QuoteReplyTopic: Black To Blonde: Harsh Reality: Update Posted: October 15 2005 at 9:19am
I have naturally very dark brown, and I ended up blonde. I did
highlights for years, because I liked the caramel blonde, but I also
really like my natural color. After moving and losing my hairdresser,
the new one gave me highlights a couple of times, and suddenly I was
mostly blonde, with little to no brown left. I wore it like that for
about 6 months, not liking it too much because of the upkeep and the
obvious "fake blonde" look I had. I will admit, my choice to be blonde
was partly influenced by the massive amounts of people who had become
blonde. But then I really really wanted to be brunette again. So
now I am dark brunette, and will not go to blonde again. IT was a
painful process to get back to brown, as I had to do it in stages to
get it right, and it ended up waaaay to dark and faded to the right
color. So I had haircolor i hated for a couple of weeks, but now I like
it. I went for a shorter cut and plan on growing out all my natural
color. The dark color is sticking and I can tell it wont fade (thanks
to advice I got here about fillers etc) so I will be able to grow it
out without obvious root. The process was painful, and blonde costs a
fortune and isnt really "me" so I'm proudly sporting dark hair.
Veronica F
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i think i generally prefer going lighter becuz its a complete contrast to naturally dark hair and when ur already really dark u can't go darker, unless its blue black so thats another possible reason lol! But i agree with u beachgerl, its generally more abt wanting a change. ...bte if i were ur cousin the things i would do to my hair, pale turquiose and pink streaks one then burgundy the next, and then fiery red hehehe...
That's a good question, eatgreenjello. I do admit I think blonde hair is sexy, but the reason why the majority of women want to be blonde, I have no idea. I'm not doing it because the Hollywood celebs are blonde nor because it's trendy thing to do because I'm not Caucasian. I'm like Veronica F, I'm easily bored with my natural dark hair. It makes me feel plain and blah regardless how I look with dark hair. Blonde hair lifts me up unlike my dark hair since it's not such serious color like black or brown hair. I think it's more of emotional experience than the beauty thing. In fact, I notice more and more ads are featuring women with brunette hair, which is a good thing, but you got to admit, blond hair grabs attention more than brunettes on the base level. It'd be awesome to be a natural born blonde like my niece, who, to this day, maintains dye-free white blonde hair at age 15. She has waist length pure white blonde hair since she was a child, which is ironic because both of her parents aren't even blondes. I bet many would be envious of her, but she was born with it, so what can she do?
I think the point is that we should seek what makes us happy, regardless of hair color. I think brunettes, redheads and blondes are equally beautiful, and they are just variations of our moods and characters. Just go with color that makes you feel good on inside and outside.
eatgreenjello
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It always seems like we want a color or cut that is really hard to achieve and sacrificing the health of our hair. I'm like that too, I want straight blonde hair. I have dark brown/black base color and curly hair.
I'm curious why females seem to always want blonde hair (myself included). Is it because blonde hair is attributed to being sexier? Is it because Hollywood stars are awesome in "healthy" blonde hair? I think I want blonde hair because I like drastic change (am bored easily) in hair. But, why do you want to go blonde (all the people above that have gone light from very dark)?
**Hair type: 2a, which is wavy and fine.
**Color: Naturally dark brown, currently dyed reddish brown.
**Length: below shoulder length
Veronica F
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Can you guys believe that i'm even jealous of with naturally medium brown hair because black is like torture when it comes to coloring. I should have been born blonde so that way i could go every color of the rainbow with semi permanents! *sigh* Sorry this is a little ot. I just look sooo boring with my natural color, lol! And it doesn't suit me!
Sorry to hear what happened, lucretia. Hang in there. Hair grows back. I had to go short in the past due to overprocessing. That must have happened to you. That's why it's easier to work on hair that's healthy rather than hair that's been colored too often. Stay with this salon and be patient till you achieve the blonde of your dreams.
Oh I am sorry!!! BUT it sounds like you are with somebody good now, who has you and your Hair's best interests at heart! Remember that hair does faithfully grow back and although it does seem like a long time.....you will be able to be what you want in time. Stick with this guy and work toward that goal, and one day soon you will have healthy beautiful hair. I know this is a scarey time and the thoughts of shorter hair seem awful. If you have the money maybe starting fresh and getting extentions could help?
LUCRETIA05
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Hello everyone, and thank you for the advice. Last night I went to a very good salon, as recommended by UK Hairdressers.com.
In a nutshell, they have told me that my hair is trashed, and other than having a good cut, there is very little they can do - apart from going back dark. He pointed out some breakage on the crown area that I had not noticed before, and I was pretty shocked. The colour technician advised me that although my last stylist had the right idea about what they were doing, their approach and method was all wrong, leaving "patchy and uneven" results. He acknowledged that he was aware that they were a reasonably good salon, but that I have basically been unlucky and fallen victim, to the incompetence of an individual stylist.
Anyways, he pinched some hair and is doing a strand test, I have to call him this afternoon and discuss my options, he said he was going to have a good think about possible styles and cuts.
I'm gutted, I was sitting here gormlessly thinking "one more appointment and I will be where I want to be" when the reality is, the stylist has no true idea of where this was going to lead or end, other than with a chemical haircut. I feel like an utter fool. I'll keep you updated!
I've successfully have gone to blonde from black several times. I'm naturally dark haired, but I hadn't had problems dyeing it blonde even from dyed black hair. I had to do colorfix several times before I could bleach my hair blonde. It takes series from black to blonde such as from red to orange to gold to yellow and finally to pale yellow. Most hairdressers don't know what they're doing but I was lucky to find decent one. For example, I went black last Jan of this year and now I'm a highlighted light blonde with dark blonde underneath, yet my hair is still intact with some trims to chop off dead ends.
I suggest you to just gradually go blonde over time professionally if you don't know what you're doing with your own hair. First, I had few highlights in Feb, then it took me about 3 months (from Feb to May) to go to a light brown/medium blonde highlights, and then another 3 months (May to Aug) to go a lighter blonde. Of this month (Oct) I finally have pale blonde highlights on top of medium blonde/dark blonde bottom layer. This way I have less damage but still dry as ever, so I rely on heavy conditioners, glossing polish and silkening spray to keep my hair look "healthy". Trims help too. Now, I try to concentrate doing my root touchups and try to get my darker parts lighter to match my lighter highlights, to almost all over color yet maintain some dimension.
Black to blonde is the worst possible decision for your poor hair. I don't think I could do it to mine...
I had black hair (dyed) and only wanted to lighten the colour to red/brown, that worked a treat,...but to blonde! Argh....
how many inches of bad color are left..would trimming it out be a better option for you hair and wallet? just a thought... looking forward to seeing how you have done so far...good luck!
Hal
LUCRETIA05
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Hi! And thanks for your great replies; It's helped me decide that I am going to get a second opinion from another good colour technician, tonight infact; they can only say no, and I'm certainly not going along to sl*g off my current stylist; she has done a great job so far, and it has been a very big challenge.
I'm using Clynol ID repair Conditioner and deep conditioning treatments, and also Clynol Collagen repair Treatment; they are all slightly more expensive than normal products, but they have definitely helped me hang on to my length. I leave conditioners and treatmentson for 10 minutes minimum, life is hectic, but always keep in mind before a colour correction that taking care of the hair after its "trauma" is a commitment if you want it to survive the experience!
Family and friends reaction has been mixed; everyone has commented "Thank god you got rid of that awful Black!" which is a bit sad, as I've been colouring my hair black for nearly 3 years (they could've said something to me before now!!), my boyfriend is a little dissappointed - he was a Goth in the 80s, so he loved my black hair look - he's also pretty annoyed that this process is taking so long and costing so much , but I have tried to calm him down by explaining the sheer scale and difficulty of what it is I'm trying to achieve! He is right on one point; if the salon was not 100% confident about what they were doing, they maybe should have turned down the task, thus saving their time, my time and my sanity!
I'm staying positive though, and if I'm advised to wait a while, I think I can live with my strawberry - orangey- creamy haystack! Tonight I will ask my boyfriend to take a photo of my current colour, and post it along with a before picture.
I'll also let you know what these other two salons I intend to visit suggest.
I wish you the best of luck for your colour correction on Tuesday Anubis, I hope it goes perfect for you, and you see the results you want. Let us know how it goes!
Many thanks.
eatgreenjello
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I agreee with Anubis! Get a second opinion. When you call other salons, ask if they have any "color correction specialists" and if so, how long have they been doing the correction work? Then, meet with the person before you book an appointment, to make sure they sound like they are very good at knowing what to do.
Have you posted before and after pictures? I'd love to see the change. I love love love radical changes to hair like what you are doing. Have you gotten any reaction from friends and family?
Goodluck!
**Hair type: 2a, which is wavy and fine.
**Color: Naturally dark brown, currently dyed reddish brown.
**Length: below shoulder length
WOW... black to blonde!!!! Certainly a second opinion is a good idea and most places will give you a free consultation. That's what I'd do if you aren't happy with your current lady. I have always heard that reds are hard to get out. Is she using a toner on your highlites? A lot of places just leave the highlights whatever color they turn out with the bleach ( most times very yellowy gold or orangy.)
Sounds like you do a lot to your hair....how do you keep it in such great shape? I am going for a color correction myself on Tuesday, and would really like to take better care of my hair after that, what do you use?
LUCRETIA05
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Well, If you have been following this thread, you will know that I formerly had long, coloured Jet Black hair; and with the help of a good local salon, I have been attempting to go to a "caramel" blonde, a little like Giselle Bundchen. This has been a mammoth task, involving the repeated stripping of the black; you may remember at my last stage I had reddy - coppery hair, but alot of stubborn black had stuck fast around the front sections. Well last week I was back in the salon, and had a large number of bleached in highlights; the results of which is well - "interesting". The black around the front is now completely lifted, and although the colour through the back and top is more or less the exact colour I have been aiming for, through the ends of the hair, at the front, I am bright gingery reddy Pinky - YYYUUKK!!!! Now I do understand that this reddy gold is left as a result of bleaching out the black; what I want to know is; If I get more highlights through in 4-6 weeks time, will this red lift to Blonde, or should I go for a good layered cut to get rid of this excees red/gold through the ends? I am also seriously pondering going to another Salon for a second opinion, as I think the young stylist doing my hair is running out of patience, and seems to be at a loss as to what to do - not good for my confidence!! Her Highlighting method is also not really to my taste, I like alot of highlights right through the hair, not just a top "flap" of blonde with dark hair underneath. I have also spent well over �250 on appointments and products. Although my hair is getting dryer, the high level of care I have given it between appointments means its still pretty strong, with only a little breakage through the front (surface "fuzz" at the moment).
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...bte if i were ur cousin the things i would do to my hair, pale turquiose and pink streaks one then burgundy the next, and then fiery red hehehe...
), my boyfriend is a little dissappointed - he was a Goth in the 80s, so he loved my black hair look - he's also pretty annoyed 
that this process is taking so long and costing so much , but I have tried to calm him down by explaining the sheer scale and difficulty of what it is I'm trying to achieve! He is right on one point; if the salon was not 100% confident about what they were doing, they maybe should have turned down the task, thus saving their time, my time and my sanity! 