Hi, I'm after some advice.. I have been blonde all my life, as I've got older my natural hair colour has got darker, still blonde but darker blonde.. About 8 weeks ago, I decided I wanted it dark, so I bought a home kit and am now a dark red brown (like Cheryl Cole). Today I have noticed grey hair, have no idea how long I've had them as have never noticed with my blonde hair. So, now I want to go back to blonde. Without the endless trips to hair salon, (I hate going) how would I do it myself at home? Could I just get a lighter shade, every 3 weeks or so, or go straight for the blonde, and repeat every 3 weeks. Any advice appreciated Karen

You can't lighten your hair gradually. You can bleach it yourself but make sure you do these things or you're screwed and won't want to leave your home. But more than enough bleach to cover your head twice. If you have long hair, you have to cover it once, and if you discover you rinsed it too soon, you will want to be sure to have enough to finish the bleaching so your hair is all one color. The bleach is sold in packets (the cheapest way), and you buy a bottle of toner to mix it with. If you don't screw up you will have extra bleach to use in a few weeks to do your roots. Be sure to look closely at the back of your head's roots. If you do not have a mirror where you can see your ENTIRE head well, and no one there to inspect for you (guys won't do it right), you shouldn't do this. Mix bleach and toner in a tupperware dish and apply in sections by color brush. Leave the bleach in until the color is out of your hair. Don't stop just because the brown is out. Then dye your hair the shade of blond you want. It may take two sessions of dying so be sure to have two packages of dye (or more depending of your length). Sometimes the hair does not take the color like it dies in other areas. It's not too hard. But it can be messy. That's the main reason getting it done professionally is better. It will more than likely burn when you are bleaching. I've bleached my hair at a salon professionally tons of times, and it will always burn. So don't freak out. Use a plastic cap and blow dryer to bleach quicker. Best to use a conditioning treatment right after first bleaching, and one every 5 days 3 times after you have dyed it the proper color to replenish all the damage the bleaching does. Buying extra ahead of time, unless you have incredibly short hair, can save you from great embarrassment of going to a store, in public, which is only open a limited part of the day. That sucks. Especially since you are purchasing these items from a store where 'professionals' are supposed to be buying, and you easily give away the fact that you are not. Might be a true story.

While I respect your opinion, mine is from a professional: ME

1. Never bleach at home unless you know what you are doing. You need to make sure your lightening powder and developer are designed to go together. Also you have to make sure your lightening powder when mixed with developer is designed to go on your scalp, or else don't use it on the scalp.

2. Some lighteners cannot be placed in plastic, so make sure you don't mix in something that would harm you or it.

3. The chemicals are nasty, you aren't trained, and you can easily damage your scalp, hair, or even cause severe injury to your fingers, skin, eyes, or mouth. You can also inhale the powders which can burn through your nasal cavities.

4. Never use heat at home on bleach or lighteners. The heat is uneven, you can cause major damage to the hair or skin, or you can overprocess in some areas while underprocess in others.

5. Never leave on a mixed product longer than it says. If it says no more than 30 minutes, don't leave it on. It can become unstable, or ineffective after that time period.

6. Always rinse out your product until the water runs clear. Follow that by at least 2 washes and conditioning.

7. LET A PROFESSIONAL DO IT. Bleaching or lightening hair is very dangerous unlike more color. I am an advocate of not allowing the average joe schmoe to be allowed into "professional" supply shops and buying bleach or lightening powders. Here's a hint, if it is a "professional" supply shop and you don't have to show your license... ITS NOT FOR PROFESSIONALS, but a botique shop that pretends to be one. I avoid stores like Sally's for professional chemicals because they are not professional chemicals. I get mine from licensed suppliers who require tax id numbers and professional licenses to be shown. Sally's is good for shampoos, conditioners, and styling implements. NOT CHEMICALS other than color, and definitely not calling them professional.

Lastly... SEE A PROFESSIONAL. In the end, the price you pay the professional to give you the results you want the first time outways the cost you pay for messing it up yourself and then paying for a color correction from a professional. I charge 120 an hour for color correction, whereas my highlights start at 85 including a cut and style.

Great advice, thanks.

useful post! and thanks!

ive heard that going between brown to blonde you need to dye it red first to stop it going green and tangey

The hair color is the very difficult thing to do at home. i have a brown hair. whenever i color my hair it is very difficult for me to recolor my hair please help me.

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Changing Hair Color at home with proper ingredients is really makes your hair looks good....

Thanxx jase and ambarchy... your posts were not only useful for mrsjock.... but also for us!!

This is really nice. But it is possible any side effects using this method. BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

I had my hair lightened because I have dark brown hair it was the only way I could have very light brown hair, however it went terribly wrong! The hair lightener was unpredictable and my hair went strawberry blonde at the roots and the length was pure orange.... worst of all dying it light brown afterwards was ineffective! So I have the salon sort out the mess! I now stick to darker shades of brown and dark reds, a lot easier to handle!

Thanks for this..this is useful!

Thanks for your share....But, I usually go to hair salon to color my hair... Especially is convenient!!