[nnielsen454]

I have dyed my hair black, want to go light, but always been black because I easily go grey... do I stip it or can I dye it with a lighter color?

[TJ17]

Depends how light and what color.

... purples a pretty color.

[Larkemett]

If you have dyed your hair black with a perminant dye... your hair is staying black. You can try to find somewhere that will professionally strip the dye out but you probably won't get much lighter than a brassy golden brown.

[Perito]

I have dyed my hair black, want to go light, but always been black because i easily go grey... do I stip it or can i dye it with a lighter color?

A lighter color simply won't work. The peroxide in the black dye put the color in your hair, there's no reason to expect that it will also take it out.

If you wish to go lighter, you'll have to use color remover to remove the artificial pigment. ColorFix, Color Oops, or Igora Phantom are the color removers of choice. With black dye, you'll usually need at least two applications. After removing all of the artificial color, you can either dye or bleach (and don't expect the color to be your natural haircolor after using color remover). Remember that hydrogen peroxide is limited in its lightening ability. Many people expect the color on the box or the swatch, and they're disappointed when their hair becomes very orange or yellow. That's where the art comes into haircoloring -- knowing how much lightening to expect. If you need more than peroxide alone will produce, you need to bleach it.

There is an old addage, "If you dye it black, you can't go back." While that's not quite true, it does indicate that the job is not simple or easy.