Blonde Dilemma!!!

[Sillie3]

It is my sisters wedding in less than a month and i am having a hair crisis. Since she loves this forum, I decided to post my concerns here. See, I really, really want to go blonde and have wanted to experiment with that color for a very long time. But I still have plenty of doubts and reservations. I'm just so nervous to actually go through with it! It is a big change. I decided I needed some outside and completely unbiased perspective and opinion before I mess my hair up for the wedding (I'm a bridesmaid). Some background info first...

--I have fair skin with slight yellow undertones (but not sallow)

--My eyes were a beautiful blue when I was younger but have changed to a darker greenish-blue color (some describe it as grey).

--My natural hair color was a medium brown that (with age) darkened to a much deeper brown, almost a chocolate color. I was born blonde, however, and it went to a light brown as a toddler.

--I have lightened my hair considerably with a full head of blonde highlights and now it is a honey-brown color. In the sun, it is a couple shades shy of a dirty blonde, or a really dark blonde.

--I want a blonde that is not too light, no platinums or bleach blondes because it will wash me out. Also, I don't want it to be to yellow because it is unflattering to my skin tone. I really want to experiment with shades like: Champagne Blond, Butter Blond and Golden Blond. My hair inspirations are Sarah Michelle Gellar, Molly Sims, Hayden Panettiere, and Cameron Diaz.

 

[neatfreak]

Honestly, while I think you might be able to pull it off, I would NOT recommend doing it before a big family event that will be immortalized in pictures.

The other question is whether you have the $ to do it RIGHT and do it OFTEN. Those celebs have gorgeous hair, but their colors are also nicknamed "million dollar blonde" because they are very expensive to have done correctly and very expensive to maintain.

But that is just my opinion!

 

[hlmr]

If you have almost a month before the wedding, I don't see why you shouldn't give it a try. It doesn't sound like you are going to be too radical, and if it turns out that you hate it, you certainly have the time to 'fix' it before the wedding.

If you are really feeling uncertain, there is nothing wrong with waiting a month before doing it either.

Hair is there to have fun with, and unless it has been overprocessed already, there is nothing that can't be changed.

Good luck and please post pix.

 

[Sillie3]

Thanks for all your opinions, guys (Keep em coming!!!)
Also, if anyone knows what shades might work best on me, I would appreciate the help. Keep in mind I do not want just one-tone color, but highlights and lowlights to create a multidimensional blonde.
And yes, it will be professionally done and maintained. Any idea how much it costs to get roots done and how often? Thanks again!

 

[musey]

Date: 8/8/2007 9:15:56 PM
Author: Sillie3

Also, if anyone knows what shades might work best on me, I would appreciate the help.

It's hard to say what tone would look good with your skin/eyes/etc. without actually seeing you, and you probably shouldn't take advice from people in the "internet void" about that anyway! Find a HIGHLY recommended colorist, let her flip through her color book with you and give you her own recommendations.

Any idea how much it costs to get roots done and how often? Thanks again!

The cost varies GREATLY depending on both where you live and the quality of the salon. I don't get my hair colored regularly, but when I have in the past it usually cost over $150 for the initial job (assuming all-over color plus at least one shade of highlights) and around $100-110 for touch-ups (hence why I no longer color my hair regularly...).

THEN AGAIN, I live in Los Angeles and my "frequented" salons are in Orange County and Hollywood Hills, so those are very expensive markets. You can easily gets quotes from area salons, or look at citysearch reviews to find both price ranges and colorist recommendations (that's how I found my new hairdresser--my favorite one ever!).

My colorist recommended touch-ups every 4-6 weeks, but my shade wasn't drastically different from my natural color. I would guess that's about standard, though.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Hi,

A few years back, a salon colorist messed up my hair so I can say from experience, just to be on the safe side, you may not want to play around with your color right before the wedding. There is ALWAYS risk involved no matter how much of a change you make in your hair. Why risk it right now?

 

[Sillie3]

I have a trusted hairdresser. I live in the toronto area, and it costs approx. 120 for a full head of highlights and a cut and style. I tried to post pictures but its not working. Also, what about eyebrows??? Should I lighten them? They are rather darkish.

 

[diamondfan]

I am in a similar boat to you. I am blonde by birth and feel it is the right look for me, the darker hair is aging to me.

I was a dishwater blonde child whose hair has darkened to ash brown with age. I have fair but more yellow (not sallow either) skin and blue eyes. I think I look best blonde, but it took a LONG time to find the right blonde and have it not turn brassy or red.

I am a multi tonal blonde with high lights and lowlights, I have butterscotch/caramel, honey and golden blonde tones. I have no ash or platinum in my hair. I spend about $500.00 every six weeks with color, trim, glaze and a conditioning scalp treatment and tips. I would not forgo this as I think I look much better as a blonde and am willing to put up the the time and hassle involved. I spend a few hours in the salon on color days. I can sometimes get away with a touch up and not a full head, if time is tight, but that I do after three or four weeks. I have hair that grows quite fast so the roots bother me.

Can you get a wig in the color you want and see it on you and live with it?

Also, I would not do anything drastic before the wedding. After it is over, go for it!

 

[jcrow]

Date: 8/8/2007 9:56:56 PM
Author: Sillie3
I have a trusted hairdresser. I live in the toronto area, and it costs approx. 120 for a full head of highlights and a cut and style. I tried to post pictures but its not working. Also, what about eyebrows??? Should I lighten them? They are rather darkish.

have you tried emailing the admin? they can put the pics up for you if you''re having trouble. i think we''d really need to see pics to have a better idea.

eyebrows :: YES!!! if you go light with your hair, follow-up with lighter eyebrows if they are really dark naturally. make sure they aren''t too light though. they should be a smudge darker than your new hair color.

if you''re talking light enough to lighten your brows, however, i think you may want to rethink dying it before such a big event. hair color along with brow color can be very drastic. not only to others, but to yourself.

 

[diamondfan]

PS my brows are fine, I do not lighten them, and use a taupe or blonde pencil on them when needed, but they are not super dark at all.

 

[Sillie3]

This is a picture of myself. Hope that helps.

 

[FireGoddess]

Apparently Gwyn Stefani gets her roots done every TEN DAYS. Granted, I have never seen that woman have a millimeter of dark roots, ever...but it''s definitely something that has to be done fairly often - more often than going to other colors - to look good.

I still don''t think I''d do it before such a significant family event. I''d do my best to wait till afterwards, and get it done professionally, if I was willing to pay for the proper maintenance. Sarah Jessica Parker tried to rock the dark roots in SATC...but I always thought that look was horrible.

 

[diamondfan]

I think your hair is pretty the way it is. If you do the highlights right, you can go a month to six weeks, and the growth blends in, but honestly I like your color now. I am just a bit lighter than you are.

 

[swingirl]

Since it''s your sister''s wedding, if you show up with a new hair color, will you be drawing a lot of attention to yourself??? Maybe you should wait until after the wedding.

 

[Sillie3]

I went to my hair appointment very unsure but I discussed the issue with my very experienced colorist. We decided we could put in light blonde highlights with an amber-reddish color and a bit of dark caramel to create something not drastically different that would compliment me. My sisters hair is almost platinum, so I won''t distract any attention. I really love the multidimensional color, it''s not too blonde and with my tan it works really nicely. Here is the picture!

 

[Sillie3]

oops here it is. i had to crop someone out of the photo to fit size requirements.

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 8/10/2007 5:11:00 PM
Author: Sillie3
I went to my hair appointment very unsure but I discussed the issue with my very experienced colorist. We decided we could put in light blonde highlights with an amber-reddish color and a bit of dark caramel to create something not drastically different that would compliment me. My sisters hair is almost platinum, so I won''t distract any attention. I really love the multidimensional color, it''s not too blonde and with my tan it works really nicely. Here is the picture!

Your colorist rocks! It looks gorgeous. Very multi tonal and dimensional.

 

[divergrrl]

Date: 8/8/2007 9:15:56 PM
Author: Sillie3
Thanks for all your opinions, guys (Keep em coming!!!)
Also, if anyone knows what shades might work best on me, I would appreciate the help. Keep in mind I do not want just one-tone color, but highlights and lowlights to create a multidimensional blonde.
And yes, it will be professionally done and maintained. Any idea how much it costs to get roots done and how often? Thanks again!

I am a brunette who went blonde in my 20''s for a few years......I had the high & low lights, with some of my own brown left in for less "roots shock"... (it looked really good IMO...but I had a FAB colorist). But I got my roots touched up every 4 to 6 weeks. (my hair grows fast--and I hate roots). She was cheaper than my hairdresser now (she moved) but highlights with a good colorist are usually around $100....more or less depending on length of hair, etc....(mine is long).

HTH...

And personally, I''d wait until after the wedding....FWIW, I gradually went blonder & blonder, it didn''t scare the pants off my family & coworkers that way...

 

[BriBee]

I have very dark brown hair and dark eyebrows (they're pretty much black) and I was able to go completely blonde. I'll try to post some pics here to give you an idea of the difference. I think the key to making it look good is finding the right stylist. I go to someone I trust completely and I've been going to her for years. At this point I just go in and say "do whatever." She also lightened my brows when I went very light and it looked really natural. Many people were suprised that I could pull it off since I'm naturally so dark. The only other issue is that sometimes it can take a few visits to achieve the color you are looking for. It sounds as though you've already been going lighter so this may not be an issue, but for me it took at least 3 times to get my hair where I wanted without over processing and drying it out.

OK...not able to add pictures sorry.
BUT, I can see from your pictures that your hair is naturally lighter than mine and I think you should be able to do it no problem


OK...really having pic problems but think of it as going from Courtney Cox to Cameron Diaz and that's pretty much what I was able to do. So if I can do it I think you'll have no problem in the hands of a good colorist. And to add to what the others were saying about cost, it can be pretty pricey to maintain but that all depends on how noticeable the roots are and how much you are bothered by them

 

[Sillie3]

I really like what I got done, I think I will try going slightly lighter, but for now I''m very happy with what my stylist has come up with. Here is another shot from a different angle. There is a bit more dark in it, the sun just makes it a tad lighter. And thankyou for the compliment, FireGoddess!

 

[hlmr]

It turned out gorgeous!!! So glad you went for it, it sure looks fab on you!! Woohoo!

Love it, love it, love it!

You will feel so good about your new hair colour at your sister's wedding and that is really nice. Congrats.

 

[divergrrl]

Oh!! I just saw your pics! It looks fantastic. Very pretty indeed. (reminds me of how mine was done, but without the red).

Have fun tossing those locks around..you know you will!

Nothing like pretty hair & a successful trip to the salon, no?

 

[zoebartlett]

BEAUTIFUL!!!! I love it! It''s not such a drastic change (before I saw the pictures I was picturing it in my head completely differently). You have an awesome hair dresser.

 

[Sillie3]

Thankyou for all the compliments! I love my new hair .

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Your colorist is awesome. Your hair is gorgeous!

 

[KimberlyH]

love, love, love the new hair.

 

[AGBF]

Sillie,

The color is just gorgeous!!! It looks absolutely fabulous! It completely lights you up! I am so glad you went for it!!!

Deborah, out of exclamation points