How to make red hair blonde without frying my scalp with repeated bleaching?

September 24, 2007 12:11 PM

I want to cut my naturally auburn hair short and go blonde- how can I find a good colorist? Or is there a good way to do it at home? (the color not the cut)

I live in DC- can anyone recommend a good salon or colorist? I've done this to my hair in the distant past and it seems that it takes A LOT of bleaching and many intermediate brassy stages to get red hair to go blonde- I'm wondering if there is someone out there who specializes in blonding red hair?

I would also be willing to do it myself if I knew how/ what products to use... I'd like to end up w/ a cool/ ash blonde color..

thanks

posted by mistsandrain to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (11 answers total)

I would never attempt to bring auburn down to blonde at home. I predict regret, panic, and maybe even some tears if you do.

I can't recommend any DC colorists, but the Allure Directories are always fun.
posted by LoriFLA at 12:31 PM on September 24, 2007

I don't have a salon recommendation because I cut and color my hair myself, but just like you, I've got strawberry blonde hair which I dye ash blonde. If this is your first time coloring your hair, I suggest you go to a pro. You'll need to do a double process to get the color you desire. And since you've got so much red in your hair, there's a good chance that even if you use a lot of toner to ward against giving yourself hideous orange hair, you might end up overdoing it resulting in streaks of blueish/greenish gray.

Either way, use a lot of conditioner. And in my opinion, the best shampoo for colored hair is Redken All Soft. It's pretty expensive, though.
posted by buka at 12:39 PM on September 24, 2007

Nature is so perverse,if you have blond hair and want it red the red fades so rapidly, and if you have red hair and want to be blond so difficult to remove the red. I recommend finding a colorist that uses Goldwell haircolor they have a strawberry blond shade in the highlift series that may be what you are looking for 11GK .
posted by hortense at 12:51 PM on September 24, 2007

My wife has been to Bang Salon several times, and she seemed to be happy with them. I don't think she's done anything quite as severe as auburn -> blonde, though. I'm sure if you called them or stopped by, they'd be happy to help.
posted by god hates math at 1:18 PM on September 24, 2007

Please consider highlights as a first step. They are much easier to maintain [roots are such a pain and quite tough to do on your own every 4-6 weeks] and if you really want a blonde look, heavy highlights all over will get you there without having to double process every last strand.

By the way, this is the advice my mom and sister gave me when I wanted to go blonde. I did not take it, of course, and really regretted it!
posted by infinityjinx at 1:28 PM on September 24, 2007

Don't go blond at home unless you are ok with it turning out really unnatural looking. If you want it to look remotely like a normal human hair color, I would go to a pro.

P.R. and Partners are high-end colorists in DC area - really very good. Might be hard to get an appointment.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:41 PM on September 24, 2007

Aveda Institute in Gallery Place. You have to book way in advance and they are students, but it's cheap and they do a good job. At least with me. However, if you have money to burn, I'd go to regular Aveda. I swear the dye they use is so much easier on your hair. I have incredibly fine hair and it's the only place I've gone where I don't have to switch to the strongest conditioner on the market after getting highlights, just to deal with the damage.

Also, I've been to Bang Salon many times, and have had many friend go there to, and its pretty mediocre, so would not be my first choice. I've also heard very good things about Prat Partners. I haven't been there myself though, but I know some of the stylists give student discounts if you ask, but you must ask (I don't know if you are a student, but thought I'd throw it in).
posted by whoaali at 3:29 PM on September 24, 2007

As others have said, don't try the colouring yourself; a friend did his (bright copper auburn) hair at home using a not inexpensive kit thing, and then spent a few washes and re-dyes trying to remedy the disaster. Eventually he went to a hairdresser who said (a) they could have done it easily and in one visit, and (b) he should have come straight in when it all went wrong, and they could have reduced/removed most if not all of the miscolouration - but since he'd tried lots of things himself there wasn't much they could do... oops :)

It was definitely do-able, though, as he eventually got it done properly - no idea how long it took, or how much it cost though.
posted by Chunder at 3:32 PM on September 24, 2007

Yeah, PR at Partners is what I was referring to. (I'm not sure I would call them prat partners though).
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:51 PM on September 24, 2007

Do not do this to yourself. I cannot emphasize this strongly enough. When I lived in the area, I spent a lot of time at Color Works salon in the Pentagon City area of Arlington. I've been to PR and Partners in Old Town Alexandria and an Aveda salon in Georgetown. Color Works always seemed just as good and slightly less expensive. I think the cost varied by the stylist's experience, so you may want to ask about that as well.
posted by awegz at 7:24 PM on September 24, 2007

DO NOT DO THIS YOURSELF.

especially if you have never dyed your hair before. i have been dying my (dark brown) hair various colors for over a decade, and would never try to go blonde myself.

get thee to a professional.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 7:55 AM on September 25, 2007