Hi, all!
So, I've been working on going from natural dark auburn to pale blonde this summer. In the past 6 weeks, I've bleached twice (Wella lightening powder with Vol. 20) and used the Wella T14 toner after the second bleaching - which was a week ago - because I looked like a deranged muppet.
Here's where I'm at now:
It looks a bit lighter in places depending on the light, but the darker color you see there is what most of the back looks like.
I'm aiming for a pale blonde, like this picture of Kate Bosworth:
So, what should I do next? I've been using coconut oil, the Miracle 10 masks, and leave-in conditioner to get my hair healthy again, and I'm hoping to have my hair color settled within a month when I go back to work.
My guess is a bleach bath followed by more toner is the best step for now, given the previous bleaching. Does that sound right for the level of lightening I want? If so, when do you think is the soonest I can do it, assuming I continue pampering my hair between now and then?
Was your hair dyed before you bleached?
Was your hair dyed before you bleached?
It was. I dyed it a dark burgundy permanent from a box maybe 6 months before I bleached it? I had a lot of that hair cut off when I went from a bob to an undercut pixie, but it's possible that the ends still had some residual dye. I hadn't thought of that before I started bleaching, so I know I skipped the color stripping part of the process 🙁 Do you think using something like Colour B4 now (or in a few weeks) would actually help lighten it better than a bleach bath (or in combination with a bleach bath)?
Here's a picture with a bit more light
Would using just the Wella t14 toner again at the point help, without bleach or color stripping? Or should I just wait a few weeks and then do a bleach bath / toner combo?
It looks like you have some old colour in the ends still, so I would do a colour remover on those parts.
You will need to bleach again to get to the colour you want, you need to lighten to a level 10, inside of a banana colour. Ideally you should wait at least a month since you last bleached, and check the condition of your hair before proceeding.
I would avoid the T14 entirely whilst going through the lightening process, it is unnecessary damage.
It may not be possible to achieve perfect platinum on previously dyed hair
It looks like you have some old colour in the ends still, so I would do a colour remover on those parts.
You will need to bleach again to get to the colour you want, you need to lighten to a level 10, inside of a banana colour. Ideally you should wait at least a month since you last bleached, and check the condition of your hair before proceeding.
I would avoid the T14 entirely whilst going through the lightening process, it is unnecessary damage.
It may not be possible to achieve perfect platinum on previously dyed hair
Ok, 2 more questions then -
1) Should I wait a month before using a color stripper or do it now and then wait a month to bleach again?
2) Am I right in assuming the color stripper will undo the toner? I'd really like to avoid going back to neon orange if possible!
You can do a colour remover now. NOT a colour stripper, they are different. Colour removers are drying but not damaging in the way bleach/oxidative dyes are, so as long as your hair is in good condition there is no need to wait.
Yes it will take the toner out, but the bright orange you saw before was from bleaching out permanent dye. The colour remover should take the rest of the red tones out so you shouldn't get bright orange. If it is still very orange you can do a second colour remover
That's something like Color Oops, right? As long as it says it works on permanent dyes and doesn't contain things like bleach or amonia it should be safe?
Thanks for the help! Luckily, I'm on vacation so, if I end up looking like a tangerine for a bit, I have fewer people around to mock me ;D
Yes, Color Oops is the type of colour remover you want. One & Only Colorfix (from Sallys) is a better product though
Update-
I used the One n Only color fix (2 applications, and boy the smell!). Overall, I think it looks a tad lighter but also more orange in more places (especially bad in artificial light). I'm not sure if that's because it removed the wella toner, because the last step in the color removing process includes peroxide, or a combination of both.
I really don't have the skin tone to pull off orangeish hair, but I'm also wary of applying the wella toner again, especially as I'm trying to rehabilitate my hair so I can do a bleach bath in a few weeks. So, how might I minimize the orange?
I have enough of thr One n Only left for one more application. If I do that and skip the processing lotion with peroxide in it, will that help? Or should I buy some blue shampoo (since I'm not sure the purple shampoo I have will tone out the orange)?
Ok, off to bake some cookies to combat the rotten egg smell of that product !