if I want it to look good. Usually I just wash every-other day and wear it up the second day. I recently switched to Paul Mitchell's Moisture shampoo and conditioner from Eqyss (http://www.eqyss.com/)'s Premier shampoo (http://www.eqyss.com/equine_premier_shampoo.asp) and detangler (http://www.eqyss.com/equine_premier_conditioner.asp). My hair was getting matted when I wore it down, due to it getting longer. (Yay!)

Do any other blonds have issues with their hair not taking a perm or dye?? I guess it's a good thing, but it frustrated me to no end when I was in high school and trying to experiment with my hair.

[Lize]

Hey! Great thread! I am two toned. I have highlights in my hair but I am growing my natural dark blonde color again. I am not sure that I have anything to add right now but I'll sure be reading this thread through. Great to see you Rini! :)

[Rini]

Hi Lize :waving:

[naturechild]

I have tried to perm my hair also, the last time was about 2 years ago and it lasted a record 1 month. When my hair was very short perms did stay but now they are gone in a flash. I always thought I MUST be adopted my sister has lovely curly red hair and I have poker straight blond.

[MsBubbles]

Hi MsBubbles :waving: and welcome.

I have discovered over the time that I have been seriously paying attention to my hair (ie...trying to grow it long) that I must be happy with it's colour or I won't be happy at all.
Bottom line: do what makes you feel good.
Just want to add: I dye my own hair at home using Loreal Excellence Creme in Light Ash Blonde. It costs me about AU$14 per box and I never go anywhere near a salon. shudder:

Thank you so much for your input! I think I am with you on that philosophy. If I can get midway between bsl & waist looking non-straggly, alive and blonde, I will be happy with that.

I think your current blonde shade suits your complexion btw. However, I haven't seen you with red hair.

I'll check out all the color threads & groups.

[justgreen]

MsBubbles, believe me, Rini with red hair is divine!

[MsBubbles]

MsBubbles, believe me, Rini with red hair is divine!

Well from what I can see it does indeed look awesome!

I'd love to pull off having red hair but my skin just wouldn't look right. My kids on the other hand, somehow ended up with gorgeous red/strawberry blonde hair. Yay. They have the hair I always wanted.

[Rini]

MsBubbles, believe me, Rini with red hair is divine!


Awww....:o.....thanks :flowers: I kinda miss it sometimes ;)

[naturechild]

I went to the health food store and found Dark Blue shampoo for silver and white hair, Sorry I cant remember the name but he has all natural color shampoo's if that helps at all. Anyway it needs a heavy conditioner after but it really brings out the blond in my hair WOW! It supposedly takes out the deposits on the hair shaft.

[Mirmy]

I'm gona jump in here too. I'm a natural blond, though I have darkened considerable from I was a child. I love the way my hair has so many different shades through it. It is especially noticable when it is in an updo. It great to get some many tips from other blonds - thanks everyone :)

[Shell]

I went to the health food store and found Dark Blue shampoo for silver and white hair, Sorry I cant remember the name but he has all natural color shampoo's if that helps at all. Anyway it needs a heavy conditioner after but it really brings out the blond in my hair WOW! It supposedly takes out the deposits on the hair shaft.

You know, I'm thinking of trying this. Can anyone recommend a gentle brand? I tend to use health food store brands.

[naturechild]

Shell: WOOT I have it! Jason it is Jason. It really is for white or silver but it lightened my hair very nicely. I can tell when I use it or my reg. poo I have much lighter hair with Jason. I haven't really had to use a heavy cond. since the first time. I have been using a natural light cond. since with good results. It IS MUCH BETTER then john Freda IMP it doesnt seem to strip the hair at all, and its natural.
I hope that helps

[Curlsgirl]

Shell: WOOT I have it! Jason it is Jason. It really is for white or silver but it lightened my hair very nicely. I can tell when I use it or my reg. poo I have much lighter hair with Jason. I haven't really had to use a heavy cond. since the first time. I have been using a natural light cond. since with good results. It IS MUCH BETTER then john Freda IMP it doesnt seem to strip the hair at all, and its natural.
I hope that helps

Is this for natural blond or color-treated too?

[Silver & Gold]

Shell: WOOT I have it! Jason it is Jason. It really is for white or silver but it lightened my hair very nicely. I can tell when I use it or my reg. poo I have much lighter hair with Jason. I haven't really had to use a heavy cond. since the first time. I have been using a natural light cond. since with good results. It IS MUCH BETTER then john Freda IMP it doesnt seem to strip the hair at all, and its natural.
I hope that helps

Are you certain it's a Jason product? Because I went to their website (I'm letting my grey hair come out to play and am interested in a product like this) and I could find no such thing. However I did find a product by Aveda (http://www.aveda.com/templates/products2/spp.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY10515&PRODUCT_ID=PROD5794)
Could this be the product you found in the health food store?

[justgreen]

I think AVeda is only sold in Aveda salons? Someone correct me if I'm mistaken. Could it be the 'Avalon' products that are being confused?

ETA: I do love the Aveda Blue Malva, learned about that from Carolyn, need to get down to the salon and get some more of that. I'm afraid I went through the bottle too fast last time, I wasn't diluting my shampoo back then.

[Silver & Gold]

I think AVeda is only sold in Aveda salons? Someone correct me if I'm mistaken. Could it be the 'Avalon' products that are being confused?

ETA: I do love the Aveda Blue Malva, learned about that from Carolyn, need to get down to the salon and get some more of that. I'm afraid I went through the bottle too fast last time, I wasn't diluting my shampoo back then.

You could be right about the Aveda products. I've never used them so I wouldn't know where they are sold. I found Blue Malva when I was trying to find the Jason product mentioned. I came up with nothing in the Jason product line but a search on natural 'blue' shampoos brought up the Aveda product.

Avalon? I've not heard of them. Shows what I know. I'm not much of a connoisseur when it comes to hair products.

[Rini]

Justy....have you tried the Aveda Blue Malva Conditioner? I was reading the reviews on Makeup Alley and they weren't all that good :/

I'd love to find a "natural" conditioner with blue or purple in it..... *sigh*

[naturechild]

I checked again and yep it is Jason. Hmmmm? I dont know, maybe it is under purple? it sure is dark. I got it at my tiny heath food store.

[naturechild]

I just went to the sight too and it isn't their OH MY GOODNESS! should I buy up all they have at the store? If they have dis-continued it I want to have it before it is gone. The bottle looks just like the other color enhancer bottles. Very Strange. The bottle looks black but it is the shampoo through the bottle you are seeing.



ohohoh I found it; http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=3455 Silver Bright. Shampoo

Temporarily Unavailable !! oh NO!

[Silver & Gold]

I just went to the sight too and it isn't their OH MY GOODNESS! should I buy up all they have at the store? If they have dis-continued it I want to have it before it is gone. The bottle looks just like the other color enhancer bottles. Very Strange. The bottle looks black but it is the shampoo through the bottle you are seeing.

Well, if you have a bottle and can't find it online then you may be right to suspect that Jason discontinued the item. Too bad, so sad. Well, at least I know I'm not overlooking anything. I kept wondering if I was just missing something right before my eyes.

[Speedbump]

I think AVeda is only sold in Aveda salons? Someone correct me if I'm mistaken. Could it be the 'Avalon' products that are being confused?
Aveda is available in some stores that are not salons, because that's how I got my Aveda Detox shampoo. :)

[lapushka]

I am a dark ash blonde (sometimes I think it's brown until the sun shines fully on it). I'm growing my hair back out after it having been every color imaginable (hennared, bottle brown, highlighted blonde, darkblond). I'm getting white hairs now, but I don't let them bother me.

There's still a long way to go as I have 15 cm worth of natural growth now and the remainder of the hair is dark bottle blond. Last dye job was last year, May. The dye has faded and there's also damage. I recently had a trim (about 1 1/2 inch). I am trying to reach BSL, then waist, but I also need to get the bottle blonde out of my hair, which means I'm going to have it trimmed again at the end of this year.

It's tough growing color out.

I stay away from anything color enhancing (camomille) as it might mess with the ash tones in my hair, tones I've gotten to love. I might go a shade lighter, but it would have to be a slight transition into a lighter ash color. I don't think that can be done by anything natural - at all. Only willing to do that when my hair gets too white for me to maintain my own color.

[brok3nwings]

lapushka maybe you wont have to lighten your hair because if you just want it a little lighter it will natural lighten im sure, when hair gets longer it gets lighter! My roots never grow light, it grows a dark blonde, really dark with no specific colour (sometimes it looks like grey eheh) but then it starts to lighten ..and you have to let it grow to see that transformation :) My sister that can get absolutly blonde hair, really light, last summer she didnt went to the beach or went to the sun and her hair stayed really dark but now its getting lighter again.

For those who are intersted in blue shampoos and so, i have tried the aveda treatment and did nothing for me, i&#180;ve tried the loreal profissionel for silver hair and also did almost nothing...the one that really really combats brassiness and it makes your hair really really really soft is the Redken PURE PEARL. Its a treatment, you let it be in your hair about 15 min and voila. You can do it as much as you want to.. but this has cones. Redken used to be my favourite when i used cones. For those who are looking for a good one i totally advice it :)

[StillAHulaGirl]

I've always been blonde, although it was lighter when I was little. My hair has never held a perm. My sister and I have tried several times to no avail. I even spent $250 on a salon perm that fell out in a week :(. It curls really well when left in rollers overnight, or braid or bun waves.

It doesn't dye either. The permanent dye washes out in a couple/several weeks. The only dye that's lasted is Manic Panic and it's not even permanent! I dyed my hair blue for Halloween once and it slowly faded out to green and lasted past the New Year. Crazy. But I really do love my hair color and wouldn't trade it for the world.

I have oily hair and have to wash every day if I want it to look good. Usually I just wash every-other day and wear it up the second day. I recently switched to Paul Mitchell's Moisture shampoo and conditioner from Eqyss (http://www.eqyss.com/)'s Premier shampoo (http://www.eqyss.com/equine_premier_shampoo.asp) and detangler (http://www.eqyss.com/equine_premier_conditioner.asp). My hair was getting matted when I wore it down, due to it getting longer. (Yay!)

Do any other blonds have issues with their hair not taking a perm or dye?? I guess it's a good thing, but it frustrated me to no end when I was in high school and trying to experiment with my hair.
I have (had) this problem. When I was younger, my mom made desperate failed attempts to give my hair more body, all natural it's poker straight but not too thin. Perms would fall out in 2 weeks, and I could sleep in sponge rollers all night but the curl would fall out by noon. lol. I guess our hair just protests anything that's not natural. I think we're very fortunate :D

[Vainjane]

Another blonde joining in on this great thread. Like many, I was light blonde as a child and have darkened to med-dark blonde. My ends are lighter due to outgrown highlights, my new-growth tends to look ashy to me. I also have issues with oil and heavy products making my hair look darker & dirty. I CO/W/ CO every other day, sometimes using straight poo, other days diluting it. I use jojoba oil & coconut oil diluted in a spray bottle for my ends. I have previously used ACV rinses to add reddish tones. About a year ago I used Cassie w/ ACV as activator to darken ends to match more closely to new growth, but more recenty I am longing to be brighter blonde and plan to try honey lightening.

[VanillaTresses]

I am a natural blonde-- it's not the color I would've chosen if I were choosing but I am going to stick with it now because its what grows outta my head! I already went (like you, Rini) down the red red road and I just couldn't keep up with it. No matter how hard I tried my version of red would never stand up to what I envied. :rolleyes: What can I say... I tried it at least once! :)

So now I am back to completely virgin natural blonde hair. I don't really do anything whatsoever special with it specific to the hair color. I mainly try to avoid accidentally using anything that would change the color of it (like amla or lawsonia) and that is pretty much it!

I have been using Suave/Aubrey Organics/Pantene (a rather diverse hodge-podge of my bathroom cupboard) for my CWC routine, with a Henna n' Placenta (non-coloring, must really be cassia I guess) as a monthly deep conditioning treatment.

Finally, I don't like the sun lightening my color any more because I already get peeps who think I color it/bleach (major pet peeve of mine for whatever reason) it so if I am going to be out in the sun for a long time I will keep a hat on.

[Rini]

Another blonde joining in on this great thread. Like many, I was light blonde as a child and have darkened to med-dark blonde.

This seems to be such a common thing doesn't it? We all start off light blonde or platinum blonde then gradually go darker as we get older. I wonder if anyone has actually gone lighter as they have aged? (besides the natural "platinums" that sprout as we age!! :o )

[brok3nwings]

Rini I am one of those cases!!! ehehe Proud of it i must tell cause it is pretty strange... :)
I was born with a LOT of hair...and BLACK lol my mother freaked out..she was waiting a bald baby...ihihi when that hair was cut short my hair was dark blonde, it stayed a golden blonde while i was a baby, little child and about my 7 years old my hair was medium brown. Really! And absolutly THICK. One time my mother cut my hair at shoulder lenght and i really hated it cause my friends called me TINA TURNER and my hair looked like a mushroom :( I started to grow it with about 12 years old and as i kept it long at the same lengh i didnt really care but the truth is, i started to get blonde again. Golden blonde, really blonde in the summer, and a medium blonde at winter. Now i have roots showing and they are still dark blonde but im pretty sure they will lighten with the sun (they havent seen the sun much eheh )

Yes, i am not nordic, i am not a typical blondeness, i am a portuguese blonde, a latin blonde with dark green/light brown eyes and i have NEVER had those platinium blonde hairs that many childs have..

[melikai]

I'm a natural blonde as well - this thread has given me some good tips!

I was born with black hair, then within a few months it changed to white-blonde! My older brother also apparently couldn't decide what hair colour he wanted to be, as he was born with bright red hair which then fell out and grew back in white-blonde, haha.
I was blonde, although somewhat darker, up until my 20's, when I started dyeing my hair every colour of the rainbow, then started highlighting.

For the past year and a bit I've been growing in my natural colour again. Still surprisingly blonde - I guess a medium ash-beige.

Some things I've recently discovered:

-Olive oil can stain your hair yellow (especially highlighted ends!). Thanks to ktani for helping me figure this one out ;)

-I made a chamomile and lemon hair spray and it also made my hair quite golden/yellowed after just a couple treatments.

-Honey lightening works very well, especially in combination with cinnamon or cardamom. It doesn't seem to make hair golden and actually can take away some of these tones.

Also, I just read on another thread that Gentian Violet can be used in conditioner or shampoo to get rid of brassiness. I'm definitely going to try this after the olive oil debacle.

[atlantaz3]

I do an almost weekly smt - equal parts olive oil, honey and conditioner. If I'm in a lightening mood I double up the honey and let sit on for an hour or so. Usual time is 1/2 hour. I also zap my sinus mask in the microwave and let it sit on my head for heat treatment.
Love the cheapo white distilled vinegar - my hair didn't take to acv, but really shines for about a 10% (guessing) vinegar water rinse. My shampoo of choice is Clairol rose hips for colored hair - been using it for about two years. I stray every so often but always end up back.
I just tried Ojon condition - not a big fan of smell, but it does work very well for a deep conditioner for me - too heavy for daily I think. I plan on buying a regular size bottle next trip to Ulta 3.
I was also white blonde when little and have darkened up but my hair only needs one trip to the beach or sun time and it gets highlights very easily. The problem in my hair is thick so the under layers are much darker and I also get pony tail highlights rather than where my part is.
My last hair dresser "color correction" was August 08. Trying to stay away from highlights, but may have to even everything out soon.
I haven't been oiling my hair - I'm sure that will be the next step for me I want to try and figure out the oil misting for the ends - as they seem to be a little drier lately.

[Rini]

Also, I just read on another thread that Gentian Violet can be used in conditioner or shampoo to get rid of brassiness. I'm definitely going to try this after the olive oil debacle.

Gentian Violet? Have not heard of this. Is it an EO or do you use it as a dry herb? Hmmm.....

[alinakathryn]

Holy crap please do not use Gentian Violet on your hair. It will turn it PURPLE! They use that as a natural cure for Thrush in babies. It stains and NOTHING will get it out. Hers is a link to a picture of what it does to a baby's mouth. http://flickr.com/photos/ladywynnie/2799186158/ This is not my baby just a random picture from looking on google.

If you choose to use it in your hair make sure you use like one drop in a huge bottle.

[Rini]

*gasp*!!!!! Oh that poor baby! So cute though... :D It must wear off eventually? Like any good dye, a small amount would suffice.

[alinakathryn]

Yes eventually but it takes a while. If you get too much on your hair I wouldn't know how long it would take to wear off. It may have to grow out.

[melikai]

Holy crap please do not use Gentian Violet on your hair. It will turn it PURPLE! They use that as a natural cure for Thrush in babies. It stains and NOTHING will get it out. Hers is a link to a picture of what it does to a baby's mouth. http://flickr.com/photos/ladywynnie/2799186158/ This is not my baby just a random picture from looking on google.

If you choose to use it in your hair make sure you use like one drop in a huge bottle.

LOL that picture!

The person who recommended using it adds a couple of drops to her conditioner to tone down brassiness. Many commercial shampoos/conditioners for reducing brassiness in greys and bleached hair have a purple tone to them, so I don't see why this wouldn't work too!

I've actually used grape koolaid to the same effect....

[melikai]

Gentian Violet? Have not heard of this. Is it an EO or do you use it as a dry herb? Hmmm.....

It's a liquid, the name just refers to the colour - which apparently is very potent! I just read that it's used in anti-fungal treatments in hospitals, against yeast infections, and yes, for thrush.

You can get it at the drugstore :)

[ktani]

Here is information on Gentian Violet I posted in another thread.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=253970&postcount=15

[melikai]

Here is information on Gentian Violet I posted in another thread.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=253970&postcount=15

Thanks for this ktani. Maybe I'll find an alternative. I wonder if regular purple food-colouring would work?

[ktani]

Thanks for this ktani. Maybe I'll find an alternative.

melakai

You are most welcome. I would look for an alternative.

[helen2806]

I was born with black hair, then within a few months it changed to white-blonde!

Same here! I was a jet-black baby, then a gingery/strawberry toddler before my hair decided to settle on pale blonde. It has got a few shades darker as I've got older, but it's still quite light. As it's getting to winter now it's starting to look darker, because my hair is really sensitive to being lightened by the summer sun, and I think the weaker winter sunlight makes it look duller anyway. I always heard that apparently blondes tend to have fine hair but lots of it, which is definitely true for me and by the looks of it a lot of blondies here too

[Magdalene]

So...

what do you blondies like for styling products? (if and when you use them) On the rare occaisions I use hairspray I use Sheer Blonde. They used to make a mousse that was nice because it didn't darken. I would love to find another mousse or gel that I could use when I need it.

[spidermom]

I use aloe vera gel (the clear stuff).

[bakertwins2004]

Yep yep Blond. My hair is darkest now than ever in my life. I was what is called a Toe Head here in the states. A very white blond as a kid. As I am getting older I am going more med blond.

For care of my hair....

I have always avoided pools. They turned my hair GREEN! I use honey on my hiar now to brighten it up a bit. Other than that I normally CWC and use coconut oil.

[Magdalene]

Aloe's okay, but doesn't really do much for me hold wise. I'm talking about serious styling products like mousse or gel.

[Rivanariko]

I always heard that apparently blondes tend to have fine hair but lots of it, which is definitely true for me and by the looks of it a lot of blondies here too
Definitely true for me! I was another dark-haired baby, but it lightened pretty fast. It's kind of a medium-golden blonde-ish color now, but it's been light for as long as I can remember. I played with the idea of dying it a lot when I was younger, but I was always too scared that even the stuff that was supposed to rinse right out would stain and I'd be stuck with it until it grew out!

[Gypsygirl]

I don't use any styling products anymore. Well, sometimes I use some spray on my bangs, I guess. But rarely.

[jeno]

Natural blondes--do any of you have ashy roots but a yellow/warm length? I only recently noticed this about myself and I found it interesting.
http://i25.tinypic.com/o9i846.jpg
I know this is a really silly picture, but it really shows the difference between my roots and ends... I have old bleach and highlights. I did colour some highlights in December, so it's half a year of virgin hair at my roots. I am an ash blonde type really, but my hair always turn into a more golden tone.

[Maddy25]

Hi :)

I'm a natural blonde too! I was born with pretty much white hair and had that shade of blonde till I was a teenager. I have not had my natural hair colour in many years as I have been dying it so many different shades (right now Im growing out a very golden blonde). My hair seems to be growing in a light ash blonde colour, which I often refer to as "silvery blonde" because it is so ashy but still really pretty. I cant wait till it gets longer because I find my roots always darker than once its been on my head for a while. I have probably .75" of virgin hair now. Hurray for blondes! The only annoying part is having such light eyebrows and eyelashes :p

[Lilli]

I was white-blond as a child, and now am a medium-dark blond. I have a pic in my profile that shows my natural color but I have been using the John Frieda lightening blonde shampoo which gives it a nice lighter color. But I have always had dark ash brown eyebrows and no one ever thinks my hair color is natural. I tried on a dark ash brown wig and actually looked really good and normal. I am wondering if maybe I am the exception to the rule that most people look best in their natural color. My mom's hair is such a dark ash blonde that it basically looks olive. I am wondering if my hair will end up like that. It already kind of annoys me that my hair is not brown or blonde but in between.

On a different note, I absolutely cannot stretch out shampoos as it looks greasy instantly. I wish I could do this but it looks terrible on me.

[Elle214]

I´m also a bottle blonde and have some problem with my hair color: I have some green shades in it! :(
I never had this problem before! I´m using Aubrey Organics since a few months and I guess the problem was the grean algae treatment. It is looking a bit green.

Has someone else made some experiences with Aubrey Organics products on blonde hair? Do you think it works on bleached hair?

And of course are there some advices to reduce the green? Today I will try my new Joico Shampoo and rinsind with "aspirine + c". Any more ideas?

[MsBubbles]

I´m also a bottle blonde and have some problem with my hair color: I have some green shades in it! :(
I never had this problem before! I´m using Aubrey Organics since a few months and I guess the problem was the grean algae treatment. It is looking a bit green.

Has someone else made some experiences with Aubrey Organics products on blonde hair? Do you think it works on bleached hair?

And of course are there some advices to reduce the green? Today I will try my new Joico Shampoo and rinsind with "aspirine + c". Any more ideas?


Hi Elle. I'm sorry to hear about the green tinges in your hair. I use Aubrey Organics Green Tea Clarifying shampoo, and do not get a green hue to my hair. But I dilute it about one to six (one part shampoo, six parts water)...basically put a little dab in the bottom of a walmart travel size bottle, fill the rest of the bottle up with water, shake it then squirt it between my hair onto my scalp. Before this though, I have coated my ends (from ears down) thoroughly with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner, which is VERY thick. I think it coats my ends very well. Not much of the shampoo actually gets to my ends.

[Elle214]

Thank you for your answer!!
I just used the Joico Shampoo and a rinse with aspirin + C and I think it helped a bit. I will repeat it a few time during the next weeks.

Glad to hear that you are fine with your Aubrey Products! Perhaps it was only the Algae treatment.
I use the Rosa Mosqueta Shampoo and also the Honeysuckle Conditioner und do it in quite the same way as you described! So I really hope I can keep on using it.

[Maddy25]

sooo, good news everyone! I have not had my natural hair colour in about 10 years and I started growing it out a few months ago. I was terrified that my once light blonde hair would be growing back in dark and ashy but its about 3 inches long right now and is turning out a really pretty shade! Im so happy <3 It is a lot lighter than I thought!

[juliaxena]

I just want to sign in and say use semi permanent dye if possible.

[LHktress]

To take the green out of your hair, wash it with tomato juice or tomato paste -- the red neutralizes the green. Be careful if you're using paste, it's concentrated and can stain. I let this stuff for no longer than 20 *seconds* on my hair and it works brilliantly.
You can find more info on this method on the web.

[Flynn]

To take the green out of your hair, wash it with tomato juice or tomato paste -- the red neutralizes the green. Be careful if you're using paste, it's concentrated and can stain. I let this stuff for no longer than 20 *seconds* on my hair and it works brilliantly.
You can find more info on this method on the web.

Woah! Strand test that one first! The red in tomato paste is insanely red, and it rapidly oxidises to a very dark brown.

[LHktress]

Of course :)
I am a very light, almost platinum blonde and kept the paste on my hair for a very short time. It removed the green and surprisingly didn't give me any warm/gold tones either!

[Flynn]

Of course :)
I am a very light, almost platinum blonde and kept the paste on my hair for a very short time. It removed the green and surprisingly didn't give me any warm/gold tones either!

Yeah, but someone with a different porosity and/or structure to their hair might have a very different experience. Also, different brands have different amounts of lycopene in them (Australian Leggo's for instance has an exceptionally high amount; at least treble the next-best one. How do I know? It's an undergrad chemistry natural products extraction at the university I'm at, which I have both done and demonstrated for. Took some fussing around to find the best brand to use!)

[Elle214]

I read about using tomato ketchup somewhere else! I think I will have a try. This should not be that concentrated, right?

[shortgoinglong]

I am a natural blonde. I have found that blondes have to be very careful how much they put in there hair. Leave in conditioners that leave dark hair shiny and silky made my hair look dull and dingy. Shampoo and conditioner are pretty much all I use. John Freida Blonde products are great as are the Suave Blonde products.

[Tornerose]

Another "born blonde darkened with age" checking in. I've added bleachblonde streaks in the past, but I've stopped doing that now. And I'm currently considering if I should do a lemon/honey/cassia treatment or rinse with ACV and reddish teas to see if I can bring out the little redtones I have...

[kmangus]

i have a theory....i cant back it up (yet) but, if you need a purple (violet 2 or external violet 2) or a blue (blue 1) shampoo/condish, why dont you just buy the pure dye and put it in the shampoo/condish bottle you use? It would technically have the same effect no?

[frangipani]

Yeah it works. I mix purple dye with conditioner sometimes. I have no system whatsoever, i just guesstimate, and sometimes this does result in a bit of a purple tinge

[MsBubbles]

What kind of purple dye? Food coloring? Paint type stuff? I'm clueless.

[Bonkers57]

Oooh I know that's right! Years ago I made the mistake of using a "rinse-out" hair color! Fortunately at the time I was wearing my hair short; but until the hair grew and the color was cut off bit by bit, I was a strawberry blonde! :eek:



- Do not listen to people with darker hair when they tell you things like "Yes, this rinse/Halloween hairspray/shampoo out hair color will shampoo right out!" These things could stain light hair more permanently than that, if not totally permanently.

[Quixii]

I always thought I was born a light blonde and then darkened, but looking at my pictures a while ago, I learned this was not so. I was born strawberry blonde, was strawberry blonde until I was about two, and then I turned this kinda goldish blond that I still am today.
Currently I don't do anything special for it. :)

[kmangus]

MsBubbles it is just a pure dye.....you can yahoo or google violet 2 and it will show you resourses to buy it...

[Demetrue]

John Freida also makes the color renewing shampoo for Blondes that has a lavender tint to it - it corrects brassiness.

[GlassEyes]

I have no idea why I'm reading this thread.

ANYWAY, if you want a light purple dye to remove brassy tones, I strongly recommend Special effects Toner. It's supposed to take bleached hair to white, but it sounds like it'd do exactly what you wnat, plus, it's already a VERY light purple and it doesn't stain bleached hair (usually), so I'd go with that. Manic Panic has a similar one too, though I haven't used it personally, it should function the same--one of the only times I'll say that is with their toners.

Special Effects is just called Toner, Manic Panic's is Snow White, I think.

[GlassEyes]

I have no idea why I'm reading this thread.

ANYWAY, if you want a light purple dye to remove brassy tones, I strongly recommend Special effects Toner. It's supposed to take bleached hair to white, but it sounds like it'd do exactly what you wnat, plus, it's already a VERY light purple and it doesn't stain bleached hair (usually), so I'd go with that. Manic Panic has a similar one too, though I haven't used it personally, it should function the same--one of the only times I'll say that is with their toners.

Special Effects is just called Toner, Manic Panic's is Snow White, I think.

[katydid317]

after honey, then lemon rinses and more honey I lightened my hair but not the blond was. SO i took a page from RINI's book and did Color OOps and man Oh man I couldn't stop looking in the mirror! Its back and I love it. I thought the dark was coming back so I once again asked for advice and Rini and the girls came through again. (THANK YOU) I used a strong shampoo on it twice. I have great highlights again, with a darkish to med. golden blond.
yeah, now to keep it!


I can't believe I've never heard of this stuff before but I am going on a mission to find it now! Hopefully I can find it in Canada. I haven't been my natural colour in so long because I can't handle growing it out. I *think* my natural colour is a dark ashy blonde, but it's been so long I can't remember. It's definitely in that camp where it's hard to tell if it's dark blonde or light brown.

[spidermom]

Speaking of violet tones, does anybody else see such tones at the top of my hair in this picture, especially to the right?
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/posttrim.jpg

I didn't do anything that I know of to cause it.

[iris]

I have no idea why I'm reading this thread.

ANYWAY, if you want a light purple dye to remove brassy tones, I strongly recommend Special effects Toner. It's supposed to take bleached hair to white, but it sounds like it'd do exactly what you wnat, plus, it's already a VERY light purple and it doesn't stain bleached hair (usually), so I'd go with that. Manic Panic has a similar one too, though I haven't used it personally, it should function the same--one of the only times I'll say that is with their toners.

Special Effects is just called Toner, Manic Panic's is Snow White, I think.
Yep the one Manic Panic does is called Snow White, I've used it, it's very good.


Speaking of violet tones, does anybody else see such tones at the top of my hair in this picture, especially to the right?
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/posttrim.jpg

I didn't do anything that I know of to cause it.
I see it. If it's not an artefact of the photo - it can just be your natural pigment, I guess. One of the pigments that make up natural hair color is a bluish/greyish color.

[spidermom]

I've seen this in other photos, so it must be a pigment in my new (relatively) silver/white hairs. I've always had warm tones before; this is new and different. I like it.

[frangipani]

Even blonde toner can stain your hair purple if it is too strong or you leave it for too long though that probably depends how light your blonde is, and how porous the hair - I prefer it to be a bit purple than a but orange though personally , i don't mind it
I *loved* the manic panic one, it does give a real white colour, but it is a little hard to come by in australia
I am a big fan of redken Pure Pearl , roux fancifull in saucy beige, white minx and spun sand , Matrix silver shampoo, wella purple shampoo ...yes i think i'm addicted to toners
regarding mixing up my own. i had a bottle of punky purple colour left over from an experimental hairdo . ( rusk "scream" ) and mixed up with el cheapo conditioner this works well in a pinch too

[Tinose]

Something I've only noticed since starting with LHC - does anyone else get streaks in their hair when they put it up? My hair's a normal dark blonde when I have it down. But when it's up, it mostly looks brown, but now that I'm looking at the back of my head, I see all these gold streaks in it. I'd've not been surprised at them in the sun, but in my fairly dark bathroom it surprised me. I actually really like them.

[Bonkers57]

Possibly because your ends are lighter than your roots? Many with blonde or light brown hair the ends get lighter naturally.


Something I've only noticed since starting with LHC - does anyone else get streaks in their hair when they put it up? My hair's a normal dark blonde when I have it down. But when it's up, it mostly looks brown, but now that I'm looking at the back of my head, I see all these gold streaks in it. I'd've not been surprised at them in the sun, but in my fairly dark bathroom it surprised me. I actually really like them.

[Unofficial_Rose]

Yeah it works. I mix purple dye with conditioner sometimes. I have no system whatsoever, i just guesstimate, and sometimes this does result in a bit of a purple tinge

I've been putting Manic Panic's Virgin Snow in with my conditioner to de-brass. (It's much less brassy than it looks in my avatar, honest :)) I find that it works, but because I'm getting through the jar rather quickly, I've ordered some Lie Lac, which hopefully I can use less of and get the same effect. I'll report back here with my results. :wink:

(Actually I would rather like a lilac tinge. Or a few lilac streaks, even)

[Margeaux]

Bump!

Another natural (medium? honey? golden? strawberry? what would you say?) blonde reporting for duty!

My hair is naturally a bit 'brassy', it's a warm colour. It suits my complexion well so I see no need to use silver shampoo to cool down the shade. It would probably make me look washed out. :p

As a child I went from white blonde to sunny blonde to where I am now. Interestingly I've found that honey lightening doesn't really work for me despite following all the steps in the honey thread. As has been mentioned earlier in this thread, though, I'm interested in keeping my particular shade of blonde as bright as possible ;) I'll definitely keep track of this thread and offer advice wherever I can.

[Gypsygirl]

I also use a lot of chamomile tea and lemon juice.

[pelicano]

I'm interested to hear if people have used olive oil successfully at all for lightening their hair. If so, must it be a certain type or used in a certain way? I tend to use olive oil as a leave in rather than as a deep treatment.

[contradiction]

I've had red hair, brown hair and have been blonde for the last three years. I used olive oil as a leave-in last week and I rinsed it out my blonde hair was MUCH darker and faded!!! Oils aren't for me I guess, olive faded it, I had an allergic reaction to grapeseed, can't find jojoba anywhere and coconut just made it greeeeeeeasy.

[melikai]

Reviving this thread from the dead. I wanted to ask what people thought were the best colours for hair accessories in blonde hair? I'm thinking maybe purples and blues, but maybe there is a colour I'm not thinking of.

If anyone has pictures of different coloured hair toys to compare in blonde hair, that would be great! :)

[Pandora.]

Reviving this thread from the dead. I wanted to ask what people thought were the best colours for hair accessories in blonde hair? I'm thinking maybe purples and blues, but maybe there is a colour I'm not thinking of.

If anyone has pictures of different coloured hair toys to compare in blonde hair, that would be great! :)

I find brightly colored flowers look really pretty against blonde hair - especially pink, turquoise, purple (and sometimes red). I find that I have to stay away from anything yellow, orange, beige, white and grey, since my hair is very light and it the contrast would look quite ugly.

[YesitsReal]

Pelicano, I haven't personally tried olive oil for lightening, but I have tried honey lightening without a whole lot of success. Of course, I've only done it about three times. My hair is natural medium/light blonde, edging toward medium. It's getting darker the older I get and the more I stay out of the sun. I'm trying to bring back some lighter tones without bleaching or damaging my hair, too.

Anybody else have ideas?

[maskedrose]

I stay with jewel-toned accessories, but nearly always veer towards blues, teals and greens because they look great with my hair AND skin tone. Also, when it comes too wood accessories (forks and sticks) I have to stay with very dark wood and prefer black. I suppose if you wanted something that blends in with your color a lighter wood would work perfectly, but IMO if I'm going to spend so much money on something, I want it to stand out :P

Oh, and olive oil darkens blond hair, or at least it appears to because it hydrates. I've never heard of it lightening...but I could be wrong.

[maskedrose]

An earlier post reminded me of this - for all of my life, I've been a light honey blond, although I was white-blond with some strawberry undertones when I was little, probably until about 8 or 9 years old. Now, I'm 22 and my honey blond is getting more and more strawberry. My fiance and I just had professional photos taken and in many of the pictures my hair is definitely quite red, but in others its very blond. I've also gotten comments from people about my "pretty red hair", which always confuses me. I'm not complaining, I really like the color, but I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else?

[melikai]

I find brightly colored flowers look really pretty against blonde hair - especially pink, turquoise, purple (and sometimes red). I find that I have to stay away from anything yellow, orange, beige, white and grey, since my hair is very light and it the contrast would look quite ugly.

I agree - I avoid those same colours, although my hair isn't nearly as light as yours is. I'm not terribly keen on pink, but I love pale greens, sea greens, pale blues and purples.


I stay with jewel-toned accessories, but nearly always veer towards blues, teals and greens because they look great with my hair AND skin tone. Also, when it comes too wood accessories (forks and sticks) I have to stay with very dark wood and prefer black. I suppose if you wanted something that blends in with your color a lighter wood would work perfectly, but IMO if I'm going to spend so much money on something, I want it to stand out :P

Oh, and olive oil darkens blond hair, or at least it appears to because it hydrates. I've never heard of it lightening...but I could be wrong.

I like some jewel tones, but we must have different colouring, as most of these are too harsh for my skintone and stand out a bit too much with my hair. Or maybe I just have different taste!

I like darker woods too, but also ones that blend in...bah I'm being too vague here!

[atlantaz3]

As I just had my highlights done I guess I can chime in here. I get highlights (half head now) about twice a year. I already have my November appt set up but will probably get low lights put in so I even out a bit. I SMT about once a month or more often if I notice the ends are dry. I wash every 5-7 days which will probably get a little shorter during the Hot Atlanta summer months (yesterday was 95!) I use color safe shampoos and lot of conditioner - just found Torrin's how to shampoo - okay I was a over the top of the head scrub :(. I use Moroccan oil after every wash and yes I blow dry. My hair takes hours to dry and I can't stand a wet head. Almond oil has become a friend, I thought it would be too heavy, but it's a great over night leave in for me. All absorbed and soft in the morning. I trim 3-4 times a year when I notice the ends are getting frizzy. I used to S&D but knock wood I just haven't been noticing a lot of splits.
My natural color is a dark blonde, any sunlight bleaches me out really quickly - my pony tail can get white if I jog too much! My stylist does highlights at the neckline, even though I'm not full head highlights it doesn't look strange when up. (Does that make sense?) She knows I want my long hair and doesn't try to talk me into anything - yea!

[sunshine-locks]

Natural blondes--do any of you have ashy roots but a yellow/warm length? I only recently noticed this about myself and I found it interesting.
:) actually, when it was my natural colour, that was the case :cheese:

[xladolcevitax]

Sorry this is a bit of a rant.

Another natural blonde here too! Like most of you my hair was white-blonde as a child and darkened to a more ashy colour in my teens.

I get highlights on my roots every 4-6 months and use purple shampoos and conditioners once a week or so. I love John Frieda's purple shampoo and conditioner.

Ive condsidered going back to my natural colour lately but I just dont feel right with darker hair and my natural colour is so...dull and does nothing for my complexion. One day I will maybe go natural but for now Im sticking with my highlights :)

Every now and then I get an urge to dye it a darker/warmer shade of blonde, which in the past has resulted in disasters.. a year and a half ago I dyed it strawberry blonde by accident (was meant to be golden blonde) and it looked awful on me, way too dark and reddish for my skintone. I couldnt get rid of it (was demi-permanent though I didnt realise) and you can still see it in the bottom half of my hair underneath though it has faded a lot.. I really regretted it and vowed to never make my hair darker/warmer toned again. But..

The other day I got a similar urge :confused: I used a 6-8 washes champagne colour as I wanted to tone it down a bit because it was so white blonde and my roots (about 1.5 inches) are much darker and I cant afford to get my roots done yet.
It looked ok, but not great. It really wasnt necessary! And the warm tones didnt suit my skin at all.. When will I learn?!

In the last few days ive washed it loads with clarifying and purple shampoos to try and get it out, and used a strong blue toner. It's nearly back to how it was, but still just a bit golden.

I really hope it hasnt stained it permanently! I really dont know why I keep doing this! Does anyone else keep making the same hair mistakes or is it just me?

[Charlotte:)]

I'm a blonde...sort of. :D I was blonde as a kid, I have blonde eyebrows, and when my hair is freshly washed it definitely looks (sort of) blonde. Does that count?

Actually I think I am two-toned - ashy dark blonde/light brown virgin roots, various stages of grown-out bleach length. Although I bleached, starting with sun-in, for about (GASP) twenty years, and do prefer light blonde, I have now mostly sworn off lightening my hair and am learning to enjoy, as Rini said, the platinum highlights (silver hair) coming in on its own. The damage and brassiness just isn't worth it, and I want really long hair.

Currently at BSL, about 1/3 my length is still bleached. It's very orange/yellow/gold, which, when clean, looks good, BUT when dirty, and the rest of my hair is darker looking, looks really brassy and fake. Updos often look really bad, as the ends are not only thin and dry but a radically different color from my hair at the roots.

Also, I find I have the typical "blonde" hair problems - somehow, I feel like fine hair and lighter hair are intrinsically connected, with many finehaired natural blondes darkening to what I call "hair colored" hair as they get older, but keeping that fragile, translucent hair. In addition to the white eyebrows, I BURN like a madwoman when exposed to more than 15 minutes of direct sun.

Recently I wanted to buy some sunscreen bronzing powder, and one brand had just two colors - "for blondes" and "for brunettes." the "for blondes" was pink and peach-ish in tone; the "for brunettes" more cinnamon, and suited me better. Odd, because I really FELT blonde buying powder to enhance my nonexistent tan.

I think I spend way too much time thinking about "am I blonde" just because I spent so many years thinking of myself as blonde. :silly:

If that's you in the picture, I'd say you are definitely blonde :)

Also, I had dark blonde hair for about the first three years of my life, but when I started spending more time outside in the sun, it became white-blonde for many years. It started darkening again when I was in Jr. High, but I'm not sure if it's because I started spending more time indoors or if it was just darkening with age. I am now college-age and the same dark blonde that I was as a baby, but I am also indoors most of the time (at least during the day). I wonder if I was able to spend more time outside if I would become a towhead agian. What are your thoughts?

[Joliebaby]

:) actually, when it was my natural colour, that was the case :cheese:

That would be because of the effect son sun and general wear from years of washing etc. :) Fine hair is probably more prone to this I think?

[Margeaux]

Blondes with fine hair? Hmmm, mine is definitely what one would call medium/course... some of my hairs are so wiry and strong they could be used for guitar strings! :eek:

[Margeaux]

...and that ought to have been coarse, naturally ;)

[Yamainu]

Another Towhead checking in!

I was born with red hair, but by the time I was a year old it was white blonde, where it stayed until I was thirteen and decided to use "rinse out" red dye. I was then a golden blonde until a year or two ago, when I started noticing a rapid darkening.

Until I read it on this thread, it never occurred to me this might be because I moved somewhere with hard water - how would I counteract that? I have a "daily clarifying" shampoo I just bought to use before I switched to "no cones" - would that be strong enough?

[JenniferNoel]

some of my hairs are so wiry and strong they could be used for guitar strings! :eek:

Sorry but I just have to stop by and LOL at that remark. You get a free cookie for that one.


Being a natural tawny with red highlights, my hair has always been lurking on the F/M bandwidth (pun totally intended). I have strong hair but when it snaps, it snaps badly. Very badly. And my hair hates protein in it's natural state.

[spidermom]

My hair was pretty much fine until age started sproinging out the wirey whites.

[Arianwen]

I had white hair as a small kid, started turning dark blonde around age 12 (I think.) I become quite annoyed if someone says my hair brown...

[jennydaesy]

If I use blonde color on black hair will it stick or look ugly? I always want to go blonde but not sure if it is a good idea to color it..