I got to vent here... please bear with me...

My natural hair color is a medium-dark brown, it is long, about mid-way down my back. I had it platinum blonde for a long time via double-process, then about a year ago my fiancée convinced me to have it done dark brown/black mix because he liked how it brought out my blue eyes.

I am BORED of this. So, I went to my current salon and told them I want it gwen stefani/agyness deyn blonde again.. they did a strand test with 40 volume bleach, 6 inches is new unprocessed growth so it lifted fine, the other 12 inches is what I had dyed and lifted to that classic ugly brassy orangey color. So they said they cannot do it unless I wait like 3-6 months for my hair to grow out more, then the new untouched hair they can do (for about $200) and cut off all the rest of that processed hair, so my hair will be short and shoulder length... I HATE that.

They also said after the $200 is spent on that I can have natural blonde hair extensions put in for $15 each and I' d need roughly 80. Oh nice, another $1200.. Meh.

To sum up my question better, I see hollywood achieve what I want all the time, go from dyed black hair to platinum blonde.. madonna, christina aguilerra etc... Is it possible to go somewhere that can get my hair blonde again AND preserve most of the length.. maybe cut off like 6 inches but keep the rest without being forced to have boy hair? Or is my salon correct in saying I have 2 options, stay bored in dark long hair, OR chop it all off and have short blonde boy hair.

I already have another consult set up to see if another Professional can achieve what I want.

.. on a side note, 5 or so years ago, another salon DID get my hair from blue-black to platinum blonde AND kept my length.(thats where I am going next for my consult) But when I brought that up, this salon claims 5 years can change integrity of my hair and make it no longer possible. Who do I believe here?

Wow, I am in exactly the same boat! At least you went to a salon. I tried it at home. My hairs a really light brown now after bleaching it twice then putting light brown over the top, as it went orange. I think there must be a way but it could be a long process... Im planning on bleaching mine again in spring but Im sure the salon can do it...
Im not sure about what she says about the 5 year thing... could well be true as your hair will be older and probably more damaged. If anything though methods of colouring have improved in 5 years...
Anyway, sorry I wasn't much help. Good Luck =]

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Originally Posted by ScarletSea

Wow, I am in exactly the same boat! At least you went to a salon. I tryed it at home. My hairs a really light brown now after bleaching it twice then putting light brown over the top, as it went orange. I think there must be a way but it could be a long process... Im planning on bleaching mine again in spring but Im sure the salon can do it...
Im not sure about what she says about the 5 year thing... could well be true as your hair will be older and probably more damaged. If anything though methods of colouring have improved in 5 years...
Anyway, sorry I wasnt much help. Good Luck =]

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Yeah, I posted the same thing on all experts dot com and got a very good answer fast. Hairstyling: Dyed dark brown/black hair .want super light blonde again, christina aguilerra, natural hair color :D

I'm pretty sure some salon will do it, maybe a good cut of your hair will do it good anyway because after bleaching it so much from such a dark colour it will be very brittle?

Ask around at other salons but make sure you specificly say you do not want any yellowy brassy tones and you want white ashy blonde. You could always try bleaching it yourself and putting alight toner on it so get a lighter colour, then going to the salon and see what they can do from there.

Check out some shorter hairstyles on the internet though, they can look really nice with white blonde hair! But if your determined to keep it long make sure you go over this with the hairdressers.

Hope this helped, I'm not great ha

I am a hair stylist AND extension artist and the best advice I could give you is DO NOT lighten your hair at home!. It's not as simple as going from black to blonde and back again... there is a de-colorization process that has to happen to the hair when removing pigment, that process is even harder when you add into the mix the fact that you have artificial color ontop of your own natural pigment. The good news is that YOU CAN go from black to blonde without waiting FIVE YEARs... (that was a ridiculous answer by the way!) the reason your hair went to orange in some areas is because those were the parts of your hair that had black dye left over from when you went dark... you really only need a few good conditioning treatments a good cut and you can process again within a few days... if the hair is in that bad of condition that you can't use a lightener you could still at the very least use a permanent haircolor to tone the orange part of the hair shaft so that you are AT THE VERY LEAST different shades of blonde! I am in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, PA) and do corrective color 4 days a week at my salon... ALSO if you ARE interested we do micro-locking, strand by strand hair extensions that cost $7 per strand... good luck and I certainly hope this info helped :)

Don't listen to "professionals". They don't care what you want, they just want to get your money and get you out of their hair. I've been doing my own hair for 20 years. My naturally curly, brown hair has been permed, chemically straightened, dreaded and dyed every color of the rainbow. I have never had a salon experience that didn't leave me unsatisfied and having to go home and finish/correct the job myself. Not to mention all the $$ and time wasted. Oh yeah, and some of them can be really cocky and rude.
Any way, I have just gone through almost the same situation as yourself. You can do it but it may take many steps and a lot of patience. I began by bleaching (powdered/20 vol. from sally) foiled sections which of course came out yellow/blond at roots and deep rust at length but the streaky effect kept it somewhat blended. I then rebleached the lengths about three times, waiting days in between and deep conditioning frequently. I also used a demi in an ashe tone on the lengths and a warm darker tone at roots to keep it from looking scary in between. This is an ongoing process (it's been over a month since I started) but so far, so good. Of course my results are not platinum, more like a mid/light blond and I plan to do a bleach wash to even out darker streaks.
A key tip is to use tons of product on damp hair to smooth the cuticle and protect your frazzled shafts. I love using a silicone on the tips, argan oil and then tons of what I call "balm" all over. Balm is a cream that has a somewhat waxy/conditioner texture. The best is Hairapy Sunsilk Hydra TLC 24/7 crème. Also try some citra shine split-end mender on tips.
Good luck and have fun!

Id say don't believe the salon. My mom is a salon owner and stylist and has done my hair in many many colors including from dyed black black to blonde in one day... and it was nearly platnium but I didn't want it that light. So just keep checking around.

I'm a qualified hairdresser of 16yrs experience from the uk, definitely don't do this at home! I did a bleach bath today stripping someone's hair who had been putting a black dye on for 10yrs, I used 40 vol peroxide, with white bleach mixed with shampoo on wet hair, it stripped the colour very evenly 3 shades lighter, she is coming back in 2 weeks time for me to repeat the process, followed by another 2 week rest where I will then lighten by putting loads of bleach highlights through.After every time I did the bleach bath I did an intensive conditioning treatment, I also sold my customer a treatment to use 3 times a week and recommended some ph balanced shampoos.

silicone treatments or any shampoos containing silicone etc... don't do any good at all to the hair they just coat the out side/top make it look shiny but don't condition or do the cortex or cuticles of the hair any good!
hope you value my experience and training through loreal academ london and manchester uk.

Is your hair badly damaged?? Honestly?!

Someone finally on this blog who talks some sense!!

Silicones protect hair and make it shiny and smooth. Nothing (yet) can actually rebuild or nourish hair as it's cells do not renew like skin.

I am naturally blonde and dyed my hair black a year ago, now trying to go red and the salon gave me awful red/purple hightlights. Need a stylist who can help me in NYC. Anyone?

I Went From Jet Black To Barbie Blonde In 2 Days I Bleached The First Day Then The Next Day I Added The Lightests Nice and Easy Blonde Hair Dye In It & Apart From Needing a Trim It Was Great!

Hi There,

Where in the UK are you based? I used to be platinum blonde but went dark about 2 and a half years ago, a am bored of it now and would like to think about going blonde again, maybe not platinum, but light. My hairdresser said that there is no way I could go blonde but she didn't really explain why, I am assuming that it is because of the dark, not quite black, dye that is on my hair.

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Originally Posted by emsiwemsi

I'm a qualified hairdresser of 16yrs experience from the uk, definitely don't do this at home! I did a bleach bath today stripping someone's hair who had been putting a black dye on for 10yrs, I used 40 vol peroxide, with white bleach mixed with shampoo on wet hair, it stripped the colour very evenly 3 shades lighter, she is coming back in 2 weeks time for me to repeat the process, followed by another 2 week rest where I will then lighten by putting loads of bleach highlights through.After every time I did the bleach bath I did an intensive conditioning treatment, I also sold my customer a treatment to use 3 times a week and recommended some ph balanced shampoos.

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Hi There,

Where in the UK are you based? I used to be platinum blonde but went dark about 2 and a half years ago, a am bored of it now and would like to think about going blonde again, maybe not platinum, but light. My hairdresser said that there is no way I could go blonde but she didn't really explain why, I am assuming that it is because of the dark, not quite black, dye that is on my hair.

I'm in beauty school right now, and let me tell you... DON'T DO IT YOURSELF! We have people come in every day wanting us to fix their hair because they tried chemically manipulating their hair, thinking they knew what they were doing... Not only was their hair color uneven and, well, greenish gross, but it was also fried and falling out! It's all dry and brittle and it looks terrible... Now, they cannot have hair past their shoulders. :/ Don't ruin your hair sweetie! Go to a salon or a beauty school! We will take care of you and yes, we DO care. The reason I do cosmetology is to make people happy :] so obviously the person who said we "are cocky and rude and liars" is talking out of their butt. Also, we always recommend a conditioning treatment such as a cholesterol treatment to our clients! It protects your hair and makes it soft and shiny! :D One more thing- if you style your hair with heat, PLEASE use a protectant before applying heat every time!! You'll thank me later! <3

Oh man. I have done this back and forth process sooo many times! I am also originally a light brown and have gone from platnium, to black, to purple, back to brown, highlights and my hair is fine! It's past the mid of my back and is currently dark brown/black. About two months ago my hair was completely platnium (before it was dark brown) and I used the dye kits from, guess what.. WALMART! Believe it or not, it only took two platnium 'kits' and one box of brass banisher. Idk about you but $30-40 is MUCH better than $200! I condition my hair every day with special color stuff and damage repair to keep it looking nice, and it sure does! After I let this dark brown wash out a bit, I plan on making it blonde again.. the same way! I went to the salon also and they were estimating $250 or so. How dumb! Just make sure you look into pigments and do the directions exactly as you see! Good luck(:

Okay.

You can do this yourself for like... a FRACTION of what they wanted to charge you.

Go to any Beauty Supply store and pick up the following items: powder bleach (my brand is BW2 and I highly recommend it), 40 volume activator, Toning shampoo (only if you want it bright), and some high quality thick conditioner. Can't stress the conditioner enough. Brand doesn't really matter, I prefer Fructis, but it needs to hold its shape with you squeeze it into your hand. The liquidy ones don't do squat.

Don't wash your hair for at least 48 hours before bleaching. The more natural oils you have, the better it will take.

When you mix your bleach, always make too much, because when you're going for effect first, too much product is never an issue. Use your bleach and your activator about 50/50, mix it so it's creamy. You may want to use a little more bleach than activator if you're starting dark. When you apply it to your hair, START AT THE ENDS NOT THE ROOTS. And while it sets, keep all of your hair as close to your head as possible, and even better, put on a shower cap or wrap your hair in cellophane to keep it contained because A) It's heat activated, so keeping its own created heat in will help, keeping it close to your body heat will help. B) Once it dries, it's not doing anything more, so keep its moisture locked in. And C)This stuff has a really potent smell and you can get lightheaded from it if you're not in a well-ventilated area.

Some people with long dark hair will still get the flame effect where the ends of the hair stay darker and get gradually lighter to the root. If this happens, you'll need to condition regularly and don't bleach again for at least 14 days. Don't re-bleach the top, just do the part that needs it.

When you get your base color light enough and even, now decide whether you want it brighter. Toning shampoo (which is purple in the bottle), will fade your yellow out. If you are looking to achieve white, this is the way to go. But if you do hit white, only use the toning shampoo sparingly as an upkeep, or it WILL turn your hair lavender. (plus side, the lavender washes out pretty quickly if you get it accidentally.)

Most importantly, always use a good conditioner. Thick conditioners. Like I said, I prefer Fructis, but Pantenes are pretty good as well as several others. Using a good conditioner, and not washing your hair every day will keep it in better condition.