Hair Color - Hair Dye Disaster

Hair Dye Disaster - Help Please!

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Category: Hair Talk
Forum Name: Hair Color
Forum Description: The tricks and tribulations of changing your hair color
URL: https://talk.hairboutique.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=48758
Printed Date: November 22 2025 at 6:28am

Topic: Hair Dye Disaster - Help Please!

Posted By: Raven
Subject: Hair Dye Disaster - Help Please!
Date Posted: December 02 2006 at 11:59am

I've had my hair highlighted today - well, through a cap and bleached... And I hate it. I want to go back to being brunette - all over. It looks ridiculous, and I'm actually trying not to cry each time I look in the mirror and catch site of it.

How long do I have to leave it before it can be dyed back brown? What's the best way of going about that? Can I just get a perm red dye, and then use a brown dye over it? Will the brown dye also have to be perm?

Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Replies:

Posted By: jentalkin2u
Date Posted: December 03 2006 at 3:36pm

I think your hair is so porous right now after being bleached that it will pick up the brown dye way too quickly and leave you with "muddy" hair. I'm not a professional, but I've read that you need to do quite a few deep conditioning treatments with a protein-rich formula to replenish your hair. Even then, the bleached strands aren't going to pick up the dye the same as your other strands. I would call the salon where you had it done and be honest with them and tell them you need it fixed. They'll (hopefully) know how to fix it. If you did this at home, then I'd still go to a salon to have it fixed so you don't ruin your hair.

Posted By: Rebekah
Date Posted: December 03 2006 at 8:58pm

The first time I bleached my hair with highlights, it looked very dramatic--to me anyway. After a time, I got used to seeing my hair a different color.

Two pieces of advice:

1. Wait for at least a month to do anything. Give yourself a chance to adjust to the new color and also get some opinions from friends. You may be surprised at how much others like your hair.

2. Get a semi permanent color in a shade lighter than the bleached highlights and just dye those parts. Ash will likely go grey (if you have very light bleached highlights) so avoid it for now. Just try a neutral shade. It's really hard to advise on colors without a pic...Can you post a pic?

Finally, did you get those highlights toned? If not, likely they are a bit brilliant and bright--you may want to go back and have them toned. Also, when hair is first bleached it sometimes looks sort of bright (raw), but after a few weeks it tones down a bit and looks more natural.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Rebekah

PS If this was done by pros please don't touch it as they will not fix it if you mess with it. Just leave it alone and go back and tell them how you feel.

Posted By: julesyjul88
Date Posted: December 05 2006 at 2:38am

HI! Dont worry,it will fade some. It does often look quite dramatic at first and not so much after about a week or so. Perhaps if you trim the ends that will help too because the ends usually are the lightest.
Also...I do think it may ok to dye them a red color. But I would deep condition very well first,and if you can get some protein filler for when you do it. After you color them red...wait a while and then go to brown.
You will find that the red ones are much less noticeable then the blonde ones,and may not even decide to go back to all brown.
I know how you feel though.I did that once,and the highlights seemed too blonde on my dark brown hair...I thought I looked like a bee,LOL. (yellow and black)
It will be ok though...red is not that hard to get to from blonde.And just color the highlighted parts.