Going Blonde

M

misswillow

New Member
Aug 19, 2008
4
0
#1
Hi! Just joined the forum, this is my first post! So, I have naturally dark brown curly hair. I started highlighting it about a year ago, trying to gradually go blonde. A few months ago I actually had all the color stripped to try to go really blonde. Unfortunately, the color isn't really where I want it. I'm debating whether or not to go back to a rich chesnut, or keep trying to go blonde (my hair is reasonably light now, so I feel like I'm very close to the color I want). I'd prefer to get the blonde I want, but only if a colorist can get it.

It seems as though every salon I go into tells me they will be able to do what I want, but no one follows through! I want my hair REALLY light -I can't find a picture online but if anyone has the latest issue of Cosmo, it's Carrie Underwood on page 320.

Does anyone who has gone blonde from dark have any recommendations for what to tell a stylist? Or can anyone recommend a colorist in the Philadelphia/Main Line area??? I'm willing to pay a decent amount *as long as they accomplish what I want.*

Thanks everyone for reading!!
 
#2
Hey misswillow,

This is a tough one. I had a LOT of trouble finding a colorist who would make my hair the color that I wanted. I have naturally medium brown hair and I wanted about the same color as you do. They would either tell me it couldn't be done or promise to give me the blond I wanted and not deliver. My advice is to get on yelp and read through all the reviews for colorists and find someone who specializes or had a really good reputation for blond coloring.

If you really want the blond, don't go back to brunette. I went back out of frustration and then went blond again a couple of months later.
 
#3
Thanks jp!!! I appreciate the advice - you're right that I don't want to go back to brunette if I haven't gotten the blonde I want because then I'll never know what it would have been like. I'll try yelp and read through reviews, I'll let you know how it goes!!!

How does your blonde look now? :smile:
 
#4
I don't know how experienced you are with drastic color changes and curly hair, or even if you wear it curly, but be warned, once you bleach it and traumatize it enough, it will not hold a curl anymore..... thus kind of forcing you to blow it out....
 
#5
I have very dark brown hair (so dark that it looks black in photos) and I have always wanted to be blonde (don't we always want what we don't have?) Anyway, I have been told by many, many stylists that in order to get my hair the color I wanted, it would be a very very damaging process, and even then it still might not be as light as I wanted it. For whatever reason some hair just won't go that blonde (or so I've been told). Oh, and I was also told that there was no way they could do it one sitting, or else I'd leave bald! I don't know . .. I basically just stopped trying. But, I'd love to see pictures if you can actually get it accomplished.
 
#6
Interesting, thanks for the feedback Christy. I guess I'm thinking that because my hair right now is VERY light brown with lots of blonde highlights, I'm very close to the blonde I want. So if there is a time to try it, it's now because I'm almost there! But it definitely it is a damaging process, so we do have to be careful. I'll let you know what happens!!
 
#7
Yes, I would definitely keep going if you are almost there. From what I've been told, it's a lengthy process when you are starting with really dark brown hair. Who knows...maybe you are just one or two more sessions away from your ideal?

I'd love to see before and after pics, as this is something that I've always wondered about myself.
 
#8
I think if you've gone wayyy lighter than your natural color, you would probably have trouble going back to your brown color. Bleached hair doesn't always hold color very well - you might just have to maintain your highlights until your natural color grows back out, or add more highlights if you want to go even lighter.
 
#9
Good point illinirdhd, I didn't even think of that. You're totally right!! I'm going to head over to the salon tomorrow and bring a picture of what I want. I'll keep you updated!!
 
#12
misswillow said:
Good point illinirdhd, I didn't even think of that. You're totally right!! I'm going to head over to the salon tomorrow and bring a picture of what I want. I'll keep you updated!!
Click to expand...

I had a great colorist probably 3 years ago who loved my hair with highlights. It got lighter and lighter and lighter. Then I got sick of it and started going back to red. Even now, I have a hard time getting my color to hold. I have to recolor it every 2-3-4 weeks (reds wash out faster than browns, but still, that's a quick fade!).
 
#13
Misswillow, I just thought of something else to tell you while I was getting my color touched up yesterday - When you go to your new colorist, bring photos! The first time I went to my current colorist, I brought 3 magazines with like a million post it flags on celebrity hair that I did and did not like. I definitely went overboard since I had gotten some very poor results in the past. She really liked it and said it was "a great way to communicate what wanted."

And not to be contrary, but when I went back to dark brown after many years of blond, I didn't have any trouble with the color fading. So it's not the same for everyone!
 
#14
I would suggest that before making a final decision, you visit a wig store, pretend you are thinking of buying one, and try on some wigs with the color you want, in a style that is becoming to you, and see how that color looks with your skin, your eyes, etc.

Not saying this is applicable to your situation, but in some cultures, it is a popular misconception that if your skin is light (with "light" enjoying a very roomy and relative definition) that you can have blonde hair and look "natural."

This is soo not the case. You can have skin that is, by anyone's definition, actually pale, but if it is the pale of old ivory, or a pale under which lie undertones as blue as the skies over the South Asian subcontinent, if your hair is dark, it is dark for a reason.

You probably already know that if your dark brown curly hair is accompanied by dark brown or black eyebrows, those will need to be lightened, several shades, and while it is one thing to bop a white brow hair or two with a pointy Q-tip of demi-permanent color when removing corresponding white from one's head, actually lightening brows must be done in a salon, and to look right with blonde hair, must be touched up regularly, as will your roots.

Others have mentioned the damage factor, there are a whole lot of people walking around with odd-looking complexions and hair the color of corn silk - and the texture of new-mown hay.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it, though, just trying to talk you into visiting that wig store first...
 
#15
My hair is anywhere from dark blonde to medium brown, depending on who you ask, and I had highlights for a few years. I was pretty much blonde and I liked it for awhile but finally decided I was tired of it and wanted to get back to a darker shade. When I was highlighted I was fighting my roots and then when the gray kicked in it was just too much to deal with.

I had my stylist start with some lowlights and did that for a couple of times and then went with the lowlight color all over back in december. I had a few highlights put in to help but I haven't had any trouble getting my hair to hold the color. Its actually a lot easier to keep up now because I just touch up the roots myself.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do. My hair is much healthier now that I color instead of highlight. I am using a lot less product on it. That is another thing to consider.
 
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