To william and others-need advice on corrective coloring/price/maintenance

HiI had posted a few weeks ago re my hair that had turned too dark when my stylist put a semi- permanent color over a permanent color, it came out a burgundy color. It has lightened up some but hereis my dilemma- I want a nice dark red/copper color and went for a consultation somewhere else. Tey said tey could put in some gold highlights and a gold wash that would counter the burgundy color but they would have to do that before they could lighten my hair any. This would cost around 65 bucks.I realy don't have $65 to spend now ( maybe 40 dollars) plus in December I won't be working anymore so I can't afford expensive hair maintenance( my husband won't go for it). Should I just live with the color till it washes out then go to Sallys and do the color myself? Or should I try and find a school that takes peple off the street to let their students practice on. Your help is very needed. I want my hair too look nice and antural but I can't afford to spend alot .Susannah

> Hi> I had posted a few weeks ago re my hair that had> turned too dark when my stylist put a semi- permanent> color over a permanent color, it came out a burgundy> color. It has lightened up some but hereis my dilemma-> I want a nice dark red/copper color and went for a> consultation somewhere else. Tey said tey could put in> some gold highlights and a gold wash that would> counter the burgundy color but they would have to do> that before they could lighten my hair any. This would> cost around 65 bucks.> I realy don't have $65 to spend now ( maybe 40> dollars) plus in December I won't be working anymore> so I can't afford expensive hair maintenance( my> husband won't go for it). Should I just live with the> color till it washes out then go to Sallys and do the> color myself? Or should I try and find a school that> takes peple off the street to let their students> practice on. Your help is very needed. I want my hair> too look nice and antural but I can't afford to spend> alot .> SusannahTo Susannah:Prices on corrective coloring vary widely with processes and number of trips to 'get corrected'. Generally speaking and this is going out on a limb!..$45 to $75 per hour spent is not uncommon, it just depends on the problems and there is many many variables to contend with.Remember that a customer walking in off the street with no previous experience with a particular salon or colorist is a potential time bomb or a gold mine depending on the skill level and honesty of the stylist and the customers honesty about the history of her hair.I place a lot of importance upon the honesty of the customer relaying every tidbit of information about her hair as possible. Here is where a few minutes spent is the best insurance both the customer and the stylist can buy!This consultation time can make the stylist look like a wizard of color or a zero to nothing of a stylist. In reality many stylists shy away from corrective coloring or perming because of a previous bad experience they had or more often the reason is that they simply do not understand the 'mechanics of the chemistry processes!And just for my opinion the stylist who told you they could not fix your hair without doing multiple coloring processes, does not understand the basics well enough! I know I'm going to catch a lot of hell about this one!, but, If your hair was major screwed up and was healthy enough to withstand still more coloring, probably a removal of the existing colors and recoloring to a more suitable color is what you need. This sounds like it would probably wind up being a 'double process coloring'. If this is the case an 'on the scalp' oil type bleach product followed by a deposit only 'toning' could take you where you want to go with the least amount of damage and ease of upkeep later on.When you do not have to 'lift or lighten' the hair, a deposit only color is usually much easier on the hair.good luck!william