Discussion » Questions » Beauty » Have any of you lightened/ bleached your hair? What was the experience like?
Just Asking

Have any of you lightened/ bleached your hair? What was the experience like?

I've been fantasizing about dying my hair light blue for probably two years now, but my natural color is kind of a chestnut brown and is long; almost to my butt. I've talked to a couple stylists about it and one told me not to do it- that the process to lighten/ bleach it would fry it. I did it at home once a decade ago and it did. I was so sad I eventually just hacked it all off. However, another stylist said if I very gradually lighten it; go in every two weeks and bring it down a shade, I can get it light enough to take the blue without ruining it. But... those visits are something like $150 each and it would take four. Then, the coloring would be after. I don't quite feel like indulging my fantasy is worth $800. I keep looking at home kits, but I'm also not sure I'll do it right. :/ 

Did any of you guys ever go lighter? What was it like? Did you fry your hair? Were you happy?

Posted - December 15, 2018
Tags : None

Responses


  • "No" ... just dye it silver and start getting senior discounts early!

      December 15, 2018 11:36 AM MST
    9

  • 7939
    lol Actually, my daughter called me old yesterday and noted how much gray hair I already have. :/ I told her it was her fault. :o
      December 15, 2018 1:57 PM MST
    6

  • Well ... that's probably be true. :))   My father was almost completely grey when he was thirty-five and I went to Elementary School with a boy that had grey hair at twelve ... just at the temples and salt & peppered in the rest.

    This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at December 25, 2018 5:46 PM MST
      December 15, 2018 3:06 PM MST
    5

  • Once when I was a teen someone put blonde highlights in the sides of my dark brown hair.  At first it turned orange and I freaked!  Then we finally got it right.  I enjoyed it that whole summer but did not want to bother with it again.  So when dark roots came in, my girlfriend matched my hair to the proper permanent color.  Never have used anything else.
      December 15, 2018 12:08 PM MST
    8

  • I bleached mine in my 20s.  It was inconsistent and looked like crap afterward.
      December 15, 2018 12:26 PM MST
    5

  • 19937
    In my early 20s, I decided to go blonde and tried doing it myself.  My hair is medium brown with red pigment so it didn't come out as I wished.  When I had it done professionally, they had to strip the hair first and then use the color, which takes a lot out of your hair.  Add to that my hair grows fast and I found I needed touch-ups every couple of weeks.  I cut it short and dyed it to my natural shade and let it grow out from there.  Too high maintenance to be bothered with the upkeep.  Now, it's shot with silver mostly on top and a little on the sides and I like it just the way it is.
      December 15, 2018 1:26 PM MST
    8

  • 7939
    The maintenance is my other worry. I'm not really keen on that. 

    I always thought I'd be fine going gray. I see it as a rite of passage. My mom has a beautiful head of long gray hair. I think it's gorgeous. However, I'm at that awkward stage where maybe 30-40% of the hair around my face is gray... it just looks weird to me sprinkled in like that. It's not bad when I leave it down, but when I pull it back in a ponytail, it just looks "old." 

    Anyway, thank you for sharing. :)
      December 15, 2018 2:01 PM MST
    6

  • 11006
    I have only a little gray and  I have highlights put in every few months. It doesn't cover the much of the gray, but the effect is to counteract the dullness that comes with those sprinkles of gray. Since it's only highlights, it looks fine growing out so maintenance is pretty low.
      December 15, 2018 4:29 PM MST
    6

  • 7939
    That's not a bad idea. Thanks! I've done highlights before and was happy with them.
      December 25, 2018 5:48 PM MST
    1

  • 19937
    I understand.  The maintenance is a killer.  When my hair was long and I pulled it back, I felt the gray made me look older.  I have worn my hair short for a long while now and I get a lot of compliments on the color.  I use a special shampoo so that the gray is silvery, not that yellowish look.
      December 15, 2018 4:48 PM MST
    5

  • 53509

      First (smart aleck) answer: "Blue"?  What are you, a 15-year-old girl?  The entire cheerleading squad at the local high will either be jealous of you, emulate you, or roll their eyes and wonder why a senior citizen is trying to relive her youth. 

      Second (equally smart aleck): answer Why not wait until you're 65 years old when it'll be blue on its own, duh?

      Third (real) answer: Don't do it! Are you crazy?  [Wait, don't answer that.] My wife is a hairdresser, and I get to hear the horror stories about women who either go in to have that kind of thing done or who go in to have it fixed  after having done it on their own. If you're just bored with your hair, check into the No-Tell Motel with me, we'll strip each other down naked and you can wrap that hair around me as I put you through your paces. You'll never be the same woman after that. Just don't tell my wife. Or Jane S, for that matter. (Okay, so this turned out to be yet another smart aleck answer, sue me. I'm headed for the interstate to reserve our room.)
    ~
      December 15, 2018 1:44 PM MST
    3

  • 7939
    LMAO I'll keep that in mind. 

    My sister was a stylist too. She's the one who told me not to do it. But, you know... I don't take "no" well. It makes me want to do it more. 
      December 15, 2018 2:02 PM MST
    4

  • 53509

      Oh, I see: you're the only one who's allowed to fantasize, but my fantasies mean nothing to you. 




    (P.S. I've only got this motel room for an hour, so just in case you change your mind . . . )

    ~


      December 15, 2018 2:09 PM MST
    3

  • 11006
    I don't care how much time you spend with JA or anyone else. It means less time you spend stalking me. Have fun.
      December 15, 2018 4:30 PM MST
    5

  • 53509

      But, Baby, it's not what it looks like, I don't even know anyone named Just Asking, you're the only one for me, I can explain, she means absolutely nothing to me, she's not my type, this was just a wild fling in a moment of weakness, I did NOT have sexual relations with that woman, my own mother will tell you I was home all night long, you know what they can do with photographs these days, I was just comforting her, I have an alibi, we were just working on a project, I don't even know where that motel is, I thought she was you, I was drunk, maybe it was my long-lost twin brother who was separated from me at birth, it was only one time, she doesn't even turn me on, I was framed, I wasn't even in town that day, you've got me all wrong, I'm not even her type, this is entrapment, there aren't any witnesses, I don't even like sex, I didn't even take my clothes off, she already has a man.

    ~ 





      December 15, 2018 5:17 PM MST
    4

  • 11006
    (Yawn)
      December 15, 2018 8:10 PM MST
    4

  • 22891
    ive never done it
      December 15, 2018 2:12 PM MST
    0

  • I used to have my mom streak my hair when I was in high school.    I always had natural blond highlights though, so no one even noticed the streaks.   Still, for some reason that never stopped me.  
      December 15, 2018 3:13 PM MST
    7

  • 14795
    I have long wavy natural blonde hair and my dad and also who I live with now banned me from having it cut or messing  with its colour.....  :( 
      December 15, 2018 3:27 PM MST
    5

  • 11006
    My hairdresser is in agreement with the stylist you talked to regarding making dark hair lighter. Totally blue hair might not be right for you, but a couple of blue streaks could be almost as fun. There is actually an at-home product where you can apply a the color temporarily to see if you like it.

      December 15, 2018 4:23 PM MST
    6

  • 7939
    That might be fun too. Perhaps if I play with the highlights and then do a temp color on top, it'll give me the change I want without going too crazy. 
      December 25, 2018 5:50 PM MST
    3

  • 16791
    In the eighties, when all the guys were wearing blond-streaked mullets and the girls had permanent waves. I was young, stupid and impressionable, but I kinda miss that era.
    My hair has always been like straw anyway, so I didn't notice any significant difference. A little more breakage perhaps.
      December 15, 2018 5:21 PM MST
    5

  • 34283
    Sprayed "Sun in" once while I was in grade school...turned it orange. Have never gone lighter again. My hair is dark brown with red highlights and some gray mixed in. I have gone jet black before and now usually use a dark brown with red on mine. Reminds me I need to pick some up soon. 

    You may be interested in this: (let us know if it works)

     https://hellogiggles.com/hair/brunettes-blue-hair-no-bleach/amp/ 
      December 15, 2018 5:40 PM MST
    6

  • 7939
    We actually tried this. I picked up blue and purple Splat. My daughter, who has the same shade of hair as me, tried purple, while my son and I tried blue. His hair is more of a dirty blonde. There was no visible color shift on my daughter and I. You could kind of see it in the sun, but still not really. I even went to a salon for a cut a week after doing it and had only washed my hair once between. Near the end of my cut, the stylist paused and said, "Is you hair colored?" It seriously took her 15 minutes of working with it to detect that there was any color to it. :/ My son fared better. He had visibly blue hair for about three weeks. 
      December 25, 2018 5:59 PM MST
    3