Blonde Ambition

So for awhile I have wanted to go blonde. Over the years I have experimented with highlights, and then when I got bored with them I would pick a semi perm color as close as possible to my own color and dye it back. However, for some reason I have had a serious itch to go completely blonde. My natural hair color is more of a light ash brown. Now dont get me wrong I like my natural hair color just fine, this isn't going to be a permanent change, I'm only planning in being blonde for the summer, and I'm not doing it because I think blondes are prettier or get more attention or whatever, mostly I'm doing it because I'm bored, I feel like I need to shake my life up a little. I still have the same crappy job I had all through college and even though by May it will have been a year since I graduated I STILL havent found a career type job, or even a job that pays a little better than my current one does. Anyway back to the "going blonde part" So me being me I decide I would do this at home, and often I just jump in and do things because if I think too much I won't do it. One day I grabbed a box of Garnier Fructis dye in a shade of blonde I like, like I said my hair is a light ash brown and the shade I wanted was not that light at all so I didnt think I would have that much trouble going from light brown to a medium blonde.....oh how wrong I was. I waited the recomended time plus ten minutes then washed the dye off, and ok it still looked a little dark but I waited for it to dry, and lo and behold my hair was now brown with a red tint. I wait a few days then go back for more dye in the same color(this time I use two boxes) and wait TWO hours and it comes out a lighter shade of the same reddish color. Of course this is when I decide to maybe do some actual research. It turns out when going from brown to blonde your hair goes through stages red, orange, yellow/orange and finally yellow. I decide to call a friend who had died her hair blonde at home. She had used color specifically for girls with dark brown hair and said that she needed to do it a couple times before it came out the color she wanted it. She had used a different brand than I had and I had read that you weren't supposed to use different brands after starting with one. Her mother had used the brand I did and used the lightest shade to get the color she wanted. So off to the store again to pick up two boxes of the lightest blond garnier makes. I go through the whole dying process again....and the next morning I wake up to macaroni orange/yellow hair. I wash my hair with purple shampoo which helps with the brassiness some and go off to work. Of course a few friends tell me they dont like it "its TOO blonde" is what one said. So here I am three days later. I picked up a box of Clairol bleach and am currently doing a "patch test" instead of doing a strand test, I took a chunk of hair and mixed a little of the bleach together and im just testing this area. Its hair at the back of my head, so if it turns green or something no one will notice lol. My advice for anyone who wants to go blonde at home is to research it first. Second before you even think of doing anything to you hair really think about what kind of condition its in and even if it is in good condition try to get it in better condition. Get a hair mask or deep condtioner AND a leave in conditioner. DO NOT use and heat on your hair while you are trying to lighten it. Ideally you are supposed to bleach your hair first wait 24hrs and then put your desired color over it, unless the bleach look is what you are going for, then get a purple toner or shampoo to neurtalize the brassiness and call it a day. The reason my whole adventure with Garnier didnt work is because the Garnier colors dont have bleach in them they have peroxide, your hair will get lighter but it will take many many many times using these dyes to get it to a true blonde shade. Using bleach you will likely have to use it two maybe three times to get your desired color. The darker your hair is, the more pronouced the red stage is going to be.


A few hours later.......
Def go with Clairol Ultra Blonde, my hair feels a lil bit like straw but thats ok I have Dumb Blonde Conditioner and I will be conditioning like crazy until I'm finished being blonde lol