Help! Hair Color Question

[Miner's wife]

Are there any hair color specialists here that can answer this for me? I got my hair color done today. Normally I get all over hair color to help grey hair coverage which is essentially lowlights. Then I get blond highlights all over. This time my hair dresser barely put any highlights in which has resulted in very mousey color that is too dark and harsh for my skin tone. It even has an orange cast along my hairline. If I could get some blond highlights It would look better. Do I need to wait a certain amount of time before getting highlights? I would rather put up with the awful hair color than have it get horribly damaged. I've been going to the same hair dresser for nearly fifteen years and don't know why she colored my hair the way she did.

 

[880]

If your hair is reasonably healthy, there’s no reason why you cannot have highlights over single process. But, it strikes me from reading your post that you are unhappy with the base coat (highlights won’t help an underlying orange cast). If it means stripping off the base coat or color correction of it, perhaps that should be addressed with your hairdresser bf you add highlights on top. I would ask your hairdresser why it came out differently, or if you could have the same as a occasion. My hairdresser has a spectrum of shades for me depending on time of year (more lowlights in the winter, more highlights in the summer). But using all over color on gray sometimes comes out weirdly. I know this from when I did my own hair during Covid shelter in place. Good luck!

ETA: out of curiosity, I googled this issue and found these nuggets of info on line. But, I would not recommend experimenting with any DIY Such as the options below without first consulting with your hairdresser. I think a blue toned shampoo for instance might make the color darker which is not the result you want.

 

[BlueCherry]

My hair started turning white when I was very young. I always dyed it brown myself but when the roots were mostly white I asked my hairdresser to deal with it.

He always dyed it brown then highlighted it. Before long it was like straw and falling out. I decided to go the DIY route.

I used colour stripper from the chemist. This left me with yellow hair which I toned using professional ash and violet toners. In time this hair grew out and I was applying a permanent ash blond all over. That's when the compliments started.

Now I leave it silver but sometimes pop a hint of lilac in it and use a silver shampoo. It's never looked better and healthier.

In your case it sounds like the hairdresser is using low lights to balance the amount of highlights which will eventually damage your hair if it's longer.

You say it's mousey but orange. To tone down the orange you need an ash toner. But if you use an ash toner it may end up looking more mousey as ash (green) can be dull.

Here is my hair now with the hint of lilac on top of my natural grey. DIY colour was the smartest move I made with respect to grey hair.

Going grey will nearly always have a period of brassy hair while you transition.

 

[sdkitty]

My hair started turning white when I was very young. I always dyed it brown myself but when the roots were mostly white I asked my hairdresser to deal with it.

He always dyed it brown then highlighted it. Before long it was like straw and falling out. I decided to go the DIY route.

I used colour stripper from the chemist. This left me with yellow hair which I toned using professional ash and violet toners. In time this hair grew out and I was applying a permanent ash blond all over. That's when the compliments started.

Now I leave it silver but sometimes pop a hint of lilac in it and use a silver shampoo. It's never looked better and healthier.

In your case it sounds like the hairdresser is using low lights to balance the amount of highlights which will eventually damage your hair if it's longer.

You say it's mousey but orange. To tone down the orange you need an ash toner. But if you use an ash toner it may end up looking more mousey as ash (green) can be dull.

Here is my hair now with the hint of lilac on top of my natural grey. DIY colour was the smartest move I made with respect to grey hair.

Going grey will nearly always have a period of brassy hair while you transition.

you're brave - using stripper yourself
your hair looks beautiful

 

[BlueCherry]

you're brave - using stripper yourself
your hair looks beautiful

Aww thanks 😊 and I've had way worse than yellow hair over they years 😂 and it's quite easy to learn to tone

 

[lill_canele]

If more highlights is all you want, then I don't think it would be too much strain to add more highlights, but best ask a professional of course.

Highlights aside, if the base color is too dark for you it depends on:
1) How much lighter do you want to go?
2) How much your hair can handle it

For removal of dark or darker colors, a color remover is generally recommended. (especially for those who have dyed their hair a darker color than their natural hair).
Bleach washes and blue toner shampoo can only do so much.
Beach washes are not very concentrated and like toners (or blue toners to get rid of brassy yellow or orange), are there to just give that extra touch of coolness to neutralize that little bit of yellow or brassiness in the hair.

If you hair can handle it, you may need a color remover + a re-bleach. But of course, the re-bleach would be safer in the 20 volume range. I think a 30 volume is good for yellowish hair or getting roots touched up. 40 volume is way too strong and 10 volume would probably do nothing.
The lower the volume the less damage (theoretically) but the longer it may need time to process on your head. The closer to the scalp, the more warmth, the faster the bleach will process.

Knowing bleach concentrations and timing is everything for processing, as well as understanding the color wheel.

I am not a hairstylist by any means. I just watch a ton of Brand Mondo videos and have learned a lot from him. I used his tutorial to cut my husband's hair during the pandemic and it was great!

If you are comfortable with your current hairstylist, I'd say just go back and explain what you want and, being the person who knows your hair the best, hopefully he or she has the knowledge, understanding, and skill to make things right again. Good luck!

 

[Prada Psycho]

I solved my hair color issues well over 12 years ago. Stopped coloring my hair and let it do its thing. Nature gave me several "Bonnie Raitt" streaks which I love. The past few years I've gotten really silver/gray on the top. The darker color left has smaller silver streaks. My hair is much happier not to have all those chemicals any more, though I do miss the body coloring my hair gave it. I also use Jhirmack Silver Brightening Purple Shampoo and Conditioner once a week. It really brings out the white & silver. I would NOT recommend using it full time. As purple shampoos can do, you can get that blueish hue if you use it all the time. I stick with Garnier Fructis the other times.

I wish all women (and men) would toss the hair color and just let your hair go silver/gray. It's beautiful and no one else will have hair that is the same color as yours. I like that.

Couldn't find a photo of me without a hat, but this shows it pretty well.

 

[Miner's wife]

Thank you for the replies. I went into a local salon and spoke with the owner. She said I could get highlights since my hair was healthy. She told me she thinks my hairdresser left the base color on too long. She didn't think I needed highlights added. She used clarifying shampoo on my hair, then used a treatment (I believe a toner) to help brighten my hair. It helped a bit and got rid of the orange-y cast it had around my hairline, but the color just still dull to me. If I had more silver hair, I'd stop coloring all over and just get some highlights. Unfortunately my natural hair is a dull, unflattering salt and pepper that does nothing for my complexion.

 

[DreamingBeauty]

Not a hairdresser, but my mom and I color our own hair. She has a lot of gray, so we dye hers brown, I only touch up her roots I don't dye over already colored hair. This means sectioning the hair with a rattail comb and applying the color only on the rootline. This also preserves her highlights. Takes more time but it's worth it. We use ash haircolor, so there are no red or orange tones, I have seen this happen with non-ash toned haircolors.

Then, on another day we do our highlights. We mix blue bleach powder with 30V developer, section the hair and use rattail comb to select the pieces for highlighting, put a foil under the section, apply bleach, fold foil. It has to process about 40 minutes. Choose what to highlight based on how you wear your hair, you want the highlights in places they'll show and this preserves the integrity of your hair. I always wear my hair down, so I focus on the part area and a little in the back, but I don't bleach the underside at all. I try to choose pieces that were already bleached and then I can just do the root.

I have done the haircolor and highlight bleaching within days of each other and there is no damage. Haircolor (dye) really doesn't damage hair in my opinion, especially if you are only doing roots and aren't dying the same hair over and over, bleach can be damaging if not done responsibly.

 

[caruava]

My hair started turning white when I was very young. I always dyed it brown myself but when the roots were mostly white I asked my hairdresser to deal with it.

He always dyed it brown then highlighted it. Before long it was like straw and falling out. I decided to go the DIY route.

I used colour stripper from the chemist. This left me with yellow hair which I toned using professional ash and violet toners. In time this hair grew out and I was applying a permanent ash blond all over. That's when the compliments started.

Now I leave it silver but sometimes pop a hint of lilac in it and use a silver shampoo. It's never looked better and healthier.

In your case it sounds like the hairdresser is using low lights to balance the amount of highlights which will eventually damage your hair if it's longer.

You say it's mousey but orange. To tone down the orange you need an ash toner. But if you use an ash toner it may end up looking more mousey as ash (green) can be dull.

Here is my hair now with the hint of lilac on top of my natural grey. DIY colour was the smartest move I made with respect to grey hair.

Going grey will nearly always have a period of brassy hair while you transition.

Wow, your hair is amazing!

 

[BlueCherry]

Wow, your hair is amazing!

Aww thank you, that's very kind

It was a bit of trial and error but worth it to not have bleaching and resultant damage.