ANYONE...HELP ASAP, ASAP, ASAP

> I originally had very dry, shoulder length medium> brown hair. I now have reddish/brown roots(1 inch) and> 5 inches of Black/brown hair. Now even dryer! I used> home coloring products and have screwed up my hair. I> just want my old mousy brown hair back. I was thinking> of going to a pro. I'm afraid that having corrective> coloring done will completely ruin my hair and face> loosing it. If anyone has any kind of advice or know> of anyone I can go to for help in the New York area,> please respond A.S.A.P. I'm desperate and don't want> to look like this anymore.To TARA; your haircolor disaster. The best thing to do would be go to a pro to get the problem taken care of. In lieu of that go to a beauty supply store and purchase some Metalax haircolor remover and use it according to directions. Follow up with an intensive conditioning program to try to save your hair. If you did not use a permanent hair color but a semi-permanent use Clairol uncolor also availible at the beauty supply store to remove the color. What you will have when you use these products is the "altered base color of your hair". If you used a permanent color it may be significantly altered from your natural color. Haircolor is not "hairpaint" and many a girl has found this out. The combination of your base color and the color in the hair coloring product combine to produce its own 'unique' color. After you have stripped the color off of your hair it will be much more 'porus' or willing to accept color pigments. This means that it will usually take a color at least 2 shades or levels lighter to return to the desired color. Also the amount of time that it is left on can vary greatly from reccomended timing.( it will always be less than 'virgin uncolored hair'.) This is not intended to be a lesson in haircoloring corrections but a warning not to just pour on colors one after another. Also DO NOT use a permanent color on hair as overprocessed and dry as yours! If you do, you may wind up as the next Bald girls pin up! Use only a semi-permanent color to "tone back your color." william

I originally had very dry, shoulder length medium brown hair. I now have reddish/brown roots(1 inch) and 5 inches of Black/brown hair. Now even dryer! I used home coloring products and have screwed up my hair. I just want my old mousy brown hair back. I was thinking of going to a pro. I'm afraid that having corrective coloring done will completely ruin my hair and face loosing it. If anyone has any kind of advice or know of anyone I can go to for help in the New York area, please respond A.S.A.P. I'm desperate and don't want to look like this anymore.