Anyone who knows anything about hair colouring?

Question

My hair is naturally light brown, I had blonde highlights for years and then went dark brown for another year, and I can't seem to get out of either blonde or dark brown.
Every hairdresser I go to seem to translate whatever I ask for into blonde highlights or warm brown it’s like they can’t do anything else!

Recently I went to a hairdresser in Norwich, I asked very nicely for my hair to be light brown hair. Being that I had darker brown I assumed they would need to mix bleach with the light brown colour? Now I’m no hairdresser so I could be wrong. Either way I came out warm auburny brown with blonde highlights!

I just want to have light brown hair back, with NO warmth because I always seem to have an auburn glow to it which doesn’t suit my skin tone.
Please help or tell me what I need to ask for? I need to get away from this auburny brown hair (which makes me look anaemic) for good!

Thank you

Answer 1

Think you need to go for a dark blonde which would be more like a light brown. Most Brown colours do have a reddish hue off them. God I went through the same thing for years and I used to have a red halo of frizz at times lol. But I swithced to dark blonde dye instead and it did the trick, no reddishy tint off it at all anymore.

Answer 2

Hi, I know this is frustrating for you. There is a fine line between light brown and blonde hair. Most hairdressers have been trained by the color charts that they use in beauty schools and trust me..light brown in those charts doesn't look like light brown to me.(I had my cosmetology license before) and color is the hardest part of doing hair..it is never an exact science. This being said, have you taken a picture from a magazine or even a picture of yourself when your hair was it's natural color in and shown it to any hairdressers. This helps alot. Everybody has red pigment in their hair..some more than others, and when you change the colors if you're not careful, the red tones really seem to show up. I would try asking around for a well experienced hair colorist(some specialize in color alone) and take some pictures that are very close to what you are wanting to acheive and then tell the hairdresser about what has happened in the past so that he/she will know exactly what you are trying to avoid. They should use something in the color mixture that counteracts the redness. Also, there are shampoos out on the market that are made for blonde hair..I know that you don't want blonde, but these shampoos don't change the color of your hair, they simply tone down the redness. I do hope that you get the color you want..it is very distressing to have to go through all this just to get what seems to be a simple solution. And specifically tell them that you want NO red tones at all...they should be able to do this if they are well trained professionals. The picture is a good idea also. Good luck to you and I hope that you have your beautiful, natural color back very soon!

Answer 3

i'm a hairsylist...when going from a dark brown to a lighter brown, it usually takes a few different processes and maybe a couple times to get the result you want. first of all, whenever changing your hair, always bring in a picture (if you can find one) of the color/style that you want. we can't read your mind. light brown means so many different things to so many different people.

making dark brown hair into light brown, your first have to lighten the entire hair w/ bleach, or some kind of bleach mixture (i sometimes mix it w/ shampoo, so its less damaging). color can't make artificial color lighter, thats why you must use bleach. after it's lighter, the you have to go over it with the desired color, but its not just picking a color and putting it on. your hair is probably orange at this point (or orangy-ish), and if you have highlights, there's probably lighter pieces and darker pieces. choosing a color to get rid of the orange/red could make the lighter pieces turn greyish. this is a very difficult process, and its usually very expensive. i charge at least $150 for something like this.

as far as having light brown hair with no warmth at all, well that itself is difficult nevermind the rest of it. a level 6 or 7(to most people, light brown, but to hairstlyists, its technically darkest blonde) naturally has underlying orange or reddish pigments. its VERY hard to cover those pigments without making it look dark or drab because they are so strong at that level. tell your hairstylist you want an ashy, or cool level 6 or 7. ask to see some swatches, show pictures. this always helps.

haircolor is much more complicated than the average person knows. i hope i could explain a little bit of what goes into formulating the perfect hair color, and i hope this helped. good luck!

Answer 4

I know exactly what you mean. I wouldnt say that borwn hair is not nice i think its nice, and even better with the blonde highlights. Too much of a dark brown or people that decide to dye their hair black it dont look good and yep, can give you that anemic look. Ask your stylist if it would possible to look at a colour book and choose the colour that you would like. Or you could take the risk of choosing the colour that you want from a chemist and doing it yourself, but it may not always come out right.

Good Luck xox

Answer 5

Light brown is a concept unknown to hairdressers! Try something that says "dark blonde", especially a dark ash blonde, which should have no red in it at all.

Answer 6

ive had the same problem its a total night mair and ur not going to like the answer well u have two options either dye your hair a dark brown or the best one is grow it all out and get ur hair cut every 6 weeks and ull have rid of it all in 2 years lol

Answer 7

u want a natural brown, no warmth just say that ask to c the colour chart and pick a colour and then ask if u can have that one and c what they say. the promblem uve got is tint wont lift tint so they will need to use a bleach then a toner which could cause damage to ur hair. just ask them for no warmth

Answer 8

It could be they are trying to give you what you want but your hair the color and the under color seem to just be taking over our under layments of our hair are different and when we coloor them we strip the natural hair color and end up with lighter or darker than what we want maybe you will never get the brown you want

Answer 9

i had same problem hairdressers dont tend to listen to clients no more i am ex hairdresser and find its easier to buy the colour u want from shops and do it yourself . it is easy but u could always ask a friend to help

Answer 10

instead of dying your hair ask for the colour to be striped out and then you will have your natural colour back. if that doesnt work try going for a hazelnut brown or a caramal colour.