I'm So tempted--DIY Hair Coloring

I'm a hairstylist. I am not against DIY color, but in this circumstance I would definitely recommend you to NOT do highlights at home. I have seen to many horror stories of at home highlight jobs.

What I will tell you to do, is get your stylist to add more low-lights and weave slightly chunkier highlights. When your new growth comes in, it doesn't look as bad since the blond highlights aren't contrasted as badly with the dark brown regrowth and there is a more natural line. Then, every other time you visit, the stylist can do a 'break the base" technique, in which she colors the roots only a semi lighter shade. It will make it easier to go closer to 9-10 or even 12 weeks for another full highlight.

This is the method I use with my clients who want to go longer between highlights, but still have some blonde in there.

Also, any stylist who can write a color number down and how to mix it isn't using professional products. Professional color can only be purchased by licensed cosmetologists. Sally's has a few good color lines that I do recommend for diy colors, but those are not for highlighting a blonde on a dark brown base such as yourself. Most at home color jobs that turn out well are those with very subtle differences, coloring grays and the like.

Any one who does these blonde highlighting kits may think it looks great, but I'm telling you, they aren't looking closely at their hair. There are stripes, brassy patches mixed with ashy pieces, oh it's awful. It isn't just about the formula, but the technique in the highlights.... meaning the tension in how you hold the foils, how close you get to the scalp, avoiding bleeding color... What Susan R is describing is a color that works for her, but it's not what would work for you at all, especially with the lightness you are wanting.

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Been there..done that.. DON'T DO IT!! lol..I'm sorry..but Ive been dying my hair for YEARS..and you run the risk of going super brassy and/or super fried when it comes to lightening...well, you probably know this already. Ive tried and tried myself...and truth is...you just can't lighten dark hair the way a salon can. I don't think so anyway. You could grow out SOME of your own color to allow for some multi tone colors...makes roots less obvious. ?? I just this week chopped over a foot off my hair to get rid of what I like to call "home fried" hair...its short now...I hate it...even if it does look much healthier. STAP AWAY FROM THE BOX!!! :)

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I'm sorry, I have no advice. I just want to see before and after pictures please. :)

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Just go to the salon. You like the color - keep with it. It won't look nearly as good doing at home from the box.

Color on my hair is something I just won't skimp on for ANY reason. It means too much to me! (I have gray hair under that color - ARGGGGHHH!)

D.

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My advice...DO NOT DO IT YOURSELF! I am a dark blond who has been having her hair lightened professionally for years (I didn't start to color it until I was tired of everyone complimenting my naturally sun-bleached hair in the summer and telling me I needed to go to the salon in the winter).

When I had kids I decided to do it myself. I have friends who've had great results so why not? The problem is that my friends with great results went darker not lighter. Initially, when I colored my own hair I was excited. The first 2-3 times I did it was fabulous. Then my hair started getting brassy and looking and feeling unhealthy (fried). When I returned to the salon to "fix" my hair, it took at least 6 months (probably longer) to finally get back to happiness (yes, my hair affected my mental health).

Whether it was my technique or the product doesn't matter. The bottom line that I learned is that blond is the hardest color to do right and maintain. In my house, the time and money I need to keep up my hair is not negotiable. For my own sanity I have to have my hair professionally done.

With that said, what I do to reduce the amount of times I visit the salon is twofold. First, my stylist adds two shades of low lights on top of the blond essentially giving me three colors. This reduces the obvious root outgrowth (granted my hair is a dark blond and not a dark brunette).

Second, on every other visit, my stylist does only a retouch. A retouch is basically a single color on the roots only. A retouch isn't as perfect, but it takes less time and money and keeps my hair looking natural. With these two steps I can easily go 8 weeks between visits.

Good luck with whatever you choose. And, congratulations on #4!

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I've been dying my hair for years. I almost always do a Champagne Blond or a medium natural blond, but go a bit lighter in the summer. About once a year or so, I will get it done professionally just to get tones and highlights put in and a deep conditioning treatment. I actually do this in cooperation with my stylrist. She will recommend products and give me tips when I go in for a trim.

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Straight out TELL your stylist you're going to have to take a year off (new baby) and have her tell you *exactly* what to buy. I've yet to meet a stylist who wouldn't (that you've seen several times), because they're losing you as a client already, so by helping you, they hope to retain you when you DO have time/money again and to be referred out to your friends.

They will usually write down the exact number of the dye (and anything you have to mix with them) to buy from a beauty store (not the drug store, but a beauty store that just has boring little boxes and vials).

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I have tried to color my hair with a box. The color was ok but I didn't like the regrowth and it was a little brassy. I knew I couldn't afford to go to the salon so a friend suggested a cosmetology school. Love it! Now I get a salon color and the regrowth looks natural! I was a little worried having a student color my hair but the instructor is right there, discussing/watching. All for the right price. Just a suggestion:)

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I've dyed my own hair for years and I'm ALWAYS complemented on it. For me, Garnier hair dyes are the way to go!!! They kind of fade out over a few washes - which doesn't sound like a good thing, but what happens is that they seem to react to the sun, etc., so that after as little as 3 or 4 days you end up with a very natural, sun-kissed, highlighted look, instead of that typical, monotone, "Yes I dyed my hair at home!" look that is a dead-giveaway. My natural color is also very dark, chestnut - almost brown/black, and I go with light-golden brown for a lightened shade with red and gold highlights, or light-ash brown when I don't want quite so much red and gold influence on the highlights. The caution about using light "ash" browns and blondes - the undertone of ash is greenish... so I don't use ash colored dyes in the summer months when I'll be swimming a lot or the chlorine really amplifies the greenish undertones. I love the light golden browns and light golden blondes in the Garnier lines. Garnier also has a temporary dye that is good for up to 28 shampoos. Oh!!!! - Also, protect your existing "salon" job by only dying the roots. Do this by parting your hair at different intervals all around your head and applying the dye only to the roots, and then when done with the roots, choose just a few tufts of hair here and there to run the dye down to hel p it integrate in with your existing color without totally coloring over it. I'm sure youtube would have videos - although I've never looked. Good luck!

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It really depends on how much lighter you went. If you went from a dark shade to a light shade, it is so much better just to get it done professionally so you won't end up with ugly red roots.

However, you can go to Sally's and look at all the colors that they have. Find the one you like best and buy a developer with it... a number 40 developer. The box with the color will tell you how much to mix (color to developer ratio). You will have to check every so often on the color in your hair. You do not want it to turn brassy or to go too lighter than what you want.

I am a professional stylist so it's really easy for me to tell you all this. However, it's not like totally simple. You must know how to mix, apply, and how to time the hair.

If you want to let your darker side win the battle, I suggest getting a color from Walmart... like Clariol... in a deep shade that matches your natural hair color. Seeing as how it is summer and we all swim and tan... all the elements of summer will turn your hair different shades progessively. So even then you will need to color your hair once every 6 weeks to keep the already highly processed portion of your hair from turning too brassy.

Hope this helps.

Oh and by the way, you can color your hair when you are pregnant. That is a big fat myth. Just make sure you have good air circulation so it doesn't cause you to get nauseated or light headed.

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Talk to your stylist and tell her what you want to do (and why), let her know it's to get you by for a while longer in between visits and you will return to her every so often for the complete job. She should be more than happy to tell you EXACTLY what you need and what to do, she wants you to be happy and not come back to her with correction problems ;) I know many people who have done this successfully with stylists, they are usually wiling to do what they need to, to keep you, plus you are getting professional advice and not just winging it. Good luck!

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no, no, no, no, no please don't try this yourself, you will be so disappointed. The work it will take you won't save you any time and it will likely not be at all what you are used to or be happy with. Either suck it up and go every 6-8 weeks or go back to darker. Coloring your hair darker with home product is usually a lot easier than going blonde. There are so many rules when it comes to lightening your hair. And, there are so many shades of blonde and with naturally dark hair it is very easy to accidentally get that lovely shade of orange when doing it yourself. I worked in a hair salon for 4 years as a manager and without fail, it was always the people trying to go blonde on their own that came in for corrective color. It is expensive to fix and you will be right back where you started.

I am bleach blonde myself and I've been able to stretch it out to every 8 weeks. Ask your colorist what the best specialty shampoo you an use to stretch it out - it's usually a blue/violet shampoo and/or conditioner that helps keeps the brassiness away. My colorist often just gives me a half bottle of whatever he uses on me that I can use at home.

You could also ask for some low lights of your natural color to be put in as well. that will stretch out the time between salon visits because it will grow out looking a bit more natural.

Best,
S.

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i do it old school style..bowl..brush..20 volume peroxide ..and some bleach i buy in a little bag type thing for around $2.99..then i just paint on streaks ...my hair looks great..been doing this for years..i don't like how salons make highlights ...they usually make them look so fake..and too perfect..i think its easy..i let it sit in my hair for about 10 minutes.

D.

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First of all, you can't do any hair coloring until after you had the baby - that is a big no-no! Then, it really is up to you. If you think you can pull it off and it look good, go for it. Personally, since you are a brunette I would think you would need to continue to go to a salon so it doesn't end up orange in any way. But someone may have a really good product that they suggest, so.......it really it goes back to your comfort level.

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I do mine at home, most times by myself but I have a friend of a friend that was in beauty school (she has now graduated, and does a great job) come over to my house and does my hair....

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The one brunette that I knew who did her own blond coloring had short hair and went to the salon every other time. She was also very flexible and wasn't really attatched to any one color - just some shade of blonde was OK by her. But I do think that having short (ear length) hair made it very easy to do.
Good luck!

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I don't know ANYONE who uses a salon to color their hair. I only know of one person who had a bad result and that was just one of those things. I think it's perfectly safe. Anyway, it's just hair. It's not the end of the world if it is a shade too dark or too light until you find the one that works for you.

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if you were going darker you may be okay. but, going lighter-I wouldn't do it.

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