Hair experts needed!

[mousefan73]

My 16 year old DD has "dishwater" darker natural blond hair with natural waves- long.

she wants to lighten her hair.. go a bit blonder.. What techniques do you recommene? We both have natural long hair, so our salon experience is limited and we rarely go.
I lighten my hair with Loreal Preference ( grays and lighter). But I dont want her to get stuck in such a maintaince..

I am also thinking highlights, but we fear she will get the results her friends got.. Zebra look .. !!! lol from professional salons...- her friends have darker hair to start with

any ideas on techinques? that is with roots can be low maintance- every 4-6 months??

thanks!

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

shadow root balayage

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I will not claim to give sound advice. My daughter is 10 and a natural blonde, but it's like a dirty blonde, that can go very light in the summer, but will get dark in the winter if we don't take extra special steps.

I am not a blonde, so I had to discuss this with my stepmother who was a blonde (now gray).

Two big caveats here. My daughter does winter swim, so from mid September until late May, she's in an indoor pool getting herself all bleached up. This causes some challenges with dryness. And she does a swim camp/summer swim every day from June through the end of July. The sun exposure really helps keep her blonde in the summer.

1. Apple cider vinegar. Basically mix up 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 water. Pour the mix over the hair or spray it in after shampooing. Leave it in at least 10 minutes. I would put a shower cap on DD and then wrap her head in towel. Rinse it out. Do this after every shampoo until you get the desired results. This is very slow going, and really deals with the brassiness and build-up. We don't do this very often because items #2 and #3 work best for us.

2. Purple shampoo and conditioner. We use Sun Bum purple shampoo and conditioner every couple of weeks. This again deals with the brassiness.

3. Sun Bum/Sun-In hair lightener. We use this year-round. Spray it on freshly shampooed/conditioned hair. Focus on the roots, but let it get all over. Blow dry it. Do this every 1 -2 months. Use it in the summer too on beach days or fun all day at the pool days.

 

[Christine]

Balyage is the most natural look. It is pricey though but virtually no "grow out" and very natural.

If you go to a good salon with a well trained stylist (not all are), you can also get a very natural look with highlights using foils. The zebra look comes from two things: doing "fast" foils with lots of hair in each foil and not using two colors (or sometimes 3). A lot of women like the zebra look and purposefully ask for the contrast. If your daughter doesn't like that, ask them to use several colors. I don't have long hair but I've been highlighting for years. I have up to 3 colors put in my hair at a time--they are all variations of a blonde (darker) on my dark brown hair.

 

[ronandannette]

Find someone whose hair you really like and ask about her salon. Get a trusted opinion then go in for a consult. Go with your DD so you are sure the right information is communicated about what the goal is. Have any chemical service done professionally. Lightening especially is very hard to get right DIY.

 

[cvjw]

Just a few highlights will really lighten up dirty blond hair. Foil highlights will be fine. With natural blond hair, highlights can just naturally grow out.

 

[fly girl]

I had the same hair color (past tense now that its slowly getting darker as the gray peeks in more and more. )

I get highlights, and my stylist knows I do not like chunky look, I like natural. No zebra. She also breaks the base to blend in the hair that is not highlighted.

 

[mjkacmom]

My highlights aren’t zebra, it takes an hour just to have the foils, and not one color. I go to a senior colorist and have never been disappointed, get it done every 4 months.

 

[JLTraveling]

I'd do hydrogen peroxide or hydrogen peroxide plus baking soda. There are several good tutorials online, and it always worked for my friends growing up (I was a natural light blonde always trying to darken my hair lol). With a darker blonde base, it shouldn't be hard to do and it should look just fine growing out.