[jmshoe]

For about a year I have been gradually dying my hair darker. It has been black for about 3 months. It has faded some and my roots are growing in. I want to go back lighter but I'm not sure what the best method is. I'm not really sure what my natural color is, I've been dying it since high school, but from my roots, it's an ashy light brown. I would like to go back to a lighter brown with reddish tones. I used to use a brandy color that I would love to go back to. Any suggestions?

[PunkChic]

Just take a look at your eyebrows and eyelashes that should tell you what your natural colour your hair is.
You'll need to bleach out the dark dye. Also leave the bleach on till it's blonde. Then apply reddy brown on top when you've rinsed the bleach out.
When bleaching and colouring hair you should start the application from the mid lengths to the ends then the roots.
Of course it would be better if you get it done from a professional to avoid disasters at home.

[Kat18]

Don't do it at home!! That is, if you want healthy hair!! If you try to bleach it out at home, you are going to end up so much worse off.. bleach stops working after an hour, and with black hair (depending on the base tone, the darkest being blue) it won't usually go all the way to blonde within that hour. And it is most likely going to end up spotted depending on how even you distrubute the bleach through your hair. You are going to need to get it professionally taken out with a bleach from a salon with the right ph level for your hair, and the tone of black you have. Home bleaching kits are all the same and do different things to different hair. Going darker is easy.. going back lighter... whole different ball game. I recommend you get your hair stripped.. which is expensive.. or you can take the less expensive and longer road of getting it highlighted out of your hair over a period.. tenting the highlights the color you want them as you go.. it's difficult to get rid of black.. a lot more difficult than you may think.. good luck though!! Just plleeeaaassseee don't make the mistake of trying to do it at home!

[NoOneKnows1028]

The best method you could use it to have it professionally stripped. Stripping it might allow you to get it back to blonde, depending on how well your hair takes in color. Otherwise it will be taken to a light brown, and it will fade to a blonde. Bleaching your hair could result in strange color variations depending on the base color of the black dye you have been using. My sister tried to bleach out black, and it turned her hair first a green, then gray, and eventually went to orange. She decided to just let it grow out.