DIY hair...

[MamaLaura]

Okay so here's the deal.

This was my hair last December

And then between NYE until June, my hair went from the above to

(there are some cotton candy pink peekaboos in there)


We did maybe one bleaching a month for like 6 months. It was a process to get it that light, for sure. Then when on vacation for nearly 2 weeks, my hair started getting really funky and turning all kinds of weird colors. Probably as a result in the water change, and because where I was was very hot and humid, and I couldn't go without showering every day to get rid of the sweat. And that included even just rinsing my hair because it too got sweaty from my scalp. At that point, not being able to easily and quickly fix it, I decided to just go back to brown.

Which brings us to

It's not black. It looks that way, but it is just very dark brown. I've been using boxed stuff. But yesterday I tried on a wig and I LOVED the color.

It was a reddish brown

How do I achieve this on my own? I'm on the single-mom-budget LOL so it's gotta be on my own versus salon, unfortunately. Do I need to strip my color first? And if so, what do I use? I've been told dish soap can do it, but I'm not sure. Totally inexperienced in that department.

And then can you recommend a specific color (that I can get at Sally's) to use, and what volume developer?

I obviously want to be as easy on my hair as possible. It's been through a lot this year. And if it makes a difference, I'm blonde naturally. About the same color as my daughter's hair

 

[kaliraksha]

I don't have any advice.... except that I know the Feria for darker colors work wonders at Sally's. My friend went from a dark brown to red and then later a dark brown to a light brown with just the package and nothing else. I know you'll probably get some more experienced advice soon enough.

Also, I love the hair color you're striving for.... makes you look warm, approachable and glowing.

 

[MamaLaura]

No that's actually pretty helpful and may be worth a shot. Thanks!

 

[imthebeesknees]

I don't have any advice but the blonde looks amazing on you hun!!

 

[bellaboomboom]

I love the first photo....that's my fav hair on you!

 

[MamaLaura]

Thanks. I like the blonde, too, but I'm not ready to go back to it in terms of my preference and the health of my hair. I hope to maybe start highlighting the heck out my hair in the spring to eventually go blonde again. I also plan to start growing my hair out again. But I'd like something red-toned right now while it's still pretty short. It's been like... 6 or 7 years since I did any kind of red.

I do like the highlights from the first picture, which I've considered doing again as well. My issue with those, however, is that I'd have to get that done professionally, and I really can't be spending that money right now. If I could easily obtain good looking highlights on my own, I would do that. I just can't

 

[bellaboomboom]

I hear ya. I want hilights as well. Just like your first picture. So damn expensive!

 

[kblakes]

I used to color my hair with Feria's Brazilian Brown. It was very close to the color of the wig you posted. I used to change up my hair color every 2 months just using Feria and didn't have any problems. Dish soap or a harsher cheap shampoo will pull the color quicker from your hair.

 

[MamaLaura]

I used to color my hair with Feria's Brazilian Brown. It was very close to the color of the wig you posted. I used to change up my hair color every 2 months just using Feria and didn't have any problems. Dish soap or a harsher cheap shampoo will pull the color quicker from your hair.

Should I pull the color first, or just go over what I've got now? I've been told pulling it might make it uneven, and then make color go on uneven.

 

[MissAlexisDDD]

You say you have dark brown box colour? You *should* go to a salon, or atleast a cosmetology school to get it lightened. It's gonna be hard because it's going to pull a really fugly orange/gold tone and what you need is some heavy duty treatment that will not only be frustrating to do yourself but kinda expensive.

 

[kblakes]

Should I pull the color first, or just go over what I've got now? I've been told pulling it might make it uneven, and then make color go on uneven.

I think it might go on uneven if you pull it. I'd just use a super harsh shampoo on it for a few days and then dye it. But I don't have a cosmetology degree. I just dump a box of color in the cart whenever it catches my eye at walmart.