Highlighting over old black tint?

[hairgirl]

Hi. I am a mobile hairdresser and need some advice. Please bear with me as I try to explain my dilemma.

One of my trusty clients paid for me to do her sisters hair as a birthday surprise - she wanted blonde highlights but her long hair had been home tinted black, dark brown and even red over and over again and now had a natural regrowth of about 4 inches at a level 5/6.

I explained the difficulties of lifting the dark tints and that it would need to be stripped first but she really wanted me to do something there and then so I ended up stripping the old tint that went to about a browny red level 4/5 and then resorted to highlighting using a cap (oww) and bleach so I could try to lift the mid lengths and ends before the roots. It sort of worked but I couldn't get the old tint past an orangey gold. She asked if I'd try to make her hair even lighter so I foolishly agreed to see her again in a couple of weeks - and advised her to really condition her hair in the meantime.

I stripped it again, which did even the roots and ends out even more and then a couple of weeks later gave her a full head of foils using clynol meche .0 and 8.0 weaved (she wants a natural look!) - her hair was so dry I didn't really want to put more bleach on it. It looked okay although the colours got lost in the lengths and didn't quite lift the same as the roots but overall the effect was blonder and she liked it.

She now wants me to make her even lighter! And has requested 3 different shades of blonde! Help please. (I have considered telling her I can't do it but I do enjoy a challenge).

I can only think of putting bleach on so I can even out the blonde from roots to tip and get the lift she wants, but this would be hard work on a full head of foils (and hard on her hair). I have read of Wella Blondor Blonde Meches that claim to have an auto control mechanism for even results. Has anyone used this product and would it be suitable for the hair I've described? As for the different shades of blonde then apart from using meche and tints that didn't really work that well last time then I'm lost.

Any ideas anybody?

 

[HairSquared]

I would be stripping down her entire head, then foiling in the different shades of blonde. Its almost impossible to do it with that dark base still in there. As for the auto-controlled meches, I would love to know more about those and anyones experiences with them. Sounds too good to be true to me. (not a wella girl)
Is she being receptive to the fact that taking black hair to blonde is not a one shot deal?

 

[princessbecs]

wow im suprised she has any hair left !

I personally wouldnt do anymore colour on it untill she has left well alone and had some good treatments on for a few weeks/months depending on the condition.

Unfortnatly some people think that going from black to blonde it easy and dont understand the damage it can cause to there hair.

If a client is tinted a dark colour then wants hls i always suggest doing it gradually once it has faded for a good few months. Just keep doing full head of hls to gradually lift the color and toning after. This generally works well.
If someone wants a full head tint that is lighter i generally do a light bleach bath and reapply the new color ( depending on hair condition)

Personally i dont think the Blondor Meches are all that great on tinted hair or anyone darker than a base 5 . Great on the lighter natural bases 6,7,8 's . I find TIGI blue bleach and Blondor Granuales good for lifting tint.

Hope this has helped a bit xx

 

[hairgirl]

Thanks. I'm a bit worried about stripping it again and drying her hair out even more. Is there such a thing as a gentle strip?
She just wants to be blonde as soon as possible but I do keep explaining the problem. I ve thought of using clynol viton s meches in various blonde shades because they're supposed to lift previously tinted hair but I'm still gonna have to use 12% which isn't going to help the condition. Her hair is strong but I don't want to damage it any further even though she doesn't seem to mind!

 

[hairstylist2010]

Personally I wouldn't keep stripping it down anymore.

I'd keep doing what your doing with highlighting then toning. I recently did this on a lady who was a base 4 home tint and have now got her to a lovely caramel. She had a full head highlights and then a toner on them, she accepted she had to fade out the old colour.

It's a long job but unfortunately it saves knackering their hair too much and risking being sued.

 

[Simba44]

No, you've done your job now,you've got to think with a Professional hat on now and tell your client there's a high possibility that her hair is going to fall out and that your not going to take the risk. Some clients expect miracles overnight and if we could all perform those us hairdressers would be millionaires lol. No really tell her no. X

 

[NickCalg]

Hi there. I've actually worked with CHI Infra colors. Those don't require bleach before hand and work rather well. If she's a level 2 I would use the Infra Browns in Natural with some Ash to control a bit of warmth. Depending on how much you need to bust through, the condition, thickness, etc. You may want to mix either a 25 or 30 vol.
The first time I used them on a level 2, I thought: Holy crap! It looked amazing! Just remember when using anything CHI color wise, it has to mix equally, the end product is rather thick.. And if your foiling or using meches, apply, apply, apply. Don't be light with the product on the hair strand or it will NOT work that great.. The whole line is non-ammonia so a good application with a bit more brushing over the strands is needed. And it works fast! Cap the hair with a baggie, and use a LOW dryer for 10 mins. Check the progress by opening a foil or meche, wiping off the product or scrape with a fingernail, if not done re-apply product, close, cap and low dryer for another 5.
You need to then let the client cool down for 15 - 20 mins. This is important with anything CHI has. In those 15 - 20 mins of cool down time they tone.

 

[HairSquared]

Apparently i missed the part where you mentioned stripping her hair for a second and third time...you must mean with bleach? I apologize, as I forget you dont use the same products. What condition is her hair in now? Will it even withstand highlighting?

 

[scouser88]

I am always faced with this problem and i always get " how do the celebs do it then!!" i.e katie price and i honestly dont know. Any ideas on a reply to that xxx

 

[sarahpoppy24]

Celebs have hair extensions in it, you can see on them when there are pics of them in every day life you can see the glue etc. eg, how has britney spears got her hair back after shaving it only a couple years ago? Extensions! Also if shes on about celebs in music videos, well they obviously wear wigs, as they have say red hair in one shot and blonde in the next. Impossible with out wigs! Also how do they grow their hair so long, eg cheryl cole on x factor hair changes length quiet alot, its all an illusion lol! xx

 

[NeelieGel]

On the subject of Wella Blondor Meches. I use it and love it for when i am doing foils. i am relatively new to foiling only doing them now and then. So this product is ideal for me. It does lift to a lovely clean fresh blonde and then stops. So my slow foiling times mean this product is ideal for me. It gives the sort of control you get with high lift tint but with the clean lift that you get with bleach. I have never used it trying to lift dark tinted hair though. TBH I turn clients away that ask for this kind of thing. Home colours and a client asking to go shades lighter and I run for the hills.

 

[scouser88]

Ye extensions but they still have hair to colour over before you bond extensions!

 

[ellie82]

I think Katie price had her colour stripped quickly and it has still taken quite a few wks to get a decent colour, it was a mess a couple of wks ago. Because her hair is shorter she can afford to strip it more because she spends thousands on extensions...and has had her hair done every time she leaves the house.....probably not the type of thing most clients can do. I would steer clear of bleaching it again and wouldn't give in because she will be expecting the impossible...toners, gradual highlights and conditioning treatments are the way to go xx