Ok, My natural hair color is 7A.  This is like a dirty blonde with ash in it.  I put L'oreal highlights in it yesterday.  They came out so bright and there were different areas that were globbed togther.  I used the applicator, but it didn't work out right.  I had huge circled areas of bright blonde, areas were orange.  I would not have left the house.  I dried it, and then I put on L'Oreal Preference Permanent color 8G.  It is a warm golden blonde color.  I didn't know what to do.  Now my hair is the ugliest color I have ever seen.  I have photos.

Here is where my hair was a blonde color at Christmas:  (this I could live with, but it grew out)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/100_6405_edited-1.jpg - http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/100_64 05_edited-1.jpg

This is the color of my hair now....

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/100_7815.jpg - http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/100_78 15.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/100_7816.jpg - http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/100_78 16.jpg

The color may be okay, but it does not go with my skin tone at all.  I don't know what to do now.  Should I try to stripe it all out with some over the counter product?  If so, what?  Should I try to buy a solid blonde color and put on all of it to lightened it up?

I don't know.  Please leave advice, I can't go to work looking like this on Monday.

Hi:  I know it seems like it is a bad color - perhaps it is more of just the dramatic change you've experienced.  In the pictures of your hair, the overall color seems to have evened out the blotches and uneven color about which you wrote. 

That said, you don't like the warmth in the color.  Perhaps something to think about is going to a Sally's Beauty Supply and asking for their advice for a toner (maybe something temporary like "Born Blonde") to tone down the golden warmth.  If you read Claude's sticky post on the Introduction to Hair Color, you'll be better able to understand what color is present in your hair that you don't like and what color combination will counteract it.  It seems that perhaps you have a yellow-orange tone (goldish) and that a blue-violet based toner will help to counteract it.  I'm not absolutely postive as I haven't ever used a toner (but I do know that a blue-violet base in my color helps to counteract the prevalence of goldish tones in my own root touchups.)  What ever you try -- including toner --- take the time to do a strand test before applying to your whole head.  Best of luck to you.  Maria

Yes it did even out the blotches.  I am very thankful for that.  I am trying to bring a richness back into the color.  Not sure how to do that.  If this color were fuller or had more depth to it I think it would be alright.  I just don't know what the product would be to do that.  I will read about the toner though to see if that is what I need.

My overall goal would be to have a shade that is a rich light light brown and then just twilights in a few strands like it has been sun kissed.  A stylist does my friend but it cost $200 every six weeks.  I can't afford that one time.

I can't really see what color you currently have, maybe a new pic in the sunlight and not so close up?

So the 7A that you had was that virgin hair?  Did you add some highlights to virgin hair?  Then you added 8G on top?  Now your hair is too warm? 

A nice rich light light brown would be darker than your natural color, 7A right? 

You might try letting this fade and see what happens with the color.  Give it a few weeks, unless you look ORANGE, which you don't, at least not in those pics, just a little Red, but not bad at all. 

If you don't like what happens when it fades then get some Colorfix and remove all the color.  Those highlights will be back and will need to be delt with again.  Depending on what color you end up with, this will be your natural undertones, if you started out with virgin hair, choose an ash shade--if it's orange a blue based that matches the same tone as the orange; if it's red then choose a green shade that matches the same tone as the red.  Pull out those highlights and don't color them at all.  Once you've colored all the hair minus the highlights, then choose a light neutral shade to fix those blotchy spots where the bleach bled around the highlights, just brush the dye on the spots that got too blotchy.  Finally, get a toner for just those highlights, a ash blue/violet toner if they are bleached YELLOW or PALE YELLOW and tone those highlights.  Hopefully this will blend everything together. 

For future touch ups just touch up the roots with the same ash base color and foil or cap in some highlights once every three months, make sure you bleach them to the same color as the last ones and that you tone them again with the same toner used to blend the hair with last time. 

A lot of work, good luck and I hope this helps...please remember to strand test prior to trying any colors on the entire head. 

Rebekah

well after this post I put on a semi-permanent hair color.  Color spa Moisture Actif 42 Palomino Dark Blonde.  This did bring the color down to a more neutral light brown color.  It will not last because it is a semi-permanent color, but I did not want to risk a permanent again because of all the damage it will cause.  I now have Rusk repair conditioner on my hair and a hot towel on my head for 30 minutes trying to get it back into a healthy look.  Probably need to do this once a week for a while. I am still reading the information in the hair color techniques to see what I will do next.  If I have to, then I will go somewhere to professionally have it fixed. 

What happened is that some areas turned a shade of red, and it seemed like on top in some places it turned orange.  I kept adding a darker shade just to try and cover it up. 

Since I have ash in my hair as a natural color, I have always been told my professional hair color people that I never want to add ash in any color product.  Why would they say that?

I will add a new photo after this dries to show the new color it is now and get your opinion.

Susan

OK, HERE IS A PHOTO OF MY HAIR TODAY OUTSIDE IN AN OVERCAST WEATHER DAY.  HUSBAND TOOK PHOTOS.  PLEASE GIVE ME ADVICE.  THIS IS AFTER I ADDED THE COLOR SPA COLOR OF BLONDE AS STATED ABOVE.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/100_7852.jpg - http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/100_78 52.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/100_7849.jpg - http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/100_78 49.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/After-applying-the-color-sp.jpg - http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e319/Sweet1plum2000/After- applying-the-color-sp.jpg

Please respond.  Thanks.

Happy1 wrote: Since I have ash in my hair as a natural color, I have always been told my professional hair color people that I never want to add ash in any color product.  Why would they say that?

Susan,

I was told that as well. I NEVER understood it.....especially when my colored hair was gold/warm. Use of the color wheel tells you to add blues and violets. And that's what I needed to match my new growth of natural ash blonde.

Your hair seems so uneven.....I'm not really sure I have any advice. You MAY just have to go to a pro, unless somewhere here has any better advice.