STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Hermione · Kate Spade

Going brunette? *UPDATE!! 10/5*

rosie_the_riveter · Gucci

RE: Going brunette?

sfcaligirl · Dooney & Bourke

my natural color is pretty close to yours, but i'm currently brunette. last spring i decided that i really wanted a change and after much deliberation, i went for it. my hair has been darker for about six months now and i loved it at first, but i'm kinda getting over it now. i've just recently (like in the past week or so) started thinking about going back to blonde. it's fun to do for a while- if you really need a change, definitely go for it!

my advice- DO NOT use permanent dye. my friend did this and it looked great at first (her color was so rich), but now her natural hair is growing in and it looks strange with roots that are lighter than the rest of her hair. i've been doing a semi-permanent color, which is less damaging and doesn't give you the roots problem. however, i've found that the color fades pretty quickly. i've had my color done 3 times in the past six months, which is a little bit excessive for me. i like the way it fades out- until about 6 weeks into it. then it starts to look kind of dingy.

if you're still unsure, maybe you could get some lowlights? maybe having some more contrast would be enough of a change for you. good luck with your decision!

jacL · Coach

I have a Tee that says it all : Brunattes are Best

But I agree with sfcaligirl, use semi-permanent. My hairstylist also recommends this.

JoceyBaby23 · Gucci

This will be a big change for you.. I would def go to a professional.

That said, I think you should totally do it! It is only hair.. if you dont like it, dye it back.

Besides winter is coming, and it is a nice time to add some warmer shades to your hair!

Hermione · Kate Spade

yeah - whatever I do will be professional - I worked in a salon and seen enough disasters that I won't do my own color...

but one thing to consider is that it's not easy to "just dye your hair blonde." going from brown to blonde (if you're not a natural brunette) is a long (and often expensive) process - i've seen it a time or two ...

so i don't want to do this just b/c it will be easy to change my mind, you know? whatever i do, i'll be stuck with it for awhile, b/c i can't afford to go to the salon much more than once every 3 months or so...

Hermione · Kate Spade

p.s. - i've heard that alot in the past! you're not the only one ... but i haven't heard that for like six years

Christine · Coach

I think your hair is beautiful and that the color really suits you.

That being said, if you are tempted to try brown, you might just need a change. We all get bored from time to time. You might want to try lowlights to see if you like that. If so, you can always go darker after that if it's not a drastic enough change for you.

member · Hermes

Christine wrote:

I think your hair is beautiful and that the color really suits you. That being said, if you are tempted to try brown, you might just need a change. We all get bored from time to time. You might want to try lowlights to see if you like that. If so, you can always go darker after that if it's not a drastic enough change for you.

I agree w/Christine. I think your color now is gorgeous on you. I'd take Christine's recommendation and maybe start w/some lowlights. That may be enough for you.

kenzie · Chanel

I agree with the idea of lowlights and going to a professional. Take it from someone who's hair has been every color (from white blond, to black, to red) and was usually a self-inflicted dye job. I want to do something with my hair now, but I will not be doing it myself ever again!!

rlutz · Chanel

I say go browner...but not to dark...def have it done by a professional.....I have some bad home hair color stories...lets just say I hhad maroonish purplish hair in college and it was not on purpose:smile

sfcaligirl · Dooney & Bourke

indiekitten wrote:

but one thing to consider is that it's not easy to "just dye your hair blonde." going from brown to blonde (if you're not a natural brunette) is a long (and often expensive) process - i've seen it a time or two ... so i don't want to do this just b/c it will be easy to change my mind, you know?

hey indiekitten, can you tell me more about this? i think i want to go back to blonde soon. how hard is it? i was thinking that since my semi-permanent color fades so much, i could just wait it out and then add blonde highlights. by the time i'm ready to head back to the salon, my hair will be almost back to my natural color anyway. and i don't want to be as blonde as i used to be- i was thinking of some highlights and lowlights, kind of like giselle's color. will anything weird happen to my hair when i go back to blonde? is it something that i should do more gradually? thanks!

Farrah · Marc Jacobs

sfcaligirl wrote:

indiekitten wrote: but one thing to consider is that it's not easy to "just dye your hair blonde." going from brown to blonde (if you're not a natural brunette) is a long (and often expensive) process - i've seen it a time or two ... so i don't want to do this just b/c it will be easy to change my mind, you know? hey indiekitten, can you tell me more about this? i think i want to go back to blonde soon. how hard is it? i was thinking that since my semi-permanent color fades so much, i could just wait it out and then add blonde highlights. by the time i'm ready to head back to the salon, my hair will be almost back to my natural color anyway. and i don't want to be as blonde as i used to be- i was thinking of some highlights and lowlights, kind of like giselle's color. will anything weird happen to my hair when i go back to blonde? is it something that i should do more gradually? thanks!

It really depends on your colorist. My hair is naturally as dark as Rachel Bilson's and I wear it as blond as Gwyneth. My girl is phenomenal and I am only at the salon for 1 1/2. It runs me about $200 with tip. That isn't bad if you are a natural blonde and you won't have to keep getting it done every 6 - 8 weeks.

Hermione · Kate Spade

actually your situation would be different from farrah's -

if your hair is naturally blond, or lighter, it is simply not as strong as brown hair. blonde hair is "missing" the outer shaft - dying your hair does add a bit too it, but the amount of bleach that it would take to completely remove brown dye would be very damaging to the hair, and so it is a very delicate process - this kind of color is called "corrective color" and is usually more expensive than regular color - it's not like just bleaching brown hair or adding highlights - i can't give you total details b/c i'm not a colorist myself, but one lady insisted on going back blonde after going brown and it took two days - the first day she was there for close to eight hours and she left with reddish hair the first day.

at the end her bill was very expensive.

the best thing thing to do (money and hair-health-wise) is to slowly keep adding highlights (and some lowlights in order to blend with your browner tips) until you're back to blonde - it could take up to a year

-- Edited by indiekitten at 19:38, 2005-09-27

sephorablue · Marc Jacobs

RE: Going brunette? (pics included)

halleybird · Hermes

indiekitten wrote:

the best thing thing to do (money and hair-health-wise) is to slowly keep adding highlights (and some lowlights in order to blend with your browner tips) until you're back to blonde - it could take up to a year-- Edited by indiekitten at 19:38, 2005-09-27

this is true... I went light/medium brown last fall, and it took until about May until it was back to normal.

Hermione · Kate Spade

so halley bird - you went right back? do you recommend staying blonde?

halleybird · Hermes

indiekitten wrote:

so halley bird - you went right back? do you recommend staying blonde?

oh no! Not necessarily. I was a brunette for about 2 months, and I actually think it looked pretty good on me. (My natural hair color is about like yours... maybe a little more ashy, but the same level of color.)

I just wasn't prepared for how different I looked, and having to change makeup, etc. Plus, the brown hair made me look a LOT like my mom, which isn't a bad thing, but it was weird because I'd never gotten that before. Also, I have fine, thin hair, which was a little weird, because although it's common in blondes, it's not so common to see thin, wispy brown hair (I heard this is because brunettes naturally have more strands of hair than other colors).

I definitely wouldn't talk you out of it, though. It was fun... I am sure I will do it again someday.

Andrea Julia · Coach

I don't know...why mess with perfection?

Maybe you can just do a Colorance wash (or other professional temporary color) and have brown hair for a month and see how it goes.

bex · Chanel

hey! indiekitten- i think you would look super cute with brown hair. i actually am getting ready to darken up for winter (my hair is about your colour now) and i go dark every winter... and i mean dark chocolate brown... i start adding blonde back in about march and by summertime- i am back to my blonde! it's fun... and i highly recommend it. i work in the hair industry and my mantra is "if you hate it- you can always change it!"

do it!