Beauty

[Trudey]

My hair is naturally blonde but has been turning white quickly.  I have been coloring it myself with a champage blonde color.  It looks great for a few days and then starts to fade very quickly.  I'm thinking about going to a new stylist and asking for depth to be added to my color so that I don't look so washed out.  Has anyone done this?  Can you give me any tips on what to ask for to get the right look?  I don't want stripes or any weird combinations of colors.  My current hairdresser is so conservative and whenever she tries adding lowlights to my hair, it looks very ashy and artificial...similar to the old fashioned frosted look.  This is definitely not what I want.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

@Trudey  If the stylist is worth his/her salt, they will know what color to recommend in order to go with your skintone and get the desired effect.  My daughter is a stylist.  She foils my color and highlights in.  Depending on how much highlighting I want, she might do a 2:1 ratio, highlights to darker color.  If I want to ease up on the highlights it's a 1:1.  I don't get stripey.  

[Helen852]

My natural colour was Brown. I've been coloring forever.  My hair is probably grey at least my roots are. Anyways my stylist does a two process colour where the base is a medium brown with a light brown or dark blonde  or reddish highlight. With the lighter highlights the grey roots aren't as noticeable. Still need a touch up every 6-8 weeks but it works well.  Good luck. 

[Snowpuppy]

I've been getting both hi & low lites for a few years for the same reason, too much blonde makes me look washed out.

My hairdresser insisted on not doing low lights alone on my medium blonde hair. Tried it once & she was right, looked too blah.

Insist on picking shades from haircolor swatch books. A lot of discount stylists won't offer this & you're never sure what you'll get.

One great thing I tried was John Frieda Brunette shampoo & conditioner on blonde hair. Yep, Brunette on blonde hair. I tried their Champage Blonde line and it only made me look even more gray!  If you don't like the look, a wash or two gets it right out.

[Just Bling]

I just had low lights put in last Monday but I beg to differ that it gives me a more youthful appearance.

My stylist said the key is not to go too dark, more of a light chocolate vs a dark chocolate with blonde hair (mine is the same).

I don't like the frosting appearance as one of the Q's host has but the appearance that it all blends in and that's how she did it.  I really believe given the same products to 10 different stylists you will get 10 different results so all I would recommend is talk to other stylists and have them give you their vision.

Good Luck, I like mine!

[FUTURE]

I've been highlighting my hair for years, but also do lowlights. My hair is dirty blonde, and to keep it from getting too blonde, my stylist adds in lowlights about a half shade darker than my natural color in a neutral shade, a highlight in a neutral ash or ash shade, and bleach for the other color. My hair pulls orange/gold big time, so we use these color options or else I get super brassy (yuck). In summer, she ups the highlight to lowlight ratio, and decreases it in fall/winter to go a tad darker (more "bronde"). She foils my entire head every time, and will often do more lowlights underneath, as it appears more natural, since the sun won't generally lighten the underneath part of the hair as much as the top or front. She also weaves the hair thin to put in foils, so there aren't big chunks of bleached or dark color, and it all blends really well. Overall, it looks great, suits my skin tone, is easy to change from season to season so it looks natural, and my hair has no damage. HTH!!

[sallybusky]

Like some other posters, I get highlights and lowlights. My hairdresser knows to avoid ash blond shades, but other than that she can "mix it up" a little, always with pleasing results. I also do not want stripey, Bride of Frankenstein contrast. Your hairdresser has dozens of colors from which to choose. By now I trust mine to pick a few good ones, but perhaps you could ask to see the colors before she starts mixing.

[Nataliesgramma]

My hairdresser gives me highlights and lowlights too...she uses 2 different colors for the lowlights and it really looks nice. I don't like the stripey look either.

[Lipstickdiva]

I go round and round with my hair too.  It is a light brown now naturally, although I was born with white blonde hair.

I was getting a base color plus highlights.  But it ends up overblonde after awhile, I feel washed out and then she adds lowlights.  And we start the process all over again.  LOL

I always just tell her when it's getting too blonde for me and she knows what to do.  The first time I went to this new stylist though, she overdid the lowlights and it was way too dark for my taste so be specific.

[Sister Golden Hair]

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@Trudey wrote:

My hair is naturally blonde but has been turning white quickly.  I have been coloring it myself with a champage blonde color.  It looks great for a few days and then starts to fade very quickly.  I'm thinking about going to a new stylist and asking for depth to be added to my color so that I don't look so washed out.  Has anyone done this?  Can you give me any tips on what to ask for to get the right look?  I don't want stripes or any weird combinations of colors.  My current hairdresser is so conservative and whenever she tries adding lowlights to my hair, it looks very ashy and artificial...similar to the old fashioned frosted look.  This is definitely not what I want.

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@Trudey It is hard for white or gray hair to take color if too light.

I also have blonde hair. I was getting the roots done, then highlighting with 2 or 3 colors. One highlight was almost the same as my root color.

But your base color is going to have to be dark enough to cover your gray.

What I'm doing now (beauty shop not me) is only doing the roots with a med blonde color so the gray will grab the color. Then my friend takes some of the color after doing the roots and puts streaks here and there.

I have not been able to keep my lighter blonde color because it will not color the gray.

And that is the main reason I want to color my hair is to get rid of the gray.

I hope this all makes sense.