"Caramel" Highlights ruined my healthy hair- how do I fix it?

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#16
A big thank you to jenarae for her expert advice (& nataliam for the referral).

Here is the update: the stylist called me to tell me someone from her salon would re-do my hair for free. I got a protien treatment & a cellophane color like my natural color.I am just happy that the white streaks are gone from my hair & that it subdued the orange. Also, due to the breakage I had 3 inches cut. I will not attempt to get highlights again. I will not step into that salon again.:cursing: I am glad this fiasco is over.:sweatdrop: Thank you ladies of the forum.
 
#17
Im glad it is better... I know what its like to have that happen. When i was a teen my hair was really messed up by a hair dresser and ill never forget it... I recently posted about redoing my highlights but this post just made up my mind. Im going to forget it, lol
 
#18
The best hair repair treatment is Hellmann's Mayonnaise. Glop it on, work it through your hair, pile the hair up onto your head, cover it with a plastic bonnet, food wrap or garbage bag and leave it like that for a half hour or so.

Then wash it out with moisturizing shampoo. To make moisturizing shampoo, take any shampoo and mix a little conditioner in with it.

Shampoo and rinse all the mayonnaise out, apply conditioner and rinse again like you always do.

Do the mayonnaise every week for a month and then come tell us what your hair is like.

(It will really stink while it is in there, but it will be worth it)
 
#19
I feel your pain, just happened to me..
Is this the product of continual highlighting? How often should I redo the highlights.. or should you give your hair a rest for a year after a couple of months of highlighting????
 
#20
I'm kind of sad...I was seriously considering highlighting my med brown hair again (it has been years) and I feel like it is so drab...I need to do something. But I have fragile hair as it is and there isn't even a process in it right now. If my hair became seriously damaged, it would so not be worth it. Ugh. I think I need to leave it plain and drab. My 20 year reunion is almost here...I feel like I will be so blah. I wish there was something I could do that would guarantee no damage.
 
#21
bellabird! I'm so sorry you had such a terrible experience. I think most of us with dark hair have been there at least once. The first time I ever got highlights, I told her I wanted blonde, NOT red...well, I got blonde allright. Platinum blonde. It was SO white that it looked grey and made me look about 15 years older. How on earth she got my hair to go that light I will never know but she did. I have learned through the years that you have to be careful who you let highlight your hair if it's dark. They have to be experienced with it or else it can turn into an orange, brassy mess.

Hugs to you, and I hope it looks better!!
 
#22
bellabird, I really feel bad for you. Since you had healthy hair to start with, it is all that much more heartbreaking. I hope things are getting better for you. I have been contemplating highlights all year. I too have dark hair, med/dark brown and I've decided against it due to a couple of undesirable highlighting experiences. I've decided just to leave well enough alone.

gretsch, I totally hear you. I think my hair is drab too. I've been only using demi color for the past year to be more gentle with it since it is baby fine. I had highlights twice, 2 1/2 years ago - blondish highlights that were bleached, very drying. I moved to another state and had to find a new person. I had highlights done again but without bleach (much less damaging) but they were far too light for my dark base. I also have a reunion coming up and I have to decide what I'm going to do with it. I won't get permamemt color because I want to get it as healthy as possible and grow more length for a digital perm I eventually want to get. I have been able to go slightly lighter with the demi but I'm not liking the reddish hue I'm getting. Dark hair is such a b!tch.
 
#23
Cathryn, yes dark hair is a beeeeotch!!! I can't believe how I can feel one day like it's on the cool side, and the next day on the warm side (reddish tint). It makes no sense.
Does anyone know the difference between lifting and bleaching? I feel like many many years ago, I had highlights that were lifted. They were not on the blonde side, I'm remembering they were not a color I liked much. If I were to lift, is it less damaging? But likely to pull the red? I DO NOT want red.
 
#24
Hey gretsch, the highlights I got last year was highlift color, no bleach but the highlights were too light for my dark brown base. But it was far better than the bleached highlights from a while ago. The bleach was extremely drying and pulled too much red. I don't know how she did it, but with the highlift color I didn't have any red so it is possible. Bleaching strips the hair and then a toner is used to achieve the desired shade. I really just want a cool med/light brown but I'm afraid to mess with what I've done this year. The past year all I've done is demi perm color to lighten up the dark brown and cover the greys but it pulls a lot of gold and looks drab. My hair is just past the shoulders so I have a year of lighter regrowth with darker brown ends.
 
#25
I am not a hairdresser, but it is my understanding that to make dark hair light, bleach must be involved, or else you are going to get that brassy red look. Now, what the individual hairdresser calls that may differ from person to person. I'm guess if they refer to it as "high lift" that means they used a high lift level of bleach (there's 30 volume, 20 volume, 10 volume) and each level produces a different degree of "lifting" or "bleaching" or "color stripping" whatever you want to call it.

After they've lifted the original color off (with the bleach), then they put a toner on it, which deposits the desired color onto the bleached strands.

Again, I'm definitely NOT an expert...this is just my understanding of it.
 
#26
Nope, highlift is not bleach. I got high lift color and no toner was necessary, it gave me blond highlights. It was a high volume peroxide and is not the same as bleach. I know from experience it was no where near as drying as when I had the bleach done. It definitely is possible, you have to find the right colorist who knows what they're doing.

ChristyR143 said:
I am not a hairdresser, but it is my understanding that to make dark hair light, bleach must be involved, or else you are going to get that brassy red look. Now, what the individual hairdresser calls that may differ from person to person. I'm guess if they refer to it as "high lift" that means they used a high lift level of bleach (there's 30 volume, 20 volume, 10 volume) and each level produces a different degree of "lifting" or "bleaching" or "color stripping" whatever you want to call it.

After they've lifted the original color off (with the bleach), then they put a toner on it, which deposits the desired color onto the bleached strands.

Again, I'm definitely NOT an expert...this is just my understanding of it.
Click to expand...
 
#27
Cathryn said:
Nope, highlift is not bleach. I got high lift color and no toner was necessary, it gave me blond highlights. It was a high volume peroxide and is not the same as bleach. I know from experience it was no where near as drying as when I had the bleach done. It definitely is possible, you have to find the right colorist who knows what they're doing.
Click to expand...

Hmm...that's interesting! I'm going to have to ask my stylist about this when I see her tomorrow!
 
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