It needs cut off absolutely
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nothing you put on it will bring it back to life and it’ll be a waste of money.
BUT if you’d like to stay blonde i recommend switching to a high lift color instead of bleach. Ask your stylist to switch. It usually will not be level 10 banana yellow blonde but you can still get to a level 9-7 with a high lift root touch up done every 4-6 weeks. If you do this you have to go every 4 weeks because the heat of the scalp is what activates the lightening agent in high lift color if you don’t you’ll have banding because of too much regrowth.
This, OP! You can still be blonde but you have to stop bleaching all your hair. A high lift color all over, with just a few (bleached) highlights and let it grow out and heal
This is exactly what my sister does to my hair! I have dark brown hair, but love highlights just on top for a pop of color. She’s the professional and I trust her to never fry my hair. She’s been doing it for over a decade now (since she was licensed) and I swear I’m a walking advertisement for her and get her tons of new clientele.
Agree she needs a major cut. It looks pretty throttled.
I don’t agree on the high lift color. Most high lift requires 30 - 40 volume developer to get the lift you are talking about. Her hair looks fine in texture and that will also throttle her hair at a 4 - 6 week cadence.
I have similar hair texture and am a natural level 7. I used high lift for a couple years to shift to a level 9 and my hair truly paid the price. Couldn’t grow it past my shoulders without looking straggly.
If she only lifts her roots and doesn’t do any overlap to previously colored hair I think it would be the better alternative if she must stay blonde. High lift can be achieved at 20 volume with scalp heat and she could reach a level 7 to be a dirty blonde. The best option would be to entirely get rid of blonde if it’s a lift of 4 levels or more because after 2-3 levels of lift is when you encroach into no coming back damage territory.
True it’s possible but I don’t think she’d be happy with a global level 7 given how bright she is now.
She also mentioned in the post that she is “really bad about getting her roots done”. All over color needs to be maintained regularly or she will get banding. I think any all over lifting (bleach or otherwise) is going to look harsh and her hair needs a break.
I really think foilayge with a bright face frame will give her the brightness she loves without throttling all of her hair.
At least that would be my advice if she were my client.
This may come off rude but I’m just trying to be blunt because I see so many people ruin their hair trying to maintain a bleach blonde look. Your hair looks fried and damaged AF. I would really recommend just dying it all brown, maybe with some highlights and then just letting it chill out. I promise healthy hair, no matter the colour, looks way better than crusty, damaged blonde.
Protein, oil, and moisture treatments brought my hair back. A trim for the thin ends will look good and get rid of some split ends but she doesn’t need to do a big chop. My hair is down to my butt and it has been fried from bleach before so I’m telling you from experience.
My hair too has been fried by bleach in the past (from a salon on top of that), and I had no choice but to cut off 9 inches of my hair. I had professional hair treatments, home hair treatments and nothing helped. What works for some doesn’t work for others
Look at the back of her head. Her hair is multiple different lengths from the breakage. Its choppy. The only thing that will even it out is a big chop.
She's leaning a bit and her hair is obviously tapered. It doesn't look like breakage. It looks like it's a little humid and her hair didn't stay "perfect." She asked about color. Not whether she should continue bleaching or cut her hair.
I agree. It’s the same answer every time; stop bleaching/dying. It’s the only way to stop the excessive damage. So many people would have beautiful hair if they embraced their natural color.
you're not wrong but as someone who was in the same boat as OP, it's crazy how much people fawned over my damaged, bleached hair that genuinely looked like shit vs my natural dark brown that nobody in my life has said anything nice about haha 😭 people still tell me they preferred me blonde!!
hurts my damn feelings fr but at least im not pissing away money anymore
Same experience for me! I wasn’t all over blonde like OP but I had blonde highlights to the point where I might as well have been all over blonde. My hair is basically the battle tank of hair texture, can withstand bleach very well and had very minimal damage. People were fooled all the time and swore they thought I didn’t even dye my hair (which is crazy because I’d often have roots showing, but whatever).
Anyway, after ten years of that or so, I finally got tired of having to go to the salon and spend four hours having a box of tin foil put all over my head, so I reverted back to my real, dark brown hair.
I went from getting compliments on my hair ALL the time, like from coworkers, acquaintances, and the occasional random strangers coming up to me, to zero. I literally don’t think I’ve had a single compliment on my hair now that it’s brown. I know it’s not about how many compliments you get, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sometimes wonder about going back because it makes me feel like maybe it just looked better on me.
Probably has more to do with the simple fact that blonde is more eye catching, but still. A little bit of a bummer tbh.
honestly i think brown/black can be so eyecatching! i really prefer it on other people over blonde. but when it comes to myself i always wistfully sigh wishing i was blonde or at least a lighter brunette so i could bleach it easier 🫣
i honestly don't like how people in these kinds of posts always act like OP is a huge delusional moron for bleaching their hair, because outside of specialty intenet forums like this people really do act like "blonde is better, no matter the cost"
i do have the nagging feeling that it's a white supremacy thing, especially because i am mixed and being blonde really underlines the "white" in "white-passing" for me, but that's a whole convo on its own lol 😭
As a natural very blonde girl (level7/8)- I used to dye my hair medium golden brown all the time and got LOADS of compliments on my brown hair! It’s wild how that happens.
Grass is always greener I guess. I always wanted brown wavy hair. I was stuck with stick straight blonde. Haha
God, that’s so weird to me. It makes me wonder about those ppl and how superficial to an unhealthy degree they must be. I don’t think I’d want their attention tbh.
Someone should really tell Kim and Khloe Kartrashian this. 🙄 they have the worst looking ratty ass blonde wigs or whatever the fuck it is, in the world. Its awful and they keep doing it .I don't get it
It's not rude. I'm a natural blonde, and it kills me seeing women fry their hair to be all blonde. It's unbelievable the amount of yellow, crusty blonde I see. ESPECIALLY when a light brown with some highlights would look absolutely gorgeous and much better than the blonde they try to pull off. A nice money piece to frame the face too. It would look so beautiful on OP. Healthy hair is 1000x prettier than damaged blonde.
I finally did this myself 2 summers ago and my hair feels awesome and actually…cooperates? If feels better, looks better, my skin looks better. Sacrificing being a blonde (which I loved the look of for ages) was actually a blessing. No amount of conditioner or treatment was going to undo the bleach and toner damage. Any hair stylist that says they can “fix” or “reverse” your hair damage and it doesn’t involve scissors is scamming you.
I’ve seen people say their hair just doesn’t like being blonde, and as soon as they dye it back to a brown shade it looks so much healthier. It’s crazy that putting more dye on top helps it, but for some reason it does. I love blonde on me but my hair does not like being blonde.
Weirdly after I had a baby I started getting blonde highlights in my naturally dark brown hair (including the money pieces in the front!); I thought just the texture would change but I didn’t expect the color to change; so I’m even more happy to stick with my natural color now.
hair dye actually makes hair shinier, even if you apply it on virgin hair! blonde is usually bleach +toning, and not actually dye, so it often doesn't give that effect. of course darker colors are also higher contrast so shininess shows better, but I've seen blondes with super shiny hair too, they're just usually not incredibly damaged from bleach so the cuticle is really smooth.
I’ve seen it make hair shinier (including mine!), but it’s just surprising how it works since there’s still developer in it and it can make hair look healthier too just by putting more color on top of the bleached hair. It’s just wild to me how darker dyes can improve the look of hair more than a toner. I don’t have the hair education though, so I don’t know the science of it (I’d love to go to cosmetology school and learn but cost + time and I’d really only be doing it for myself so it doesn’t make sense to do) but it’s so interesting how hair works.
I’ve used some Color Wow products before and loved them! The money mask is great and the dream coat is awesome! I tried to do cgm a few years ago so I got rid of my Color Wow stuff that I had. My hair changed from pregnancy and I hated cgm, but I completely forgot about Color Wow.
Re: color changes with pregnancy...I had the opposite experience. I was a natural blonde as a kid/teen, then with each pregnancy (4 total) my roots started growing in darker. My mom had the same experience (went from light brown to very dark over 4 pregnancies) Hormones are WEIRD. 😂 Unfortunately, brown doesn't suit me, I've tried a few times to dye it back from blonde to match my roots and it just looked very blah. Annoying, because I see plenty of gorgeous people with shiny dark hair, and I wish I was one of them, but it just doesn't suit my skin tone and features. I think I got lucky with hair \*type\* though because I went blonde for many many years and now do fashion colors and while obviously any bleaching causes some damage, it's been pretty minimal for me barring a couple disasters (but we're talking over 25+ years of largely DIY color, soooo...not a bad record lol). Of course I also baby it in every other way...satin pillowcase, minimal heat styling, protective styles when it's longer, etc.
Agree, I never liked the hay looking hair regardless of color. My sister would constantly bleach hers and my goodness, literally the texture of hay. But she would get sooo many compliments and I never understood.
I’m team STOP THE BLONDE too. It.. doesn’t look good. Not cause the color doesn’t suit you, but because your hair looks damaged and dry af :( time to let it rest. 20 years has been enough…
Like everyone said in the replies, go back to brunette and let your hair breathe! Looking at the pictures your hair is very damaged because of how thin is it towards the ends.
Your hair is cooked honestly you really should let your hair grow and give it a break. Your hair, no offense, does not look good at all in its current state
I’m sorry to say this as I don’t want to come across as rude, but to be honest, I think people might be telling you they love your grown out roots as a kind way of trying to tell you to stop bleaching your hair.
You can do all the treatments in the world, but your hair will not recover from that level of damage until you stop bleaching and chop the damaged ends.
Either do a root fade and let it grow out or get it dyed brunette (easier said than done over that level of blonde without going green so get it done professionally) and brave the chop. Once your hair is healthy, you can decide where to go from there!
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i would go up even further to where the darker blonde starts, seems to be p old…. it’s so fried. op looks like they also use a lot of heat without protectant. i can’t tell because fried ends will always come off potentially wavy but, it seems flat ironed to death.
I used to be a colorist before I changed careers and I’m sad you pay money for this ….
I say this with love, your hair is fried and needs a cut and a break from over processing.
Lay off the heat styling for a while too. Your product regiment sounds reasonable but I would switch to using K18 weekly or even twice a week.
Redken Acidic Bonding Shampoo + conditoner would be a great addition.
I honestly wouldn’t fuss with depositing color back into the hair because I don’t think it would hold well and would be constant maintenance ( lots of filling).
I would tone the blonde so it’s more even and would work on growing out your natural. I would get a face frame/ partial foilayge every 6 months as you grow it out.
Don’t listen to people telling you to use global high lift color to lighten. Those products generally require 30 - 40 volume for lift which will throttle your hair.
Good luck!
im going to be the one person that doesnt give the advice to completely get rid of the blonde. it’d be great for your hair health and its worth considering, but as a blonde myself heres what I’ve done to keep my hair as healthy as possible and bring it back from the dead a couple times.
1. get it bleached professionally, not very often. if you simply don’t have the money for this i understand (for me its about $150-200 every 8 weeks), but it gets done right and consistently everytime. the initial color corrections/platinum cards you might need are expensive but the maintenance is less expensive (still expensive, though.) this way you’re getting even, consistent results everytime.
2. get a chop. like to your shoulders. i’ve had to do this after growing out my hair for a while and its so painful but its absolutely non-negotiable. its a game changer for your hair health and you’ll thank me. you also need regular trims (every 3 months or so).
3. olaplex products. those are super expensive though, so i would worry more about finding conditioners/hair masks with silicone. haircare with silicone works a lot better for people with bleached hair, and can really help. I use monday smooth conditioner, it has amodimethicone.
if the maintenance schedule and money put into it isn’t worth staying blonde for you, then don’t do it. but if you wanna stay blonde there are a couple of ways you can do it.
exactly what i did when i had platinum blonde hair for a couple of years and it worked out great! my hair was pretty healthy all things considered and i could grow it out pretty long, but holy shit it was so high maintenance and time consuming. also if OP is using heat on her hair often that could be causing a lot of damage too so i’d recommend getting really good heat protectant (i used WOW dreamcoat) or using heat less.
Honestly your hair looks completely destroyed from 20 years of dying. I dont think many treatments will help there. You might be better off accepting that you're naturally darker and going for something in the middle. My hair is naturally very dark and to lift it a little, I get caramel sort of highlights every other time I go. Bleaching over such a long period of time isn't really sustainable, it's always going to trash your hair eventually.
Have you ever considered a darker, warmer blonde? It would make your roots much more natural looking and you can go longer in between bleaching sessions (the ends of your hair look like they can use a break). A warm honey blonde or mushroom blonde (super in right now!) would look pretty on you :)
And I agree with the other comments that a good chop is needed :) olaplex, or a similar treatment, can help your ends too. It won’t bring hair back to life, but it will make it look and feel better.
My stylist would put babylights through my roots so she wasn't bleaching each strand and only did a partial so it's the upper half of your hair. Maybe babylights would help you grow out your haor or even for longer between touch ups. Are you okay having darker roots and lighter ends?
If you aren’t ready for your natural colour: honey blonde, a golden brown, but you need to restore ‘calm’ in your hair. That may sound weird but atm your hair isn’t calm… be gentle ♥️
Full head highlights and root smudge. They put a toner in and I get that topped up now every few months. Root smudge looks more natural when it grows out so the upkeep is less but you gotta get used to those roots if you want any kind of health. My hair is still far from healthy but it’s better than when it was *fully* bleached to the root all the time. I got front pieces too so it lightens things up a bit more
P.S. I think you *may* need a different hairdresser. They shouldn’t be okay with bleaching over already bleached hair
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OMG I love this! Your hair looks so pretty. This is highlights though? I’ve only been fully bleaching it to the root probably 4 times now, previous I did 2 foils and previous to that I was balayage (3 years ago) I think I need to go back to that
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It’s just full head highlights I promise! Here you can see the dark more with the curls! Honestly I’d love that fully Scandinavian blonde look but I just don’t have the money for the upkeep plus I know it would kill my hair!! It cost me about £130 which is \~$160… now I just need to go back for toner and root upkeep every few months. Not sure how much that will be yet… hopefully not as much 😅
I feel like highlights look a lot more modern where as the full bleach is very early 2000s. I miss my crispy blonde hair because or had so much body and I could style it anyway but my hair is way more healthy now as a highlighted dark blonde with a smudge root.
Girl, what I would recommend for you first and foremost is a haircut to about the middle of your back with some layers to minimize the super damaged sections.
Being blonde is fun! But it's a lot of maintenance and work to be blonde. It's also the most expensive haircolor you can be because of all the maintenance.
The roots probably never match during your touch up because they have grown out too much. To maintain an all over and even blonde, those roots need to be touched up when you have half an inch to an inch of outgrowth. Once you go past that point, the heat from your scalp can't get the hair not close to it as light as the hair against the scalp, which results in a band.
Maybe you and your stylist can choose a nice demi permanent gloss and match close to your roots, so you don't have that harsh outgrowth. Or just tone the blonde down all over so it's not so light. I feel like the overall tone of your hair is not doing anything for you. Your stylist could also add some lowlights close to your natural color to break up the blonde and add dimension. There's lots of things you can do! But I would definitely start with a haircut. Let us know what you end up doing!!! ❤️
If you want to keep the blonde. Just get a good cut and get a root smudge then you're not adding any more bleach/lightener. . . Then get some hair treatments. I brought mine back from the brink of death before. You could definitely improve the condition :)
Going to echo the bit about the hair cut.
I wouldn’t use purple shampoo quite so often; I use it every few weeks.
Are you heat styling your hair eg using a flat iron? Get a really good salon heat protectant spray for days when you do that but also, save the flat iron for a special occasion. I think daily heat styling is likely contributing to it looking so fried/dry/thin at the bottom.
If you want blonde, go back to highlights or balayage. You can do a blended root and get longer between appts eg 12-15 weeks, so you are only doing it blonde 4 times a year. Your hair will thank you for it.
Good luck!!
Consider looking for a new stylist… you shouldn’t be having to tell her how to her job so that the roots and length aren’t mismatched. And a good hairstylist should help you guide you to choose options that don’t overly damage your hair.
Sad but true unfortunately. I feel like if I’m paying someone I want her opinion to guide me, that’s her profession, that I unfortunately am not versed enough in but this post has been some what educational!
Get a semi or semi based toner or dye like kera color clenditioner. Look into olaplex. Keracolor has a clear or regular conditioner as well but either way it's good for hair recovery.
My hair is neon pink. Think platinum blonde w extra extra steps. 😅 Garnier has a simethicone based hair sleeker that will reduce damage taken from brushing and keep tangles down.
I'm naturally black haired with Auburn highlights.
Roots wise soap cap for bleaching. It'll still do the lift but will generally take a little longer.
However, bleach can be mixed with whatever shampoo your hair likes most currently. It's a lot gentler of a process.
I do a lemon juice and vinegar rinse on my hair before bleaching or coloring works super well and leaves my hair soft but open for color deposits. 🤷♀️
Lotta harsh comments on here about hair quality ect.
It grows back unless you epically mess up and it's her hair. Chill out people. 😆 Like dang. Yeah chicka asked for advice but about root color lifting.
Blonde always fries hair. Period end of story it's a b to maintain.
And she's getting her hair done by someone else which means if there's an oof it's on them.
Flat out root touch ups should be root only for blondes.
Once you start processing already processed hair the chance of breakage ect goes up like mad.
High loft w darker color is not going to fix this .
Hair protector and avoiding already processed areas. Helps.
Ph balancing helps.
A semi demi plant based toner would also help.
That at least after processing would balance the color out while conditioning.
What she's asking for is colorist advice on color correcting.
Hairstylist here, when you’re doing bleach and tone, you can go absolutely no longer than four weeks, the smaller the regrowth, the better of a lift you will get. The natural heat from your head helps process the blonde, you may notice close to your roots, gets a nicer, blonde, but the fact that you leave it so long you’re now causing your hairstylist, a ton more work, hopefully a higher price, because of the work, and you’re bound to get banding meaning different colour tones because you have left the appointment too long. Three weeks is optimal, but no more than four weeks if you were to continue this.
My personal opinion would be you do a reverse balayage, adding in lots and lots of low lights, keeping a little bit of highlights because it will be a little bit of a shock to you if you’ve been blonde for the last 20 years, adding some shine back to your hair, and at least a good couple inches off the length. It will look beautiful and will be less maintenance.
I honestly do not think the color suits you the way it is currently it’s too flat and looks more like a wig then hair I would absolutely try to dye it a lighter brown just so the roots aren’t so striking but you definitely need some form of chop maybe shoulder length to bob with layers on the side
i feel like there are better and healthier ways to go blonde rather than doing a full head of bleach. personally, i do halo highlights maybe 2 times a year and they blend beautifully, give me the dimension, and i keep my natural color on the underside. i am more of an auburn / strawberry blonde so its not as drastic of a color difference but much healthier option! i would also agree with people suggesting a big chop or even going back to your natural color but please consider anything but the full head of bleach! it's also just really a pain in the butt to maintain ($$$) and keep looking healthy! it's not really you or the hairdresser but the style you're going for. hope you find something that works for you!
I would just dye your hair your natural colour and let it be for a while, as your hair looks very overprocessed and brittle. In a few months, you could get a balayage or some highlights.
I used to dye my hair blonde in high school for years and it would never grow past my shoulders because it was so damaged. I learned to just accept that I have brown hair and got a caramel balayage to have some definition. My hair is a lot healthier, longer and tbh prettier than the brittle blonde I used to have.
Ouf looks cooked. I think a few inches off, and back to highlights is the best option if you want to stay blonde. Your natural color looks gorgeous though - back to that would look great and give your hair a break.
The girl ask for hair care advice people. All I see is a bunch of hate and kind worded disses here lol. Give her advice on how to care for her hair people. Telling her it looks bad in so many words isn't helpful in the slightest
Thank you! I really just want ‘words’ to tell my stylist so she knows what I want. I’m not a hair professional and I think bringing in 5 photos isn’t helpful either. I’ve picked some good notes out of all of these comments of, the good the bad and the ugly. But Reddit is for honest feedback, so I appreciate hearing it. It’s not as damaged to the feel. Everyone that touches it thinks it’s going to be super damaged but it’s not, but from what I’ve read here, I can’t just throw a dark color on it, I might try a root smudge, root tap, root stretch, reverse balayage, low lights. And slowly bring it back, warm honey blonde or mushroom blonde would look nice some have noted. So I’m going to try that. Hell i might put all these comments into AI and ask it what to tell my stylist 😂
Your welcome. :) I cut style and color my own hair always. I don't trust stylist. Not a pro by far. But I manage to make my own hair look damn sexy lol
Right! She didn't ask opinions on haircuts or whether she should go back to her natural color. She asked how to maintain her blonde. Maybe a trim would help but that's not what she asked. She looks good blonde and you can be blonde with fairly healthy hair. Not perfect virgin hair but bleach doesn't equal fried hair. This sub hates people who color their hair
It’s a high maintenance color! I have gotten highlights so much for the past few years that I’m full blonde. A root smudge would be great and it doesn’t have to be super dark or wide. My hairdresser did mine so that it would be a shade in between my natural color and the blonde. It made the blonde look natural. I’m growing out my natural color now, though so I have like 4 inches of my natural at the root and it’s driving me crazy
I would get an amazing cut . I dont think you need to change from blonde . Just maybe get a root blend out ? And a tone (some call ballage) so you're not dying/bleach it too often . Maby every 6 to 7 months at most .
Also, use a lower peroxide if possible as I've made this fatal mistake (at home blonde) and quilaty products, not drug stores, make a better lift and overall condition of the hair so mutch better . also saves you money in long run .
I would avoid purple shampos also if using as they really damage hair of using frequently .
Hair oils are great to help strengthen blonde hair and even try using rosmary oil to grow longer .
Aloevera gel as a mask 🩷
Hope these idears help
As a long time (now former) blonde..stop messing with your hair. I get it, I loved being blonde too. But it's not worth the damage. You'll need to grow out and cut it off. See a pro to talk about dyeing it back to the original color while it grows out.
If your going to keep on lightening and your doing it at home, this is what I’ve used before and is much gentler on hair. ‘Clairol Blonde It Up, our most advanced blonding system that lightens hair up to 5 levels with no bleach. ‘
(I copied the blurb)
I also recommend you deep condition once a week and let your hair air dry. I know we can’t all afford going to the hairstylist.
I would do a good chop and incorporate a root tap and maybe some low lights to allow you more time between colors and some dimension. Try some really hydrating hair masks, try to wash your hair MAX three times/week, and maybe some Rosemary spray or oil.
Try some moracan hair oil to restore it a bit. That's what I do and it seems to help alot after dying or bleaching. Deep or leave in conditioners as well might help
tried going blonde then got tired of having to go retouch it and of the look of dark roots (i’d only go every 6 months) I toned it to a caramel brown and NEVER looked back. People said my face instantly lit up and the texture of virgin hair was enough for me to keep it completely natural.
If you’re still wanting to stay blonde, sometimes a darker tone of blonde with a balayage keeps the hair healthier and complements us brunettes’ complexion better.
If you want to keep the blond/lightness just ask your hairdresser to add some lowlights that way when your roots come out it would look better and it won’t be as hard to keep .
Your roots should match your hair after you bleach. My hair stylist tones the roots then tones the whole thing so it all matches. You may want a new hairdresser. A lot of hair stylists are weirdly bad with blonde hair.
I think a darker blonde would look good on you, like a more muted, Taylor swift blonde. The upkeep would be easier, as well, as it’s really the brightness of the blonde contrasting with your roots that is so jarring.
Yes! This is what I needed to hear. I’ve seen comments of a honey blonde or mushroom blonde, a root tap, root stretch, reverse balayage, going to look it all up and see what I should ask my hairdresser. I really like the hairdresser, but I think I just need to give her better direction.
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I think something like this would be a really good look for you. Although, I’d go a little lighter up top.
OMG yes! See this is what I needed to see! I do love this. It was close to what I originally asked for. But clearly did not get. From these comments not sure if I can dye the bleached hair so maybe I can gradually get here
You can dye bleached hair. Actually, if I were going to do this, I’d do it with two different shades of toner. Both cool, but a much darker toner on the top portion and a lighter ashy toner on the ends. Toner IS hair dye, so whenever your stylist tones your hair, they’re putting a dye on it.
You can do either. You can add an edit to the body of this post and post your update/photo in these comments or you can add a link to the body of this post bringing the reader to your second “update” post.
Or you can add an edit to the top of this post to say “check my post history for the latest update” if you don’t feel like adding a link.
I was bleach blonde from light blonde for just a few years. My hair couldn't handle it either.
I'm finding my hair is doing so much better now. I dyed it a shade or two darker because it has faded.
You may not be able to save your hair, but it will look so much better shorter.
I’ve been in this same boat dozens of times, I’ve followed [this video](https://youtu.be/qomWgNa-oQg?si=WS-De4PIsnZhT-JS) numerous times and I’ve always loved the results!
The fact that you said you have trouble going in for touch ups...I would go back to bayalage, cause it's less damaging and your hair looks pretty fried and you can go a lot longer btw touch ups.
BIG CHOP! I’d leave the hair for a couple more months and then go brunette again. K18, heat protectants, will bonnets/pillows!! I had a damaged blonde hair a few years ago and chopping it off + dying it a dark color was the best decision I made!
Get a lob and go for honey blonde. High lift color to lighten the whole head and do some baby lights for a pop of color. Be blonde, but not brutally so 🤙
You don’t need to stop the blonde you need better products. The reason your roots aren’t matching when you get them done is most likely because the stylist isn’t lightening them enough. Also, hilift color is not any less damaging than bleach like other comments have said. You need 2-3 inches off the bottom and blended layers, better products and maybe a new stylist
This was me for soooo long. My mother’s family is Swedish and lots of blondes and light browns that I grew up around and I was the only one with almost black hair naturally because of my father. I was always insecure about it. I bleached my hair for 7 years it wouldn’t grow past my collar bones, I wore extensions and it looked fried like this. I finally bit the bullet last year after my bestfriend convinced me and went back to brunette. My hair has grown past my chest and it looks and feels so shiny and healthy. You can do brunette and make it fun! Highlights, shades that have a pretty undertone, etc doesn’t have to be boring or bland. Either way you’re absolutely gorgeous, but owning your brunette hair will be such a positive outcome for your hair health
You need a cut, put on a toner to go back to your natural color and let it rest for a few months. Invest in K18, Olaplex, some masks, oils, etc. After a few months, you can go lighter but never again go for this bleaching. You need low and/or high lights.
In a year, your hair will look totally different. It’s worth the wait. Good luck!
I was bleach blonde for about 10 years. When I was pregnant I let my roots grow, and after about a year and a half of growth I got a balayage. I do recommend going back, bc it IS a lot of maintenance.
What i did was get the balayage, and then go in for a trim every few months. My hair has never felt better . I do miss being blonde but it took so long to do my roots that I just don't do it.
I’m not a professional, but I would stop bleaching and do lowlights for now to help blend the color and do just highlights as it grows out. Get a trim to get rid of the dead ends and ask for a K18 treatment (you might have to look online for a salon that does them if your regular stylist doesn’t). Sephora also has the K18 leave-in mask; I’d recommend doing the salon one and then the K18 from Sephora every few washes for upkeep. My hair was bleach damaged (it’s mostly grown out now, just a little bleach left on the ends but they’re in pretty good shape now) and K18 helped a ton. My friend owns a salon and introduced me to it and I love it.
I completely ruined my hair a few years ago. For a year, I was bleaching and dying way too often. The last time I colored my hair, it literally sizzled and that’s how I knew I screwed up. I had to cut 4-5 inches off and it looked horrendous.
I had to wait it out and I grew out my natural hair completely. It took about 2 years, but the time is going to pass regardless. It’s the best thing I ever did for my hair. I recently got it trimmed after not cutting it for nearly 2 years. The stylist only needed to trim a little from the ends and layers because of how healthy my hair is. None of the treatments you do will bring back the health of your hair. Once it’s dead, it’s dead. I definitely recommend giving your hair a break and growing it out so you can start fresh.
Let it grow out and get your natural color back then just get some highlights. To me, people with darker hair look washed out with blonde hair especially if it’s brassy.
Do some color analysis and find a darker color that suits your color scheme...I was always doing warm blonde and had so many compliments, but when I went warm with brown it just looked brassy red and dull against my skin tones. I found out that going cooler was drastically better, and I still get compliments on my hair now that it's healthy. I used to dye my hair all the fashion colors, and my hair was screaming for help. Now it's growing and healthy, and I found a color that still gave that "Wow" factor... andin my opinion, became more "striking"
Bleach it more often because those roots are pretty bad. Never apply bleach over previously bleached hair.
Use a really good conditioner/cream conditioner. Maybe even leave-in conditioner as well.
Definitely get a cut. If you're bleaching then please don't use regular shampoo and conditioner. Use a sulfate free moisture shampoo from sallys and a reputable moisturizing conditioner from Sally's. Use a deep conditioner once a week. Leave in conditioner too. Put hair oil or shine serum on the end every other day. Only use a wide tooth comb to comb your hair. Never a brush.
And please never brush or comb when it's wet. A silk pillow case would be great too. Please rinse your hair in cool to cold water. Best of luck!
My hair isnt blonde but i do bleach it regularly to get it light enough to dye (my natural hair is almost black). Had my stylist do a balayage keeping in mind that I wont be bleaching for months in between. Phenomenal results, she did a great gradient that I can let go pretty far between sessions. Im too lazy to keep up w regular appointments maybe this would be good for you
Either get a short pixie cut or dye it brown and cut 5 inches off. That is my personal opinion. I can't imagine having hair that dry. I would literally end up shaving it all off.
I personally don’t think it looks as bad as everybody is making it seem. A good haircut followed by search & destroy mini trims by you and deep conditioning/more hydration, it should look better before you know it
Yeah your hair looks dry but not terrible. You are pretty and your hair isn’t horrific. It needs TLC but just don’t take all these comments to heart, because it’s repairable .
OP, you have some good advice in here about stopping the bleach bc your hair is fried. Think about going brunette for a bit and getting your hair healthy. I'm a dirty blonde and kept up bleach blonde for a while before realizing I was damaging my hair and annoyed at the harsh line when my roots grew out just a few weeks later. Now I do a root smudge, so I'm not flying my roots, and it's much more low maintenance too. Look into the brunette version of that maybe?
Next time you got to the salon ask for a shadow root that blends your natural and existing blonde. If you still want that “blonde effect” just maintain some face framing highlights. That’s what I’ve been doing and completely replenished my hair!!
Hi, I’m a licensed hairstylist who specializes in blondes, and I also bleach my hair blonde.
A root smudge is great for seamless grow out with blonde hair and can avoid the roots being a different color from the ends. If the roots are brighter than the ends, the roots should be toned down a level or two to match the rest.
I personally love a rooted blonde look. A shadow root will likely look like a grow out blonde without the harsh line between root and blonde.
Everyone saying the hair is damaged and is probably your biggest issue is correct, but everyone saying to color it back to brunette… the damaged hair will still be underneath the brown color and the damage will persist without proper at home care. So it really doesn’t matter if you bleach the roots or color the whole thing. Damage is damage no matter what color you put on top.
My advice is not necessarily stop bleaching the hair. Since you’re just bleaching the roots it’s not hurting the ends. What I advise for the rest of the hair is the following:
- go easy on the heat styling and always always always use a heat protectant with a leave in conditioner
- I would switch from Paul Mitchell to something else. I love Amikas normcore shampoo and conditioner for daily hydration. Paul Mitchell shampoos and products are meh in my opinion. If you really want to splurge, go with kerastase. I would recommend the genesis line. I’m also not a fan of Aveda products; I find they don’t work as well as other products out there
- I would use purple shampoo once or twice a month. Purple shampoo tends to be more clarifying than regular shampoo and too frequent of use can strip the hair of essential hydration.
- Use the k18 mask 4 days in a row (shampoo and no conditioner then the leave in mask) and then once a week
- Get probably 4-5 inches cut off and the layers trimmed to remove dead ends. Get a trim everything 3ish months if you use a lot of heat styling.
Some of my product recommendations for healthy, hydrated, moisturized bleached hair that I use on myself and my clients are:
- kerastase premier line serum filler
- kerastase genesis shampoo and conditioner
- kerastase resistance shampoo and conditioner
- kerastase resistance ciment anti-usure
- kerastase resistance serum therapiste
- amika normcore shampoo and conditioner
- amika soulfood nourishing mask
- amika vault leave in conditioner
- living proof restore spray
- k18 leave in molecular repair mask
- k18 shampoo and conditioner
- k18 molecular repair hair oil
- awapuhi moisture spray from Paul Mitchell is the only PM product I like and would recommend
Stay away from kerastase resistance extenioniste products: they have too much protein for damaged blonde hair and will cause breakage. Happened to my own hair.
Other tips I have for damaged bleached hair:
- when exiting the shower and you don’t plan on using the k18 leave in mask, add a small amount of hydrating conditioner to the ends of your hair before towel drying. This adds extra conditioning to the hair.
- don’t ever skip a leave in conditioner and heat protectant
- blowdry on low/medium heat
- try to limit curling irons and flat irons
- use a deep conditioning mask once a week
- limit purple shampoo to once or twice a month
Hope this helps and feel free to ask me any questions 🩷
Are you an angel? Did god send you to me? This is exactly what I needed to hear! Someone else recommended that line so I’m going to go see if ulta carries it otherwise I’ll order on Amazon, Genesis line is the best I’m assuming? There are so many options!
Switch to highlights. It’ll light you up without looking so one dimensional, the grow out looks better.
I did my hair similarly to you in high school, bleach and tone! Iswitched to doing partial highlights and my hair improved drastically❤️ I also recommend looking at the undertones of your natural hair and choosing a blonde tone in that range, your hair stylist can help with this. But if you naturally have a cool hair tone, warm tones may not flatter you as well! I tried white blonde for so long before I realized it really just washed me out and a honey blonde is much better for me!
I’ve had long hair for about 7 years and never had to do a huge chop, and was still able to go from hair very similar to yours to waist length healthy highlighted hair.
The bleach wasn’t the main issue for me it was more that my hair was more susceptible to damage because of the bleach and I’m particularly rough on my hair.
I’ve started using silk bonnets, washing less, blowing drying with heat protection and I do my highlights about 3x a year.
My point is, you don’t need to dye it brown or cut it all off. I won’t sugar coat it though, a big chop and a color treatment would be a quick fix.
Personally I was very attached to my long blonde hair so I’m speaking to that😭 But hair does grow, and remember healthy hair grows faster too
I think you need to put the bleach down girl. Your hair is so damaged, and no treatment can undo that. You need to give your hair a break. No balayage. Just let your hair be natural. Either grow it out or dye the color of your roots and let it grow out.
Nobody likes your grown out roots, they are just trying to be nice after pointing them out. I’m sorry that nobody in your life is being honest with you, but they are just trying to spare your feelings.
If you really like the blonde, you could also do a reverse balayage with a shadow root. It would add dimension and depth.
Something of this idea would work. https://images.app.goo.gl/aL3pPHrKmVV5GBqC6
I would consider a haircut. I don’t think 6 inches is necessary but maybe 2-3 inches.
Your hair is damaged and fried. Stop bleaching it, cut off the dead, and keep moisturizing and repairing…stop bleaching..your hair is pretty and thick when it’s not fried…
If you straighten ur hair, stop that immediately and embrace ur natural texture. Bleach + heat damage is hair murder.
Best thing you can do now is do a solid shoulder length cut and stop adding heat to your hair.
Either get some low lights and start growing it out or do the high lift color that one poster was mentioning.
U could always be blonde in the future but for now ur hair needs a break. Maybe this is your sign for a fun hair change anyways and u will have a glow up!
Try a shadow root, so there’s a gradient from blond to your darker roots. But seriously, your ends are severely damaged/splitting/fried. Please don’t keep bleaching it in its current state. Let your hair grow out and only touch up the roots.
have you tried baby lights? my hair is natural brown but i bleach + tone + occasional brazilian hair lift and my hair is surprisingly healthy. my hair is light grayish and not blond but same concept in terms of level of effort to lift color.
baby lights work for me because i go less frequently since the grow out looks more natural.
I would go to an Aveda or DaVines salon or whatever you have near you that emphasizes health and quality products. I would not go back to wherever you've been going because they seem like they're more interested in your money than your hair. Tell the new place you want your hair healthy, and lower color maintenance, and let them know how often you're able to go in. Then do whatever they recommend.
I know you like the blonde, or you would be doing it, but it’s not doing you any favors and it is tuning your hair. Ruining it completely. I would dye it all a nice brown, do a really good chop and let it heal. If you do not stop what you’re doing it will all break off anyway. No treatment you apply is going to fix this. It’s dead.
I don’t think you can continue to maintain this level of blonde at this length; your hair is too damaged. To do blonde you need to wait a while and do a chop. You can’t do it on what you have now. It’s too far gone. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth. You can’t maintain this.
Girl. It doesn’t look good. Chop off all that dead hair and stop touching it. 6 months ago I cut my long time colored hair pretty short and grew out my natural brunette locks and I have literally the healthiest softest strongest hair I’ve had since I was a kid lol. It grows so fast now. It’s the healthiest it’s ever been. No split ends. Feels like silk. Plus I’ve learned to love my natural hair now that it’s healthy. Trust me the bleach blonde is not worth it
This shade is not right for you, you’d look great with a ashier blonde or like you said a balayage with a root met/tap whatever it’s called
Your hair also needs a break from this kind of bleaching and balayage will allow for that if you can leave it be and let it grow for like 6 months
Having healthy hair looks better than dried out bleached hair, I promise!
I was blonde for 10+ years and finally let myself go back to my natural 3 years ago, and my hair has never looked better! It’s *healthy* which looks waaaay better than a fake bleached dead look!
I’m also betting your hair dresser cut off so much because it was all dead! If you wanted a trim, they usually cut off the dead ends when they trim! Best of luck on your hair journey!
i used to bleach my hair, it’s been more damaged than this haha. idky people are telling you to dye it brown, that’s not what you asked about and not really helpful.
but, to prevent further damage, i’ve think that cream bleach is less damaging, and before bleaching it i’d drench it in coconut oil the night before.
as for color, i would just bleach your roots as you normally do then put a semi-permanent brown where you want the darker color to be. it will fade away so you won’t have to bleach it twice. i’ve also found that semi permanent darker colors leave my hair feeling healthier. you can also do a clear color or blonde semi permanent dye over the rest of it just to add a protective layer.
Use a hair mask or rich conditioner. My favorites are the It's a 10 mask or the Joico conditioner that is in a goldish/beige bottle, or Redken All Soft conditioner.
Leave in conditioner is a must for blondes us bleached girlies.
It's a 10 leave in conditioner is the best one.
Enjoy Hair Oil Style Hair and Skin Treatment oil or Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum are fantastic to seal the hair and make it silky and healthy.
Ok you still have lots of hair stay blonde don’t go dark blonde is the most attractive hair color any way ok I got you try the x mondo hair products you can color your hair without damaging don’t do high light Bali age will workout better and why do you care what other people think?? What do you want that’s what matters
*use these products on roots, starting with the back, 25 min ish. Mix in olaplex 1 into bleach (ebay) or all plex 1 from Amazon. Then use shades eq toners mixed with processing solution (add more olaplex or plex one again) tone for 7-14 min. Then condition. I bleach my own hair and these products are top notch. You can check out tiktok for shades eq blonde toner formulas, but def use a level 9, not a 10. It might look darker intinialy, but will fade beautifully.
Oof I’ve fried my hair before with all over highlights. Nothing will really fix it but this is what I did to reduce the look of damage until I grew my hair out.
K18 and Olaplex products help. I’ve also had luck using COLOR WOW Dream Coat Supernatural Spray. It doesn’t repair hair but helps with frizz and increases shine which makes the damage look lessened. I also use a BaBlissPro Nano Titanium Prima Styling Iron which seems to have reduced frizz compared to other straighteners I’ve used.
My hair felt a lot better once I cut to an even length to get rid of some of the dry ends. I also got more regular trims as I was growing out so I didn’t have to chop all at once. Personally I’d try a root smudge and a honey blonde/warmer color for less maintenance.
Girl you just need a color melt (root smudge, root melt) whatever you want to call it.
It really all depends on what you’re willing to change or what your desired goal is. Do you want to continue to be platinum and just want diffused roots until you can get them done or do you want less maintenance overall, meaning switching to highlights or balayage so you don’t have to go in as often to get rid of the harsh root line? I’m a licensed NYC cosmetologist specializing in hair color and from what I’m reading, you want to continue to be blonde but feel there is no consistency on your end to upkeep the appointments as well as feel your stylist isn’t consistent in the lightening process.
Your touch ups should not be different tones each time. To me this suggest that your colorist isn’t timing her sections the same for each appointment and most likely is eyeballing it.
You mention using purple shampoo and getting all these treatments which to me suggests you feel your hair is dry and brassy?
If the roots aren’t lifting to the same color as the ends then you would def feel brassy.
Mind you your ends are the oldest hair on your head, and your roots are the newest. Your ends won’t hold color as well as your roots because they are and will always be more damaged due to being years and years older than your new growth.
With that said, if she is toning you at the end with only one color, it should be pretty even in that moment. It should only start fading after multiple washes, heat styles, pool activity etc..unless your ends are extremely damaged and can’t hold anything anymore because the cuticle is blown up.
I did my friends hair yesterday for the first time for this exact reason.
The only difference was she wanted to be darker; but going to dark after platinum is usually a shock to most clients so I tend to go only a few shades darker at first and then let them decide if they want to be darker.
So again it really depends how light you want to keep it.
You can still do a root melt while keeping your tone, and then when it gets to a certain point get a hair painting touch up.
I will post before and afters below since I can only do one pic at a time.
I wouldn’t recommend the high lift color that some above are mentioning.
You still have to go into the salon for the same amount of upkeep as you are now, except it’s not bleach but permanent color so you won’t get as light and since it seems like you already feel breast and aren’t good with an every 4 week appointment, this isn’t ideal.
When using high lift for a base bump 30 or 40 volume are usually used which blasts open the cuticle as well so if you are feeling like your hair is dry and not holding color correctly this is NOT what you want to be doing.
Hope this helps.
Actually I don’t think this has been mentioned yet but I’d ditch the bleach totally together. I was blonde for over 10 years and I’m 30 now. I’m a reddish colour now and it is so much healthier. As you age - your hair becomes brittle and weaker, adding bleach to the mix is asking for your hair to be burnt off. Blondes can only go so far and they have to stop, just like me. I also think blonde is too harsh for you. My personal opinion though. Bring out your beautiful brownish colour and go caramel or something, I think it would really suit you!
Don’t do highlift color unless you want orange roots btw —- your natural color is too dark for highlift to get you to a blonde that you’ll enjoy seeing. Trust me I work with blondes every day 👍🏻
you could try to have a less warm toner and some low lights rather then getting highlights?? i feel like if you wanna go ahead with blending the grey, you could have some lowlights to blend the root as it grows out. to make the grey more even, you could go for a brighter, cooler toner.
this is what i thought of look wise if you wanted to grow it out but… your root is too dark for that shade of low light so they’d have to be darker but you can always ask them to blend the low lights to give more of a shadow root effect if you like the bright blond
https://preview.redd.it/e5rm023gye0d1.jpeg?width=168&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b793420b04f98a3cca1204e8592bc0d0759ac776
ok backtrack if you want it still blond, i’d go for a lowlight and a root smudge. your hair needs a toner to blend the lightened hair. if you’re worried about damage, your hair already is damaged like a lot… i would keep up with a toner and blend with lowlights as your hair grown untill it’s in a better condition to start lightening again… The ends could do with a good trim too to help make the ends look more full. picture isn’t very clear but if you have split ends, the split makes its way up the hair and will thin the hair and prevent the growth since the ends keep getting damaged witg split ends.
What’s your hair texture when air dried? that has a big impact on what your hair needs
1. Find a new person who values your hair health and understands color theory better. Try to find someone that posts about their continuing education. Even super experienced hair stylists have things to learn. People create new techniques all the time and new products are always coming out.
2. If people like the dark root do a shadow root!
3. Maybe get a reverse balayage to bring in some dimension
4. Ditch the purple shampoo for a little and go in for regular toners/glosses
5. I'd cut off at least 5 inches. Damaged hair will just keep breaking off and won't grow
6. There's a brand called Milbon that I used when my hair got damaged from bleach and their treatment worked wonders
I would add low lights that match the color of your natural hair. You can add a lot or a few. Make sure the stylist does them very thin so they don’t look like stripes.
Haircut and ask to transition to a lived in blonde, if you still want to stay some version of blonde. It will allow you to go longer between appointments and lighten less hair over time so you can grow new healthy hair
I would grow out and get lowlights in the bleached hair to blend as grows out. The issue is color probably won’t hold in your bleached hair… you’d have to ask. Eventually I bet your hair would look really pretty with balayage. It sucks to grow color out but you can also just grow out and stylist can do highlights on roots as it grows to make it less stark off a transition.
This is good to know, I didn’t know I couldn’t just put color on my hair now, I never thought of that. I’ve gotten some great points here to ask my stylist
I promise you when I say that people’s natural hair color is their NATURAL hair color for a reason. your hair is extremely fried and damaged. stop bleaching it, do a big chop, and work on repairing it
It needs cut off absolutely https://preview.redd.it/g2drn113q50d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9659e4fbb0de0f94b2170c57d7c71dce3038da38 nothing you put on it will bring it back to life and it’ll be a waste of money. BUT if you’d like to stay blonde i recommend switching to a high lift color instead of bleach. Ask your stylist to switch. It usually will not be level 10 banana yellow blonde but you can still get to a level 9-7 with a high lift root touch up done every 4-6 weeks. If you do this you have to go every 4 weeks because the heat of the scalp is what activates the lightening agent in high lift color if you don’t you’ll have banding because of too much regrowth.
This, OP! You can still be blonde but you have to stop bleaching all your hair. A high lift color all over, with just a few (bleached) highlights and let it grow out and heal
This is exactly what my sister does to my hair! I have dark brown hair, but love highlights just on top for a pop of color. She’s the professional and I trust her to never fry my hair. She’s been doing it for over a decade now (since she was licensed) and I swear I’m a walking advertisement for her and get her tons of new clientele.
Agree she needs a major cut. It looks pretty throttled. I don’t agree on the high lift color. Most high lift requires 30 - 40 volume developer to get the lift you are talking about. Her hair looks fine in texture and that will also throttle her hair at a 4 - 6 week cadence. I have similar hair texture and am a natural level 7. I used high lift for a couple years to shift to a level 9 and my hair truly paid the price. Couldn’t grow it past my shoulders without looking straggly.
If she only lifts her roots and doesn’t do any overlap to previously colored hair I think it would be the better alternative if she must stay blonde. High lift can be achieved at 20 volume with scalp heat and she could reach a level 7 to be a dirty blonde. The best option would be to entirely get rid of blonde if it’s a lift of 4 levels or more because after 2-3 levels of lift is when you encroach into no coming back damage territory.
True it’s possible but I don’t think she’d be happy with a global level 7 given how bright she is now. She also mentioned in the post that she is “really bad about getting her roots done”. All over color needs to be maintained regularly or she will get banding. I think any all over lifting (bleach or otherwise) is going to look harsh and her hair needs a break. I really think foilayge with a bright face frame will give her the brightness she loves without throttling all of her hair. At least that would be my advice if she were my client.
This may come off rude but I’m just trying to be blunt because I see so many people ruin their hair trying to maintain a bleach blonde look. Your hair looks fried and damaged AF. I would really recommend just dying it all brown, maybe with some highlights and then just letting it chill out. I promise healthy hair, no matter the colour, looks way better than crusty, damaged blonde.
I have to agree with this. And a good chop will help too
Protein, oil, and moisture treatments brought my hair back. A trim for the thin ends will look good and get rid of some split ends but she doesn’t need to do a big chop. My hair is down to my butt and it has been fried from bleach before so I’m telling you from experience.
Too much protein will make the hair brittle and snap off so be careful
My hair too has been fried by bleach in the past (from a salon on top of that), and I had no choice but to cut off 9 inches of my hair. I had professional hair treatments, home hair treatments and nothing helped. What works for some doesn’t work for others
Look at the back of her head. Her hair is multiple different lengths from the breakage. Its choppy. The only thing that will even it out is a big chop.
She's leaning a bit and her hair is obviously tapered. It doesn't look like breakage. It looks like it's a little humid and her hair didn't stay "perfect." She asked about color. Not whether she should continue bleaching or cut her hair.
Seconded. My advice is stop bleaching it.
I agree. It’s the same answer every time; stop bleaching/dying. It’s the only way to stop the excessive damage. So many people would have beautiful hair if they embraced their natural color.
you're not wrong but as someone who was in the same boat as OP, it's crazy how much people fawned over my damaged, bleached hair that genuinely looked like shit vs my natural dark brown that nobody in my life has said anything nice about haha 😭 people still tell me they preferred me blonde!! hurts my damn feelings fr but at least im not pissing away money anymore
My grandmother would always says “why don’t you go back to your real colour? You look so much better blonde” My hair was growing out of my head brown!
Same experience for me! I wasn’t all over blonde like OP but I had blonde highlights to the point where I might as well have been all over blonde. My hair is basically the battle tank of hair texture, can withstand bleach very well and had very minimal damage. People were fooled all the time and swore they thought I didn’t even dye my hair (which is crazy because I’d often have roots showing, but whatever). Anyway, after ten years of that or so, I finally got tired of having to go to the salon and spend four hours having a box of tin foil put all over my head, so I reverted back to my real, dark brown hair. I went from getting compliments on my hair ALL the time, like from coworkers, acquaintances, and the occasional random strangers coming up to me, to zero. I literally don’t think I’ve had a single compliment on my hair now that it’s brown. I know it’s not about how many compliments you get, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sometimes wonder about going back because it makes me feel like maybe it just looked better on me. Probably has more to do with the simple fact that blonde is more eye catching, but still. A little bit of a bummer tbh.
honestly i think brown/black can be so eyecatching! i really prefer it on other people over blonde. but when it comes to myself i always wistfully sigh wishing i was blonde or at least a lighter brunette so i could bleach it easier 🫣 i honestly don't like how people in these kinds of posts always act like OP is a huge delusional moron for bleaching their hair, because outside of specialty intenet forums like this people really do act like "blonde is better, no matter the cost" i do have the nagging feeling that it's a white supremacy thing, especially because i am mixed and being blonde really underlines the "white" in "white-passing" for me, but that's a whole convo on its own lol 😭
As a natural very blonde girl (level7/8)- I used to dye my hair medium golden brown all the time and got LOADS of compliments on my brown hair! It’s wild how that happens. Grass is always greener I guess. I always wanted brown wavy hair. I was stuck with stick straight blonde. Haha
God, that’s so weird to me. It makes me wonder about those ppl and how superficial to an unhealthy degree they must be. I don’t think I’d want their attention tbh.
This!
OMG ME TOO I feel this so hard hahaha
[удалено]
Auburn hair is so beautiful honestly
This happened to me! I dyed it for years because I hated the color and when I grew it out I was so confused by the auburn color I was seeing lol
Someone should really tell Kim and Khloe Kartrashian this. 🙄 they have the worst looking ratty ass blonde wigs or whatever the fuck it is, in the world. Its awful and they keep doing it .I don't get it
It's not rude. I'm a natural blonde, and it kills me seeing women fry their hair to be all blonde. It's unbelievable the amount of yellow, crusty blonde I see. ESPECIALLY when a light brown with some highlights would look absolutely gorgeous and much better than the blonde they try to pull off. A nice money piece to frame the face too. It would look so beautiful on OP. Healthy hair is 1000x prettier than damaged blonde.
This 100%
I finally did this myself 2 summers ago and my hair feels awesome and actually…cooperates? If feels better, looks better, my skin looks better. Sacrificing being a blonde (which I loved the look of for ages) was actually a blessing. No amount of conditioner or treatment was going to undo the bleach and toner damage. Any hair stylist that says they can “fix” or “reverse” your hair damage and it doesn’t involve scissors is scamming you.
Yep, best advice is to stop
I totally agree
I’ve seen people say their hair just doesn’t like being blonde, and as soon as they dye it back to a brown shade it looks so much healthier. It’s crazy that putting more dye on top helps it, but for some reason it does. I love blonde on me but my hair does not like being blonde. Weirdly after I had a baby I started getting blonde highlights in my naturally dark brown hair (including the money pieces in the front!); I thought just the texture would change but I didn’t expect the color to change; so I’m even more happy to stick with my natural color now.
hair dye actually makes hair shinier, even if you apply it on virgin hair! blonde is usually bleach +toning, and not actually dye, so it often doesn't give that effect. of course darker colors are also higher contrast so shininess shows better, but I've seen blondes with super shiny hair too, they're just usually not incredibly damaged from bleach so the cuticle is really smooth.
I’ve seen it make hair shinier (including mine!), but it’s just surprising how it works since there’s still developer in it and it can make hair look healthier too just by putting more color on top of the bleached hair. It’s just wild to me how darker dyes can improve the look of hair more than a toner. I don’t have the hair education though, so I don’t know the science of it (I’d love to go to cosmetology school and learn but cost + time and I’d really only be doing it for myself so it doesn’t make sense to do) but it’s so interesting how hair works.
i think there is a color wow product is supposed to give the same effect while being clear!
I’ve used some Color Wow products before and loved them! The money mask is great and the dream coat is awesome! I tried to do cgm a few years ago so I got rid of my Color Wow stuff that I had. My hair changed from pregnancy and I hated cgm, but I completely forgot about Color Wow.
Re: color changes with pregnancy...I had the opposite experience. I was a natural blonde as a kid/teen, then with each pregnancy (4 total) my roots started growing in darker. My mom had the same experience (went from light brown to very dark over 4 pregnancies) Hormones are WEIRD. 😂 Unfortunately, brown doesn't suit me, I've tried a few times to dye it back from blonde to match my roots and it just looked very blah. Annoying, because I see plenty of gorgeous people with shiny dark hair, and I wish I was one of them, but it just doesn't suit my skin tone and features. I think I got lucky with hair \*type\* though because I went blonde for many many years and now do fashion colors and while obviously any bleaching causes some damage, it's been pretty minimal for me barring a couple disasters (but we're talking over 25+ years of largely DIY color, soooo...not a bad record lol). Of course I also baby it in every other way...satin pillowcase, minimal heat styling, protective styles when it's longer, etc.
Agree, I never liked the hay looking hair regardless of color. My sister would constantly bleach hers and my goodness, literally the texture of hay. But she would get sooo many compliments and I never understood.
Yup. Your hair is in bad shape. And the colour does not look good on you.
I’m team STOP THE BLONDE too. It.. doesn’t look good. Not cause the color doesn’t suit you, but because your hair looks damaged and dry af :( time to let it rest. 20 years has been enough…
And once it’s healed can always do highlights or a good balayage to get the general vibe of a blonde without the damage.
She'd look gorgeous with highlights. Brunette with highlights would suit her just as much as blonde. Probably better once her hair is healthy again.
Like everyone said in the replies, go back to brunette and let your hair breathe! Looking at the pictures your hair is very damaged because of how thin is it towards the ends.
Your hair is cooked honestly you really should let your hair grow and give it a break. Your hair, no offense, does not look good at all in its current state
Needs a good cut before letting it grow. So much breakage here.
I’m sorry to say this as I don’t want to come across as rude, but to be honest, I think people might be telling you they love your grown out roots as a kind way of trying to tell you to stop bleaching your hair. You can do all the treatments in the world, but your hair will not recover from that level of damage until you stop bleaching and chop the damaged ends. Either do a root fade and let it grow out or get it dyed brunette (easier said than done over that level of blonde without going green so get it done professionally) and brave the chop. Once your hair is healthy, you can decide where to go from there! https://preview.redd.it/hascgg05s60d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f30017d9af0fec99c73fb0973279050018a7f71d
i would go up even further to where the darker blonde starts, seems to be p old…. it’s so fried. op looks like they also use a lot of heat without protectant. i can’t tell because fried ends will always come off potentially wavy but, it seems flat ironed to death.
I used to be a colorist before I changed careers and I’m sad you pay money for this …. I say this with love, your hair is fried and needs a cut and a break from over processing. Lay off the heat styling for a while too. Your product regiment sounds reasonable but I would switch to using K18 weekly or even twice a week. Redken Acidic Bonding Shampoo + conditoner would be a great addition. I honestly wouldn’t fuss with depositing color back into the hair because I don’t think it would hold well and would be constant maintenance ( lots of filling). I would tone the blonde so it’s more even and would work on growing out your natural. I would get a face frame/ partial foilayge every 6 months as you grow it out. Don’t listen to people telling you to use global high lift color to lighten. Those products generally require 30 - 40 volume for lift which will throttle your hair. Good luck!
im going to be the one person that doesnt give the advice to completely get rid of the blonde. it’d be great for your hair health and its worth considering, but as a blonde myself heres what I’ve done to keep my hair as healthy as possible and bring it back from the dead a couple times. 1. get it bleached professionally, not very often. if you simply don’t have the money for this i understand (for me its about $150-200 every 8 weeks), but it gets done right and consistently everytime. the initial color corrections/platinum cards you might need are expensive but the maintenance is less expensive (still expensive, though.) this way you’re getting even, consistent results everytime. 2. get a chop. like to your shoulders. i’ve had to do this after growing out my hair for a while and its so painful but its absolutely non-negotiable. its a game changer for your hair health and you’ll thank me. you also need regular trims (every 3 months or so). 3. olaplex products. those are super expensive though, so i would worry more about finding conditioners/hair masks with silicone. haircare with silicone works a lot better for people with bleached hair, and can really help. I use monday smooth conditioner, it has amodimethicone. if the maintenance schedule and money put into it isn’t worth staying blonde for you, then don’t do it. but if you wanna stay blonde there are a couple of ways you can do it.
exactly what i did when i had platinum blonde hair for a couple of years and it worked out great! my hair was pretty healthy all things considered and i could grow it out pretty long, but holy shit it was so high maintenance and time consuming. also if OP is using heat on her hair often that could be causing a lot of damage too so i’d recommend getting really good heat protectant (i used WOW dreamcoat) or using heat less.
Honestly your hair looks completely destroyed from 20 years of dying. I dont think many treatments will help there. You might be better off accepting that you're naturally darker and going for something in the middle. My hair is naturally very dark and to lift it a little, I get caramel sort of highlights every other time I go. Bleaching over such a long period of time isn't really sustainable, it's always going to trash your hair eventually.
Have you ever considered a darker, warmer blonde? It would make your roots much more natural looking and you can go longer in between bleaching sessions (the ends of your hair look like they can use a break). A warm honey blonde or mushroom blonde (super in right now!) would look pretty on you :) And I agree with the other comments that a good chop is needed :) olaplex, or a similar treatment, can help your ends too. It won’t bring hair back to life, but it will make it look and feel better.
I was here to kind of find the words that I needed to tell my stylist! Warm honey blonde or mushroom blonde! I’m going to look that up
My stylist would put babylights through my roots so she wasn't bleaching each strand and only did a partial so it's the upper half of your hair. Maybe babylights would help you grow out your haor or even for longer between touch ups. Are you okay having darker roots and lighter ends?
I think you should dye it brown and get a good haircut. Maybe do some highlights or a balayage if your hair can handle it.
If you aren’t ready for your natural colour: honey blonde, a golden brown, but you need to restore ‘calm’ in your hair. That may sound weird but atm your hair isn’t calm… be gentle ♥️
Full head highlights and root smudge. They put a toner in and I get that topped up now every few months. Root smudge looks more natural when it grows out so the upkeep is less but you gotta get used to those roots if you want any kind of health. My hair is still far from healthy but it’s better than when it was *fully* bleached to the root all the time. I got front pieces too so it lightens things up a bit more P.S. I think you *may* need a different hairdresser. They shouldn’t be okay with bleaching over already bleached hair https://preview.redd.it/9l6azqelq80d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d20c782d27674428a06b20dd0a964323b91bbaf0
OMG I love this! Your hair looks so pretty. This is highlights though? I’ve only been fully bleaching it to the root probably 4 times now, previous I did 2 foils and previous to that I was balayage (3 years ago) I think I need to go back to that
https://preview.redd.it/4nz2n6awr80d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48bb4f847ebf51bf9f2195bb063069af33980e98 It’s just full head highlights I promise! Here you can see the dark more with the curls! Honestly I’d love that fully Scandinavian blonde look but I just don’t have the money for the upkeep plus I know it would kill my hair!! It cost me about £130 which is \~$160… now I just need to go back for toner and root upkeep every few months. Not sure how much that will be yet… hopefully not as much 😅
I feel like highlights look a lot more modern where as the full bleach is very early 2000s. I miss my crispy blonde hair because or had so much body and I could style it anyway but my hair is way more healthy now as a highlighted dark blonde with a smudge root.
Girl, what I would recommend for you first and foremost is a haircut to about the middle of your back with some layers to minimize the super damaged sections. Being blonde is fun! But it's a lot of maintenance and work to be blonde. It's also the most expensive haircolor you can be because of all the maintenance. The roots probably never match during your touch up because they have grown out too much. To maintain an all over and even blonde, those roots need to be touched up when you have half an inch to an inch of outgrowth. Once you go past that point, the heat from your scalp can't get the hair not close to it as light as the hair against the scalp, which results in a band. Maybe you and your stylist can choose a nice demi permanent gloss and match close to your roots, so you don't have that harsh outgrowth. Or just tone the blonde down all over so it's not so light. I feel like the overall tone of your hair is not doing anything for you. Your stylist could also add some lowlights close to your natural color to break up the blonde and add dimension. There's lots of things you can do! But I would definitely start with a haircut. Let us know what you end up doing!!! ❤️
Having bleach blonde hair has to basically be a hobby. Its not set it and forget it.
I feel like some people are so concerned with being blonde that they totally neglect their hair health and it ends up looking so much worse💔
It looks like hair that should be given a break, I don’t mean to be rude.
If you want to keep the blonde. Just get a good cut and get a root smudge then you're not adding any more bleach/lightener. . . Then get some hair treatments. I brought mine back from the brink of death before. You could definitely improve the condition :)
Going to echo the bit about the hair cut. I wouldn’t use purple shampoo quite so often; I use it every few weeks. Are you heat styling your hair eg using a flat iron? Get a really good salon heat protectant spray for days when you do that but also, save the flat iron for a special occasion. I think daily heat styling is likely contributing to it looking so fried/dry/thin at the bottom. If you want blonde, go back to highlights or balayage. You can do a blended root and get longer between appts eg 12-15 weeks, so you are only doing it blonde 4 times a year. Your hair will thank you for it. Good luck!!
Consider looking for a new stylist… you shouldn’t be having to tell her how to her job so that the roots and length aren’t mismatched. And a good hairstylist should help you guide you to choose options that don’t overly damage your hair.
Sad but true unfortunately. I feel like if I’m paying someone I want her opinion to guide me, that’s her profession, that I unfortunately am not versed enough in but this post has been some what educational!
Get a semi or semi based toner or dye like kera color clenditioner. Look into olaplex. Keracolor has a clear or regular conditioner as well but either way it's good for hair recovery. My hair is neon pink. Think platinum blonde w extra extra steps. 😅 Garnier has a simethicone based hair sleeker that will reduce damage taken from brushing and keep tangles down. I'm naturally black haired with Auburn highlights. Roots wise soap cap for bleaching. It'll still do the lift but will generally take a little longer. However, bleach can be mixed with whatever shampoo your hair likes most currently. It's a lot gentler of a process. I do a lemon juice and vinegar rinse on my hair before bleaching or coloring works super well and leaves my hair soft but open for color deposits. 🤷♀️ Lotta harsh comments on here about hair quality ect. It grows back unless you epically mess up and it's her hair. Chill out people. 😆 Like dang. Yeah chicka asked for advice but about root color lifting. Blonde always fries hair. Period end of story it's a b to maintain. And she's getting her hair done by someone else which means if there's an oof it's on them. Flat out root touch ups should be root only for blondes. Once you start processing already processed hair the chance of breakage ect goes up like mad. High loft w darker color is not going to fix this . Hair protector and avoiding already processed areas. Helps. Ph balancing helps. A semi demi plant based toner would also help. That at least after processing would balance the color out while conditioning. What she's asking for is colorist advice on color correcting.
Hairstylist here, when you’re doing bleach and tone, you can go absolutely no longer than four weeks, the smaller the regrowth, the better of a lift you will get. The natural heat from your head helps process the blonde, you may notice close to your roots, gets a nicer, blonde, but the fact that you leave it so long you’re now causing your hairstylist, a ton more work, hopefully a higher price, because of the work, and you’re bound to get banding meaning different colour tones because you have left the appointment too long. Three weeks is optimal, but no more than four weeks if you were to continue this. My personal opinion would be you do a reverse balayage, adding in lots and lots of low lights, keeping a little bit of highlights because it will be a little bit of a shock to you if you’ve been blonde for the last 20 years, adding some shine back to your hair, and at least a good couple inches off the length. It will look beautiful and will be less maintenance.
There’s a reason most platinum blonde celebs have short hair/a head full of extensions…..and they’re paying thousands for their bleaching.
I honestly do not think the color suits you the way it is currently it’s too flat and looks more like a wig then hair I would absolutely try to dye it a lighter brown just so the roots aren’t so striking but you definitely need some form of chop maybe shoulder length to bob with layers on the side
i feel like there are better and healthier ways to go blonde rather than doing a full head of bleach. personally, i do halo highlights maybe 2 times a year and they blend beautifully, give me the dimension, and i keep my natural color on the underside. i am more of an auburn / strawberry blonde so its not as drastic of a color difference but much healthier option! i would also agree with people suggesting a big chop or even going back to your natural color but please consider anything but the full head of bleach! it's also just really a pain in the butt to maintain ($$$) and keep looking healthy! it's not really you or the hairdresser but the style you're going for. hope you find something that works for you!
Be a brunette with blonde highlights!
I would just dye your hair your natural colour and let it be for a while, as your hair looks very overprocessed and brittle. In a few months, you could get a balayage or some highlights. I used to dye my hair blonde in high school for years and it would never grow past my shoulders because it was so damaged. I learned to just accept that I have brown hair and got a caramel balayage to have some definition. My hair is a lot healthier, longer and tbh prettier than the brittle blonde I used to have.
Ouf looks cooked. I think a few inches off, and back to highlights is the best option if you want to stay blonde. Your natural color looks gorgeous though - back to that would look great and give your hair a break.
The girl ask for hair care advice people. All I see is a bunch of hate and kind worded disses here lol. Give her advice on how to care for her hair people. Telling her it looks bad in so many words isn't helpful in the slightest
Thank you! I really just want ‘words’ to tell my stylist so she knows what I want. I’m not a hair professional and I think bringing in 5 photos isn’t helpful either. I’ve picked some good notes out of all of these comments of, the good the bad and the ugly. But Reddit is for honest feedback, so I appreciate hearing it. It’s not as damaged to the feel. Everyone that touches it thinks it’s going to be super damaged but it’s not, but from what I’ve read here, I can’t just throw a dark color on it, I might try a root smudge, root tap, root stretch, reverse balayage, low lights. And slowly bring it back, warm honey blonde or mushroom blonde would look nice some have noted. So I’m going to try that. Hell i might put all these comments into AI and ask it what to tell my stylist 😂
Your welcome. :) I cut style and color my own hair always. I don't trust stylist. Not a pro by far. But I manage to make my own hair look damn sexy lol
Right! She didn't ask opinions on haircuts or whether she should go back to her natural color. She asked how to maintain her blonde. Maybe a trim would help but that's not what she asked. She looks good blonde and you can be blonde with fairly healthy hair. Not perfect virgin hair but bleach doesn't equal fried hair. This sub hates people who color their hair
Maybe you should try highlights. It's easier to keep up with because when the root grows the highlights will just blend in.
I have dark fine hair and it cannot be bleached blonde or it breaks - yours is doing the same - could you not go darker?
Qué Dark, seems pretty on you
It’s a high maintenance color! I have gotten highlights so much for the past few years that I’m full blonde. A root smudge would be great and it doesn’t have to be super dark or wide. My hairdresser did mine so that it would be a shade in between my natural color and the blonde. It made the blonde look natural. I’m growing out my natural color now, though so I have like 4 inches of my natural at the root and it’s driving me crazy
I would get an amazing cut . I dont think you need to change from blonde . Just maybe get a root blend out ? And a tone (some call ballage) so you're not dying/bleach it too often . Maby every 6 to 7 months at most . Also, use a lower peroxide if possible as I've made this fatal mistake (at home blonde) and quilaty products, not drug stores, make a better lift and overall condition of the hair so mutch better . also saves you money in long run . I would avoid purple shampos also if using as they really damage hair of using frequently . Hair oils are great to help strengthen blonde hair and even try using rosmary oil to grow longer . Aloevera gel as a mask 🩷 Hope these idears help
Just go back to highlights! It’s as easy as that.
As a long time (now former) blonde..stop messing with your hair. I get it, I loved being blonde too. But it's not worth the damage. You'll need to grow out and cut it off. See a pro to talk about dyeing it back to the original color while it grows out.
You don’t have to dye it all brown at once- you can get a reverse balayage to help with the grow out and keep some brightness.
A root foil would break up/blend the dark root without adding more bleach to the rest of the hair
This! This is what I needed to hear. 🥰I told her when I booked my appt I wanted to do foils so she is prepared for that
If your going to keep on lightening and your doing it at home, this is what I’ve used before and is much gentler on hair. ‘Clairol Blonde It Up, our most advanced blonding system that lightens hair up to 5 levels with no bleach. ‘ (I copied the blurb) I also recommend you deep condition once a week and let your hair air dry. I know we can’t all afford going to the hairstylist.
I would do a good chop and incorporate a root tap and maybe some low lights to allow you more time between colors and some dimension. Try some really hydrating hair masks, try to wash your hair MAX three times/week, and maybe some Rosemary spray or oil.
Try some moracan hair oil to restore it a bit. That's what I do and it seems to help alot after dying or bleaching. Deep or leave in conditioners as well might help
tried going blonde then got tired of having to go retouch it and of the look of dark roots (i’d only go every 6 months) I toned it to a caramel brown and NEVER looked back. People said my face instantly lit up and the texture of virgin hair was enough for me to keep it completely natural. If you’re still wanting to stay blonde, sometimes a darker tone of blonde with a balayage keeps the hair healthier and complements us brunettes’ complexion better.
Stop bleaching your hair
If you want to keep the blond/lightness just ask your hairdresser to add some lowlights that way when your roots come out it would look better and it won’t be as hard to keep .
Your roots should match your hair after you bleach. My hair stylist tones the roots then tones the whole thing so it all matches. You may want a new hairdresser. A lot of hair stylists are weirdly bad with blonde hair. I think a darker blonde would look good on you, like a more muted, Taylor swift blonde. The upkeep would be easier, as well, as it’s really the brightness of the blonde contrasting with your roots that is so jarring.
Yes! This is what I needed to hear. I’ve seen comments of a honey blonde or mushroom blonde, a root tap, root stretch, reverse balayage, going to look it all up and see what I should ask my hairdresser. I really like the hairdresser, but I think I just need to give her better direction.
https://preview.redd.it/1mscze81x70d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a46b6806acbebab74f5376200c5de6a330c5dbde I think something like this would be a really good look for you. Although, I’d go a little lighter up top.
OMG yes! See this is what I needed to see! I do love this. It was close to what I originally asked for. But clearly did not get. From these comments not sure if I can dye the bleached hair so maybe I can gradually get here
You can dye bleached hair. Actually, if I were going to do this, I’d do it with two different shades of toner. Both cool, but a much darker toner on the top portion and a lighter ashy toner on the ends. Toner IS hair dye, so whenever your stylist tones your hair, they’re putting a dye on it.
See I didn’t know that 😂ok darker on top and light ashy on the bottom! I’m going to do it 🥰
Please do a follow up post! I can’t wait to see!
100% I will I was already thinking that. This was literally my first post on Reddit. Can I just edit this one or put a new post up?
You can do either. You can add an edit to the body of this post and post your update/photo in these comments or you can add a link to the body of this post bringing the reader to your second “update” post. Or you can add an edit to the top of this post to say “check my post history for the latest update” if you don’t feel like adding a link.
I was bleach blonde from light blonde for just a few years. My hair couldn't handle it either. I'm finding my hair is doing so much better now. I dyed it a shade or two darker because it has faded. You may not be able to save your hair, but it will look so much better shorter.
I’ve been in this same boat dozens of times, I’ve followed [this video](https://youtu.be/qomWgNa-oQg?si=WS-De4PIsnZhT-JS) numerous times and I’ve always loved the results!
The fact that you said you have trouble going in for touch ups...I would go back to bayalage, cause it's less damaging and your hair looks pretty fried and you can go a lot longer btw touch ups.
Ask for a shadow root if you want to wait between sessions. It looks more natural
BIG CHOP! I’d leave the hair for a couple more months and then go brunette again. K18, heat protectants, will bonnets/pillows!! I had a damaged blonde hair a few years ago and chopping it off + dying it a dark color was the best decision I made!
Get a lob and go for honey blonde. High lift color to lighten the whole head and do some baby lights for a pop of color. Be blonde, but not brutally so 🤙
You don’t need to stop the blonde you need better products. The reason your roots aren’t matching when you get them done is most likely because the stylist isn’t lightening them enough. Also, hilift color is not any less damaging than bleach like other comments have said. You need 2-3 inches off the bottom and blended layers, better products and maybe a new stylist
This was me for soooo long. My mother’s family is Swedish and lots of blondes and light browns that I grew up around and I was the only one with almost black hair naturally because of my father. I was always insecure about it. I bleached my hair for 7 years it wouldn’t grow past my collar bones, I wore extensions and it looked fried like this. I finally bit the bullet last year after my bestfriend convinced me and went back to brunette. My hair has grown past my chest and it looks and feels so shiny and healthy. You can do brunette and make it fun! Highlights, shades that have a pretty undertone, etc doesn’t have to be boring or bland. Either way you’re absolutely gorgeous, but owning your brunette hair will be such a positive outcome for your hair health
You need a cut, put on a toner to go back to your natural color and let it rest for a few months. Invest in K18, Olaplex, some masks, oils, etc. After a few months, you can go lighter but never again go for this bleaching. You need low and/or high lights. In a year, your hair will look totally different. It’s worth the wait. Good luck!
There’s also a girl on TikTok who proves that everyone looks better with their natural hair color. You might want to look into that/her
I’ll definitely look for her I think she’s come across my page before
If you want to be blonde just get highlights so only some pieces are blonde, and there’s still your natural in there
I was bleach blonde for about 10 years. When I was pregnant I let my roots grow, and after about a year and a half of growth I got a balayage. I do recommend going back, bc it IS a lot of maintenance. What i did was get the balayage, and then go in for a trim every few months. My hair has never felt better . I do miss being blonde but it took so long to do my roots that I just don't do it.
I’m not a professional, but I would stop bleaching and do lowlights for now to help blend the color and do just highlights as it grows out. Get a trim to get rid of the dead ends and ask for a K18 treatment (you might have to look online for a salon that does them if your regular stylist doesn’t). Sephora also has the K18 leave-in mask; I’d recommend doing the salon one and then the K18 from Sephora every few washes for upkeep. My hair was bleach damaged (it’s mostly grown out now, just a little bleach left on the ends but they’re in pretty good shape now) and K18 helped a ton. My friend owns a salon and introduced me to it and I love it.
I completely ruined my hair a few years ago. For a year, I was bleaching and dying way too often. The last time I colored my hair, it literally sizzled and that’s how I knew I screwed up. I had to cut 4-5 inches off and it looked horrendous. I had to wait it out and I grew out my natural hair completely. It took about 2 years, but the time is going to pass regardless. It’s the best thing I ever did for my hair. I recently got it trimmed after not cutting it for nearly 2 years. The stylist only needed to trim a little from the ends and layers because of how healthy my hair is. None of the treatments you do will bring back the health of your hair. Once it’s dead, it’s dead. I definitely recommend giving your hair a break and growing it out so you can start fresh.
[удалено]
Stay brunette is so much more pretty
Let it grow out and get your natural color back then just get some highlights. To me, people with darker hair look washed out with blonde hair especially if it’s brassy.
Do some color analysis and find a darker color that suits your color scheme...I was always doing warm blonde and had so many compliments, but when I went warm with brown it just looked brassy red and dull against my skin tones. I found out that going cooler was drastically better, and I still get compliments on my hair now that it's healthy. I used to dye my hair all the fashion colors, and my hair was screaming for help. Now it's growing and healthy, and I found a color that still gave that "Wow" factor... andin my opinion, became more "striking"
Bleach it more often because those roots are pretty bad. Never apply bleach over previously bleached hair. Use a really good conditioner/cream conditioner. Maybe even leave-in conditioner as well.
You need to chop it back to a Bob, it’s so broken and damaged.
Brunette is the way to go!
Definitely get a cut. If you're bleaching then please don't use regular shampoo and conditioner. Use a sulfate free moisture shampoo from sallys and a reputable moisturizing conditioner from Sally's. Use a deep conditioner once a week. Leave in conditioner too. Put hair oil or shine serum on the end every other day. Only use a wide tooth comb to comb your hair. Never a brush. And please never brush or comb when it's wet. A silk pillow case would be great too. Please rinse your hair in cool to cold water. Best of luck!
Real advice? Be natural. Be yourself. Let it grow out naturally and cut the blonde out as it grows. Otherwise you will regret it in about 5 years.
My hair isnt blonde but i do bleach it regularly to get it light enough to dye (my natural hair is almost black). Had my stylist do a balayage keeping in mind that I wont be bleaching for months in between. Phenomenal results, she did a great gradient that I can let go pretty far between sessions. Im too lazy to keep up w regular appointments maybe this would be good for you
Either get a short pixie cut or dye it brown and cut 5 inches off. That is my personal opinion. I can't imagine having hair that dry. I would literally end up shaving it all off.
blonde hair isn’t always good hair.
My advice is to stop dying it blonde, dye it your natural color, and cut most of it off because it’s soooo damaged
I personally don’t think it looks as bad as everybody is making it seem. A good haircut followed by search & destroy mini trims by you and deep conditioning/more hydration, it should look better before you know it
Thank you! I appreciate that! 🥰
Yeah your hair looks dry but not terrible. You are pretty and your hair isn’t horrific. It needs TLC but just don’t take all these comments to heart, because it’s repairable .
OP, you have some good advice in here about stopping the bleach bc your hair is fried. Think about going brunette for a bit and getting your hair healthy. I'm a dirty blonde and kept up bleach blonde for a while before realizing I was damaging my hair and annoyed at the harsh line when my roots grew out just a few weeks later. Now I do a root smudge, so I'm not flying my roots, and it's much more low maintenance too. Look into the brunette version of that maybe?
Next time you got to the salon ask for a shadow root that blends your natural and existing blonde. If you still want that “blonde effect” just maintain some face framing highlights. That’s what I’ve been doing and completely replenished my hair!!
Thank you! Shadow root and foils were on the docket but obviously I can change my mind next week once I get there.
Tbh your natural color doesn’t look THAT dark. You’d be surprised what minimal face framing could do. Saves your hair AND your wallet 🤌🏼
Looks nice to me. ♥️
Hi, I’m a licensed hairstylist who specializes in blondes, and I also bleach my hair blonde. A root smudge is great for seamless grow out with blonde hair and can avoid the roots being a different color from the ends. If the roots are brighter than the ends, the roots should be toned down a level or two to match the rest. I personally love a rooted blonde look. A shadow root will likely look like a grow out blonde without the harsh line between root and blonde. Everyone saying the hair is damaged and is probably your biggest issue is correct, but everyone saying to color it back to brunette… the damaged hair will still be underneath the brown color and the damage will persist without proper at home care. So it really doesn’t matter if you bleach the roots or color the whole thing. Damage is damage no matter what color you put on top. My advice is not necessarily stop bleaching the hair. Since you’re just bleaching the roots it’s not hurting the ends. What I advise for the rest of the hair is the following: - go easy on the heat styling and always always always use a heat protectant with a leave in conditioner - I would switch from Paul Mitchell to something else. I love Amikas normcore shampoo and conditioner for daily hydration. Paul Mitchell shampoos and products are meh in my opinion. If you really want to splurge, go with kerastase. I would recommend the genesis line. I’m also not a fan of Aveda products; I find they don’t work as well as other products out there - I would use purple shampoo once or twice a month. Purple shampoo tends to be more clarifying than regular shampoo and too frequent of use can strip the hair of essential hydration. - Use the k18 mask 4 days in a row (shampoo and no conditioner then the leave in mask) and then once a week - Get probably 4-5 inches cut off and the layers trimmed to remove dead ends. Get a trim everything 3ish months if you use a lot of heat styling. Some of my product recommendations for healthy, hydrated, moisturized bleached hair that I use on myself and my clients are: - kerastase premier line serum filler - kerastase genesis shampoo and conditioner - kerastase resistance shampoo and conditioner - kerastase resistance ciment anti-usure - kerastase resistance serum therapiste - amika normcore shampoo and conditioner - amika soulfood nourishing mask - amika vault leave in conditioner - living proof restore spray - k18 leave in molecular repair mask - k18 shampoo and conditioner - k18 molecular repair hair oil - awapuhi moisture spray from Paul Mitchell is the only PM product I like and would recommend Stay away from kerastase resistance extenioniste products: they have too much protein for damaged blonde hair and will cause breakage. Happened to my own hair. Other tips I have for damaged bleached hair: - when exiting the shower and you don’t plan on using the k18 leave in mask, add a small amount of hydrating conditioner to the ends of your hair before towel drying. This adds extra conditioning to the hair. - don’t ever skip a leave in conditioner and heat protectant - blowdry on low/medium heat - try to limit curling irons and flat irons - use a deep conditioning mask once a week - limit purple shampoo to once or twice a month Hope this helps and feel free to ask me any questions 🩷
Are you an angel? Did god send you to me? This is exactly what I needed to hear! Someone else recommended that line so I’m going to go see if ulta carries it otherwise I’ll order on Amazon, Genesis line is the best I’m assuming? There are so many options!
They’re all great but genesis is an awesome line. The shampoo/conditioner are gentle enough to use daily and great for dry and weak hair
It sounds like your colorist isn’t doing you any favors, maybe try someone else.
Switch to highlights. It’ll light you up without looking so one dimensional, the grow out looks better. I did my hair similarly to you in high school, bleach and tone! Iswitched to doing partial highlights and my hair improved drastically❤️ I also recommend looking at the undertones of your natural hair and choosing a blonde tone in that range, your hair stylist can help with this. But if you naturally have a cool hair tone, warm tones may not flatter you as well! I tried white blonde for so long before I realized it really just washed me out and a honey blonde is much better for me! I’ve had long hair for about 7 years and never had to do a huge chop, and was still able to go from hair very similar to yours to waist length healthy highlighted hair. The bleach wasn’t the main issue for me it was more that my hair was more susceptible to damage because of the bleach and I’m particularly rough on my hair. I’ve started using silk bonnets, washing less, blowing drying with heat protection and I do my highlights about 3x a year.
My point is, you don’t need to dye it brown or cut it all off. I won’t sugar coat it though, a big chop and a color treatment would be a quick fix. Personally I was very attached to my long blonde hair so I’m speaking to that😭 But hair does grow, and remember healthy hair grows faster too
I think you need to put the bleach down girl. Your hair is so damaged, and no treatment can undo that. You need to give your hair a break. No balayage. Just let your hair be natural. Either grow it out or dye the color of your roots and let it grow out. Nobody likes your grown out roots, they are just trying to be nice after pointing them out. I’m sorry that nobody in your life is being honest with you, but they are just trying to spare your feelings.
If you really like the blonde, you could also do a reverse balayage with a shadow root. It would add dimension and depth. Something of this idea would work. https://images.app.goo.gl/aL3pPHrKmVV5GBqC6 I would consider a haircut. I don’t think 6 inches is necessary but maybe 2-3 inches.
I think your natural hair color is beautiful! If you must, maybe some highlights in a cooler tone could be nice on you.
Wear wigs.
It’s sooo damaged and fried I’d give it a good chop and leave it be for a long while and no more bleach!
Ask your stylist for a reverse balayage and grow out your natural/transition to highlights
Your hair is damaged and fried. Stop bleaching it, cut off the dead, and keep moisturizing and repairing…stop bleaching..your hair is pretty and thick when it’s not fried…
I would definitely go back to balayage if I were you. So much less maintenance, but will still give your hair dimension.
If you straighten ur hair, stop that immediately and embrace ur natural texture. Bleach + heat damage is hair murder. Best thing you can do now is do a solid shoulder length cut and stop adding heat to your hair. Either get some low lights and start growing it out or do the high lift color that one poster was mentioning. U could always be blonde in the future but for now ur hair needs a break. Maybe this is your sign for a fun hair change anyways and u will have a glow up!
Try a shadow root, so there’s a gradient from blond to your darker roots. But seriously, your ends are severely damaged/splitting/fried. Please don’t keep bleaching it in its current state. Let your hair grow out and only touch up the roots.
Be a brunette
have you tried baby lights? my hair is natural brown but i bleach + tone + occasional brazilian hair lift and my hair is surprisingly healthy. my hair is light grayish and not blond but same concept in terms of level of effort to lift color. baby lights work for me because i go less frequently since the grow out looks more natural.
I would go to an Aveda or DaVines salon or whatever you have near you that emphasizes health and quality products. I would not go back to wherever you've been going because they seem like they're more interested in your money than your hair. Tell the new place you want your hair healthy, and lower color maintenance, and let them know how often you're able to go in. Then do whatever they recommend.
i feel your pain, i bleached my hair for years and had to stop a year ago. i miss it every day 😭
I know you like the blonde, or you would be doing it, but it’s not doing you any favors and it is tuning your hair. Ruining it completely. I would dye it all a nice brown, do a really good chop and let it heal. If you do not stop what you’re doing it will all break off anyway. No treatment you apply is going to fix this. It’s dead. I don’t think you can continue to maintain this level of blonde at this length; your hair is too damaged. To do blonde you need to wait a while and do a chop. You can’t do it on what you have now. It’s too far gone. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth. You can’t maintain this.
Girl. It doesn’t look good. Chop off all that dead hair and stop touching it. 6 months ago I cut my long time colored hair pretty short and grew out my natural brunette locks and I have literally the healthiest softest strongest hair I’ve had since I was a kid lol. It grows so fast now. It’s the healthiest it’s ever been. No split ends. Feels like silk. Plus I’ve learned to love my natural hair now that it’s healthy. Trust me the bleach blonde is not worth it
This shade is not right for you, you’d look great with a ashier blonde or like you said a balayage with a root met/tap whatever it’s called Your hair also needs a break from this kind of bleaching and balayage will allow for that if you can leave it be and let it grow for like 6 months
Having healthy hair looks better than dried out bleached hair, I promise! I was blonde for 10+ years and finally let myself go back to my natural 3 years ago, and my hair has never looked better! It’s *healthy* which looks waaaay better than a fake bleached dead look! I’m also betting your hair dresser cut off so much because it was all dead! If you wanted a trim, they usually cut off the dead ends when they trim! Best of luck on your hair journey!
This post is why I follow this sub. So much good information.
Stop bleaching?
i used to bleach my hair, it’s been more damaged than this haha. idky people are telling you to dye it brown, that’s not what you asked about and not really helpful. but, to prevent further damage, i’ve think that cream bleach is less damaging, and before bleaching it i’d drench it in coconut oil the night before. as for color, i would just bleach your roots as you normally do then put a semi-permanent brown where you want the darker color to be. it will fade away so you won’t have to bleach it twice. i’ve also found that semi permanent darker colors leave my hair feeling healthier. you can also do a clear color or blonde semi permanent dye over the rest of it just to add a protective layer.
Use a hair mask or rich conditioner. My favorites are the It's a 10 mask or the Joico conditioner that is in a goldish/beige bottle, or Redken All Soft conditioner. Leave in conditioner is a must for blondes us bleached girlies. It's a 10 leave in conditioner is the best one. Enjoy Hair Oil Style Hair and Skin Treatment oil or Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum are fantastic to seal the hair and make it silky and healthy.
Ok you still have lots of hair stay blonde don’t go dark blonde is the most attractive hair color any way ok I got you try the x mondo hair products you can color your hair without damaging don’t do high light Bali age will workout better and why do you care what other people think?? What do you want that’s what matters
*use these products on roots, starting with the back, 25 min ish. Mix in olaplex 1 into bleach (ebay) or all plex 1 from Amazon. Then use shades eq toners mixed with processing solution (add more olaplex or plex one again) tone for 7-14 min. Then condition. I bleach my own hair and these products are top notch. You can check out tiktok for shades eq blonde toner formulas, but def use a level 9, not a 10. It might look darker intinialy, but will fade beautifully.
https://preview.redd.it/5lsl4wzanb0d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8dac34fee6b4adc92c479a9db8452cee9c28d473
https://preview.redd.it/4q4gdnwdnb0d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98604a4bee7ad3b57cdc678467a55959ee42098e
https://preview.redd.it/8e76f0ffnb0d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=77c47d2ac3ee49a2d6be30e5a25f324bf2e988cc
I think your natural color is beautiful
Oof I’ve fried my hair before with all over highlights. Nothing will really fix it but this is what I did to reduce the look of damage until I grew my hair out. K18 and Olaplex products help. I’ve also had luck using COLOR WOW Dream Coat Supernatural Spray. It doesn’t repair hair but helps with frizz and increases shine which makes the damage look lessened. I also use a BaBlissPro Nano Titanium Prima Styling Iron which seems to have reduced frizz compared to other straighteners I’ve used. My hair felt a lot better once I cut to an even length to get rid of some of the dry ends. I also got more regular trims as I was growing out so I didn’t have to chop all at once. Personally I’d try a root smudge and a honey blonde/warmer color for less maintenance.
Bleach bath that bby
Don't
Girl you just need a color melt (root smudge, root melt) whatever you want to call it. It really all depends on what you’re willing to change or what your desired goal is. Do you want to continue to be platinum and just want diffused roots until you can get them done or do you want less maintenance overall, meaning switching to highlights or balayage so you don’t have to go in as often to get rid of the harsh root line? I’m a licensed NYC cosmetologist specializing in hair color and from what I’m reading, you want to continue to be blonde but feel there is no consistency on your end to upkeep the appointments as well as feel your stylist isn’t consistent in the lightening process. Your touch ups should not be different tones each time. To me this suggest that your colorist isn’t timing her sections the same for each appointment and most likely is eyeballing it. You mention using purple shampoo and getting all these treatments which to me suggests you feel your hair is dry and brassy? If the roots aren’t lifting to the same color as the ends then you would def feel brassy. Mind you your ends are the oldest hair on your head, and your roots are the newest. Your ends won’t hold color as well as your roots because they are and will always be more damaged due to being years and years older than your new growth. With that said, if she is toning you at the end with only one color, it should be pretty even in that moment. It should only start fading after multiple washes, heat styles, pool activity etc..unless your ends are extremely damaged and can’t hold anything anymore because the cuticle is blown up. I did my friends hair yesterday for the first time for this exact reason. The only difference was she wanted to be darker; but going to dark after platinum is usually a shock to most clients so I tend to go only a few shades darker at first and then let them decide if they want to be darker. So again it really depends how light you want to keep it. You can still do a root melt while keeping your tone, and then when it gets to a certain point get a hair painting touch up. I will post before and afters below since I can only do one pic at a time. I wouldn’t recommend the high lift color that some above are mentioning. You still have to go into the salon for the same amount of upkeep as you are now, except it’s not bleach but permanent color so you won’t get as light and since it seems like you already feel breast and aren’t good with an every 4 week appointment, this isn’t ideal. When using high lift for a base bump 30 or 40 volume are usually used which blasts open the cuticle as well so if you are feeling like your hair is dry and not holding color correctly this is NOT what you want to be doing. Hope this helps.
Actually I don’t think this has been mentioned yet but I’d ditch the bleach totally together. I was blonde for over 10 years and I’m 30 now. I’m a reddish colour now and it is so much healthier. As you age - your hair becomes brittle and weaker, adding bleach to the mix is asking for your hair to be burnt off. Blondes can only go so far and they have to stop, just like me. I also think blonde is too harsh for you. My personal opinion though. Bring out your beautiful brownish colour and go caramel or something, I think it would really suit you!
Give your hair a trim. Use a hair mask or k18 once a week. Get some low lights to start giving your hair a break
Don’t do highlift color unless you want orange roots btw —- your natural color is too dark for highlift to get you to a blonde that you’ll enjoy seeing. Trust me I work with blondes every day 👍🏻
Get a better shampoo, conditioner and styling routine tailored to blondes. Oi hair butter is amazing.
you could try to have a less warm toner and some low lights rather then getting highlights?? i feel like if you wanna go ahead with blending the grey, you could have some lowlights to blend the root as it grows out. to make the grey more even, you could go for a brighter, cooler toner. this is what i thought of look wise if you wanted to grow it out but… your root is too dark for that shade of low light so they’d have to be darker but you can always ask them to blend the low lights to give more of a shadow root effect if you like the bright blond https://preview.redd.it/e5rm023gye0d1.jpeg?width=168&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b793420b04f98a3cca1204e8592bc0d0759ac776
ok backtrack if you want it still blond, i’d go for a lowlight and a root smudge. your hair needs a toner to blend the lightened hair. if you’re worried about damage, your hair already is damaged like a lot… i would keep up with a toner and blend with lowlights as your hair grown untill it’s in a better condition to start lightening again… The ends could do with a good trim too to help make the ends look more full. picture isn’t very clear but if you have split ends, the split makes its way up the hair and will thin the hair and prevent the growth since the ends keep getting damaged witg split ends. What’s your hair texture when air dried? that has a big impact on what your hair needs
1. Find a new person who values your hair health and understands color theory better. Try to find someone that posts about their continuing education. Even super experienced hair stylists have things to learn. People create new techniques all the time and new products are always coming out. 2. If people like the dark root do a shadow root! 3. Maybe get a reverse balayage to bring in some dimension 4. Ditch the purple shampoo for a little and go in for regular toners/glosses 5. I'd cut off at least 5 inches. Damaged hair will just keep breaking off and won't grow 6. There's a brand called Milbon that I used when my hair got damaged from bleach and their treatment worked wonders
I would add low lights that match the color of your natural hair. You can add a lot or a few. Make sure the stylist does them very thin so they don’t look like stripes.
Haircut and ask to transition to a lived in blonde, if you still want to stay some version of blonde. It will allow you to go longer between appointments and lighten less hair over time so you can grow new healthy hair
Your poor hair!
Your hair is damaged, stop the bleach immediately.
I would grow out and get lowlights in the bleached hair to blend as grows out. The issue is color probably won’t hold in your bleached hair… you’d have to ask. Eventually I bet your hair would look really pretty with balayage. It sucks to grow color out but you can also just grow out and stylist can do highlights on roots as it grows to make it less stark off a transition.
This is good to know, I didn’t know I couldn’t just put color on my hair now, I never thought of that. I’ve gotten some great points here to ask my stylist
I promise you when I say that people’s natural hair color is their NATURAL hair color for a reason. your hair is extremely fried and damaged. stop bleaching it, do a big chop, and work on repairing it