I want to go blonde!
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Oct 4, 2011
Andrea F.
Right now I have medium brown hair. I'm wanting to go blonde. About 4 or 5 years ago I bleached my hair way too much and over processed it and just totally did it wrong so this time I'm wanting to go to a salon to get it done. I googled a bit and some people say that stylists mostly refuse to do a whole bleach + toner to go from a dark shade to light or that theyll recommend to just get a lot of high lights... I was wondering if anybody has gone to a salon to get their dark hair to blonde and how the process went. I've never went to somewhere to get my hair dyed, I've always done it on my own. I was also wondering about shades. I was thinking a medium golden blonde. But I'm not sure. Could somebody just share their experiences and give me some knowledge about this :P I'm just wondering if I could go from my hair to a shade of blonde in a day and what I should talk to the hair person about and stuff like that... I will post a picture of my recent hair next.... :)
Oct 4, 2011
Andrea F.
Oct 4, 2011
Shelly T.
I think the thing to ask your hairstylist or colourist would be how long it would take to get your hair from your current shade to the colour you want, and also whether or not it would suit you. You may find that it is something you'll have to do gradually over time.
Oh! There are websites (I can't think of any URLs right off the bat) where you can upload your picture and be able to see it with a different hairstyle or colour. (Google is your BFF. :))
Oct 4, 2011
Angela W.
What you need:
Forget the BLUE tinted bleaching powder and go with NEUTRAL. This is huge. I was having ho-hum results with the blue until one day I swiched to the neutral and the heavens opened up and turned me bleach blonde!
Next, use a 40 developer. Yep, a 40. Don't be scared, the key is not leaving it on too long and frying your hair. As long as you keep your eye on the clock you'll be ok. I prefer a cream developer too, less messy.
Then, mix them equal parts and use A LOT. I buy the big old tub of powder bleaching agent and two bottles of the 40 developer. I'll put a list of the products I use at the bottom.
So now you have to consider what condition your hair is in. If you have dye on part and natural roots, the bleach is going to take differently. So brush the bleach onto your dyed hair first and then wait like two minutes (literally, like two) and then do the roots. Your tips might have damage too so the bleach is going to affect them more rapidly than the thick, middle part of your strands. Sometimes I wipe the tips off with conditioner (yes.. just as I said it, wipe the bleach off by smoothing conditioner over them) when I feel they're getting compromised.
You have to work SUPER fast but make sure you're being thorough. If you trust a friend enough to help you do the back of your head, then great for you. I do it myself with a handheld mirror that reflects the back of my head in my bathroom mirror and I do just fine. I use a comb to seperate my hair, too... much easier than trying to do it with just your hands or a brush.
Now watch your hair. The box might say to keep in on for 40 minutes but I've never, ever left it on that long. I figured that was the fastest way to damage my hair so I always rinsed it out within 20 minutes.
Prepare to have pretty orange-y hair. And that's OK! That's what toner is for... I use Wella toner in Ivory Lady (T 10) with 20 or 30 volume developer (I've found I just don't need as strong of a developer at this step)... which I apply immediately, while my hair is still wet. I don't leave that on for very long either, maybe 20 mintues at the MOST. I think most girls go wrong when they leave stuff on too long. Then, instead of rinsing the toner out with shampoo I use a clarifying conditioner and don't shampoo at all. I just rinse like mad.. then condition.. and condition... and again if I feel like it. Then it's Keratin mist time (keratin is protein.. protein is stripped from your hair during this process so I feel it's good to put it back in). Seems to work.
Viola. It's not going to be Platinum overnight but... since you're not leaving it on too long and wrecking your hair, you can do the whole process again in a few days (the longest I ever waited between bleachings was like a week- mostly because I was busy). Before I knew it my hair was nearly white and not brassy at all.
I also invested in one of those purple shampoos. But be careful with those- I started to go a tad grey on the tips from overusing it! I had to bleach the grey out! Not good... so don't leave the purple shampoo on for more than a minute.
THe best advice I could possibly give is to seriously just look at and feel your hair. You can tell if it needs a break- so give it one! And don't freak out if you have to do the process a few times before you get the color you want. PS- you can always fix "spots" if you get any- just paint bleach onto just the spots and then rinse them away! Bleach is actually really easy to do once you get comfortable with it.
Here's my list of items I use:
1. latex gloves
2. a pro type brush (flat, wide brush that looks like a mini painter's brush) with synthetic bristles
3. at least two packages of Kaleidocolors tonal lightener powder in *Neutral* NOT Blue!
4. pure white creme developer in 20 or 30 and 40 (you might as well buy a lot because blonde takes a lot of upkeep).
5. Wella toner in Ivory Lady (T 10).
6. A clarifying conditioner (I used VO5 kiwi somethingorother for $1)
7. A really, REALLY good conditioner. I like Joico's K-Pak Reconstruct line. The shampoos and conditioners you're going to use are key so don't be cheap here.
8. Keratin Mist (I use the CHI one) but you could also do a protein replacement treatment by using Henna and Placenta.
9. An oil treatment. I am OBsessed with mixing pure cold pressed coconut oil, olive oil, and Argan oil together and using it as a mask. Coconut is a must!
10. Clairol's Shimmering Lights purple toning shampoo.
And that's it. Just condition like mad (literally, every few days do a mask) and your hair will be fine! Here's a pic that was taken the same day as a self-bleach job:
Oct 4, 2011
Megan N.
andrea do you have any color in your hair right now?? like did you dye your hair to get the color it is now? if so, it might be a little harder to deal with then if your hair is naturally that color. you could do it yourself, but if your hair is previously colored, it could get a little patchy. honestly i would recommend going to a professional if your looking to achieve the right shade of blonde you are going for, instead of risking the chances of having it look a little patchy and then getting a color correction. working with bleach can get a little tricky.
i've had to do a color correction on someone who's tried to go from black to a lighter brown and its a very long process to try and correct it, and a lot pricier if you were to just go straight to a colorist and have them do your hair.
from your pictures, i can see your hair isnt that dark, so it wouldn't take to long for the bleach to kick in. the reason why stylist decide to do highlights, and gradually go lighter is to save your hair from the damage. if you allow your hair to rest in between each process, it wont get extremely damaged. i know from personal experience going from my dark asian hair to a platinum blonde.
as for angela's comment on using the 40 developer, i would stay away from that. 40 volume developer is a very very strong developer that will easily damage your hair. i've turn many clients blonde before, and i have never used a 40 volume. my hair was almost black before i went blonde, and i used a 30 which was still very harsh on my hair.
my best bet for you is to honestly go to a professional. they will know exactly the right shade of blonde for you to go, and you can save all the hard work for them.
i hope some of this helps. if you have any more questions please feel free to ask.
Oct 5, 2011
Linda D.
Going to your stylist and taking for their opinion is something I would personally do if I were wanting to go blonde all over.
From personal experience one thing that I noticed is that it is a LONG process to get the results that you want. I had bleach blonde highlights in my hair last year and it took me a good couple months to get the results I wanted from the beginning. I told my stylist that I wanted it as light as possible but it turned out to be a light orangey brass color. Slowly as I kept going back to her and getting a toner and using purple shampoo I finally got the blonde I wanted.
Honestly I would personally just think about doing maybe a partial foil and see what happens from there. Having an full foil and having to bleached it every month really took a toll on my hair.
Another thing I would do if I were you is just do an all over color and just doing a shade lighter every 6 weeks. This is what I am currently doing with my own hair and it has worked out perfectly. Within those 6 weeks also consider getting a deep conditioning done. Helps a lot!
Oct 6, 2011
Andrea F.
Wow!!! Thank you everybody for all the info!!!!! Awesome stuff. I'll be getting money soon so I'll def let you guys know what I end up doing. :) Thanks!!
Oct 6, 2011
Ashley G.
I would most definitely be going to my hairdresser before I touched my hair and try to do anything myself.. I've died my hair so many times, and my hair used to be literally white and I never paid anywhere near 400$... maybe 150$ and that's in a great salon.
Oct 6, 2011
Sarang Shika K.
i have naturally black hair.
i went blonde before, a long time ago.
i went in a salon, asked for blonde. it took the entire day. i think they had to bleach it 4 times? and then dye it. i paid $1000 for it. i also got 'clinic' done, so my hair wouldn't be too damaged.
i would never do it again, cause it damaged my hair too much. i eventually dyed it back to black after a couple months.
good luck with yours! post a pic!
Oct 6, 2011
Angela W.
If someone tells you they'll bleach your hair for $150... run.
Oct 14, 2011
Brittney L.
whatever you do, DO NOT do it yourself. Hair color works on everyone different, and
there is NO way to predict how it will turn out.
Spend the extra cash and go to professional...it will be sooo WORTH it, because if you mess up trying to do it yourself, you'll have to spend way more trying to get it fixed!!! LOL
Good Luck!!!
blondes have more fun(;
Oct 14, 2011
Courtney J.
I was in your same situation when I dyed my hair blonde for the first time. I did it myself and I would NEVER recommend doing it yourself. Angela's advice seems good, but she also sounds like she has a lot of experience. If you're a first timer at it, just go to the salon! Look at it this way: You're either going to spend money getting right the first time or spend money having it fixed. Both are pricey.
Oct 16, 2011
Angela W.
So after reading so many posts advising NOT to do it yourself, I must admit, I do have a bit of experience in bleaching my own hair and I wanted to put a huge "CAUTION" label on my original post. I learned by going very, very slowly and trusting my instincts about how it was going to turn out of if I needed to tweak the process. But if you're not confident, then don't! Bleach is serious and you can totally mess up your hair. So either be suuuuuper careful or pony up and have a pro help you!
Oct 16, 2011
Melissa M.
I would recommend not using bleach if you can help it, and definitely go talk to a stylist first.
Oct 16, 2011
Angela W.
Not to be a jerk or anything by pointing this out, but any lightening process is going to contain bleach- it's one of the necessary chemicals to react with the keratin protein in your hair and take the color out. So those box "dyes" are also using bleach and peroxide (not dye) in order to change the color of your hair. The benefit of buying the powder and the peroxide sperately is stictly cost. I find that the box colors which also contain toners (like an "ash" vs a "golden") are a lot scarier because there's a much higher chance you'll end up with a green/purple/unnatural tint trying to do it in one shot (or at least that was my experience when I tried to go the easy route and just throw box blonde on my brown hair). When I do the processes serpately, I just feel like I have more control over the color. I'm about to go back to blonde from red myself again!! I'll post pics : )
Oct 18, 2011
Melissa M.
Actually, I didn't bleach until after I was already blonde. Like I said, going from red (dying my hair constantly to keep it not looking faded for a year) to blonde my stylist stripped my hair twice then dyed my hair a blonde color. She didn't want to use bleach as it could easily ruin my hair. I have done the home bleach + developer stuff, and ended up having a severe allergic reaction. Hence why the next time I decided to go blonde I went to my hair stylist. Also, since I knew I would need to keep up with my roots I talked to her about what box dyes would work best and not ruin my hair. I made sure to use the box dye a good while after, and only choose one with an ash tone because the copper tones from dying my hair red for so long kept coming back.
Find someone you trust to do your hair. If you trust your own knowledge of dying and foiling, then I would definitely say save some money and do it yourself.
Otherwise go to a professional and ask about the many different ways to actually get your hair to the blonde you want.