I just got my hair done 2 days ago. I originally bleached it 5 years ago, and then battled going back and forth from blond to medium brown (my natural color). I haven't done the blond hair in about a year and a half but have been dying it various shades of brown. My previous shade lightened to a reddish shade and so I decided to go back to a salon for one final dye job so that I could relax and let my hair grow out naturally without the overshadow of very obvious roots. Well, I took a picture of my natural hair color, and went to the salon. I explained what I was looking for and let the salonist pic the color to use on me. She even had some roots to work with. Aside from her leaving hair dye all over my forehead, neck and ears (which is still VERY obvious), she cut about 4 more inches off my hair than I asked. Anyway, so here's my question. I'm Hoping Prettylady is out there to answer because she always seem to know exactly what she's talking about. I know it is my fault for leaving the salon acting satisfied, but I really didn't want this woman to cause anymore damage. I read in a previous post that you could put a blond boxed color on the hair and then apply an ash color and I was wondering if this applied in my case or if I would look like an oompa loompa? The hair left on my head hasn't ever been bleached but has been dyed various brown colors, the boxed kind by me, and once "professionally" two days ago. Also, how blond could I go, before using the ash brown? Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I'm so frustrated, I feel ugly and could just pull a britney spears and go bald... pause not

It wasn't your fault. The hair stylist that did your hair seems very unprofessional. If you want go from brown to a decent blonde color, you will need to use bleach to remove the dark underlying pigment and then apply a blonde toner. Another option is to use your desired hair color and a 30-volume peroxide developer in equal parts to achieve results. To accelerate the lightening process you can apply a few drops of bleaching booster or place a plastic cap over your head and apply heat by using a blow-dryer. Keep in mind that high-lift colors can make your hair brassy. So if you experience any red/orange tones, use a green or blue-based "cool" ash hair color that's close to your orignal hair color to counteract the unwanted tones. You will find these products at a beauty supply. Please have a professional or someone that knows about hair coloring to give you a hand.

Could I possibly use ColorZap and then use the desired color on top of it, an ash brown/dark ash blonde? By blonde toner, is that the same thing as color? Also, if I were to use Colorzap, how soon after can I apply the color? Do I need to wait until my hair is dry or can I do it wet?

Thank you for your advice and response! I really appreciate it!

If you want a dark ash blonde color, you can use a hair color remover such as Color Zap and then deposit the selected hair color. A hair color remover tends to make the hair a brassy orange color, and toning it down can be tricky. However, using a darker blue-based ash hair color can neutralized the orange tones and bring you closer to your desired color. It may take more than one applications of hair color remover to wash out the unwanted pigment. Once the color is removed, you can re-color your hair immediately. Be sure that your hair is dry first before applying the hair color to your hair.

A toner is a type of color applied over a bleach hair to neutralize brassy yellow tones in order to achieve a natural look.