best way back to natural color.

[Kayla Nyx]

I've been searching for ways go try and get my hair back to it's original color the SAFEST possible. My mom thinks I should just cut out all the color (my hair would only be 2 inches long) and my aunt thought of stripping the black out and coloring it as close to my natural light brown as possible. I'd really love to hear some suggestions.. I'm kinda stuck! http://http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/163184_1380164244762_1851617055_716345_4346672_n.j pg it should look around like this...http://http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/11544_1083619951340_1851617055_172087_1494933_n.jp g

[Kayla Nyx]

[QUOTE=Kayla Nyx;1539296]I've been searching for ways go try and get my hair back to it's original color the SAFEST possible. My mom thinks I should just cut out all the color (my hair would only be 2 inches long) and my aunt thought of stripping the black out and coloring it as close to my natural light brown as possible. I'd really love to hear some suggestions.. I'm kinda stuck! http://http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/11544_1083619951340_1851617055_172087_1494933_n.jp g that's that I want it to look like. http://http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/163184_1380164244762_1851617055_716345_4346672_n.j pg

[lillylonghair]

Honestly,I think you have 2 options. The first is to suck it up and just trim as you grow out. Many ladies here are doing it (myself included). You could strip (I suggest Color fix or color oops and NOT bleach) and then just be sure to baby it as you grow out.

[Kayla Nyx]

of course I trim it! Why wouldn't I? Im just saying I wouldn't want to cut it ALL off!

[spidermom]

It depends on what you can tolerate. Every time I've colored/bleached and didn't like it anymore, I'd grow it out until my natural hair was long enough that I could cut the colored stuff off, which was always right about shoulder length. (I've had to go pixie to get rid of perms, though.) I didn't care if my hair is two tone. My main focus was to keep my hair in as good of condition as possible.

If being two-toned bothers you, then go with the strip and re-color option, but it will cause more damage, resulting in Velcro ends that you're going to be fighting with all the time.

[Khiwanean]

There are color removers that could help you get back to your natural color - or at least closer if nothing else. I don't have any experience with them personally (I've never even dyed my hair), but suicides_eve has an article (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=94) on her experience with color remover.

[kwaniesiam]

The pictures aren't working, but if you want to get permanent black color out use ColorFix, it will turn ORANGE, then go to a stylist and have them match the orange ends to your roots as closely as possible. The colorfix won't affect the color of your roots so you wont have any troubles there if you get some on them.

[NorCal]

If you do go with a color remover, use color oops, it's damaging, but it's much less damaging than bleach. You have to rinse a loooong time. Follow the instructions. The problem is, if you do remove the color, you will need to dye it again, since you will likely end up with a weird color. Your hair will also be damaged and dry, so dye a full shade lighter than you want to be, and use a deposit only color so you don't lift the roots at all. If it's a bit too light, you can color again, but if it's too dark you'll be back at square one.

Or, you could skip the more damaging process, and choose a color in between your natural color and the dyed part and make the "line" less noticable. Go with deposit-only to keep the damage at a minimum.

That's my two cents, I just had the same issue, and I took the color oops route, and didn't like the damage it caused. I wish I had just stuck with the dark color and kept my hair healthier. I just cut off about an inch today to get rid of the frayed ends.

[spidermom]

of course I trim it! Why wouldn't I? Im just saying I wouldn't want to cut it ALL off!

A lot of people here don't trim their hair, and they have varying reasons. There's no reason for any of us to assume somebody will "of course" trim or not trim nor to take offense about it one way or the other.

[Kayla Nyx]

oops! here are the pictures.
the way it is now :http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/163184_1380164244762_1851617055_716345_4346672_n.j pg
around the color I want it : http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/11544_1083619951340_1851617055_172087_1494933_n.jp g

[ladyfey]

I had dyed red, knee length hair. I stripped the red out and dyed it as close to my natural color as possible and started growing it out. I didn't intend to ever cut the length off, but once my natural color was about to my jaw, I cut the nasty fried-and-dyed hair off. My hair is back to my knees and natural now. What an improvement, at least for me. It feels so much better, thicker and is way less maintenance. So that was the road I took. Good luck however you go! :)

[Firefox7275]

Welcome! :)

I think you will find it difficult to get a good match, as you have two different colours in your hair to start out with. Is your hair in good condition? If not you'd be best to use semi-permanent colours whilst you work on getting the moisture back in. If it's in good shape you might try colour remover as others have mentioned. Do you heat style your hair regularly? If so you may have to stop as your hair may not take the stress of colour stripper, plus dye, plus flat irons.

Please save hair from your brush or plughole and do a strand test in case the result is a colour you can't live with or the hairs become very weak. :( Coconut oil is regarded on LHC to be the best thing to strengthen chemically processed hair and protect from future colourings. There are threads on coconut oil shampoo (Movie Star Method) and also pre-dye heavy oilings that are worth a couple of hours of your time. Henna glosses are also supposed to be good for strength, loads of information on that on the Henna board.

[Kayla Nyx]

thanks for all the tips! I do believe my hair is in fair condition, I've had it natural, black and blonde, bleached for 6 hours for totally blonde, brown, back to black and blonde, then my current. I'm very nervous and protective over my hair now. I don't use heat to style my hair at all, and I apply leave in conditioner after I wash it in the morning.

[Roscata]

If you decide to use a color remover or bleach I suggest you consider doing an overnight coconut oiling and then apply the bleach/color remover over the still oiled hair for protection. More info here: Possible way to protect hair from conventional peroxide damage (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10495).
And if that doesn't take it back to your natural color (which it probably won't), you could consider a cassia/henna treatment. Here is a link with info and pics: Cassia Obovata (http://www.mehandi.com/shop/cassiaobovatabuy.html).
ETA: If you want a gentler approach to lightening your hair this might be of interest: Honey Lightening (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=61)
Good luck! :D

[torrilin]

I'd probably just deal with two-tone hair. But my hair is fine thickness, and while it copes ok with bleach, that doesn't mean I *should* bleach it tons. Realistically, it bleaches out in sun and enthusiastically bleaches out if I put even semi-permanent hair dye on it. Very excitable, my hair. (it's also rather fond of losing whatever haircolor I put on it, so you just see lots of a color that looks like the way my hair sunbleaches)

Realistically, once your hair is long enough to stick in a bun, most people won't even notice the two tone effect. Roots tend to stick out most when they're at the 1-2" long stage, because the demarcation line will be pretty sharp. The longer the roots get, the fuzzier the demarcation line gets, and the less obvious it is.

[Nevvie]

When I decided to stop coloring my hair I did one last dye job a shade or two darker than what I thought my natural hair color was (hard to say since I'd been coloring it since 13). I got lucky and it faded in perfectly. I can't really tell for sure where the dye ends and the virgin hair begins. I'm guessing I'm virgin until maybe somewhere from the top of my ear to my earlobes or so but only my ends feel dry and the color blended so perfectly that I'll probably never know.

If the color is close to your natural color just going 2 toned may be best if you can stand it. I was going from dyed blonde to naturally dark brown so that just wasn't something I was willing to do.

[lillylonghair]

I just meant to ''suck up'' the two tone hair and trim as you grow out if you don't want to deal with the dye damage. And yes,as spidermom said not everyone trims.

[ElvenArchess]

I cannot stress the magic of Color Oops! I dyed my hair black about seven times in the last two years; my hair literally hasn't been it's natural color since I was 14. Although Color Oops didn't bring it back to it's exact original shade (though the younger hair near my roots is close), there is not a trace of black left. My natural shade is a light ashy brown and the darkest my hair is now (at the ends where it's been enduring years of box colors) can easily be described as "dark-medium brown". The only downside was the tedious rinsing and that my hair smelled like rotten oranges for about four days. I used it twice (once on all of hair, then once more on just the ends) and was very satisfied. :3

[UltraBella]

When I decided to quit dying my hair copper red I went ahead and lifted the copper and then redeposited a neutral color. I know a lot of people here would tell you not to do that, but it worked quite well and my hair is very healthy still. My ends are just fine, no fried, dried out gross hair. It isn't a good option for everyone, but it was the best option for me and I am so happy I didn't cut it or try to deal with two-toned hair.
Good luck with whatever you decide !

[Katze]

Honestly,I think you have 2 options. The first is to suck it up and just trim as you grow out. Many ladies here are doing it (myself included). You could strip (I suggest Color fix or color oops and NOT bleach) and then just be sure to baby it as you grow out.

This is what I did. There was a period of about six months when the bleach was growing out and the last dye job I did had faded super fast (I blame SMTs) and my roots just looked greeeeasy in comparison to the orangy bleached bits. But I sucked it up, took better care of my hair, and am now 100% virgin at BSL.

The two toned look looked terrible when I saw it in the mirror, but you know what? I met DH during that time, and he did not give a fig about how my hair looked but fell in love with my personality, or so he says. :silly:

I have probably cut off twice as much hair as I have grown since I have been here, since my hair unfortunately tapers if left alone and I am self-conscious about this look on me.


thanks for all the tips! I do believe my hair is in fair condition, I've had it natural, black and blonde, bleached for 6 hours for totally blonde, brown, back to black and blonde, then my current. I'm very nervous and protective over my hair now. I don't use heat to style my hair at all, and I apply leave in conditioner after I wash it in the morning.

This sounds exactly like my hair history. I started bleaching when I was 13 or so (Sun-in, my cousins were doing it and they were 'cool') and never looked back until I was well over 30.

For my fine, wavy hair, this kind of treatment meant it never grew, and it also meant my scalp was very unhappy (sebhorreic dermatitis). Now my hair is thicker, shinier, and in better condition that it has been in over 20 years, and my scalp is mostly normal.

So it is doable. It takes some perserverance, but it is worth it!

[KahlanAmnell]

I'm in the same boat as you with growing out color. I had BSL length hair and decided the best bet would be to cut it as short as I could tolerate it, which was just above my shoulders. My plan is what some of the ladies suggested, to grow it and trim off the dyed bits as it grows. There is a thread in the forum for people growing out dye that's pretty helpful as well for styling tips.

The longer it gets, the more you can see how nice the natural color and texture is compared to the dyed parts. :-)

[CurlyZ]

Dye: you will feel good about the color, but your hair won't be healthy.
Growing out: you will feel bad with the demarcation line for a while, but your virgin hair will be awesome!

It's kinda asking somebody "do you wanna get shot or hanged???" :(
Just with a nicer end result :D

Whatever your decision may be: Good luck!!!

[angelthadiva]

I have been dye free for a little over 2 years. My virgin outgrowth is down to just past my shoulders from my canopy, and a little longer from my undergrowth. I'm currently rocking tri-toned hair that I affectionately and accurately refer to as: salt, pepper and paprika :wink: Since my outgrowth is so long and I wear my hair up, it is really not that noticeable. On the rare occasions I wear it down, I am at home and they could care less what color my hair is.

I think you have 3 options: 1. Remove the color and apply as close to natural color as possible 2. Cut 3. Grow it out until it is at an acceptable length--2" hair doesn't work on everyone and would be a dramatic change from your current length. My vote would be to grow until it is at a length you can live with, then cut off the dye.