Beauty

[Harpa]

How many shades lighter should one go to give oneself highlights for home coloring without skunk stripes?

I was trying to be subtle...using 5 (med. brown) for root color, which is what I normally use, and 6 (light brown) for highlights. But these "highlights" are a bit of a bust. 

How soon afterward can I try for highlights again?

TIA!

[Carmie]

Without seeing your hair, I would say two.  Are you going to paint on the highlight color and wrap in foil?

I think it would be very difficult to do highlights yourself....most people tend to highlight too much hair in a clump which leads to that striped look.

You also have to be careful, that your highlights don't get brassy or orange.

[Harpa]

Thanks, @Carmie ! No, I was not going to paint on or wrap in foil. I was just going to use my gloved hands to swipe over strands of hair in strategic places.

[monicakm]

@Harpa 

Humm, I don't think you'll be happy with the results

[patbz]

How about using a cap and a pick like we did in. the old days?

[Lipstickdiva]

@Harpa I think you might be perfectly fine and happy using a gloved hand and placing highlights where you want them.  I used to do that all the time.  Anytime I used a cap and pulled my hair through, I often ended up with too much hair pulled through one area and I'd have a huge chunk of highlight.  I found it much easier to just paint them on where I wanted them.

Since you are doing this at home, the general rule of thumb isn't to go more than 2 shades lighter.  And as @Carmie said, you have to make sure you don't get orange or brassy. 

I quit doing my own hair when it decided it was always going to pull very warm and I hate warmth in my color.   

[lkat]

@Harpa I don't know if you ever go on YouTube but Hot and Flashy has done a few different videos on coloring and highlighting her hair at home.  If you search for "hot and flashy hair color", you'll see a few.  Not sure if they'll help, but might be worth it to check them out.  Her hair color usually looks nice.

[SilleeMee]

You're braver than me by a long shot! @Harpa Good luck with it.

I'll cut my own hair but that's as far as I go. I bought a bottle of developer some time ago thinking I could just lighten my hair a bit. I'm too chicken to do it.

[wagirl]

OMgosh---I wouldn't for a million $$ ever do something like that on myself!!!! go to someone who knows how to do it--you may pay alot but will be so happy with the outcome---it would cost you so much more to have your hair "fixed"----

[Harpa]

Thanks for the replies!

I actually did do this a few times before, only I neglected to jot down what shades I used. The one time, it looked great, and the highlights lasted a long time (til everything was cut off.)

I just didn't know if there were any "rules" about how much lighter to go. I was toying with No. 7, and I think I would have gotten the results I was looking for.

When you say "orange" or "brassy," how does that happen?