hair dye/bleach

[skunkpumpkin]

I'm thinking about dying my hair blonde, basically bleach it. Would you recommend using an at-home bleach kit (i'm told that the hair can end up spotty) or going to a salon? How much do salon dye-jobs cost, typically? thanks for any help :)

[sky73]

What kind of kit are you talking about? If you mean just using bleach, like some of my friends did in school, that's pretty damaging to your hair. I would at least get a quote from a salon before doing anything drastic. Are you also prepared to deal with the dreadful dark roots that quickly follow? Geez, I sound like someone's mother! :p

[Cissy]

Seeing as your hair is dark (from your av) I'd reccomend a salon, since you're going with such a drasatic change. But I have no idea what it costs.

I like your hair the way it is now though :)

ETA - And if you're going for a natural look, make sure to get highlights and lowlights!

[skunkpumpkin]

heh, okee, thanks guys :)

[rincaro]

How long is your hair? Back home (OH) single process bleaching would have run me about $60 for my then shoulder length hair. Cissy is right though. For a natural look you need highlights and low-lights. Probably more like $100 for something of that nature.

[dawngirl]

Let a pro do it for you ~ you're talking about a major change. I got mine cut, and two color process highlighted (partial) for $145 about two months ago - $100 for the color $45 for the cut. :eek: It's an expensive salon, I was trying to help out a new business in my neighborhood and a family friend happens to work there (guilt trip). You could check out a beauty academy in your area if you have any nearby. They offer reduced price services usually performed by their more advanced students.

[skunkpumpkin]

I'm not looking for an uber-natural look, but yikes, it still sounds expensive! my main concern is that i won't like it, and would want to dye it brown...and it's basically up in the air how well other dyes work with bleach and/or someone's hair, am i right?

[katt]

If you do it at home, I'd say using a kit would be easiest and cheapest. I think L'Oreal sells a two step kit blonde kit that includes a highlighting kit to get it looking natural. I can't remember what the policy for animal testing there is but that's my best bet. I don't like salons AT ALL because my last dye job was horrible.. and it was only highlights! The lady covered up my old copper ones that I did myself then put blonde in. I'm NOT a blonde highlight girl, but worst of all they were thin and chunky looks better in my hair. Then, a month or so, the brown dye she used to cover up my highlights somehow faded to the old copper.. So I've got damaged, weird looking hair. Either way, use a deep conditioning prouduct on your hair every week to help it to stay strong.

[mosquito]

Go to a beauty school. Way cheaper and they'll usually do a good job. If they don't, complain and they will fix it for you.

[Life2k]

but remember the roots have to be redone at great expense every 6 weeks or so.

[rincaro]

I saw a kit in the store that is supposed to lighten "even the darkest hair". But it only makes it a light brown shade. I'm wondering if that will work for me. My hair is dyed, dark brown w/highlights. But it's naturally dark brown. I want something lighter, but I don't want to bleach it or go blonde.

[msbunnicula]

If you are going to lighten your hair at home, you will likely have to get a bleaching kit (i.e. Blondissima) and a haircolour. I have never seen a bleaching kit get hair a nice bleached blonde the first time. Instead, even if you leave it one for a long time, you are going to end up with yellowy hair, so you'll have to put a nice light blonde shade on it so that it will be a nice colour. I suggest that you talk to a cosmetician at the drug store, and he or she will hook you up.

[Sokara]

When bleaching your hair you should see a professional. It can be very damaging to your hair if done wrong, and the only way to fix that is to grow it all out again. Also, you have very dark hair so it will prolly take more than one go to get the color out. Your hair will have to go through the stages of light brown, red, orange, and yellow. DO RESEARCH. There's tons of stuff on the internet about hair care and dying your hair. The only regret I have about dying my hair is that I wish I knew more about it when I started. For example, who would guess that the oils on your scalp help keep your hair from falling out when you dye it? Not the first thing I thought about but it sure is nice to know. If you use a home kit fallow the instructions EXACTLY.

[Joyful-Eyes]

I would go to a pro if I were you...I bleached and it was horrible! I am thinning, and that
could be why but I doubt it...Just know that it will damage it, no way to avoid that...

[Thalia]

I would go to a salon first and then buy supplies from a beauty supply store for touch ups. Talk to the clerks at one until they can help you figure out what to buy. Buying the peroxide, boosting powder and color separately is much cheaper than using stuff from the box. You will also need to buy a bowl and a brush. Unfortunately you will need to find someone willing to help you every 6 weeks. I kept my hair bleached for a long time. My mother does, too, so we traded off, doing each others roots. One thing to make sure it gets light enough is to put a plastic bag over your head and sit under a heat lamp or heat your head with the blow-dryer. Don't let the roots get too long because it will come out uneven; hair closer to your warm scalp will lighten more.

With hair as dark as yours you will need strong peroxide. If it turns out too yellow or brassy, you can get semipermanent toner from the beauty supply store (ask clerk). I will also warn you that strong peroxide should be kept away from the skin of your scalp as much as possible. Even with this precaution I used to get chemical burns on my scalp. I had beautiful hair but sores on my scalp. Fun! Plus the roots are a bitch. Do in a ventilated area!!

I now highlight my hair a lot so when it grows out it doesn't look bad, plus the frosting cap keeps it away from my scalp.

Take home message- It's a big commitment.

[shagginabit]

Well, I've bleached my hair a couple of times (obviously). I used a home kit. If i'm not mistaken the first kit I used was the Clairol bleaching kit. The second one was an off brand for five bucks, and it worked better. One treatment turned my hair blonde. Then I dyed it with a semi permi red. (Next color on the list is purple) I would recommend you either researching and reading alot on the subject of bleaching, or go to a trained professional.

[skunkpumpkin]

whoo. thanks for the responses! My hair actually looks a little darker in the pic than it is and is lighter now due to sunlight. It also typically takes to dyes very well but i don't know if that's the policy with bleach. Thanks for your suggestions, and i will do research if someone can't tell me if other "natural" color dyes react well with the bleached hair. I'm rather concerned about whether or not I'll like it, and if dying it brown after bleaching would work. gahhh i'm so anxious.

[Thalia]

I'm rather concerned about whether or not I'll like it, and if dying it brown after bleaching would work. gahhh i'm so anxious.For dying it back, go to a professional who has done this successfully. And expert of experts. That is because attempting this can turn your hair green!

[lucycat]

About 6 years ago I had my hair dyed back to light brown after it was bleached. It faded a lot and basically I had to just wait for it to grow back in to be normal again. Maybe they have a better process for doing it now? I don't know. I really liked being that blonde, but it was hard on my hair and I knew I couldn't keep doing it forever. It's a heck of a lot of maintenence and if you're getting it done professionally, think of how much all the touch ups will cost you. Also, when I first got it done, I was scared of looking at myself since it was so dramatically different, so if you're anxious, you might want to think of something more subtle? I would always tell myself "it'll grow back anyway" so I never really cared. I guess it depends on how much of a risk taker you are :)

[rincaro]

Tried the kit. Feria Hi Lift Brown. Don't use it! I have blonde-ish roots and the rest of my hair is basically the same. They said you could use it over old permanent dye. They lied! :lol:

[shagginabit]

what color did you want, rin? blondish? If you just want to lighten it a bit, I would have suggested a color lifter.

[catgirl67]

I speak from experience. Do not bleach it yourself! Go to a salon. You can find some really good salons that don't cost a fortune. Your hair color is so pretty! Why do you want to go blonde?

[rincaro]

Supposedly this crap was supposed to be a color lifter. My hair is med/dark reddish brown with some red/auburn streaks. I like it. But I wanted it a lightish golden brown. Although blonde might amuse me for five minutes.

[skunkpumpkin]

you guys are frrreakin' me out.


...and crushing my dreams! :cry:


I want it bleach-blonde (i don't know how else to describe it)


But i just want to try it out...which seems to be a losing situation. as far as growing it out, A) my hair is kinda slow-growing B) I hate having two-toned hair :(


Anyways, thanks for the help! When the time comes, I'll see a pro :)

[April]

My hair is naturally a dark, ashy blonde, but I dye it a lighter color. I've tried dying the length of my hair to match my roots a few times, but it always fades out, regardless of whether I do it myself or with a pro. And it's not like my hair has been bleached such a distance, ya know? So dying it back to a brown shade might be harder than you'd anticipate, but not impossible. It just might take a few reapplications and you'd probably want to use a color depositing conditioner and start at a shade that's darker than what you want. It's too hard to do this to match a naturally dark ash blonde color- the right balance is hard to find to avoid a green or dull look. Anyway, that's my problem, not yours! Think of it this way, if you want to experiment, go for it. Why not? Your hair will grow back. How long is it now? If it's just at your shoulders now, it won't be too rough growing it back. My hair's halfway down my back, so I'm stuck at this color until I want it shorter.