**UPDATED Picture** Help? Going from black to lighter

Eek, I can't believe they charged you for that!
Unfortunately hairdressers don't seem very clued up on removing colour.
You need a reductive, sulphur based colour remover. Are you in the US? If so One and Only Colourfix seems to be the best one on the market. You will probably need to use it 3 times to get rid of all the layers of dye on your hair. The good news is it won't damage your hair.
What colour are you aiming for?

You don't want to know what she charged but I may have to go back to have a talk with the manager. I was aiming at some shade of brown, the lighter the better. I knew it was a tough task but the least she could have done is not charge that much or at least got it to be one color. I am in the usa. I will look into the Colourfix. Thank you for the sympathy. I am such a pity party right now because my hair is my fave thing

I don't know how far apart the salon jobs were, but from your initial post, it sounds like your salon processed your hair 5 times in quick succession (2 x bleaches & 3 x wella dyes which presumably used peroxide developers).  I truly sympathize with you, and I second the one and only colourfix suggestion.  However, I'd just like to add, please, please, please don't use any dye with a peroxide developer on your hair for a very long time!  With that many processes in such a short time, you really need to concentrate on reconstructing and replacing lost proteins before you even think about putting any more peroxide near your hair!  Get yourself some joico k-pak deep penetrating reconstructor & intense hydrator, and use the reconstructor once a week for a good 6-8 weeks, leaving it on your hair for as long as you need to (some people get better results using it for just 5 minutes a go, others leave it on for around half an hour or so), and follow with the intense hydrator, which can be left on your hair for an hour or two as an intense conditioner.  This should help the structure of your hair somewhat repair itself following the multiple processes.  It's entirely likely that your hair won't show damage for anything up to a month, so keep an eye on it and make sure it stays healthy!  From your pic, it looks like you have gorgeous long hair, and I'd hate for you to lose a lot of the length because the salon you went to didn't have a clue about over-processing hair!

Thank you for your help ladies! In short (or length), I had to use3 boxes of colorfix to bring my hair to an even soft reddish color. To balance out the redness, the salesperson recommneded a 10 minute color in dark ash blonde. I did that and guess what color I am right now? BLACK. I kid you not. I cried. I did. When my scalp heals, I will do colorfix again and again and maybe leave it soft red. It's a soft black with some faint red streaks but it's black. Advice and sympathies appreciated. I feel I should have just done what you said and not colored on top and just kept it moisturized.

I think it went back to black because your hair is porous, so you weren't able to rinse all of the colour molecules out--or if you used the 10 minute colour straight after the colorfix, the peroxide would have reacted with the colour molecules and plumped them back up :(.  Also, a dark ash blonde would not have done much to the soft red other then potentially take it to a bright orange.

Unfortunately, a lot of sales assistants at places like Sallys don't really know what they're talking about when it comes to colouring and bleaching.  Sorry that your hair went black again 🙁

Oh no, I'm so sorry. For future reference, no products containing peroxide should be used straight after a colour remover.
How is your hair holding up? Is the condition still ok after all that processing?

This is good information to know. I am a newbie at this and an impatient one at that. I will do the colorfix again and then I got the Joico moisturizing stuff and will use that to build the hair back up again. The condition of the hair is not bad at all, slightly dry at the ends. I will get two inches taken off today.

Can I ask, which colors don't have hydrogen peroxide and when should I attempt to color it again, if at all?  Can porous hair be made stronger again? Thanks again ladies, you've been big help

I highly recommend using Colorfix again, it is great at removing black dye. For reference, you can see in my timeline how light I was able to get my hair after 2 applications and 1 bleach bath (then after 2 more bleach baths)
http://www.hairdyeforum.com/index.php?topic=12226.0

I am so sorry that this has happened to you. I've never used the Pravana Color Extractor but I'm pretty sure it is a color remover and not a stripper. Ideally what she should have done was use the remover on you again, and possibly a 3rd time depending on what your results would have been. For very dark buildup, just one application rarely removes all of the color molecules. I would go back and talk to the manager about it like you said. Color removers aren't damaging, just drying. But if the hair is fragile to begin with the added dryness can push it over the edge. Sometimes for people that don't use drying ingredients in their routine (like sulphates), the hair can become damaged from it though...Generally for most people though they really aren't damaging, just drying. Really a color remover should have been used another 1 or 2 times on you, then a semi used to tone or to dye your hair an allover color. True semis don't use peroxide like demis and permanents do, and they aren't damaging at all, whatsoever.

what kind of condition is your hair in right now, like when you rinsed out Colorfix?

As long as your hair isn't breaking off, I would try the Colorfix again. You may need to do it more than once, but another 1-3 applications should get you to a yellow/gold to ginger gradient of some sort. It sounds like your color reoxidized, that the color molecules weren't rinsed out completely, and using hydrogen peroxide (developer) from the dye the sallys girl recommended made them develop again, darkening your hair. I would do it again, and wash/rinse for a half hour, dry your hair, then wash/rinse for another half hour.

Some personal tips for using Colorfix, are to make sure it's fully saturated, don't skimp on product at all. Try to get it on as quickly as you can (it's the most effective in the first 15 minutes or so). You may want to mix up enough for half of you head, apply it, then mix up enough for the other half so the product stays fresh. Putting it in an applicator bottle can help make the application faster. Cap it when you are done applying, I found that waving a hair dryer over it for 10 minutes helps a lot too. It seems like if it gets cold it doesn't want to work. I usually leave it on for about 45 minutes, from start of application to rinse, and warming it up a bit every so often to make sure it stays warm. Rinse like I suggested, and you can check to see if all the color molecules are rinsed out by putting Step 3 over a test strand (or just straight developer). I usually never do Step 3 because it's just hydrogen peroxide, some silicones, and something acidic to help close the cuticle. If the color molecules aren't rinsed out, then step 3 will darken your hair right back down. Personally I think it's better to just use it to check if they're all rinsed out, using your own conditioner (not just something with silicones like in the step 3), and following it with a vinegar rinse to help close the cuticle back down.

I would go back and talk to the manager. Any stylist in their right mind should not process your hair that many times in a short period of time. What was the time frame of the color remover, the 2 bleaches and the 3 dyes, were they spaced out or was it all in one day? Ideally, bleaches and permanent dyes should each be spaced a minimum of 4 weeks apart, so if she did 20 weeks worth of processing in a single day, I would definitely bring that up to the manager too!

Anyway, I would do the Colorfix again when your hair has some moisture restored to it and your scalp calms down (which I would also bring up to the manager), once or twice depending on how light you want it. You can then use a true semi, direct dye to dye your hair. Adore, sold here at Beeunique, makes a really good natural range of semis. All the other brands sold on this site are the same way - none require peroxide and none of them are damaging at all. Any of them can be mixed together, or diluted with conditioner if you want a lighter shade. You can also add some to your normal conditioner to help keep your color up too. And lets say after the color removers you have orange tones, you can use a blue semi and add a bit to some conditioner to help tone it down, add some to your brown dye, etc. Or if you want it less red, add some green to it, etc...

Again, I am so sorry that this happened to you and that she did so many unnecessary processes to your hair. I also agree with the advice given already, especially the Joico Kpak Deep Penetrating Reconstructor. Check your local Sallys though, they sell a brand called GVP (Generic Value Products), sold in black and white packaging. They make their own version of the Joico DPR, it even says right on the front of the bottle "Compare to...". It's only about $6 for 8oz of it. I know you just probably gave that salon an arm and a leg, I'd hate to see you have to spend more than you need to. The GVP version is literally identical to the name brand and it is so, so much cheaper. Not every Sallys has it though, but I would definitely check before ordering the Joico 🙂

Hi! Thank you ladies for such awesome information! I got the conditioners you recommended and have been using them diligently. Since then, I've used colorfix two more times after which I did a semi permanent in a soft mocha brown. This took me to a great warm mocha brown (and evened the color out) with the ends being slightly darker where the black was most concentrated. I also trimmed two inches off so overall, the shape of my hair is not bad. I want to try going lighter again, as in continue to try and achieve something that is more ash so as to blend in when my natural hair starts to grow in, which is the main idea behind what I am doing. I was thinking of doing colorfix once again (I usually get a bright yellow orange color when I use it) and then applying a light ash blonde DEMI. Not sure of this idea. I was told it may work or it may turn my hair green. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks again, ladies! You are awesome!

Below is a picture of my current color thanks to your great advice (and my face in full makeup, which is so rare for me nowadays) to celebrate my first mother's day as a mom!

Wow, what a beautiful photo! You look stunning, and your hair looks beautiful! I'm glad the Colorfix applications have worked so well for you + I'm glad to hear you've been using semis. Your natural color is a dark ash blonde, right? If you can get your hair to a yellow you will be fine getting an ash blonde. Really you just need to get past the ginger/orange stages for a nice dark ash blonde. I imagine your top half should be able to get to that, but your bottom part, the ends that you said are darker may be an issue. Using dark dyes can permanently stain the hair, usually some shade of ginger. After you've done another color remover, if that seems like that's all it's taking out, then the next step would be to bleach to try and lighten whatever is ginger. Now, before you go ahead and start bleaching large areas, I would test strand first to make sure that those parts will lighten. Chances are that they will, if you're getting a yellow to orange gradient already, you should be able to shift some of that ginger to a gold with bleach, and the darkest parts at the bottom should lighten up at least a little bit. I'm guessing after a color remover and a bleach bath or two on the ginger parts, you should have a yellow>gold>light ginger gradient, possibly a mid ginger. Those ginger parts, if they won't shift anymore (strand tests!) won't be able to have a dark ash blonde, but you could get a neutral light brown over them, so the tonality won't be that different, your ends will just be more neutral looking vs ashy, and a little darker looking in comparison to the rest of your hair.

I don't think a light ash blonde demi is going to do much, it will tone the yellow some but I think it will still be warmer than you want. The pigment added in light blonde dyes is so faint, I don't think it will get you close enough to your natural color.
If you want a more permanent route, I would use a demi, just make sure you have rinsed all of the color molecules out from a color remover first! You can put just straight developer on a test strand and leave it for 10 minutes to make sure it doesn't darken. I would use a 7 or 8 N for your yellow, and a 6 or 7N for the ginger, all depending on how light/dark the yellow and ginger is. I would get a violet and a blue additive too. You would mix the violet in with the dye for your yellow, and blue in with your dye for the ginger. This way you are making your own ash based dyes. In ash based dyes already made that come in 6A, 7A, 8A, etc, you really don't know what colors are in it that are making it ashy. You definitely would not want a blue based ash over your yellow, because it will turn green, but that's the thing, you don't know if it's blue based, violet based or green. That's why I think making your own is just a lot safer, because you don't know which 'ash' pigment is in the premade ash dye. With light blonde ash dyes it's pretty much always violet, but there's just not enough pigment in it usually to do much, or enough, to hair that isn't already very light.

The demi will fade too though eventually, but really it is going to give you more of a true, natural dark ash blonde look than the semis will. I would also get Nirvel ArtX Nutre Color in Grey to really pull the color over to the ashy side.

Nirvel ArtX Nutre Color in Grey is a neutral/brown based grey and tones all shades of blonde to mid ginger very, very well. @Alexia has used it on her yellow, gold and ginger (damn staining! lol) hair and it made it such a cooler tone overall, without the blue/green tones you usually get using grey/silver semis over hair darker than pale yellow.

I really think a demi is going to be your best bet, in Neutral bases with the additives mixed in. I've just never seen anyone get a true, natural looking dark ash blonde with semis alone. I would use that, along with the Nirvel Grey to make it even more ashy/top up your color when you need to, and I would get a violet semi like Pravana Violet to add to your conditioner

Hi! katiesiepierski, Thanks so much again for such helpful and thorough information. Your replies are super helpful and I appreciate your input. I've attached a pic after your recommendations. I did a colorfix one more time and then a bleach bath. Just one bleach bath with 15 min processing time took me to a platinum blonde (all the way on the top where it's poorly seen on the pic) and then the ginger gradient you talked about. It is actually quite blonde around my face but looks more ginger in the pic. I will do one more bleach bath on the bottom parts before doing the recommended color on top. I hope it turns out well. I love this look though. It's like a reverse ombre :)) My hair condition is very nice, a little more split ends but the integrity (softness, elasticity) is good. I will probably trim a little more once I am done with all of this processing.

I just have to say that your hair looks amazing 😀

I just want to say I'm happy for you that it all worked out and how lovely you look.  I think red hair suits you perfectly - the Mother's Day picture is really gorgeous!  I'm also having a bit of eyebrow envy....

Hi Ladies!! Thank you for such sweet words, especially about my brows!! haha. They are always so thin so it's such a compliment to hear you like them! By the way, I did one more bleach shampoo on the bottom parts only and it turned into a fiery orange/very bright ginger. I then let it rest for a few days and because I was hesitant about making a mistake when creating my own ash dyes, I bought a wella demi in ash. After doing a strand test, it didn't really change my color so I opted for a permanent Wella (risky, I know) in smokey ash blonde and let me tell you, my hair looks exactly like my natural. I will post pics soon!

You ladies are the reason i did it and the reason I did it without going bald so THANK you!