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Old 11-04-2012, 09:21 AM
 
Location: In the city
1,581 posts, read 3,845,959 times
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There is some scary advice on this thread. I wanted to share some basic info with all of you on at-home color. I went to hair school years ago and have done my own hair (cuts when it was short and color now that its not). I have destroyed and totall reconditioned my hair several times and have had every color under the rainbow(black, platinum, blue, red, purple, brown, etc., etc.)

1. Find your base level. What are you working with? "Dirty blonde" denotes nothing. Find where you fall on this universal chart Hair Coloring Chemistry . I have red hair and am usually a 6 to a 6.5 (yes there are degrees on this chart). Note, too that when you make your hair lighter, certain "tones" will come out-- commonly called brassiness-- which can be difficult to cover or change.

2. Figure out if you need to remove or add color. If you want to go darker, you are best off using a "deposit only" color like a semi or demi permanent-- these only "pack" your hair with color and will not "lift". They will never make your hair lighter. Over time, a darker color will build up on the hair and may weigh fine hair down.

If you want to highlight, you will indeed be "lifting" color. To lift more than 2 shades on our handy chart, you will probably want to have help (professional help). You can tell what level you are at by looking on your color box (8.5 will be a blonde, 10 will be a max blonde, etc.) "Lift" also involves the use of developer. A 40 volume developer will give you 2x the lift of a 20 volume which is the standard found in most boxed hair colors. You can get up to 100 volume (pure) developr but only if you are a licensed stylist. 40 volume will generally dry out most hair.

3. If you are lifting, expect an orange stage when going more than 2 shades. You may have to do multiple processes to get what you want and your hair will dry each time. If you want to go from a dark color to a much lighter color, you may have to lose length or do this over several weeks.

The longer you leave the bleach on the more it will lift until it gets to a point where it can't pull any more pigment out of the hair. This means either try again with a new batch of bleach after washing or stop (probably best unless you want very texturized platinum hair which you plan on wearing short).

4. Highlights-- foils give you a chunky or stripey look, balyage is hairpainting, which, when done correctly, can be very dramatic (ombre) or very natural (sunkissed). When highlights grow out, you will need to either redo them or tone your hair a slightly darker color (remember-- deposit only, semi or demi permanent) if you want to get back to your original state.

5. Never used Color OOps unless you have virgin hair that has been dyed darker ONCE.

6. Red fades the fastest but is the hardest to cover. Expect to get a color depositing conditionER (Aveda maybe) if you want to keep your color bright or expect to redo with a semi or demi permanent red every two weeks.

7. Tones-- ashy means green or violet or a combination thereof. Copper means red and orange. Golden means yellow and orange. Burgundy means violet or blue and red. Brown in any color will decrease intensity (Radiant red brown, for example), and may be a decent choice for those not looking to go too bright. Golden will increase intensity and brassiness (Golden Copper Blonde) so its a safe bet you will get some orange tones.

8. Cuts-- fine hair will need a different cutting technique than coarse hair. As a general rule, fine or thin hair looks best between the middle of the cheek and just above the shoulder. Coarse hair can take on a lot of long, razored cuts and as long as its cared for, will look good. But of course there are exceptions. If you have fine, medium to dark hair (level 5 and below) it is not advisable to go platinum blonde ( I did and it looked great until my hear literally broke off). If you have coarse medium to dark hair, you can try but you will get a brassy orange unless multiple processes are used.

With coarse hair, avoid cuts that are all one length unless you are looking for a boxy, dramatic look. With fine hair, avoid excessive layers unless your hair is very short. Some layers are great, but too many will leave you looking like you don't have any hair.

9. Don't be afraid to experiment but be prepared for the consequences. If you love your long hair but want to highlight the heck out of it, be prepared to lose a few inches if it goes awry. Have a backup plan if things don't turn out the way you want.
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Old 11-05-2012, 04:57 PM
 
1,406 posts, read 2,718,781 times
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Great post! I am just curious about this...

Quote:
5. Never used Color OOps unless you have virgin hair that has been dyed darker ONCE.
I've used Color OOps several times before and now I'm wondering why you only recommend using it on virgin hair dyed once?
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Old 11-05-2012, 06:04 PM
 
Location: In the city
1,581 posts, read 3,845,959 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by negativenancy View Post
Great post! I am just curious about this...



I've used Color OOps several times before and now I'm wondering why you only recommend using it on virgin hair dyed once?

I've just always had very unstable experiences with it. If you have managed to use it without incident, good for you! Color Oops is really only designed to remove a single type or layer of pigment. Let's say you went a little too dark-- Color Oops may work just fine. But if you went too light your hair has been lifted: Color Oops will not be able to replace the missing pigment. It will generally just destroy your hair and leave it brassy. Sometimes, a few rinses with Dawn dishwashing detergent will do just as well at pulling pigment out of your hair (don't forget to do a deep conditioning hair masque after.)
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Old 11-05-2012, 07:14 PM
 
803 posts, read 1,876,500 times
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thanks for the great post!!.. i have a question...

i recently dyed my hair blue-black.. then recently , lol , i dyed my hair dark ash blonde it made it a nice auburn-ish brown. so im dying it again at home but this time.. im going to dye it ultra light ash blonde just to make it more lighter than the color i hav now. u think since its ash it might stop any brassiness or is the brass to be expected because im going from dark to ligher?

my goal is to have ashy dirty blond hair or lighter with no red tones at all. now if the ultra light ash blonde doesnt make my hair match the color on the box, will it eventually get to that color ( the ultra light ash blonde) if i keep using that same color dye regularly?

thanks so much!!!
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Old 11-06-2012, 07:48 AM
 
Location: In the city
1,581 posts, read 3,845,959 times
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No, it won't. A light ash blonde will only lift your hair so much-- you will see the color you want at the roots (the virgin hair) and the rest of your head will be an amalgam of reds, browns and oranges. The more you do it, the more bizarre your hair will start to look.

Over time, and with the right product, you will be able to get rid of some of the red/brown, but you will probably have to lose some length. My suggestion would be to get some highlights-- foils probably. Highlighting generally lifts more than an over the counter boxed color. Have a stylist give you lowlights to even out the base color-- this could be something like a medium brown-- and highlight the areas around your face. It will probably end up a caramel color at first, but over time, you will be able to go lighter.

Post a pic! And be careful.

Last edited by confusedasusual; 11-06-2012 at 07:57 AM..
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Old 11-06-2012, 02:58 PM
 
1,406 posts, read 2,718,781 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by confusedasusual View Post
I've just always had very unstable experiences with it. If you have managed to use it without incident, good for you! Color Oops is really only designed to remove a single type or layer of pigment. Let's say you went a little too dark-- Color Oops may work just fine. But if you went too light your hair has been lifted: Color Oops will not be able to replace the missing pigment. It will generally just destroy your hair and leave it brassy. Sometimes, a few rinses with Dawn dishwashing detergent will do just as well at pulling pigment out of your hair (don't forget to do a deep conditioning hair masque after.)
Ah that makes sense! I've used Color Oops several times but I haven't had wonderful results... turned very brassy... made my hair feel like straw... turned my roots a different color because of the virgin hair... not to mention the horrible smell lol

Thanks for responding and again, great post!
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Old 11-06-2012, 03:51 PM
 
Location: In the city
1,581 posts, read 3,845,959 times
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yeah, its always best to try to leave roots out of any color correction. They will be an entirely different color than the rest of your hair and you can damage them needlessly by lifting them when they don't require it. If you need to correct, get your hair as close as you can to one shade and do the roots after you have attained it. (if you lift your hair to auburn, do a demi permanent color at the roots for 20 minutes and then shampoo through the rest of your hair for another 5.)

Foam colors are great for color corrections if you are going for anything in the brunette range. I had a stylist who did green ashy highlights on me-- went crazy trying to tone out my red-- and I did an all over chocolate John Frieda foam box color when I could stand the ashiness no longer. It worked really well and covered nicely.
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Old 11-15-2012, 10:11 PM
 
68 posts, read 184,222 times
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Coconut oil and argan oil protects hair and reduces damage. I swear.
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Old 11-16-2012, 01:13 PM
 
Location: Texas
8,672 posts, read 22,239,695 times
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Thanks for the tips and link!
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Old 11-18-2012, 10:51 AM
 
Location: In the city
1,581 posts, read 3,845,959 times
Reputation: 2417
Argan oil can indeed be a good way to rebuild damaged hair. If you have fine hair I recommend Morrocan Oil Light because full weight argan oil can be too heavy and weigh down fine strands. It can actually darken very light hair as well (think of a paper bag with a hamburger inside). Medium to coarse hair can use the full strength (though if you don't shampoo often, you may want to do the light weight).

Also, argan oil can build up on the hair. Its important to use a clarifying shampoo once a week if you are a regular devotee.
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