so frustrated & broke

If you'd like, please see my previous post ' orange-ish blonde'
I need help and desperately!  Thank you's go out already to all the ladies who have already lent their advice
My hair is naturally a medium brown and I've got light blonde highlights on my crown...with about two inches of regrowth.   I decided to be bold and try to go all over blonde on my own, at home, and avoid the $90 salon fee.   Here is a pic of my hair before, with the highlights...

So I purchased the Clairol Herbal Essence fearless bleach blond kit and applied as directed...for 45 minutes.  Normally in the salon it takes a lot longer for the hair to bleach as with my highlights.  I considered leaving the lightening kit on longer but the directions instructed to only use for a maximun of 45 minutes...so that's what I did.
When I rinsed the color I ended up with a very NEON orange-ish blonde!!!!  It was pretty horrible.  I wish I had a phot...but I don't.   Did I not leave the kit on long enough??? 
So with advice from my previous post I went to Sally's and purchased the Clairol creme toner in shade 311d...base blue-violet, at the recomendation of the sales lady, though I thought I would need only a blue base (but by the looks of it, what do I know?).  I also purchased a developer of 30...mixed, applied and allowed 20 minutes as directed.  Also at the advice of the lady at Sally's I purchased the Shimmer Lights.  She'd told me that it will help 'gradually' remove the rest of the brassines.
What I got was the same color just a tad lighter...not so neon. 
I mean...it IS better but doesn't look 'natural' at all and it's not at all what I was trying to do.  I've also washed 3 times with the Shimmer Lights and can tell no noticable difference and I've left it on for 5 minutes each time. 
I'd really like my hair to be a warm honey color...or whichever color will get this orange out and look natural. 
When I was younger I used to wear red a lot because all over brown makes me look very washed out...I was happy with Auburn.  Maybe I can do that instead???  
I did call Clairol and the lady told me that there is no way for me to go blonde...that my only option is to go brunette....by using Nice & Easy 108 (reddish-blonde) as a filler...don't rinse just blot...and apply the mixed Nice & Easy 116 (light brown) as directed, checking every 5 minutes.
Is the advice of the Clairol representative correct???  IS brunette my ONLY option??  If not, how can I go blonde that will work (I really am using up change to fix this problem I've created and only dream of being able to make a trip to my colorist!!!) and leave me with a good and liveable result???  Would it be easier to acheive a medium auburn color and forgo the blonde and brunette???
I realize that this is long and whiny....I'm desperate!!  I've read a ton of messages on this forum and nothing really relates to what I'm experiencing.   Also...for now my hair appears to still be in pretty good shape...it's still pretty soft and I'm not having any breakage...the area where the highlights were before are also in good condition but white...which blends well with the rest of the haircolor
Thank you so much for reading this and as before, any advice or tips you can suggest will be GREATLY appreciated!  I'm really glad to have found this forum full of so many helpful and educated (professionally or by trial and error) individuals

I'm thinking what you should have done instead of just going and using the Herball Essence kit, you should have removed all the color with a product such as Colorfix and then applied the color you wanted ..such as a box color in the shade of which blonde you prefered. That's just my opinion.

I don't think going brunette would be best, although I think you could get away with being a light brunette. You have a very pretty face. I think what you were saying about the 'honey' color blonde.. that'd look great with your tan skin. Also, I think you may not have left the lightener on long enough, that leaving you with the neon-orange color you got.

Edited by red legos

Hm. I sort of edited my other post I think after you may have read it.. haha. Anyway. I'm not sure about a filler, I've never used one, I don't know what they do. I also had a question. Did all of your hair turn orange or was it just the roots or just the previously color part? I was also thinking maybe it wasn't your fault at all. Some hair color kits that are suppose to lighten just don't do their job right.. I've had a few incidents with bad hair color brands. I've never liked Herball Essence though, but maybe it was all in my mind. It just never seemed to come out how it was suppose to.

There was another girl on here that had pretty much the same problem as you. ..She was blonde and went brunette and then tried to go blonde again, but her hair turned orange instead. I'm not sure if she got a lot of help, but her post is *here* if you'd like to read it. If you hair isn't very damaged, I'd say try again with a different lightener such as Born Blonde or something of that sort. If you have the money.. I'd just suggest getting it corrected by a professional.

One more thing ..you may want to wait for aubergine's advice.. she's pretty darn smart about these type of things. 

After becoming blonde from 2 processes of 40 volume bleach, my hair is quite damaged.  You may be happier with a light brown if it means that  your hair can be healthy.  ANYONE can go blonde...it's just a matter of how damaged and dry your hair may become in the process of acheiving your desired color.
Refer to the sticky in the Hair Color forum "Haircoloring Intro to color..."
You can color your hair whatever color you want right now depending on the level and the contributing pigment.

NATURAL LEVEL AND CONTRIBUTING PIGMENT

		LEVEL		CONTRIBUTING PIGMENT
		10 - Lightest Blonde		Pale Yellow
		9 - Very Light Blonde		Yellow
		8 - Light Blonde		Yellow-Gold
		7 - Medium Blonde		Gold
		6 - Dark Blonde		Orange-Gold
		5 - Lightest Brown		Orange
		4 - Light Brown		Red-Orange
		3 - Medium Brown		Red
		2 - Dark Brown		Red-Brown
		1 - Black		Dark Red-Brown

If your hair is an orange level 5 or 6, you can currently put a color on your hair that is at the same level.  To minimize damage, use a demi-permanent color, which might even stay longer.  You also have the option of going blonde, but that will require you to bleach your hair (probably 40 volume) to a light yellow and then apply a toner or color.


Edited by meli

Guys -- I don't think she can use Colorfix or any other color remover as she has BLEACHED her hair -- there's nothing to remove, right? Doesn't it take using a bleaching kit twice sometimes?

Natasha -- No, you should not have left that bleach on longer. Who knows what would have happened then -- maybe all your hair would have melted off. You might just need to do it a second time -- HOWEVER, I wouldn't. I would go to a salon and get your hair done to your liking. I know you were hoping to save some money but when you're going blonde, I believe you either have to do EXTENSIVE research and REALLY KNOW what you're doing, OR pay to have someone do it. It might be cheaper to pay somone because if you make a mistake it ends up costing you much more in the end.

If you want to be blonde, you CAN be blonde -- it doesn't matter what your natural color is. You don't have to settle. You also can acheive this and still have nice, healthy looking hair. You just need to take care of your hair from the start. Another thing: if and when you go to the salon try to take along some pictures of what you're trying to achieve and talk, talk, talk to make sure that the two of you are on the same page. Your idea of blonde could be very different from your colorist's. Good luck to you! I hope everything works out! :)