Well, I did it. Don't shoot me but I never took a before picture. I have been so busy and that is my excuse. My colorist used Redken Color Fusion and did a level 6 color with a neutral/gold base. I talked with her about not wanting it to look muddy. My good friend who is totally honest to the point of it hurting sometimes said it looks great. My colorist said that it is a little lighter than my natural color. Actually it is the color of Jenny Garth's dark hair in this pic . It was about like this before (roots too) . I am reserving judgment on whether or not I like it until I get used to it. I have done hair color so much that I have learned not to freak out the first couple of days.
*END OF UPDATE*
My hair is naturally light brown, but for about the past 5 years I have been getting it highlighted blonde. I have gone from being highlighted heavily light blonde to being dark blonde and back and forth. Recently I have been thinking about going brown because I have seen some pretty brown hair colors. However, I don't know what color looks best on me. For instance, when I compare these two pictures of Jennie Garth, she just looks better blonde IMHO.
Then when I look at these two pics of Nikki Hilton, I think she looks ok as a blonde, but she looks fabulous with dark brown hair IMHO. The brown just makes her eyes stand out.
I am trying to decide what to do. I really don't want to go back to my natural hair color--I either want to go a little darker brown or a little lighter blonde. I am ready for a change. Right now it is light brown with some medium blonde highlights. My skin is very pale and my eyes are light greyish blue. Help.
-- Edited by bloomie at 19:39, 2006-11-17
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I'm naturally a dark blonde and I used to add highlights and so I was pretty damn blonde. I decided to go darker, though (think Mandy Moore) and I absolutely love it and will never go back to the blonde. I really think I look better with dark hair because I have pale skin and green eyes - it's very striking.
Kitty wrote: I'm naturally a dark blonde and I used to add highlights and so I was pretty damn blonde. I decided to go darker, though (think Mandy Moore) and I absolutely love it and will never go back to the blonde. I really think I look better with dark hair because I have pale skin and green eyes - it's very striking.
I'd go for the dark hair if I were you.
Do you get yours done at a salon or do you do it yourself? If you do it yourself, what color and product do you use? I am kind of leaning toward the dark hair.
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I go to a salon and I highly recommend going to a salon for your first time - they will probably dye your hair red first and then put the brown over that so that the color has a lot of depth and looks really rich. IF you just go to brown right away, it will look "muddy."
My color is a chocolate brown now, although in the past it was more of a golden brown.
Kitty wrote: I go to a salon and I highly recommend going to a salon for your first time - they will probably dye your hair red first and then put the brown over that so that the color has a lot of depth and looks really rich. IF you just go to brown right away, it will look "muddy."
My color is a chocolate brown now, although in the past it was more of a golden brown.
It looks like this now:
Thanks. I will go the salon. I am using a great colorist now, but for some reason I am a control freak and I eventually want to do it on my own. Oh well, something to aim for.
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they may or may not "fill" your hair before coloring. i usually don't like to fill with a red or orange base because i find the end result is too warm (for my liking). also, if they suggest anything like filling your hair, they are (probably) going to call it "corrective color" which is super expensive.
what i prefer to do instead (and recommend) is coloring first with a neutral shade two shades darker than what you have currently, then coloring again with permanent color in the shade you want. neutral shades have just enough warmth to them to counteract ashyness. brown naturally has red tones in it, so it should also ad some warmth.
i think going from blonde to brown is DEFINITELY something you need done by a professional for the first time!
Kitty wrote: I'm naturally a dark blonde and I used to add highlights and so I was pretty damn blonde. I decided to go darker, though (think Mandy Moore) and I absolutely love it and will never go back to the blonde. I really think I look better with dark hair because I have pale skin and green eyes - it's very striking.
I'd go for the dark hair if I were you.
this is pretty much me, right down to the eye/skin color! I really like my hair brown, too. It's supposed to be a chocolate color, although I find mine fades to a medium golden brown after a few weeks. I get a lot of compliments on it. I find that a lot of the men in my life -- my husband, dad, co-workers, etc. say they liked my hair blond, while the women say they like it brown. I also think it makes my fine hair look much thicker. Go for it!
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you sound just like me -> blonde highlights with blue eyes, pale skin. I have been dying to do a dark brown for a few months now but am too chicken for it. I love mandy moore's color. I'm due to go to the salon for a highlight next week. Not sure what I'm doing yet.
erin wrote: they may or may not "fill" your hair before coloring. i usually don't like to fill with a red or orange base because i find the end result is too warm (for my liking). also, if they suggest anything like filling your hair, they are (probably) going to call it "corrective color" which is super expensive.
what i prefer to do instead (and recommend) is coloring first with a neutral shade two shades darker than what you have currently, then coloring again with permanent color in the shade you want. neutral shades have just enough warmth to them to counteract ashyness. brown naturally has red tones in it, so it should also ad some warmth.
i think going from blonde to brown is DEFINITELY something you need done by a professional for the first time!
hth!
ITA about the not laying down red first. The last time I went dark, she did the red bit first and it was a complete and total b*tch to get rid of. It faded too brassy and ended up being red, red, red after a few months. If you plan on getting it colored every 6-8 weeks, I suppose doing the red underneath wouldn't be as big a deal but if you're not sure you'll like it or you think you might want to go lighter towards the summer, I'd stay away from the red.
FWIW, I have to say that I've done red once before when my hair was much healthier and it wasn't such a pain. It's only after all the highlighting and damaged ends that the color started doing funky things.
I officially hate my hair now. I am going back blonde. I just can't post pics like it is because to get a true idea what it looks like I would have to post my face online and I am a little freaked out about putting my face on the internet. I suppose I could blot out my face in the pic, but I just got a new computer and my husband hasn't installed my photo software yet.
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I'm sorry you hate it bloomie. I finally went brown about a week ago. It has taken exactly that long to get use to it. I don't feel as fab being brown like I do when I'm blonde so I probably won't do this again for a while but its a bit fun being different looking to me. Give it a few more days and go ahead and reschedule with your colorist for 2 weeks from now. Mine also told me it would take 2 weeks before I could come back if I hated it but I think I'll go back blonde around march.
i agree with aurora about giving it a few more days. most salons have a two week policy, so make an appt just in case and take that time to see how the color fades. chances are since you are going from blonde to brown it will fade a lot and you might like how it settles in...