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Teas
February 3rd, 2011, 09:58 PM
Let me start out by first saying that I have been coloring my hair since the 6th grade. I don't like my natural hair color. At all. I think it is beautiful on other people, but just terrible on me. I naturally have dishwater ash blond hair.
Normally, I lighten my hair enough so that it no longer can be mistaken for brown and is rid of the gray ash color. When I color my roots a few weeks later, I always put dye over the rest of my hair as well to refresh the blond color and get rid of any brassiness or fading that might have occured.
For someone who has enough hair for 3 or more people, I'm concerned about coloring my hair as it gets longer. Right now it is only a few inches past my shoulders and I have to use a little over 1 box of home hair color. (I don't even need half of the second box)
I was just wondering if anyone else out there was in a similar situation or had any tips for me.

...or if I was just out of luck and had to go back to my natural color in order to have the long hair I want.

IcarusBride
February 3rd, 2011, 10:06 PM
I used to bleach/dye my hair a few years ago, the longest I had it at that time was BSL and I used 1.5-2 boxes of bleach/dye. My hair is very thin though. I just didn't do it very often.

FoxRain
February 3rd, 2011, 10:12 PM
Bleach is not the most healthy for long hairs, but I've seen people with nice waist length bleached hair. However, you need to be careful not to do it too much or too often.
Maybe use cassia once in a while?

Teas
February 3rd, 2011, 10:17 PM
I've never had a problem with my hair getting overly processed. My hair seems to be really resilient to damage while coloring. The only time my hair has ever been damaged was when we had an accident switching from red to blond where I looked like a giraffe and had it colored a second time within a few days. :/

I guess what I'm trying to say is that my real question isn't whether or not my hair will be damaged, because I know of those risks, it's whether or not anyone had tips on getting their color to last or stretching the box color.

Teas
February 3rd, 2011, 10:24 PM
Bleach is not the most healthy for long hairs, but I've seen people with nice waist length bleached hair. However, you need to be careful not to do it too much or too often.
Maybe use cassia once in a while?

Thanks for the tip on the cassia! I hadn't heard of that before but I think I'll try it. I'd prefer that over box color and bleach if it works. :)

DTsgirl
February 3rd, 2011, 10:47 PM
I have iii, M, past waist hair. I have been coloring red it for 5 years (Just switched to blonde, but that's a whole different topic). As far as making the boxed dyes color last longer, using the "color safe" shampoo helps preserve the color, as does stretching washes. At my length, to fully saturate the whole shebang, I need 5 boxes of dye. However, the full length only gets done about twice a year. I dye the roots (1 box) every 3-6 weeks (depending on the current lazy factor) and about every 3 months, use two boxes and comb the dye through to freshen the color, without the full hassle of full head dyeing. Damage-wise, I honestly never notice and increase / decrease in splits, dryness etc. However, I did start taking better care of my hair after I started dyeing (better products, braid every day, brush more gently), so that's probably why it maintained damage level.
Now, if you are just lightening and toning your hair, instead of taking it to a 100% different color family, I would guess that you can get away with very rarely dyeing your length and instead just maintain the roots and occasionally pull the dye through to freshen the color, or use glazes and blonde shampoos /conditioners to keep it vivid. As I tweak my new shade, I think that's what I will eventually be able to do (once the residual red is mostly gone).

kwaniesiam
February 3rd, 2011, 10:57 PM
Are you going lighter than your original color or just depositing warm tones? If you just want to deposit warm tones to combat the ashy dishwater color you dislike, you can try cassia or maybe a *VERY* weak henna gloss mixed with cassia if you want to go an all natural route. i would also suggest looking in to deposit-only dyes, the Elumen thread is a good place to start.

juliaxena
February 3rd, 2011, 11:31 PM
The problem I see is that you put dye over the rest of your hair too, not just the roots. One dye time is damaging enough. Your hair may retaliate when long if you do this.

Angeletti
February 4th, 2011, 12:08 AM
I agree with kwaniesiam, maybe try a deposit only color to minimize the damage. My hair is currently at classic and what I've been doing is just coloring the roots instead of all over, I might do an all over color once every six months if that. I've also found that stretching hair washings saves the color from fading quickly.

Avital88
February 4th, 2011, 01:01 AM
I would also recommend not doing your lenght every time that you color,just the roots and twice a year the lenght, and look for a good shampoo for blondes.
They really lighten and bring the blond back too , you might be happy with your hair now but if you keep on putting dye on your lenght all the time and wants to grow it long i think your progress is gonna be slower then when reducing the dye.
I used to be a frequent dyer myself, and now that i stopped it my hair is much happier and almost at hip lenght where i could never have been if i was still bleaching.
Good luck and i hope you will find something that works for you.

Elph
February 4th, 2011, 01:13 AM
While I am not a hairdresser - I stoped using boxes and started using the tubes of colour. I would suggest if you wanted to use that you can make a tube of colour go further esp if your only changing the shade not changing the colour.

Otherwise MAYBE you could go darker that would be easier......

HTH and if you want more info give me a yell

UltraBella
February 4th, 2011, 01:18 AM
I have very thick tailbone length hair and it is dyed and I bleach in highlights several times a year. I refresh my color often by pulling it through the ends but I am using a Demi color. A Demi has a peroxide developer but it is weaker in comparison to a permanent color so I am at least minimizing some of the damage. My hair does much better with professional color processing compared to box dye.
Have you considered going darker than your natural instead of lighter ? It is much less damaging to only deposit color than it is to lift your natural color.

Teas
February 4th, 2011, 08:35 AM
I have very thick tailbone length hair and it is dyed and I bleach in highlights several times a year. I refresh my color often by pulling it through the ends but I am using a Demi color. A Demi has a peroxide developer but it is weaker in comparison to a permanent color so I am at least minimizing some of the damage. My hair does much better with professional color processing compared to box dye.
Have you considered going darker than your natural instead of lighter ? It is much less damaging to only deposit color than it is to lift your natural color.

Yes, actually. It is currently a dark brown. I've been giving my hair a break from the blond bleach for awhile, but I miss my blond hair too much to keep doing it.

And I notice that using blond shampoos and conditioners do not help with the brassy tone it gets after a few weeks of coloring. (which is why I usually dye my whole head) I've tried using the shampoos that are made to tone down brassy tones, the kind that are ultra violet purple, but I haven't been able to find one that is not tested on animals.

honeyblonde
February 4th, 2011, 11:14 AM
Hi Teas! I am a bottle blonde with almost waist length hair :). I touch up my roots every 4-6 weeks, I have learned to NEVER overlap the color!!! Last March I cut off over 3 inches because it was so damaged!!! It has been almost a year since the chop!

My hair has grown like crazy!!! I made hubby do the annual hair inspection last night :rolleyes: , he trimmed off 1 inch and gave me a NICE straight hemline!!!! You just have to baby your hair, wear it up, use a satin pillow case, oil, condition. Good luck, hope this helps!

Teas
February 4th, 2011, 05:37 PM
Hi Teas! I am a bottle blonde with almost waist length hair :). I touch up my roots every 4-6 weeks, I have learned to NEVER overlap the color!!! Last March I cut off over 3 inches because it was so damaged!!! It has been almost a year since the chop!

My hair has grown like crazy!!! I made hubby do the annual hair inspection last night :rolleyes: , he trimmed off 1 inch and gave me a NICE straight hemline!!!! You just have to baby your hair, wear it up, use a satin pillow case, oil, condition. Good luck, hope this helps!

Thanks for the tip. That's probably what I'll end up doing. I don't really mind cutting off an inch or two of damaged hair every now and then. I find hair grows very fast after cutting off damage.

Panth
February 4th, 2011, 05:59 PM
I believe Ktani has a post on her blog about protecting hair whilst dying, and enhancing colour uptake and colour longevity, by using coconut oil. You might want to check it out. :)