Hello Hair Geeks

I wonder if you might be able to give me some inspiration.

I have long black hair, 2-3 inches below my bra strap at the back. It has a natural kink but only takes a 10 minute blow dry to make it lovely and straight. I have long layers all the way round and it's shaped into my face. I had a side fringe last year which I grew out before I got married last august and never got it cut in again. It's now down to below my chin when I pull it forward.

I have regular hair cuts. My hair dresser is very good. I really like him and have been going to him for years. Now don't think I could let anyone else cut my hair.

I've never really had very long hair and decided I want it before I get too old. (i'm 29, I know not that old but you know)

I still want my hair a bit longer. I see people with long hair in a side pleat/plait and the bottom bit when brought round to the front is hitting their waist. This is what I want. However, it the meantime I'm getting quite bored growing my hair.

I was thinking of getting the fringe cut in again but my hair has a major kink along my hair line and it took ages every morning getting it to sit properly.

I was also thinking about colour. I love the colour of my hair though. I want to keep it dark and rich and I don't want to have to worry about roots. TBH, I couldn't afford a monthly appointment of £100 to cover roots which is how much it'll cost at my salon. I don't mind paying this I just couldn't afford that every month. Ideally it'd be every 3rd appointment.

What do you suggest? Is there anything that ticks all the boxes? Am I being too fussy? should I just get it cut?

oh, I really wouldn't suit a full fringe and it would be murder to straighten too. I have GHD's but don't like to use them a lot.

Thanks
Lx
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I know exactly what you mean about wanting a change but not actually wanting to change anything!

Why don't you ask your hairdresser for some advice on how to put your hair up, and buy some cheap and cheerful accessories to give you a bit of variety?

One of my friends has lovely black hair and she gets a couple of chunks pre-lightened and has them coloured red, pink or purple depending on how the fancy takes her - could you do that? Means you can have a change but there's not really any "roots".

Thanks mcmog. (can't quote on my phone)

When I was younger, about 10 years ago I had all different colour highlights. I don't really want to go back to that. Plus, I think that'd mean bleach. I def don't want that. I feel a bit too old for that now and I don't think it'd look quite right in my office job.

Thanks
Lx
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Forgot to say my next appointment is in 2 weeks time. I will be speaking to my hair dresser then but just wanted to hear any ideas you might have.
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I know what you mean, I have been trying to grow my hair long for around 10 years, it gets to just past my shoulders and I get board then go back to a layered bob.

This time how ever I am DETERMINED to get it long! Yours sounds like a nice length though, I wish mine was as long as that! Why don't you get some clip in extensions in natural colours, or maybe some dark reds and have it full and wavy, mine has a natural kink too so goes wavy quite easily. Or like mcmog says experiment with putting it up in different ways with nice clips etc. Plaits are really in right now and so are sleek high pony tails. Those head bands look really nice in long hair too. I also find that by putting my hair up most of the time, it seems to grow quicker, no idea why though!

Thanks Lucyann.

I may start putting it up more. I used to never wear my hair up cos I didn't think I suited it. Thought it made my face look even fatter, but a couple of times recently I've had it tied back at work cos I didn't have time to wash it and a few people said it was nice.

May pop down to Claire's and get some accessories. Where else has a big selection of stuff like that but not cheap looking. Accessorize I guess.

Oh, has anyone seen that babyliss hair dryer with the big tube difuser? Think that's any good for the wavy look?

Hold on I'll see if I can find a link.

Lx
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Remington Spin Curl Dryer

It's a remington hair dryer. I think I'll give it a go. I have twisted my hair and dried with a difuser but it took ages. This seems quite quick. Going to read reviews now.
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If you like the colour of your hair, and you dont want to have your roots done to often how about having a semi permanent or quasi dye put on your hair.

Semi permanent comes in sooo many different colours these days they dont leave a regrowth line and although depending on how often you wash your hair depends how long it stays in, you wont have to have it done all the time if you dont want to because if you have a dark semi it will just blend into your natural hair .

My salon does colour promotions every so often and I usually get a semi permanent then, but I've always got darkest brown/black to make my colour richer. Might try a different 1.

Has anyone ever done a semi permanent colour but not all over but more of a highlights look? I think I'd quite like that but I don't know anything about colouring hair. Would a semi permanent not work this way? I think it'd be a good way to try highlights but not commit to the colour.

I bought the remington hair dryer yesterday. My hair is quite curly today. It took quite a while but I think my sections were too small. Also I think I need to smooth out the roots first to get a more sleeker look. Should've prob used medium speed.
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I'm no expert but I don't think you could hi light as such with a semi permanent colour because they can't lighten the hair? I may be wrong though...

That hair dryer looks interesting, I use straigteners to get waves in my hair which takes a while and can be quite tricky when doing the back. Do you think it's worth buying?

Hi, lucyanne is right semi permanents don't lighten hair

also if you use dark brown colour already
then only bleach will lighten this
but I would not reccomend using bleach on such long dark coloured hair

perhaps you might want to consider getting a few hair extensions in the colour you like to add interest to your hair

Hi

When I say highlights I don't mean am obviously highlighted look that u'd get with bleach. I mean if I was to go for say, a plum semi permanent could this be applied like highlights? instead of a full head of colour it'd be more like highlights but not permanent.

I also used to use my straightners to curl my hair and it would take me ages but it's a different look. GHD's give my hair a more ringlet look. The hair dryer is different. I think it's more natural looking. I will be using this a lot more than my GHD's or heated rollers.
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Like you I have really long hair and evry 2/3 years I get bored and want a change and this usually means a drastic hair cut. I nearly succumbed a while back and nearly got an inverted bob, but changed my mind as they are so popular.

So for some inspiration I looked up updo's on youtube and found loads of different tutorials on different ways to put my hair up, cos sometimes it annoys you when its down. My current favourite is just twisting a single chopstick (you can get fancier ones from claires) around my hair and then threading it through to secure into place. I think this looks really classy.


Another favourite of mine is using a donut ring to put hair up in a bun. I know its kinda prim n properish but i think it looks classy as well. This is a good one for work as well as its really secure and not much chance of it falling down around your face.


hth's

anne xx

Hi, a semi doesnt lift at all
so you simply wouldnt see them in such dark hair,

it would need a bit of lift so you may want to consider having some deep magenta low lights done with something like majicontrast (chromatic colour hair pigments) these type of colours are gentle and are specially made to use on dark coloured hair as they lighten the hair up a bit more so you can see the lowlights ( looks great on dark hair )

and with these chromatic colours less is needed rather than more ,
so you would only need a few scattered through the top or peek a boo thin slices put under the fringe or a thin veil of colour on the top layers to give it a shimmer of deep pink tones when it catches the light,
they would be there until you wanted them dyed over again,
so in a way you could use them for a low lighted semi permanent look
hth

I ended up getting highlights. I thought I'd try them out and get it out of my system. If I don't like them or can't handle the up keep I'll get an all over colour.

My hair had to get pre-lightened. He said as it's so long the bottom will have some old permanent colour, the mid lengths will still have a residue of semi and the top few inches are virgin hair.

I don't know anything about colour so just repeating what I can remember them saying. They used blonde me 2% to lift then went back over the highlights with 5/4 with 3%. Does that make any sense to you hair geeks?

What I'd say I've got is Galaxy chocolate highlights(mmm Galaxy). I only just got it done yesterday so haven't quite decided how I feel about it yet. Looks very light. I'll see when I've styled my hair myself tomorrow.