Help, hair colour gone wrong

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Orangehair

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Dec 15, 2019
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I have medium brown hair which has a strong tendency to go brassy/ginger when lightened. A few months ago I went to a new hairdresser and explained that I’d like highlights but that I wanted to avoid the brassy colour at all costs. She took this on board, lightened the hair and then toned with an ashy blonde and it was a great colour which I loved.

I returned to the same hairdresser last week and asked her to do exactly the same thing she’d done the previous time to sort out the roots. She failed to tell me that she hadn’t made any record of what she’d done the previous time and instead just guessed at the colour.

It was obvious when she started drying it that it was a completely different colour and it was really brassy/orange, particularly at the roots. When I mentioned this to her she admitted that she didn’t know what she’d done the previous time and had forgotten I’d told her my hair goes brassy very easily.

She then put a second ashier toner on it in an attempt to rectify it but it hasn’t improved it much. She’s offered a free appointment next week to put yet another toner on it but I’m just not sure whether that’s likely to do much?

I’ve washed it with head and shoulders twice and used purple shampoo but my hair is still horrible and I’m so annoyed that she didn’t just tell me she had no record of what she’d done the first time!

Are there any colour experts who could advise on what I should do next please? I’m concerned that maybe the hair wasn’t fully lifted before the toner was put on maybe? I wasn’t sat under a heat lamp this time so maybe that was the problem? Would a toner cause it to be so different to last time? I know you aren’t meant to lift the same hair twice so if that is the problem, am I just stuck with orange hair now? Please help!
 
1. Find a new hairdresser!
Anyone that doesn’t keep detailed consultation notes every time isn’t doing their job properly and if they were sued, they’d struggle to defend the case. That’s very unprofessional.
Also, it’s unusual to use a lamp when lightening hair these days. Most products advise against it as it’s unnecessarily drying.
Even if she didn’t keep notes, it’s really not that difficult to figure out a suitable mix to use to match up the roots to the rest of the hair. That’s what most of us have to do when we see a new client. I’m wondering if she didn’t have much colour stock in and just used what she had and hoped for the best?

2. Stop using harsh shampoos on your hair. You’re only going to make it go very dry and start breaking off. Focus on improving the condition instead.

3. All dark hair will lift exposing orange/yellow tones when being lightened. It’s supposed to do that as part of the lightening process. The trick is understanding what products to use to lift to the right level and then to tone it.
Do you know if she used a highlift tint instead of bleach? That would account for the brassiness.
If it still has brassy orange tones, it’s not been lifted enough and needs re-doing with bleach.
Toning it won’t do anything to improve the colour but will make it darker. She should really know this as it’s very basic colour knowledge.
 
Thank you so so much for your helpful reply! I really appreciate you taking the time to give this advice.

It’s made me more confident to ask for what I want when I go back and to understand that another toner isn’t going to improve it in the way it needs. Part of me is wondering about just finding a new hairdresser but I’m reluctant to pay again.

I’m fairly sure she used a bleach rather than a highlift so I guess it just wasn’t left on for long enough? She was preoccupied with another client while it was lifting so could have messed up the timings maybe?

I will stop using the harsh shampoos - thanks for the advice! She seemed to think that it was just a case of washing it to get rid of the toner but it sounds like that isn’t the issue and it will still be brassy? Should I wait a certain amount of time before bleaching again to lift it further?

Thank you again!
 
It really depends on its current condition and how porous it is.
However, as you only need the roots lifting a couple of levels, it shouldn’t be too dry and damaged but obviously I can’t see or feel it. A decent hairdresser should be able to check when doing your consultation.

You’ll probably struggle to get an appt. before Christmas anywhere else so it might be worth going back to her. However, see what explanation she gives for it being brassy and what she proposes to do before agreeing to let her re-do it. It will need bleach to lighten it.
 
That’s all so helpful, thank you very very much for all of your advice!
 
In my opinion for one she should always keep a record of the product used but, I generally think that if she has lifted your hair with bleach then tone she has not lifted to a clean level 9-10 before toning. Adding more toner to the current level will only tone to the level it’s at now x
 

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