Dark to blonde: your questions answered
Seasons change, looks change, fashions change, and sometimes we want our hair color to change! Many women want to go blonde from very dark shades but are unsure of the process. Let’s face it, one of the current trends is the shaded look, dark or light at the top as it tactfully changes color to light at the bottom.
We’ve all seen some bad blonde jobs, or maybe even experienced some ourselves, where our color went orange rather than blonde. In fact there’s a 50/50 chance your hair could come out brassy, bleached, bright yellow or looking worse for wear! Here are some tips to ensuring we get the look we really desire…
What are the first steps?
The best advice we can give you at the beginning is to speak with a professional about the impending color change. Doing it yourself can not only damage your hair and take quite a bit of time to fix, it can also not bring the desired look, costing you more precious time and money. Your hairstylist may tell you to go lighter over a few visits to get the look you want. Our hair is important to us and you need to know the risks involved and the process.
Why do some recommend going lighter each color for a few before hitting blonde shades?
If you have dark hair, some hairdressers will encourage you to go through a hair color lightening process to ensure that the color change looks as natural as possible, and also is as healthy as possible for your hair. Simply bleaching it from a dark color in order to send it Blonde could cause damage to your hair. You also have to consider that there may be hair color residue still sitting on the ends of your hair from previous colors. This needs to be stripped off to ensure your correct color shows.
Can I just do it at home using a Blonde Hair Color?
The question you need to ask yourself is, how will you feel if this dramatic color change goes wrong? Would you feel more comfortable being in the hands of a professional? Is it worth the time and money? The decision ultimately has to be yours but we always recommend that something this drastic be done by a professional, someone who can also manage ongoing treatments etc.
If you do opt to do it yourself at home,Julia Youssef, executive director of L’Oréal Paris’s Hair Color Technical Center and Product Evaluationsays ‘If you elect to lighten your hair on your own, opt for a cool or neutral shade rather than something warm [often marked 'golden' or 'honey']. Lightening naturally warms up your hair; if you choose a warm-colored dye, you may end up too [orangey] gold’.
Ok so if I don’t want to go totally blonde straight away, what are my other options?
Well quite simply, you could consider some foils, or a darker color underneath and a lighter color on top, to bring in a two-toned look. Once again your hairdresser can advise you best.
What are some other things I should consider before going blonde?
One of the things people forget is that if you have naturally darker hair, and you want to go blonde, you will require regular trips to the hairdresser to have your roots bleached. This is not just a color change, it’s a time and money investment. Is the maintenance going to be ok with you?
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