Do I DARE attempt to highlight at home?????

I have been thinking about this...as I've a lot of experience coloring (even cutting!) at home. My hair is in great condition, I air dry and have been for years and years. My natural color is warm medium brown and I'm very grey in the sides, my sides are 75% grey and the rest of my hair isn't really grey (little bit in the crown). I color roots only with med. ash browns (level 5) to keep my roots from getting too hot.   My hair looks more like a level 4 (dark brown) to the naked eye indoors from color accumulation (even roots-only, some gets an inch or so lower etc etc even though I don't pull through.)

So I am thinking about getting some very mild highlights...only maybe a shade lighter...to frame my face, just to add some interest. I don't want to lift a lot of color. Years ago I frosted and did other lightening stuff and my hair dries out very quickly from product (why I don't use heat!). It's thick and wavy.

I really don't have the $$ to go to the salon and I want something I can upkeep easily at home as well.

My skin is pale white and my eyes are blue-green. I look good in both cool colors and warm, though my eyes tend to pop the most with darker hair...I just need a change and I just can't stop looking at other ppl's beautiful highlights.

So, do I try a kit like Loreal Couleour Experte, or just buy a level 6 brown and paint it on where I want my highlights?   Will the developer in any boxed permanent color be %volume enough to get the lift I need since my hair is so dark?

I will def. paint rather than use a cap, but I want to know what product to try...I'm nervous as I haven't done anything like this in so many years.

Of course I will DEF strand test...Let me see if I can dig up a pic of my hair.


Hope you can see this...pls ignore pregnant belly!


Edited by Elissa - August 09 2008 at 6:09am

I've used L'Oreal Excellence Creme lights for adding a few soft highlights for years with awesome results.  Do a strand test first.  I always style my hair in its normal way and then decide where I want to add a few foils of bleach.  Most times it takes me a few days to get all the highligts added where I want them.  Good luck and hope this helps.

Thanks everyone...and glad to see you Fakeizme, was hoping you would reply.

I ended up trying a strand test yesterday before reading Fakeizme's reply(attached to my head! on a sliver of my bangs) using a level 6 light ash brown...left it on for 30 minutes...and got...

NOTHING!

Guess I forgot color doesn't lift color, but I thought I could get one shade lighter with a single process (going from level 5 to 6)???   So, do I try again leaving it on longer (box said 25 min - 45 min max)? Or do I save my time and just bleach/tone? (going for ashy light brown, nothing too drastic)



Edited by Elissa - August 14 2008 at 4:55am