I have been coloring my hair dark brown (looks nearly black) at home for more than 10 years.
I went to a salon today to see about getting it lightened because the color is looking really harsh as I age. The colorist suggested that I mix baking soda with my shampoo for a couple of weeks to pull out the color. I have read most of the posts regarding this method and others and noticed that those asking have just recently colored hair they wish to lighten. I wonder if it will work on hair that has been dyed the same color for many years. Help please!

You didn't mentioned how many shades lighter you would like your hair to be. If you want to go lighter than 3 shades, the colorist can strip the black dye from your hair and then deposit a lighter color. I don't understand why she/he told you to use baking soda with shampoo, unless you just want to fade it a little. You should give the baking soda and shampoo method a try. If it doesn't help, you can use the other methods that you have read about on the forum.

Thank you so much for your reply.

I want to get rid of the dark look completely, but don't want to go from Joey Ramone to Edgar Winter.

Plus I was really concerned that the baking soda wouldn't lighten it enough so that a colorist could "re-color", so I checked around my area and I've found a different colorist that is going to lighten my overly-dark hair chemically.

I want to add that I am new to this forum and have been SO addicted for the last 2 days. I hope I can be helpful to someone while I'm here!

Welcome to the AMHD. We are glad that you want to use your knowledge to help others on the board.