How can I lighten dyed black hair?

[sunmoonstarsgirl]

Hey I was wonderin how I can lighten my
dyed black hair, it looks too dark for my skin
I'm really pale. My hair is natually dark brown.
I want a way to lighten it cheaply and naturally
if possible. I don't have much cash!
Thanks :)
Sunmoonstarsgirl

[Adam]

as I've suggested before to someone else...you should go buy a really light blonde, and dye your black hair with that...it will turn your hair orange, and then dye over that with a brown color...it should give you a brown color with a gold/red tint to it..

I did that when i dyed my hair black (when i was stupid) except i used a red color, and after the red faded I got a nice rich brown

Good luck

[sunmoonstarsgirl]

Thank you very much for the info. I never
thought of that. I guess now I am worried about the damage but I won't do it in one day
obviously! Thanks again!
Sunmoonstarsgirl

[ZombieGirl]

just did this the other day

Loreal Super Blonde works well and it's in a bottle...

[LillyLil]

You can't go light once you've gone dark. The only way to get the dark out of your hair is to bleach it. The best product for a do-it-yourself bleach job is to get Clairol Maxi Blonde. You can get an applicator bottle and mix the bleach and powder in there. The bleach will have a blue tint to it so that you don't miss any spots. Do the ends first then the roots. If you try to go light once you've dyed it dark, the only part that will lighten up will be your roots. So it needs to be bleached. If you need any more info, let me know.

~Lilly
lilly@inmyhead.net

[LillyLil]

Oh, I forgot to mention that you can dye your hair right after you bleach it. It won't do any harm at all. You have to leave the blech in for about an hour, but that's to go completely blonde. If you just need to lighten it up some, just keep checking the color every 10 minutes until you've reached the desired color you want. It's best to go to a reddish color then dye it the brown you want. That way, the brown will take better and the color will come out very close to what's on the dye box.

[sunmoonstarsgirl]

hey thanks LillyLil! I din't know that I could
do it in the same day, I thought that it
would be really damaging. I am really scared
to wreck my hair but I guess I should have
thought about that before I dyed it black!
I really appreciate the advice! I think that
I will try it soon and I will let you know
how it worked!
:)
Sunmoonstarsgirl

[LillyLil]

You're welcome sunmoonstrasgirl. I'm a real girly girl so I know a lot about hair and nails and things like that. I've been experimenting with hair for over 6 years. I do my own dye job and I dye other people's hair as well. I just need a lisence to be able to do it professionally. But anyways, let me know how things work out for you. Good luck!

Lilly

[over it mixed]

when i used maxi blonde it totally messed up my hair. i put it on just like the directions said and one spot in the back and like 20 stands in the front turned orange. i looked like i was going for adrian from no doubt's cheeta look haha. and when i got up the next morning the dye bottle had exploded in the trash can and it got alllll over my nice white walls. it couldnt have waited one night to be taken outside with the rest of the trash haha. my hair turned out looking like delirium's hair from the sandman.
luckily 2 weeks later my hair is now a.....well a color haha. but my hair is so difficult its been known to make sane professionals curse like a sailor and say 'i cant do this anymore screw it!' haha but goodluck with you!!!!!!!

[jenkraze]

I'm in a similar situation!
My hair was blond, then was red, and now is a brown (almost black! eeps!) I'm just letting it all grow out to see what my natural color is. Heh, I've been dying it blond since I can remember! :e Well, best wishes w/whatever you do!

[sunmoonstarsgirl]

Thanks guys for the info! I am kinda scared
to bleach all of my hair but I think I might have
to cause my roots are growing and it looks
really bad now! Plus I don't have much money
so I don't think I can afford to have it prof
done. I found a place that can do foils for
pretty cheap. What they do is dye some
of my hair to match my roots so I guess I
would have half black and half brown hair.
I dunno, I'm frustrated so I think that I will
have to go a bleach and then dye it
brown.Thanks everyone for your info!
I will let you know how it turns out!
Smiles!
Sunmoonstarsgirl :)

[LillyLil]

Jenkraze: I LOVE your avatar! It's sooo cute! I am such a huge froggie lover!

ANYWAYS...... (lol)
I hope things work for you, Sun. Let us know!

~Lilly

[Miss-Spoilt]

Okay..ive been here before! I once dyed my hair jetblack and absolutely hated it as my roots were disgusting i found myself wearing hats all the time! but i had the top half stripped and had dye put bak on top of it so i had a medium brown top half with black undercolor.Now,1-2 yrs on i stil craved the dark luk so i had a semi permanant brown/black put on my hair at the hairdressers that wa supposed to come out in 24 washes :s but a month n half on i found it hadnt faded one bit!

so i thought oh if its a semi permanant maybe puttin a lighter color on will go over it! so i got a lightish brown..put it on yesterday and now my hair luks even blacker!! Im so upset its really doing my head in cuz i feel like theres no way out and i cant wear black now without looking like a goth and i dont want to strip my hair again as it cost me £80 AND i dont want to ruin my hair!

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeez help me somebody! I would be so grateful x

[jeth]

The one and only time I dyed my hair black I had to put dark browns over it for about a year until it all grew out. No matter how dark I dyed it you could still see the line where the black used to be, but at least once that was gone I was able to start lightening up the rest (as dark browns will lighten up, but black will not).

Unfortunately you're just going to have to wait until it's grown out before you lighten it up. In the meantime keep going dark brown.

[Miss-Spoilt]

Surely there got to be something i can do without ruining my hair though! quick lol x

[jeth]

Not really. You could shell out big bucks and go to a salon to have your hair completely stripped and redone in a lighter color but it's going to cost a lot and you'll be putting your hair through a lot of damage.

If you try to dye lighter at home you will only color your roots, not the black. I saw a lot of girls in high school who went black on a whim, then tried to dye over with platinum blond only to end up with the skunk effect.

That's why I advise people not to go black unless you are absolutely, positively certain that you're going to stick with it for awhile.

[delicious dish]

Jess is right. It took me 2 and a half years to grow my line out.

[Miss-Spoilt]

Ive already had mine stripped once..and that was only hair of my hair..i think im going to have to just save up and get in done again.I could kill my hairdresser for telling me it washes out in 24 washes!! Arghh! x

[Master Shaman]

There are only two ways of getting rid of jet black from your hair: a) scissors or b) going to the most expensive salon you can find, have it stripped there (usually, spending the entire day and coming out broke). NOTHING else works.

If you try to bleach it at home, you'll end up with the most horrible colors ever (see "Assault by black lady at the grocery store" thread in OIT). Eventually, you will resort to either method a) or b). Sure, stripping it can somewhat damage the hair, but far less than if you try it at home.

[Miss-Spoilt]

Ok thanks :) x

[Lucie_2006]

i dyed my blonde hair black n i regret it .. the way im doing it is gradually ligtening it every couple of days wit a ligter dye... the worst of it is over.. getting the black out

now its a medium brown after 2 dyes.. im going to ligten it again tomorow once its a light brown il be able to dye it dark blonde. then light blonde. the reason why is because i have heard bleach can be very damaging and you won't get a good natural looking colour.

[Invisigothgrrrl]

These ladies are right. If you want to get rid of the black fast, you'll have to go to a salon. I've heard that the Big Shampoo from Lush will help to lighten the dye, but it may take a while, & it won't take it out completely.

I'd just say to prepare to spend some money to get it fixed, & don't hope for miracles. Sorry I don't have better news.

[jeth]

^ Big Shampoo is excellent for stripping color from hair over time, but it also is not really a good 'everyday' shampoo because it can be very drying with overuse. Trust me - I just had to get several inches cut off my hair to finally rid myself of the damage I caused myself by using Big exclusively for several months - and mind you, I haven't used it in about three or four months now and I still had residual damage.

[PotatoFace]

one thing you need to remember. colour will not remove colour. Sure, you can lighten it a few shades buy using the colour with a high lift developer, but you will have no real results unless you use bleach and 30 or 40 vol developer.

Unless you understand the way hair colour works, I just seriously would not attempt this at home.