To Blonde or not to Blonde that is the question

[sazzie88]

Hi all

I would really like your advice as I am contemplating wether to dye my hair back to blonde, with Ktani's non damaging method. I have have a few pics of my hair previously and some of my hair now. Any advice would be much appreciated.

https://www.facebook.com/#%21/photo.php?fbid=10150191617447382&set=t.680403025&type=3&theaterhttps://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150191617447382&set=t.680403025&type=3&theater (https://www.facebook.com/#%21/photo.php?fbid=10150191617447382&set=t.680403025&type=3&theater)




And this is dark

https://www.facebook.com/#%21/photo.php?fbid=10150862321165188&set=t.680403025&type=3&theaterhttps://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150862321165188&set=t.680403025&type=3&theater (https://www.facebook.com/#%21/photo.php?fbid=10150862321165188&set=t.680403025&type=3&theater)

[sazzie88]

I am very sorry some of the links do not work I am loading them onto my photo album now

[sazzie88]

Please can someone give their advice :-)

I would really like to dye my hair blonde but dont know whether I should

[Avital88]

I like the brown better on you, but you sure look good as a blonde too:)
sorry no help here

[ebba]

what is Ktani's non damaging method??
and i think you should go for blonde, why not. Hair is supposed to be fun and you only live once

[NymphSpirit]

I can only see 2 of the pictures :o but I really like the dark hair. If you really want to go blonde, go ahead :) just consider how annoying roots are, and that bleached hair is a bitch to darken evenly (just in case you decide to change colour again)

[Katze]

dyeing or bleaching your hair is damaging. Period. Believe me, I went dark, then blonde, then dark, then blonde more times than I can count. Box dye, salon, bleach streak kits, foils, highlights, sun-in, etc.

If you don't mind damage, you can bleach your hair, but know that it is actually damaging the structure of your hair. There is no means by which you can go blonde without damage, believe me. :)

I can't see your hairtype, but some hair types (mine) get damaged more easily. Fine hair gets damaged more easily than coarse hair, and so on. Nightshade has a good article about this.

[NymphSpirit]

dyeing or bleaching your hair is damaging. Period. Believe me, I went dark, then blonde, then dark, then blonde more times than I can count. Box dye, salon, bleach streak kits, foils, highlights, sun-in, etc.

If you don't mind damage, you can bleach your hair, but know that it is actually damaging the structure of your hair. There is no means by which you can go blonde without damage, believe me. :)

I can't see your hairtype, but some hair types (mine) get damaged more easily. Fine hair gets damaged more easily than coarse hair, and so on. Nightshade has a good article about this.

This. Bleach leaves the hair terribly porous and not even the best mix of oils or whatever can fix that x_x of course it depends on what shade of blonde you want...

[BlondieHepburn]

I can only see 2 images, but I like the dark better on you. And I'd also be interested to know what Ktani's non-damaging method is?

[Mommyof4]

I can't see any of it :/ I'm interested in this "non damaging" method, though.

[sazzie88]

I have naturally blonde hair so need to keep dying when im dark. Im really in two minds I do love dark and I can also measure monthly growth when its dark. But I also Love blonde.

Ktani's Non damaging method is to cover hair in coconut oil first and leave on for an hour before placing dye directly over it. It also helps to lighten and has been done with little to no damage!

[blondie9912]

Ktani's method sounds amazing! I wish I knew about it before, when I would get my hair highlighted

I think you have different 'looks' with different hair colours. The blonde is more sweet girl next door, while the brunette is more sultry/alluring. Go with whatever you feel you identify with more.

But I will add that I've never understood how people dye their hair darker, because light roots are a little bit odd looking :p I think the blonde is lovely on you :) I've always wanted naturally blonde hair. It will look even better and more striking when it's long!

[spidermom]

I know the coconut oil method reduces damage, but I don't think it can prevent damage completely. Anyway, whatever is natural or closest to natural will be the best choice, I think.

[sazzie88]

Oh NO Im split now its 2-2. hmmm..

Thank you for your comment Blondie9912 its a nice compliment and I never would of compared the two colours like that. I keep telling myself to go natural but its the damage I have to go through to getthere....

Thank you for your comments

[Katze]

Oh NO Im split now its 2-2. hmmm..

Thank you for your comment Blondie9912 its a nice compliment and I never would of compared the two colours like that. I keep telling myself to go natural but its the damage I have to go through to getthere....

Thank you for your comments


I see that you list your hair type as fine and thin. That means that if you do decide to go blonde, your hair probably will not get as long as it could without that damage (and I doubt coconut oil will really prevent all damage. Sorry, but I am married to a chemist, know quite a bit about hair and skin, I just can't believe it without scientific evidence :) )

For many years I wanted my hair to be blonde, since I was blonde up until puberty. I was not willing to accept and embrace my natural color. My hair would never get long, despite all the treatments, hot oil (this was popular back in the 90s, no idea why), conditioner, 'Mane and Tail', etc that I tried. My hair structure is more fragile than, say, my coarse-haired friend, so she can get away with bleached streaks and still have fairly healthy hair. I can't.

The question here is: what is more important to you? MUST you be blonde (I was absolutely committed to being blonde for many years, could not think of anything else), or do you want long, healthy hair? While there are many bleach-heads here whose hair is in good condition, it is likely that yours - fine and thin - will not be able to grow long or get thicker if you bleach. Period. If you have sensitive skin or scalp, you are also irritating your skin with every application of bleach. Again, if blonde hair is worth all this to you (as it was to me), that is your choice! :)

Although I still miss that kind of platinum blonde you have in your first pic, I actually have really learned to like my natural hair color (especially when it is freshly washed, and could sort-of pass for blonde). And I get a lot of compliments on it being 'unusual' - yes, it's unusual because women with my color hair either dye or bleach. 8)

My hair is also thicker, shinier, and smoother than it ever was (I may actually change my hair type to iii, thick, if it keeps growing as it has) and my scalp is in better condition than it has been since I started bleaching at age 12.

[sazzie88]

I see that you list your hair type as fine and thin. That means that if you do decide to go blonde, your hair probably will not get as long as it could without that damage (and I doubt coconut oil will really prevent all damage. Sorry, but I am married to a chemist, know quite a bit about hair and skin, I just can't believe it without scientific evidence :) )

For many years I wanted my hair to be blonde, since I was blonde up until puberty. I was not willing to accept and embrace my natural color. My hair would never get long, despite all the treatments, hot oil (this was popular back in the 90s, no idea why), conditioner, 'Mane and Tail', etc that I tried. My hair structure is more fragile than, say, my coarse-haired friend, so she can get away with bleached streaks and still have fairly healthy hair. I can't.

The question here is: what is more important to you? MUST you be blonde (I was absolutely committed to being blonde for many years, could not think of anything else), or do you want long, healthy hair? While there are many bleach-heads here whose hair is in good condition, it is likely that yours - fine and thin - will not be able to grow long or get thicker if you bleach. Period. If you have sensitive skin or scalp, you are also irritating your skin with every application of bleach. Again, if blonde hair is worth all this to you (as it was to me), that is your choice! :)

Although I still miss that kind of platinum blonde you have in your first pic, I actually have really learned to like my natural hair color (especially when it is freshly washed, and could sort-of pass for blonde). And I get a lot of compliments on it being 'unusual' - yes, it's unusual because women with my color hair either dye or bleach. 8)

My hair is also thicker, shinier, and smoother than it ever was (I may actually change my hair type to iii, thick, if it keeps growing as it has) and my scalp is in better condition than it has been since I started bleaching at age 12.

Katze thank you fo your information on this.

The picture of me with blonde hair is nearly exactly like my natural colour. I put some brown dye on it and stupidly used the perminent instead of semi, so there is no way it can fade :mad:


A few weeks ago I used colour B4 which is a hair colour remover, it only partially removed the colour and each time I wash it gets a lighter shade of auburn!

I would love my hair to be my natural colour with no more dying but I have to deal with what I have on there now. So Im not sure wether to leave it and grow it out. ( At the moment it looks ginger with an inch of blonde at the roots. Its not the best when I style it! But the condition is good.

If i do go back to blonde with some sort of dye I will be dying that extra inch of my natural hair that I have grown which I dont want. Also with the blonde dye it tends to turn brassy after a few months. But the bonus of going blonde is once its blonde I can just leave it!:toast:

[missdelarocha]

I think if blonde is your natural colour then I would use ktani's method but not bleach your entire head, definitely not your roots and if possible just foils!
Health wise, if you just let it be and grow out you will eliminate any of the damage you may have caused OR sacrifice some possible damage for easier to grow out hair that you will eventually cut off, it's your choice really, I'm having the exact same problem here :].



Sorry, but I am married to a chemist, know quite a bit about hair and skin, I just can't believe it without scientific evidence :)

Here's the link to ktani's blog post and LHC thread in case you're interested (or anybody really):

http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2009/11/part-1-of-3-part-series-on-innovative.html

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10495

[WaitingSoLong]

I say it depends on your long term goals. Are you wanting to grow really long? I dyed my hair back to blonde after auburn, and I bleached the crap out of it first, then dyed it a darker shade to match my roots so I could grow out with a less obvious demarcation line. That was 6 years ago. I just cut the rest of that old bleached and re-dyed hair out this past October. Yes, it was damaged, but not as bad as it could have been for 6 year old fried hair.

Like others have said, any bleaching is damage. You have beautiful hair, I think it will be ok either way you decide.

IMO...you look younger with blonde hair and older with the darker hair, but both looks seem to suit you...without knowing your personality. Since your hair is shorter now, I say go for it! But that is MY OPINION. I, personally, was glad to get rid of the demarcation line and maintenance of roots with an unnatural color.

[Katze]

I would love my hair to be my natural colour with no more dying but I have to deal with what I have on there now. So Im not sure wether to leave it and grow it out. ( At the moment it looks ginger with an inch of blonde at the roots. Its not the best when I style it! But the condition is good.

If i do go back to blonde with some sort of dye I will be dying that extra inch of my natural hair that I have grown which I dont want. Also with the blonde dye it tends to turn brassy after a few months. But the bonus of going blonde is once its blonde I can just leave it!:toast:[/QUOTE]

You're welcome! As I said, been there...

If I understand correctly the question is whether to grow it out or not. If you do an internet images search for 'ombre' you will find many, many pics of women with lighter ends - this is apparently stylish now! 8)

My problem was that the 'dark dye to cover the demarcation line' in fact involved bleach, so after a couple of months when the dye itself had faded, I was left with an orange demarcation line again. I was another one whose hair went really brassy, really fast - another good reason (for me) to say goodbye to blonde.

If your natural hair is really as light as I seem to gather it is, why not bleach with a weaker peroxide (professionally!) and let it grow out, bleaching less each time until you get to your natural color? Then you can stop the bleach and enjoy your natural color (I am not quite sure what this is - ginger/strawberry blonde?)

Anyway, from your blonde pic, you do have this going for you; you look okay as a blonde. I didn't! (I am too reddish-complected, and platinum faded too fast to yellow, making me look...bad.)

The biggest problem with being blonde, or blonder than you are naturally, besides damage, that is was stated quite nicely by a bleached-blonde, still-longer-haired-than-me, mother of one of my daughter's friends: "Oh, you know, I kind of want to stop bleaching, but the roots are just SOOO dark, so I can't stop!' (She has about my hair color, but much darker eyebrows, and butter-blonde, straightened, overly styled long princess hair.) Not MY taste, but she is happy with it, and, as she says, her son is blonde, so she needs to match him.

[sazzie88]

It did mak me chuckle wanting to match her sons hair colour! My daughter has very light brown/dark blonde hair she has lovely natural blonde streaks and the ends of her hair are very blonde, she is my double she loves to wear matching outfits :-) sad i know!..

Is you colour as of now your avatar? It looks very nice like my daughters. The only problem with my natural/blonde colour is that it makes me look very washed out the dark brings out my blue eyes. But i need to do something soon because my roots are sooo bad!

[justgreen]

I'm one of the few that will tell you to go for the blonde....but only if a pro does it. You cannot have long hair (below bra strap) if you intend to do it yourself. Believe me, I know this for a fact. I get my roots bleached (highlighted) every 4-6 weeks using 40vol, lightened clear out to platinum white. No toners used, as this causes the brassies. I have no bleach damage. My colorist brushes conditioner on the length before brushing the bleach on the roots.

I could only see two of the photos (you should remove the bad links as soon as permitted), but I liked the blonde the best.

[goldenmoments]

I like you with blonde hair. Not many people have that colour naturally and if you plan to grow out your hair long it will be easier to maintain for you. Also, the blonde, at least in the photos I could see flattered your skin.

The dark is also nice, ( I prefer the blonde) however, if you stick with dark I would also darken the eyebrows.

[GlennaGirl]

I say go right in the middle with a honey very light brown. And use as low a peroxide level as you can. ETA: The reason I suggest this is that although both the dark and light look great on you, each by itself just looks sort of one-dimensional and flat to me. A slight contrast would add mega shine and would go nicely with your skin tone.

[sazzie88]

[quote.The dark is also nice, ( I prefer the blonde) however, if you stick with dark I would also darken the eyebrows.[/quote]

The eyebrows drive me mad I draw them on and by lunch they are gone!

[sazzie88]

I say go right in the middle with a honey very light brown. And use as low a peroxide level as you can. ETA: The reason I suggest this is that although both the dark and light look great on you, each by itself just looks sort of one-dimensional and flat to me. A slight contrast would add mega shine and would go nicely with your skin tone.

Im now considering red henna! oh no glennagirl what have you done ha ha.

Do you think the red/dark aburn would look nice?

[sazzie88]

I'm one of the few that will tell you to go for the blonde....but only if a pro does it. You cannot have long hair (below bra strap) if you intend to do it yourself. Believe me, I know this for a fact. I get my roots bleached (highlighted) every 4-6 weeks using 40vol, lightened clear out to platinum white. No toners used, as this causes the brassies. I have no bleach damage. My colorist brushes conditioner on the length before brushing the bleach on the roots.

I could only see two of the photos (you should remove the bad links as soon as permitted), but I liked the blonde the best.


Bad links removed :)

Thank you for your advice, Your stylist sounds great! I wish I could afford to go to a stylist every 4 to 6 weeks I usually do home colouring and trim myself :o

at the moment it is a very light auburn and is fading everyday a tad, but my roots look white and the hair is gradually getting orange I do have to do something but glennagirl has now given me an idea!;)

[justgreen]

I found my stylist at beauty school. She was a senior and already had a job lined up. When I called for the appointment at the school, I requested the best foiler . I've been with her for two years and she charges me $70. That includes face/brow waxing and polishes my toenails and decorates them.

Seriously, if you go to a beauty school, ask the instructor to check the student's work until you feel happy with the person. I have lived in this city for ten years and probably five of those years frequented the beauty school. Never had any problems.

[sazzie88]

Thats a good idea justgreen, There are a few collages around here and I have been to one before for treatments without any problems. I just dont like sitting there with young girls staring and giggling, ha ha.

Your siggy pic is very nice ( dumb question but is that your hair?).

I wish mine was that long I would have a lot more choice.

[Piyo]

Maybe getting your hair dyed a medium blonde (not platinum or anything) would be less damaging? You could even do some highlights, then I definitely think you should just grow out your natural color. I bet its beautiful and will look amazing long.

[justgreen]

Thats a good idea justgreen, There are a few collages around here and I have been to one before for treatments without any problems. I just dont like sitting there with young girls staring and giggling, ha ha.

Your siggy pic is very nice ( dumb question but is that your hair?).

I wish mine was that long I would have a lot more choice.

Yes, thank you, that's my hair in the siggy pic and it was taken last June after a highlighting session. I have a natural dark panel underneath, so that's the ombre effect you see close to the bottom. I only get highlights done from the ears up. I like the effects it gives when I do a twisty bun. I've been bleaching my hair for the last ten years, only growing it long, seriously, for the last six years. So any major growth came after I joined here.

Usually if you go in the morning to the beauty school, it should just be little old ladies having stuff done.:D

[ems]

Getting back to natural colour I think is the best in the long run, since you don't have to deal with the up keep of the roots. I'm also blonde and dyed my hair dark for some years. I hated the roots, and had to dye them every three weeks. I would suggest going back in small steps though. Go to a stylist and tell them you want your natural colour back, and have them do highlights on the dyed part. I did this, and after three sessions I was back to blond.

[beachgirlla]

Katze thank you fo your information on this.

The picture of me with blonde hair is nearly exactly like my natural colour. I put some brown dye on it and stupidly used the perminent instead of semi, so there is no way it can fade :mad:


A few weeks ago I used colour B4 which is a hair colour remover, it only partially removed the colour and each time I wash it gets a lighter shade of auburn!

I would love my hair to be my natural colour with no more dying but I have to deal with what I have on there now. So Im not sure wether to leave it and grow it out. ( At the moment it looks ginger with an inch of blonde at the roots. Its not the best when I style it! But the condition is good.

If i do go back to blonde with some sort of dye I will be dying that extra inch of my natural hair that I have grown which I dont want. Also with the blonde dye it tends to turn brassy after a few months. But the bonus of going blonde is once its blonde I can just leave it!:toast:

If your hair is blond and your hair is not very long now, well as far as I see it from the pics :), and if you are asking this question now, then you seem to love to go natural as blond, then you are better do it NOW than later when you spend so much time growing is, this means if your hair going to be somehow damaged from the dye removal then you just somehow start over slowly growing your hair, there is no way that you will keep dyeing your hair brown forever just to keep up with the blond roots at the same time you are not liking the brown much and is confused to keep it or go back natural, if you want long healthy hair then go natural no matter what is your natural hair is, then later if you like to get some color, go with some natural hair dyes, I would not advise you to keep dyeing your hair with the chemical dye as I have seen the severe damage myself, you are beautiful girl, blond or brunette :D, you seem to be happier with the blond so just don't let it bother you so much, I have read somewhere online that some people used vitamin C (crushed tablets mixed with water, put on for 2-3 hours and then washed) are stripping the dyes from the hair specifically when dark chemical dyes applied on lighter hair, I'm sure that you have some 500gm Vitamin C around, do a strand test and see what happens, I think it should be done many times and some reported no damages, I can't find that link :(

[holothuroidea]

If you haven't seen your natural color in a while, why don't you give it a go? It mights surprise you!

I was in a cycle of blonde, brown, blonde, brown. None of the colors I tried has been as nice as my natural hair color, which until 9 months ago I hadn't seen since I was 14.

My vote is for grow it out.

[1nuitblanche]

Go for blonde! It looks pretty on you!

[woolyleprechaun]

When I was in your boat a few years back, I thought to myself 'oh sod this! Im giving henna a go' (so it was neither of the origional options....) Sorry if thats no help to you, I just find that when you cant decide between things, go for something totaly different :)

[sazzie88]

When I was in your boat a few years back, I thought to myself 'oh sod this! Im giving henna a go' (so it was neither of the origional options....) Sorry if thats no help to you, I just find that when you cant decide between things, go for something totaly different :)

I had thought about henna, is it removable after sometime? what colour did you go for?