I have black hair and want to dye it light brown...is DIY home dyeing possible?

Question

I've heard that the stylists have to lighten the black hair first before they put the light brown color on top...
So if I want to dye my black hair light brown, must i go to the salon, or is there a DIY alternative?

Thanks.

Answer 1

You dont have to lighten it first, my mom dyes her hair light brown all the time from hairdye bought at the local shop. it looks fine

Answer 2

You WILL need to decolorize first because a light brown in the villiains terms *stylist* is like a level 6/7 and a black hair is a 3,2,1. That means you have alot of levels to travel up and getting a pretty shade will depend on how easily your hair lightens. Some people with a natural color of a light/medium brown can go blond with just color and peroxide but not so much black hair I fear. You have denser color molecules than a light brown or a blonde. How well the bleach works depends on how thick the diameter of your strands of hair are, how densely packed the color molecules are. The next thing you have to ask yourself is what shade of light brown? a neutral, a golden which is a warm or an ash which is a cool. I fear if you just use a box dye and expect to lighten a bunch of levels you will end up with either greenish hair or reddish orangey hair depending on the underlying pigment in your black.
If you do choose to bleach it first. Buy a SEMI/DEMI permanent at sally beauty supply because it is less stressful to the hair in the end compared to always putting permanent dye on it. Its depositiing. In order to get to a level to deposit a nice light brown color.. you will need bleach and peroxide. A level 20 volume would probably do the trick but ask the girls at Sallys. I recommend wellas demi permanent line there if you are going that route. You will need to lighten your hair til it looks the level of light/darkness that you want your light brown to be. I recommend doing that first THEN going to sallys and having the girls pick out a correspending light brown. That way you wont end up disappointed. good luck.

Answer 3

There is a DIY possibility. And yes they do have to BLEACH it first. I had my friend do it to my hair and it damaged it so badly but hey, I got the color I wanted and it was sooooo cute.
When you go to the salon ask them to bleach it first, some stylists will lie to you and tell you that they don't need to dye it, I don't know if they want more money or if they just don't want to bleach your hair. Either way, if you are going to get it done, get it done right the first time because no matter what anyone says to put a lighter color on black you need to bleach the black out. Or it will not stay in your hair and you won't get the color you want.
P.S please do your eyebrows too cuz it just doesn't look right with light brown hair and black eyebrows

Answer 4

You have done a lot of chemicals in a short period of time. That is a major concern. Dying it again will not make it lighter. Color will not lift color. And box color is too unpredictable. I would recommend you let a professional do it since it will have to be lightened first. And also tell them everything that you have done to your hair recently. It will make a difference in how and what to use. If the black is box color you may be out of luck with lightening it. They need to do a test strand first to even see if it will lift. It probally won't. Sorry I don't have better news for you there. Your hair most likely needs some deep conditioning before you even think of putting more chemicals on it. I would say you are on Hair Alert. You can go to Sally's and get a Malibu treatment. It may or may not pull some of that black out. You probally did not fill your hair first going from blonde to black so it will fade very quickly. Try that first, then see a stylist. A stylist can also help you with what you need to get your hair healthy after all those chemicals. Good luck and leave box color alone. It is very bad for your hair.

Answer 5

Bah,.. everyone on here likes to say " Visit a Salon,.. BTW I'm a Stylist" or " Go to Sally's,.. I work in a hair store"

If your hair isn't colored already, try to get something lighter then what you want. I used 2 dollar Hair color on black hair,.. it quit working quickly but even that worked (not the color on the box,.. but like I said). Also try for like up to twice suggested time because stuff sucks XD

Say what brands, lines, and colors your planing to use,.. then people can tell you is something sucks or is great.. and make recommendations.

If you go to the real people that know hair they would suggest you either go atleast 3 shades lighter then your hair, or use Reds and Oranges (which wouldn't be what you desire) because those are stronger then black.

Answer 6

Best to go to a beauty supply store like Sallys and get the "Loreal Hicolour for dark hair only". This stuff provides high lift and comes in great reds and brown shades and is specifically designed for black hair. Good luck!

Answer 7

I have naturally dark brown/black hair and use Wella hair color #462 (dark ash blonde) and it comes out perfect every time!! The web site to buy the shade I use is elitebeautysupply.com. I hope this helps!!!

Answer 8

Why is everyone with blond, why cannot you just have jet black tresses with some blonde or blonde hair with some jet black hair. Right now you don't have to choose.

Answer 9

if you have blonde hair it will naturally get bleached by the particular sun in the summer. There has been this guy in my class who else had golden blonde hair that had been a medium brown near the base. When he came back to college after summer vacation, it was nearly platinum blonde!

Answer 10

you'd be better off going to a salon...they will have to bleach your hair and then dye it brown. if your hair grows super fast like mine does, it's really not worth the cost and trouble because you have to keep having your roots touched up. black hair is gorgeous anyway!!