I think every blonde knows that is the worst thing in the world.. lol

Well I get my roots done by a girl every 4 weeks.. & it comes to like $125 sometimes more... & thats for a partial foil!

Im sick of paying that much BUT, I hate having roots & I love the way she does my hair. My hair is naturally VERY dark.

It looks so easy... Is it really that hard?

Does anyone on here who isnt a hair stylist bleach their own roots?

THanks

Julie

If your hair is very dark and you bleach it very light, that can be hard because you are lifting the color up so many levels and sometimes have to use a toner to cancel out any unwanted brassiness.  But choose a toner wisely, as sometimes the toner base will grab too much and turn the hair a funky color.

Anyway, you can do it yourself.  I think the most important think is to just make sure you keep the bleach on long enough, to pull through all the brassy warm stages of orange, gold,  and yellow. However,  if you keep it on too long, it will fry your hair, so you have to use good judgement on the timing and of course do strand tests, checking to see if enough of the underlying warmth has been lifted.

Keep in mind that most bleach only works for about 90 minutes or so, before a new batch would have to be mixed and applied, after washing the old stuff off.  Also, if bleach dries out, it will no longer work either.

A real danger is overlapping bleach, if you get any of the bleach mixture on the previously bleached hair, that hair is likely to snap off at that point of contact. 

There are many bleaches on the market, some are made for an on the scalp application and some are strictly off the scalp.  There are powder bleaches and oil bleaches.  Usually oil bleaches are more gentle for on the scalp applications.

And you need to factor in volume of peroxide.  I very seldom use more than a 30V for on the scalp bleaching.  If you use too high a volume, than you can get scalp burns.  My husband's guy friend bleached his own hair, and he got severe burns all over his head which lead to a systemic infection that put him in the hospital.

Anyway, good luck!

i do lots of color correction from women wanting to save money at home and do it themselves. and the amount of money they could of saved by going to a professional far outweights the cost to have it color corrected.

do yourself a favor, go to a professional and cut your budget some other way. Bleach espicially can be very picky to work with. depending on your level, the bleach and developer you use, it could be hazardous.

if you are wanting to try, i would try a tiny tiny section in the back underneath, this way you dont ruin your whole head.

it is difficult and time consuming for those of us that are professional to not get too close to the root area for weaves to prevent bleeding and overlaping onto already bleached hair.

be careful. Bleach is not something to play with.

I agree about the bleach being harsh on the hair.  I am a stylist that does mostly color.  I am training to be an Artistic Color Educator.  There are several different ways you can approach this...

How long is your hair? What is your natural level? Do you have any color on your hair (bleach is not a color!)? What type of color, permenant or demi? How much new growth do you have? What is your desired level?

I am a natural level 5 and go 9 every 3-4 weeks and use lightener (bleach) for some highlights to break it up a bit.  I do not use lightener to acheive a level 9!!! Only a few highlights in the crown and to frame my face.

I do alot of high lift blondes only because my first priority is to preserve the integrity of their hair.

I hope this will help.

I understand but, when my new growth rears its ugly head, it looks like a level 2 or 3 next to my 10.  I am a natural 5/6. That is why I asked her natural level.

Any time you lift a darker level, you more than likely have to tone.  The natural underlying pigment is a major contributing factor no matter what your natural level is.  Certainly high lift is somewhat safer than slapping bleach on her head!!!

So many people try to lift a blonde to a 10 before stopping the lightening process.  This is where the damage comes in.  I will never recommend someone using bleach at home!!! I have so many people come in with an at home bleaching kit with tons of damage.  All it takes is 1 or 2 minutes longer on the phone with her girl friend before she has pocket hair ( hair that falls of and then she has to tote it in her pocket)! 

I guess what I am trying to say is that there are alot of factors that play in to acheiving a beautiful blonde.  Not all blondes are created equal!!! Higher levels are much more of a sensitive service than a simple color retouch. There are alot of things that can go wrong.  And, you need to be totally prepared to handle them. 

I totally understand where you are coming from.   BUT after seeing what my girlfriend did to her hair..I will NEVER try it on my own.  She bleached out her own hair and it felt and looked like over cooked spagetti!

Maybe look around for a stylist that is not as expensive and tell her exactly what you want.  I recently found a new girl that does my roots and foils (half head) for $50.00  .  I had to guide her the first time..but what my previous stylist was doing wasn't rocket science...so it was an easy transitioin. 

Good luck! ;o)

I've been blonde for two short periods of my life, and both times, I bleached my own roots.  I was always very careful to just do my roots and not overlap the bleach, and never had a problem.   But, I have very tough hair that can withstand a lot of abuse.

I used Wella products from Sally's and conditioned alot.

I have a question for you proffesional girls, Do you think that overexposure to bleaching and colouring can destroy the hair follicel?So that it does not grow out?

Cause i have about coloured my hair 50-60 times and bleach 30-40times..O.o and im only 17! so now im cutting down on my Proccesing....

i never have had any scalpdamage or burns. My hair is also weary strong and takes a lot abuse(i keep it generally short). The only thing i noticed is that in the corners of my frontal hair line,  has become weary thin and fine(i think they have been broken off) It`s there..just thin and ligth. Wut ju think?

I would suggest that if you are a level 1 and are going to a light blonde either a 9 or 10, paying $125.00 is a very reasonable price to pay.  To do what you are looking for, I would charge around $150 - $170.  How long does it take your stylist to perform your service?

And to moffpoff, yes you probably do have some damage around your hairline.  Those hairs are very fragile.

I would be very carefull with bleach.  It only takes once to severely damage your hair.  Good luck!!!

So many times you get what you pay for....

Maybe someday people will realize it takes several years of practice and studying color theory to be a good colorist.  That's what you pay for, a professionals experience, when you go to a salon to get a service performed.

It makes me frustrated that people think it's so easy to perform profesionnal quality services, when most hair dressers spend a lot of time and money taking classes honing their skills, whether it be hair color, cutting, or extensions.

Oh well, at home colorists add positively to my cash flow when they call and want me to fix what they messed up! 

Sorry for the attitude, I just want to be paid what I'm worth without people questioning it. After all, would you hesistate in paying your doctor or lawyer their fee?

Maybe i'm in the minority(Ok I am).But I like roots.I'm not talking 4 inches of black roots next to platinum hair ala shakira.But a dark base covered in light and dark blonde highlights can look really good.I like roots so much I added them all over a wig a just bought.It was just too perfect looking which made it look fake,IMHO.

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Metalgirl:You are right.You get what you pay for.A good stylist is obviously going to charge more.Its just sad cause there are alot of people out their charging rediculous prices for crappy services. But I say if you found a good stylist you can trust you cant put a pricetag on that.

hey Julz .. i totally feel you.. i have BLACK hair naturally and am now a bleached blonde... Its SOOO much work.. and money ..

i get my hair done every 6 weeks and it costs like a 100 everytime.. i would like to get it done every 4 but my colorist encourages me to wait a lil more..

she highlights my roots in foils and when she gets to the top she does a lot more bleach

I did try to do it myself once, figuring if i could, then i wouldnt have to pay so much money .. but i ended up getting orangey roots cause i didnt leave the bleach on long enough and then i ended up having to get that corrected and then a bunch of my hair broke and i had little tiny one inch hairs i was constantly patting down..

i would really love to do it myself too but im scared after what happened last time.. my mistake before took months to finally grow and look better..

anyway.. who knows maybe you could.. but its tricky.. i think the timing is crucial and the type of bleach is important too..

being blonde is hard if your really not :(

metalgirl wrote: So many times you get what you pay for.... Maybe someday people will realize it takes several years of practice and studying color theory to be a good colorist.  That's what you pay for, a professionals experience, when you go to a salon to get a service performed. It makes me frustrated that people think it's so easy to perform profesionnal quality services, when most hair dressers spend a lot of time and money taking classes honing their skills, whether it be hair color, cutting, or extensions.   Oh well, at home colorists add positively to my cash flow when they call and want me to fix what they messed up!  Sorry for the attitude, I just want to be paid what I'm worth without people questioning it. After all, would you hesistate in paying your doctor or lawyer their fee?

I can totally understand where you are coming from, but so many times 'Moms' sacrifice for the greater good. Things are very tight for us right now and if it comes between doing it myself and spending that money on our boys doing something fun.......the kiddos will win every time. I've made my mistakes at home, but through the process I have learned alot. There are certain techniques I won't attempt (like lowlights/highlights), but in many cases if you do your homework you can achieve a result very close to what a pro can do.

kristie m wrote: Kudos to you, Kelly!

Thanks. The two pics in my sig were work of a professional. I had been diy bleaching for a few years (platinum blonde) and needed some help to get it back to my natural color. I only paid for lowlights twice and now I'm going back to diy. That was all I budgeted for and it was very tough before Christmas. Hopefully, just one more all over color will get me where I want to be. My whole goal is to get back to my natural color (between an 8 and 9 neutral to ash blonde) and then I won't have to worry about it.

When I did my own bleaching, I did spend ALOT of time reading the "going blonde" forum, checked out books on coloring from the library, and talked to my neighbor who is a stylist first.  But, the end result was that my hair turned out better than what the girl at the salon was charging me $125 for. 

I can even do my own foiling.

I do usually go to the salon if I'm doing a drastic change, like dyed black to any other color, but by now, I've done just about everything to my hair, and I pretty much know what to do to avoid serious problems.

BTW, I'm a lawyer, and everything I do, people can do for themselves if they just know where to look for the information.    That's what it's all about, isn't it?  A monopoly of information?