okay, girls. i need hair help. any ideas? (especially erin and other ST hair stylists/gurus!) here's the sitch:
i've been dyeing my hair darker for the past six months or so, but i really want to go back to blonde soon. i really like the dark color when i first get it done, but it fades so fast! i'm sick of going to the salon every 8 weeks and, frankly, i can't afford it. so i tried to make an appointment with my stylist, but she's booked solid for weeks and weeks! and my ex-boyfriend is coming to visit in two weeks! my hair needs to look awesome.... and right now it looks kinda...blah.
so i was thinking about trying to do a temporary fix myself. i'm scared to death of going lighter with an at-home kit (baaad experiences in the past), but would it be okay to go a shade darker? i'd really just like to enhance my current fading color, nothing drastic at all. my color has faded into a light to medium brown. there's a lot of red in it as well. i'm thinking of doing a semi-permanent color to tide me over until i can see my stylist. then i'll let her decide how quickly i should go back to blonde.
any tips? i'm so scared that i'm going to pick the wrong color and end up with orange or purple hair or something! thanks, girls!
also you could ask to talk to you stylist and tell her the situation - when i worked in a salon our stylists might come in early or stay late for a client that really needed to see them... or she can schedule you with someone else and she can be taking care of her client in one chair and overseeing/ directing what is happening to you in the next chair. actually that is what i would do, especially if you want to go lighter - why wait any longer? call and tell her you need help!
One other thought, if you look at your DIY options and decide you are too nervous, you could maybe try to get an appt with another stylist somewhere else, especially if there are cancellations - they might be able to fit you in.
i probably wouldn't suggest coloring your hair darker if you eventual intent is to go lighter. and i DEFINITELY wouldn't suggest trying to go lighter at home. haircolor does not lift haircolor, so you'd have to use bleach. here is what could potentially happen: depending on how long/how dark you've been coloring your hair, you could end up with orange ends and white roots. it's a pain to fix and color correction is $$$$.
i would probably recommend using a demi-permanent color. if you post or pm your picture i can recommend a shade of something you can get at sally's (much bigger fan of color you can mix, rather than boxed). definitely stick with something tone on tone though! (even a clear glossing would give you lots of shine and boost the color you have, without affecting future coloring options)
also just as a side note: a lot of "semi-permanent" haircolor in boxed kits isn't as semi as it implies. some semi colors are very hard to lift out of hair when trying to go lighter.
a recommendation for when you go into the salon. don't let your stylist suggest anything that sounds like "corrective color." ask for a full-head highlight, which they will probably have to tone. good luck!
erin, thanks for your advice. is demi-permanent the kind that washes out? like 28 shampoos or something? i obviously know nothing about color, i always just bring a picture in for my stylist and let her work her magic. maybe a clear glossing would be my best bet... i don't really trust myself to pick the right color... but what could go wrong if i went a shade darker? any major catastrophes? (hopefully nothing as horrible as bright orange hair with white roots!) if i used a demi-permanant that is one shade darker and then just waited a month for it to fade out before going to the salon, would it be okay? i do want to go back to blonde soon, but i'd be okay putting it off for another month or so.
i'll try to post or pm you a picture soon. hopefully i can take one that shows my color accurately.
if you still want to get a demi that's slightly darker, get a shade lighter than you think you need. people generally tend to think their hair is darker than it really is.
demi-permanent colors usually last 3-4 weeks. (sometimes longer depending on how porous your hair is/how well you take care of it!)