getting rid of gold tones

Hi Likealime- Yes it could be the color buildup which caused your semi to be off-color.

First off I would wait a couple of weeks until this semi has totally washed out. The last thing you need is to put another semi on top of one that is still there.....Then I would try another line of semi color in ash brown, maybe from sally's. I have found not all semis are created equal, and I never had much success with Natural Instincts either when I used it. Perhaps even a demi ( sorta between a semi and a permanent ) might give you the color you want, and is less harsh. Just ask the clerk to suggest a good demi.

I am not sure about the dark ash blonde, because the blonde might actually accentuate the gold tones in your hair, you might be better off sticking with a brown color.

If you still can't get what you want, I am afraid you may have to use a permenent color in ash brown. Since it's stronger and penetrates the hair, you have a better chance of getting rid of the gold. Any other suggestions out there ?

wow!  thanks for responding so quickly =)

I am going to wait out the semi.  I've been gold this long, what's another few weeks

I used to go to my sister-in-law (licensed stylist) and she never quite would answer all my questions.  she *hates* doing my hair something fierce!  my hair requires three bottles of dye to color.  I'm so frustrated sometimes.  every time I've asked her to color my hair, she requests we use box color.  is that kinda weird?

I wonder why a licensed stylist would want to use boxed color, since she probably already owns a big ole bottle of developer and it's cheaper to just buy bottles of color at Sally than boxed sets.  Even money aside, you'd still get more reliable results from a color which has the base shade written on it (boxed colors don't, beauty supply stuff does).  So, you've got me on why she'd want you to use boxed.  I'd ask.

Susan W wrote: I wonder why a licensed stylist would want to use boxed color, since she probably already owns a big ole bottle of developer and it's cheaper to just buy bottles of color at Sally than boxed sets.  Even money aside, you'd still get more reliable results from a color which has the base shade written on it (boxed colors don't, beauty supply stuff does).  So, you've got me on why she'd want you to use boxed.  I'd ask.

"You would LOVE to have nice light brown non-gold hair"

 The problem is that there is no way around this using a semi permanent color without going darker.Even then you will always have warmth to your hair. By using a violet base you can cancel out yellow tones this is true, but what is violet? = Red + blue. by using a blue base you will be able to cancel out orange, but what is orange? Yellow+Red.Ok what about a green base?Green cancels of red right? true but what is green? yellow+ blue.I'snt yellow what u are trying to cancel out in the first place.hum.So no matter how you slice it you will still have some sort of warmth.But dont dismay.there is still something you can do about it.What? you say.Make the gold you see a tan or beige, camel color.how? maybe add some  highlights.