Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Any mousey blondes go darker instead of lighter?

Dee*Jay

Dee*Jay

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 26, 2006
Messages
15,430
My hair is that blah "nothing: color and I’m trying to decide what to do. Right now I use the John Freida blonde shampoo, and I think it does add a bit of brightness, but not enough to make me *blonde*. I wonder if using the JF brunette version will make any difference since I feel like I’m on the verge of brunette now anyway… ? And let me just say up front that shampooing my hair daily to achieve a change is about as much “maintenance” as I’m willing to undertake. I used to get highlights, but aside from the $, the hassle of planning ahead and spending all that time in the salon, etc., drove me batty.

Any in between blond/brunettes out there go darker instead of lighter?

Other ideas are welcome too!
 
I have in the past, and liked it initially, but then always eventually missed being 'blonde' so I go back. I found that the demi colors are great for trying out new colors; they have a nice subtle fade out instead of roots, so I found I could maintain less and just let it go if I didn't want to repeat.

It depends on your other coloration- I'm fair with blue eyes- but I've tried going red, too, and liked it better than going darker. Still, I always come back to my natural color, sometimes with some highlights, sometimes without.
 
I have seen a blonde or two go red and it is always stunning. It seems that many blondes have the coloring for red hair.

My cousin is a blonde who has gone dark, it is beautiful. I do have to admit that I like her platinum more than I like her brunette. I am a brunette and I have used the shampoos for brown hair and have never seen any difference. Only Aveda's clove conditioner has added any color to my hair/kept it from fading. I'm pretty gray now and have to color, thanks to Topamax.
 
I DO!!!! My hair is more of an ash color. It is dark dark blond to the point it looks very greyish. It is an odd color so I have pretty much dyed it since I was 13 years old. I know it sounds crazy but even my mom says it looks better dyed over. Anyhow I usually don't go lighter. You h ave seen me, I'm pale with blue eyes so light hair just bleaches me out. I usually do a med. brown color during the summer and then go to a much darker brown/ reddish color for the winter.
 
Hmmm... all this talk of "red" is giving me ideas! Not like "Lucy! You're in trouble now!" sort of red, but maybe redISH. What about eyebrows though? Do you do something about them or let them be? I didn't do anything with them when I highlighted, but maybe I should have... ?
 
My eyebrows are naturally darker so I don't worry about them. However instead of dying them my stylist just told to use a pencil to color them a bit if it ever bothered me.
 
I have done both, and really liked going darker. It was a nice contrast with my fair skin tone. But it didn't feel like me for the long-term. After the color faded, I just went back to my natural color. Most recently I went blonder, and now I'm doing the natural/soft looking (but dyed) highlight look. I think I'm liking this the best, but it does require a little up keep and $. I only get it done every 2-3 months though and since it's just a little boost my roots don't show much.
 
Yes! I just recently "winterized". When people ask what my normal hair color is, I always reply "mouse".
Took two tries to get it dark enough. I usually just get low lights put in every fall (am blond in summer), but decided to go all in this time......and love it! I did have to have my eyebrows darkened. (and then I went to Sally's beauty and bought my own kit to do at home). Its a change......took some getting used to. The only person that didn't like it was my mother (no surprise there), who dyes her own hair to the point of "whiteblondness"
Go for it.......its just hair and can always be changed back.
 
You guys are always such a wealth of information!

What is this thing called "glaze"? Is it actually dye? Is it permanant? I'm reading different things and they are confusing me...
 
I have always been told to go lighter as you get older as it makes your face look softer.
 
I have and liked it. I've done some reds too and very much liked that...not the neon bozo orange I ended up w/once, but the more auburn after I scrubbed my head w/Dawn 8 times. Strawberry blonde.
 
In reading this thread I'm reminded of someone doing a henna dye at some time. Makes me think of dyeing mine again. My hair is now naturally a icky dark blonde mousy color. I did highlights over the summer but now they're growing out and I'm debating on what to do....hence the henna thought. Anyone do henna to dye. Thoughts on it?
 
Hi Dee Jay, maintaining colour doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming. I am the home-colouring meister! The home colours have come a long way, baby. I do mine every 6 weeks, costs $8 and takes about an hour start to finish, tops. I've just discovered a fantastic salon-blended colour called Rose Gold 8G by Loreal which is perfect for dark blonde hair (if you're going lighter).

If you post some shots of your natural hair and tell me your eye colour and skin tone, I will pick the perfect shade for you!

For example, I am a natural Level 6, light brown, which pulls a lot of red when going lighter. I go two shades lighter to an 8A (ash medium blonde). To minimize the red, I use that ash colour. But if you pile on too many ash colours over time, it starts to give a greyish cast. At that point, you need to add a colour with the word "gold" in the title because in home hair colour, "gold" means subtle red. But gold on ash creates a natural tone, not red, so it fixes the scenario where ash goes greyish. I once used an extra-light very ash blonde and got some grey streaks, which I turned back to natural tone with a gold blonde.

So you have the shade - dark blonde, light blonde, medium brown, whatever - but then you have the tone: gold, ash, or neutral. It depends what colour your hair is currently, and if it's coloured right now.

If you just want subtle red tones, go for a "golden blonde" or brown. Only pick an actual "red" shade if you want stand-out red. Red will not work if you have a cool skin tone, and three-quarters of the world's population have cool skin tones. If you are cool, too, but you want some warmth, a shade with "gold" in the title will look best - whether that's golden browns or golden blondes.

To tell if you are cool or warm, take some jewellery and stand a few feet away from the mirror. Hold up white metal jewellery and yellow metal jewellery. Whichever one shows up best on you from a distance is the answer. White metal - cool, yellow metal - warm.

The other thing about hair colour, the shades are described as lighter than people would usually describe them in the real world. For example, in the hair colour world, a Level 7 is described as dark blonde but most people would say it's light brown - and definitely brown not blonde. Similarly, a Level 6 is described as light brown but looks like medium brown to most people.

Since you are describing yourself as dark blonde, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that your natural shade is a Level 8, or perhaps Level 7. If you want to go darker, I'd recommend Loreal Preference 6.5G, "Lightest Golden Brown". It's a really pretty mid-brown colour with subtle reddish tones. If it's not red enough for you, you can always go redder, but too much red is hard to strip out so I'd start with gold (which means subtle red in the hair colour world).

The colours shown on the box are how they would look if painted on white hair, so they will always look a little darker in real life. The shade I just recommended will look a little darker - and a little redder - than on the box. If you want it to look more like the box, just leave it on for 12-15 mins max. Here it is, 6.5G, Lightest Golden Brown.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/914CJCixbgL._SL1500_.jpg
 
Dee Jay, if you DID want to go lighter, the new Rose Gold colour from Loreal is so pretty. I used it on my Level 6 medium/light brown hair and it gave a beautiful soft toffee-blonde. Loreal has these four shades that were custom-blended by some Parisian colourist, and although I've only used the shade Rose Gold (second from left) I can highly recommend it:


http://www.lorealparisusa.com/en/brands/hair-color/preference-paris-couture.aspx
 
I just got back from the salon and I went lighter. Much lighter than I think I OR the hairstylist intended. :shock: I'm sure I'll get used to it, and it would have only bleached out in Hawaii anyway.

I do like the idea of dirty blondes going darker in the fall - but for me that's still months away! :bigsmile:
 
Smith, here is a pic. This is my real hair color in the summer, so a little lighter than it is right now. (My face is really fat in this picture!) I thank you (and everyone) for all the ideas in this thread! After my annual holiday party on Friday I would like to do something with this mop of mine -- Saturday morning, new hair, here I come!

_12417.jpg
 
I can't figure out how to make this bigger...
 
I am naturally a not pretty light brown. Most of the time I go blonde and I do like the look. However, over the years, I have gone a dark red with some blonde highlights and I have also done dark brown. Personally, I prefer the red or blonde look on me versus the dark brown. Based on your pic, I think you could definitely pull off a red as well. I am fair, blue eyes and when I go red I get so many compliments on my hair and how blue it makes my eyes look. I love red but it does fade fast so more maintenance is needed to stay vibrant but the faded tone also is pretty too, just different. Good luck!!!
 
HI:

That is a very cute picture DeeJay! I am going to say outright that Smith is very brave to home color--I would not chance it!

My stylist only does blondes--does that makes sense, a specialty? (except for the odd male client, all her clients are blonds!) and her colors are sublime. Is your colorist really good? I ask that b/c when I came to my girl my hair was botched blonde, very unnatural looking and she corrected it and now I think my hair is excellent color for me. I get compliments on my hair, daily.

In the winter when I like to go darker--she lowers my base--and doesn't put in as many highlights. In the summer when I want blonde bombshell, adjusts my base and more blonde on top. The difference is subtle but it takes crafting. And when my own color grows in--it appears seamless.

Good luck! Love to see what color you end up with.

cheers--Sharon
 
Canuk-gal: It's all about the strand test! I always, always do a strand test before using a new colour. Anyway, I only started doing my colour myself because the hairdressers were all so crap. Everywhere I went I did not look as if I'd spent 200 pounds every six weeks. And that's how much it cost in London. Dark patches, bright yellow - I swear, there isn't a hairdresser in London who is capable of producing a tasteful dark blonde and then keeping it that way. I have had significantly better results controlling the colour myself.

Every so often - about once every four years - I give in and go back to the hairdresser. It is, without fail, a total disappointment on both continents. I just had it done at the hairdresser here in September. Too yellow and she placed the colour too far from the roots so after 4 weeks I needed to colour it myself again. Total waste of money.

Oh yes - and the time that I decided to have it done "professionally" a few weeks before my wedding. I came out bright luminous yellow, despite asking for the kind of classy dark blonde that Rachel in Friends had. So I went back, complained, and came out dark brown with grey highlights. Another hairdresser who has no idea what ash tones can do. I so wish I were joking.

So, that night, I bought two packets of colour, and went home. I stripped the colour out, then put my desired tasteful dark blonde over it, finally finishing the job at about 1am. It looked fine. But my hair had been through four colour changes in the space of a few days, all thanks to buying into the received wisdom that professional colour is better. My boss said, "Wow, you really can do it better than they can!" Suffice to say there's apart of me that really hates hairdressers! :lol: I mean, if I were that bad at my job I'd be sacked, you know?

Frankly, I can do the colour much, much better than they can, and spending lots of money doesn't make a difference - I've been to very expensive London hairdressers. Still crap. It seems to me that a good colourist is on a rarity level with a white tiger.
 
Dee*Jay|1386257463|3568101 said:
Smith, here is a pic. This is my real hair color in the summer, so a little lighter than it is right now. (My face is really fat in this picture!) I thank you (and everyone) for all the ideas in this thread! After my annual holiday party on Friday I would like to do something with this mop of mine -- Saturday morning, new hair, here I come!
Click to expand...


Dee Jay - are your eyes hazel? I think you could pull off warmer tones really well. Your shade at the moment looks like an 8G - medium golden blonde.

If you want to go darker but are nervous of red tones, I'd stick with the 6.5G that I recommended. Remember that it will look darker than on the packet - it will look medium brown.

However, if you want to see more of a change and more red, this shade looks beautiful: Level 6 Light Chestnut Brown. Be warned that this will look darker than on the packet. It will probably come out a red medium brown, and there will be definite red tones. http://www.lorealparisusa.com/~/media/Images/LOP/Home/Products/Hair/Hair-Color/Permanent/Excellence-Creme/6CB-Light-Chestnut-Brown/HCo6_48_pack-shot.jpg

Be aware that any Level 6 shade, despite the "light brown" in the title, will take you down to a definite brunette shade. Remember, they are ALL darker in real life than on the packet.

If you are not sure if you want to go that much darker but you want some red, this would be nice. Again, there will be red tones. It's a 7G, Dark Golden Blonde. http://www.lorealparisusa.com/~/media/Images/LOP/Home/Products/Hair/Hair-Color/Permanent/Excellence-Creme/7G-Dark-Golden-Blonde/HCo6_22_pack-shot.jpg Again, this will make your hair darker than it is currently. In hair colour parlance, dark blonde means what we would call light brown.

If you are going to home colour, always do a skin test - put some of the mixture on your skin for 48 hours to ensure no allergy. Then, do a strand test. Mix up the bottle, take a bit of your hair that doesn't show, paint it on and clip the rest out of the way. Wait for the processing time, rinse, blow dry the strand and see what you think. I never, ever try a new colour without doing the strand test, which is probably why I've never had a disaster.
 
My latest colouring job:

So, my natural colour is what the colour world calls light brown but to me is medium brown. This is the result after using Loreal Preference Rose Gold 8G: Unless you've battled with bad professional colour, you won't appreciate what a triumph it is to have a shade of blonde that has no orange or brassiness. This is so much better than any hairdresser has ever done, and it cost $8 instead of $250, so doing the roots is no problem. I'm a big proponent of home colour. I just feel you have so much more control than putting it into someone else's hands....and it leaves much more money for bling! :naughty: To anyone reading this, you must, must do a strand test and also the 48-hour skin allergy test before you tip the bottle over your head!! Allergy test instructions are in the colouring kits.

gedc2928.jpg

gedc2937.jpg
 
Smith, my eyes are pretty light and generally look blue or green, depending on what I'm wearing.

And I just LOVE your hair! The best part is it's not monochromatic -- so pretty!

I wish I could get over my hate of maintenance...
 
Thanks Dee Jay!

Re. maintenance, if you go no more than two shades lighter or darker, you could get away with not doing your roots for up to three months. And anyway, with the home colour, maintenance is not as bad as having to drive to the salon and spend a couple of hours there and drive back.

So, what kind of shade do you want? Are you still wanting to go darker, or lighter?

Another option is to go to the drugstore and buy a box of colour whose picture you really like, and then take the box to the hairdresser and tell them that's the colour you want. (I don't mean telling them to use the contents of the box to colour your hair - I just mean so they can see exactly what shade you want). Because the swatches of hair that they have in the salons are too small, really.
 
Smith1942|1386270085|3568216 said:
Canuk-gal: It's all about the strand test! sacked, you know?

Frankly, I can do the colour much, much better than they can, and spending lots of money doesn't make a difference - I've been to very expensive London hairdressers. Still crap. It seems to me that a good colourist is on a rarity level with a white tiger.
Click to expand...


Certainly, I do consider myself very fortunate in my....tigress..... :bigsmile:

cheers--Sharon
 
Yeah, if you've got a great colourist, you're seriously lucky. If my professional salon colour had always looked really good, I probably wouldn't have thought to turn to home colour. It was an act of desperation, really, which became a habit, and now I really like the savings. More bling! :naughty: I think that salon colour is incredibly expensive considering that bad experiences aren't that uncommon. I mean, for the money, I feel it should be more foolproof, y'know?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top