How can an always-been-a-blond get up the nerves to dye her hair dark brown?

Question

I'm tired of being blond, but am afraid of dying it darker! What are the pros & cons of having dark hair? Should I just get over it and do it? (I have an intense fear of change, but I crave change) Motivate me!

Answer 1

Well, my hair has been every color except black. :-)

First of all, I would caution you to NEVER EVER go darker with at home hair products unless you're going with red shades because the do-it-yourself products contain a blue tint which we all learned combines with yellow to make green. Unless you wanted to have green hair, but even in that case you would want a vivid emerald green as opposed to a drab ugly greenish glow.

A salon or spa coloring will cost more but you know what they say, you get what you pay for!

Also, depending upon your hemisphere, you may want to wait a couple of months. Where I am it's summer and I never understood coloring your hair darker in the summer. The sun, pool, ocean water, etc all damage your hair. I know they say that going darker doesn't damage your hair, but any chemical is going to do that. Either way, spending time outside and in the pool and at the beach is going to cause your color to prematurely fade. My hair also grows a lot faster in the summer too, don't know if that's normal or not... but I know mine always has for some reason. If you're in the southern hemisphere then it's winter where you're at so just scratch that comment.

If you want to change your color without it being drastic and that's your main concern, you could do it gradually, like 2 or 3 shades at a time and just go darker everytime you go in to get your roots touched up. Instead of just coloring your roots you may be able to get the stylist to do all of your hair, but that could get damaging and expensive depending on the length.

If it were me, I would just do it and have fun! I would wait until September, though.

Good luck!

Cat

Answer 2

My advice would be if you do decide to do it, do it in steps. Going from light to dark is a lot easier than going from dark to light, therefore if for some reason you do not like it, it will be very hard to go back. Start with some darker highlights, to get used to the colour. Then maybe try making your base colour a lighter brown (with the dark highlights). Then if you still want more (because you have already changed, this might be enough for you), go darker. Change until you are happy, it's only hair, it will grow out, it can be coloured and cut.
Don't worry about it so much!

Answer 3

I went from a bleach blond to a medium brown. Everyone else liked it but I hated it. It looked black to me. I had a hell of time getting back to a lighter suitable shade. I would suggest if there is a wig shop in your area go try on wigs of different shades so you find a shade you like before you color. Also I would suggest having it professionally colored. We all know the boxes at the drugstore LIE! You don't get those results. Another thought is not going completely brunette. Try putting low lights in your hair for a more subtle change. Worse case scenario you dye it , you hate it.IF this happens,I would suggest you go to Sally's Beauty Supply and ask for hair coloring especially for dark hair. I tried several methods of lightening my hair and it was a disaster. It has been months and my hair is finally getting back to normal. Finally a lady at Sally's showed me the hair coloring for dark hair (I can't remember the name brand but it is in a black and orange box). It worked really well. Good luck!

Answer 4

Before you make that drastic change you should go to any beauty supply store where they sell wigs, and try on a darker wig (they should allow you to try any eig on with a stocking cap) see how you like your new look if you want buy a darker wig wear it for a week and see what type of responses you get. Then your ready to either stay blond or dye your hair.

Answer 5

If you are afraid, get the hair dye that washes out in about 6 washes. That was if you don't want it, you can always wash your hair repeatedly (1TBSP baking soda with 2 dollops of shampoo works really good). I had really blond hair and craved that changer with fear also. I went for it (with perminite) and it turned out great. Just don't forget about your eyebrows, if they are too light, they may look funny with dark hair.

Answer 6

Dark hair can be viewed as mature, sultry, and deep on certain people.
Change is good! (I just went from dark dark brown to really light blonde!)
If you go through with it make sure that the color you choose is complementary to your skin (i.e. cool colors or warm colors) and if your eyebrows are really light, make sure you pencil them in or get them darkened...
And depending on the shade of your hair you might want to do two steps or use a toner, or maybe gradually darken your hair.
If you don't like it there are ways to take out the color, or you can gradually lighten it... If you immediately bleach it out it might get fried.

Answer 7

I just met a woman over the weekend that went from blonde to dark brown hair and she said it made her real happy, she wished she had done it long ago.

Answer 8

Get a bottle of tequila, and take shots until you get the nerve to do it. It's not called liquid courage for nothing!

Seriously though, it's just hair dye...like painting a wall...if you don't like it, just get it redone.

Answer 9

Big Pro - no one goes "Oh.. She's blond, she won't get it"

Con - It doesn't change your sex, so everyone will still look at you as a female, and therefore won't think too much better of you.

Answer 10

It soundsl ike you really do want to change. You should try a semi-permanent color in case you dont' like how it turns out you can always wash it out.