My first time here. I tried to do a search, but sadly (happily?) no one was dumb enough to do what I have done :o

OK. I have dark brown hair, almost no highlights, no gray. My daughter begged me to put highlights in it 8? Months ago. I did, and I let her (she's 11) help me with the back. I discovered after the whole thing was done that we had done a rather odd job with it, and I had brilliant orange streaks covering a part of the back of my hair, and most of the top :eek:

I then decided that I'd dye the whole thing dark brown. The color I picked (box, at home), turned it a rather hideous purple. I decided to live with it, went camping for a month, and came home with the top bleached by the sun back to orange, and the bottom a slightly lighter purplish brown :rolleyes:

So, being totally brilliant, I figured that I'd try another box dye. I got a dark brown, which turned my entire head raven black. That was hideous. I tried a much lighter brown, which didn't make a dent in the raven black :eek:

So I decided to live with it, and did, for about 2 months. No difference. So I used a hair remover product, which returned the top of my head orange, but did remove some of the raven blackness from the bottom. I recolored it a light ash blonde, which turned the top a dull brown but kept the bottom quite, quite dark still.

Decided to live with it some more. After two months, I thought I'd try yet another box dye: I tried a light-blonde for brunettes only dye, which turned the top of my head to the color of my dreams--a lovely medium brown, no brassiness whatever--but left the dark bottom untouched.

Again, I can live with this... have lived with worse. But I'd love to have the lower portion of my hair match the dream color on top. I don't have the money to go to a stylist--even with all the boo-boos, I've so far spent a fraction of what I would have done at a salon.

So... how can I get the dark lower part of my hair to match the top?

Btw, the only good thing here is that for whatever reason, all this abuse has not hurt the texture of my hair. My hair is a fair thick, wavy, coarse, shoulder-length beast. It's always been prone to frizziness, and it still is, but no more than it was when I started.

Again, I apologize for this. Most embarrassing, I know.

HELP?

Hmmm,

I hate to say it cause you already said you can't afford it.. but if you can live with it 2 more months and save up, then I would highly suggest going to a stylist!

With how many experiments you have done with your hair... it sounds as though parts of your hair are taking color better than others...

If you really want to try this on your own, then I would say try the same color you did last time, only for the bottom portion of your hair, and maybe leave it on for a few minutes longer.

I am not positive, but I think I remember someone telling me that using hair dye over and over like you have will pretty much ruin the pigmentation... not to mention the texture. I think your hair is going to be rather unpredictable since you have treated it so many times.

Going to a professional may save you money in the long run, and make you all around very happy!

If you would like more professional-like assistance just message me and I will ask my cousin what she thinks (she has her own hair cliental and does a very good job).

Thank you so very much s2tp. Frankly, I am really annoyed because the top of my hair is perfect. The bottom is still dark, and it would be so nice to have the bottom match the top! A little thing to ask but... at any rate, I have no hope whatever of getting my hair back to its previous color.

Going to a pro would be great, especially as I have the color I want in my hair right now. Oy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lola99

My first time here. I tried to do a search, but sadly (happily?) no one was dumb enough to do what I have done :o

OK. I have dark brown hair, almost no highlights, no gray. My daughter begged me to put highlights in it 8? months ago. I did, and I let her (she's 11) help me with the back. I discovered after the whole thing was done that we had done a rather odd job with it, and I had brilliant orange streaks covering a part of the back of my hair, and most of the top :eek:

I then decided that I'd dye the whole thing dark brown. The color I picked (box, at home), turned it a rather hideous purple. I decided to live with it, went camping for a month, and came home with the top bleached by the sun back to orange, and the bottom a slightly lighter purplish brown :rolleyes:

So, being totally brilliant, I figured that I'd try another box dye. I got a dark brown, which turned my entire head raven black. That was hideous. I tried a much lighter brown, which didn't make a dent in the raven black :eek:

So I decided to live with it, and did, for about 2 months. No difference. So I used a hair remover product, which returned the top of my head orange, but did remove some of the raven blackness from the bottom. I recolored it a light ash blonde, which turned the top a dull brown but kept the bottom quite, quite dark still.

Decided to live with it some more. After two months, I thought I'd try yet another box dye: I tried a light-blonde for brunettes only dye, which turned the top of my head to the color of my dreams--a lovely medium brown, no brassiness whatever--but left the dark bottom untouched.

Again, I can live with this...have lived with worse. But I'd love to have the lower portion of my hair match the dream color on top. I don't have the money to go to a stylist--even with all the boo-boos, I've so far spent a fraction of what I would have done at a salon.

So...how can I get the dark lower part of my hair to match the top?

Btw, the only good thing here is that for whatever reason, all this abuse has not hurt the texture of my hair. My hair is a fair thick, wavy, coarse, shoulder-length beast. It's always been prone to frizziness, and it still is, but no more than it was when I started.

Again, I apologize for this. Most embarrassing, I know.

HELP?

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I FEEL YOUR PAIN!I AM IN THE SAME BOAT!!

In case anyone in the future uses this for reference... s2tp's response would not work. The top of your hair was lightened with the hair color remover because it was untreated roots. The rest of your hair will not lighten without the use of bleach to strip the color. You cannot remove color with color, so if you've dyed your hair dark brown and you'd like to go light brown, your only option is to bleach it. Using color "lifters" only lifts color from untreated hair.