Hi ;D
I'd like to go blonde as I'm in my 40's and probably about 35-45% grey (not sure! Don't let it come in long enough to check!!). I'm a full-time student (at my age!) so very poor 🙁 and have been box-dying my hair with the occasional permanent but mostly semi-perm light brown (looks more medium to me).
After lots of research, I can't decide what the best course of action is and hope you lovely people would point me in the right direction? So far, my options appear to be:
1. Bleach whole head then use demi to tone for desired blonde (need to manage the different timings for my overdyed ends, less dyed middle and undyed roots = very complicated!)
2. Bleach bath to remove box-dye (only apply to overdyed ends then mid-lengths and not roots) then highlight whole head and tone all
3. Use Colour B4 on whole head, highlight whole head then tone all
I'm swaying towards the third option as it'll limit the amount of bleach, maybe? - Previously (a few years ago) I hated the build up of dye and used Colour B4. My hair went really orange and I re-dyed it a dark ash blonde (looked brown). I'm assuming it'll go bright orange again since the permanent colour I've been using will have lightened my base. Therefore I can do the highlights using the bleach I have and when I tone the whole head the orange will be blonde (if the orange is light enough of course)?
Do I have that right? Is that the best option? Or should I do number 3 but then bleach (or bleach-bath) the whole head to lift the orange and worry about highlights in a few weeks?
Colour I want to get to is a level 8 and leaning toward cool blonde. I will use an ashy toner to combat the brassiness (the dyes I've been using already are all ashy as cool colours make me pop).
I bleached my own hair years ago for a long time and never had a disaster so I'm hopeful my technique will be ok, it's just the method I'm undecided about! I've got professional products (Schwarzkopf BlondMe bleach and toners) and my hair is in great condition. I'm using professional bonding masks and shampoo to strengthen it (though I think it's strong anyway) all in order to limit any damage.
Appreciate (massively) any advice you may have. I won't hold it against you if it all goes wrong - I'm Scottish and we blame no one but ourselves when things go to crap 🙂
PS. Sorry for long post! I babble!
Topic starter
Posted : November 15, 2018 10:55 am
go for the color B4. you can use up to 3 boxes of it in row. It is important to rinse it out properly to get all the dye molecules out or it can start to darken again and condition your hair after as it will dry it out. you wont be able to bleach for at least a week as any peroxide can cause remaining molecules to expand again. once you have done this, you can see what color your hair is under your current dye.
it should be between orange and yellow as you have developed it at least twice from what you previously said. a bleach bath will be your best option for the lengths and you can do a full bleach on the natural roots to get them to an even color. I would not suggest highlights or demi dyes.
have a look at the adore range. they are semi permament dyes (no peroxide) and they have a whole range of natural colors.
edited to add: you can cover your hair in coconut oil before bleaching to reduce damage
Posted : November 16, 2018 10:11 am
Thank you. Ok. So I've done colour b4 and am now very very orange :-X I bought an ash toner and it's maybe taken the orange away a bit though I don't think so. It's probably level 8 or 9 (roots are more a 9/10).
What now?? It's like proper orange orange!!
Topic starter
Posted : November 17, 2018 11:59 am
how many times did you use the color B4? it is probably because you still have remaining dye in there from the brown. I would try another box of color B4 before considering any bleach at all. It would help if you post a picture so we can see what the orange looks like.
Posted : November 17, 2018 4:41 pm
Try the colour B4 again, remember to rinse rinse rinse in very hot water to get all the dye out.
Leave it a week and a few washes before trying a bleach bath to lighten it past orange, then see where you are.
Posted : November 19, 2018 2:29 pm
Hi
I've done colour b4 again. Didn't change anything except remove the toner I'd put on. However, took a trip to sally's and got some intense ash toner. That's worked a dream and I'm now a warm blonde. I prefer cool but I can live with it for a wee while. I'm giving my hair a rest for a month or so then might go for some highlights to cool it right down.
Thanks all for your help. x
Topic starter
Posted : November 19, 2018 3:08 pm
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