My natural hair color is medium to dark brown. I have had highlights in my hair and as a result, my hair looks very brassy where the highlights used to be. I bought a light brown color at a beauty supply store so that I could cover up the brassy looking color. The color did not turn out light brown, it actually turned almost black. Does anyone know why this may have happened? Did I possibly leave the color on too long? Someone said that I could get a different strength of developer so that the color doesn't develop as fast. I have never heard of anything like that, has anyone else? This happened quite a while ago, but my hair needs colored again, and I am hoping to avoid the problem this time.

Thanks!

Darker hair colors give the most deposit and more color is left on the hair. If your hair is porous, brown or dark hair color will penetrate in the cortex, making the hair look darker. Use a half- bottle of 20-volume peroxide developer with your selected color, as the small amount of lift it provides will cause the new color to show up better.