Going From Dark Brunette To Platinum Blonde

Going From Dark Brunette To Platinum Blonde

Dear Karen,

My natural hair color is a medium brunette,a little bit lighter than to Glee's Lea Michelle.  In fact, I used to wear my hair long and shiny with a full fringe.  I do have a lot of gray coming in at the temples and throughout the top.

I decided about six months ago that I wanted to go much darker like Kim Kardashaian.  I went with the deepest black I could find.  I selected Clairol's Nice'nEasy's N2, Natural Black.

I felt it would cover the gray perfectly.

When I made the decision to go to the darkest black possible, my hairstylist tried to talk me out of going with black "box color", but I felt it would be easy to do.

It turned out fine, just very dark.  It looked a little flat without any dimension.  It did cover all the gray.

Since I did the box color I now have about 2 inches of root regrowth that are much lighter than the box color.  The gray is also coming in at some points.

I've decided that going platinum would be much better for blending in the gray.

The problem? My hairstylist refuses to even attempt taking me to platinum blonde.

She said that because I'm more than 50 percent gray, I have root regrowth and my hair is damaged from the box color, she said my hair could be seriously damaged.

I called a couple of hair color experts in my area.  All of them said they could get me to at least a golden blonde, but it would take a couple of visits.

None of them could promise I could get to platinum and explained that my hair might be compromised from the box color.

Are these various hair stylists telling me the truth?

Or are they just upset because I used box hair color instead of their services?

Why would it take more than one visit to take me from black to platinum blonde?  I just don't understand any of this.

The prices quoted by the hair color experts were very high compared to what my regular hairdresser charges.  Why?

Please help.

Sammi

Answer

Dear Sammi,

You should be happy your regular hairstylist is unwilling to take on your current color correction project.

It's better a stylist lets you know they are not comfortable taking on a major color project rather than to try and do it and not know what they're doing.

Not only do you have black box color on your hair you have said you're more than 50% gray, have root regrowth which is lighter brunette and you want to go to the very lightest platinum blonde.

Your hair color situation is very complicated.  A hairstylist without hair color expertise might have a difficult time getting your hair to golden blonde, let alone platinum.

For the type of hair color you wish to transition to, you definitely need an expert.

Color Correction Is Expensive

To go from the very darkest black to the very lightest blonde can take a lot of time and more than one or two visits to a hair color expert.

The more complicated the color correction process, the more expensive it tends to be.  Not only are you paying for the expertise of the color professional, you're paying for all the different products which will be used on your color transition journey.

While it may or may not be possible to get you to platinum blonde without severe damage to your hair, any hair colorist who takes on the task needs to go very slow.

In fact, if someone tells you they can do it in one visit, run for the door.

Estimate Black To White Blonde Processing Steps

Although every color correction expert will have their own procedures to remove the black, address the gray and the root regrowth, it's most likely they will do some, if not all, of the following:

1.  Apply a special deep conditioner to dry hair and process under heat from 20 to 30 minutes.  Some hair colorists will use a heavy oil based deep conditioners, others may use a cream.

2.  Once the conditioner has had time to process, it will be rinsed from the hair with a special chelating or color removing shampoo.  The chelating shampoo may be applied more than once.

3.  After the shampoo treatment, hair will be again conditioned and blow dried.

4.  Utilizing a system of strategically placed foils, especially around the hairline, with appropriate volume developer, hair will be processed until it has been lightened 2-4 shades to a light brown.  The roots will be blended and the gray will be covered.

5.  The color will be washed out, a special conditioner will be applied and the hair again blow dried.

6.  With special at-home washing/conditioning recommendations, you will need to allow your hair to rest for approximately 6 weeks.

7.  The second color correction treatment will allow the hair color expert to take your hair 2-4 shades lighter than the first treatment, again addressing the new root regrowth and any gray.

Going To White Blonde Takes Times

Over time your colorist may be able to take your hair into the blonde color you desire.  Will it be platinum?  It all depends on the condition of your hair and whether it can withstand long term color processing.

To get from flat black to platinum blonde might take 3 or more visits to the salon over a period of several weeks or months.

Trying to go from black to platinum blonde any faster could put your hair at risk of serious damage.   It needs to be done by a hair color expert or correction specialist.

They specialize in these types of complicated hair color issues.  Many hairstylists are not educated in these types of details.

Is it possible to take hair from black to white in just a few days?  It's been done for celebrities by celebrity colorists like New York's Rita Hazan.  However, those are extreme cases and involve a lot of different variable.

Good luck with your color correction journey.

Karen

By submitting your question, you grant full permission to HairBoutique.com to publish it. Due to the volume of mail we receive, Karen regrets that she cannot respond to every question personally.

To AskKaren a question, send an e-mail to: [email protected]