[Cheryl1989]

Hi both, i know what you mean about bleach, alot of people are afraid of using it, if you bleach your hair all the time it will cause damage, but bleach is in my opinion one of the best ways to go lighter if you are very dark or black even. You will need to do it in stages though to prevent damage and this means you will go red and a few other colours inbetween untill you are where you want to be. If you did do it in one go you would damage your hair and thats the mistake alot of people make and puts people off using bleach. Peroxide should be as low as possible a 20vol 6% should be fine but you may need to use a 30vol 9% but its best to ask a hairstylist about this. The colour bleach i mentioned is a one step treatment, it bleaches and adds the shade you want in one step, you dont put a colour on after. And i agree Hazel about salons being clueless, i only sell hair products but i am expected to know more than the hair stylists as they ask everything lol. A good salon though would be able to do your hair easily so i dont know what salon you use but i think its time to change and it should not be that expensive, i dont think you should bleach your own hair as thats when problems can happen. I can totally understand your concerns about bleach and i have seen some terrible results myself so if you have any doubts then dont use it hun, try a hair colour remover i know l'oreal do a good one called effasor but a salon really should be able to do this easily and should have suggested it, as it is not very difficult to do. As far as shampoo and conditioner go it is down to the individual and what they like and if a supermarket brand works well for you then thats great and alot cheaper lol and they are great short term i just dont think they are anywhere near as good in the long term, they give a quick fix but dont cure the problem but thats just my opinion, and i dont mean all proffesional shampoo and conditioner are good as believe me some are rubbish and overpriced lol. I hope you get it sorted out Hazel, good luck hun xxxx

[Anastasia916]

When I went from a light brown/dark blonde (my natural hair color) to bleached platinum blonde, I used wella bleach with a 30vol. I only had to leave the bleach on for 15 min and I was platinum blonde lol. With a dark brown or black, even after 45 min (the max) you probably won't be that light. My aunt (not the one that does hair another one lol, I have a big family) she is half white half peurto rican, and she has naturally very dark hair. Once she put highlights with the wella bleach had the 30vol developer and left it on 30 min and it turned out a darker blonde, she used a toner on the hair after bleaching it, otherwise it looked orangish. I swear sometimes I'm obsessed with changing my hair up lol. I'll look back on pics with it blonde, platinum blonde, pink, etc. and be like oh I want it like that again lol but then I remember how much a pain in the butt it is lol. Eventhough the color I dye it now is a few shades darker than my natural color, it still isn't obvious when my roots grow out, which I love, so I don't end up having to do a root touch up every few weeks. When I was bleaching my hair, I had to do the roots every 2 to 3 weeks. But I would only do the roots, not the rest of the hair. Once the hair is bleached it stays that way, so that's the good part about it. When I was giving my hair a break from dying, I would use what's called Sun-In, it's a spray you spray on your hair before going into the sun or blow drying your hair, and each time you use it, it lightens your hair a little bit and it doesn't damage the hair. So I use to use that to make my hair medium blonde. Kinda missing how easy that was to do lol.

[Hazel]

I know how you feel. I love changing my hair colour and I always want to try this and that. But I usually don't do it because of the expenses of keeping the reds and the blondes. I'm a student and can't afford to go to the salon every 2 weeks. But I decided what am I living for if not to enjoy life. So I gotta cut back a little. I don't think I should try doing my hair at home, I can't afford to screw it up. Like you said Cheryl, many times it is not done properly and gives bad results. A lot of my friends also have warned me against bleaching my own hair. I'm going to ask a few more places. I'm going to wait after New Years though, I don't think I can get an appointment now.

[ShyBoobs]

Hmm, ended up changing the topic a lil but OK. XD I had gotten blond highlights before and man...I will prolly never get my tresses bleached again. I'll stick with rinses, particularly the reds--love that color. Alot less stressful on hair compared to dyes.

Anyways, thanx all for your contributions! ^_^

[T-belle]

^^

Should we start a different topic for discussing all hair concerns? I wanted to know more about Fo-ti, since I'm getting a gray patch that's driving me nuts.

[Hazel]

Sorry shyboobs for hijacking your thread lol. Just a little update. I found a salon a friend of mine suggested who is going to do my hair. They are charging $170CAD, this includes cut, colour, highlights and style. I think it's a good price because my hair is almost at my waist. They are going to bleach the hair, and did a test strip which looks very good. Thank you all for answering my questions.