Bummed about Bad Highlights :/

Pardon me because this is mostly a rant. I think I have a course of action in mind, but your advice is greatly appreciated. Feel free to skip to the end

I'm pretty annoyed about the current state of my hair colour. At the beginning of spring had my hair highlighted. The stylist I've been seeing for several years had suggested highlights a couple of times and I decided to go for it. The tone was a little more yellow/golden than I would have chosen. I in fact did go back to ask if it could be cooled down, and he suggested I give it a week and see how I felt. I started using a purple shampoo which cancelled out the yellow tones a little and felt alright about the colour.

I put off a touch-up for some time because I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep the look or not. Eventually, though, the roots got to be just too much so I went back for another round. I asked if the tone could be a little cooler overall and showed a picture of the look I was after. The stylist agreed and got to work.

The results are not great. My bangs and roots nearer the tone I wanted, but are significantly lighter than the rest of my hair. Instead of a gentle, sunkissed shade all over I have near-platinum streaks through my fringe and auburn-ish ends. If I flip my ponytail over my bangs for comparison it looks like it belongs to totally different head of hair. I am sure that the colour was left to process for too long. The stylist I see is very accommodating and friendly, and I've never gotten a haircut I wasn't happy with, but he has a terrible sense of time. He packed in a last-minute mens' cut between applying colour to my roots and rinsing and I suspect it took longer than expected.

I've decided to go for a consultation to have the colour corrected at another salon, and see what my options are. I'll keep seeing my regular stylist for haircuts, but I think I need to go elsewhere for colour. I know, I know, It's hair, of course, and it will grow out. But it was a not-insignificant investment of time and money and is supposed to make one feel more confident in ones' appearance, rather than bothered. Here's hoping that if I can't have the look I want, at least I can return to a colour near my natural shade.

Your advice or commiseratory bad-colour stories are appreciated

9 years ago

jackiec

Veteran

OOOoooooh I can relate! About 4 years ago my stylist completely and totally overprocessed my hair as well. I'd been seeing him for close to 2 years, and he did a fantastic short angled bob on me an a regular basis. He highlighted my hair a few times, and I was happy. But the last time it did it, it was just like your experience, and he left it to process far too long (in retrospect). My hair processes super super fast to begin with. I had the absolute worst summer that year. My hair has a natural wave, but somehow the overprocessing kept it fuzzy and straight and unmanageable. I couldn't figure out what the problem was. Some fellow moms at the playground in the fall suggested overprocessing and told me to get a consult somewhere else. I booked right away at another reputable place in town and the colourist was appalled at my hair. It took a full year to recover. She did a deep conditioning treatment, a toner, and put my hair to a much darker shade to try to replicate my natural colour. I chopped off a significant amount and used high quality shampoos/conditioners all year. I finally went back to highlights the next year with the new colourist and they were way better. Needless to say I broke up with my old stylist.

I feel your pain....

Anonymous

Oh, what a bummer. I would be seriously annoyed. Definitely don't let him do your colour in future.

Suz

(website)

Oh, Emily. That is such a shame! You are definitely cool toned and would look lovely with the cool highlights you wanted!

I think you're doing the right thing. A new person will be able to correct the problem. But what a pain.

shiny

I've had some bad highlighting jobs in the past, so I can commiserate. Once it was so bad my hair was breaking off. I also got a horrible rash all over my scalp. The colorist insisted that "the chemicals didn't even touch your scalp." I took my business elsewhere. This was done by the salon owner - the salon has since gone out of business. Then there was the time a colorist (at a top salon on Newbury street!) turned my hair green instead of blonde. On and on it goes... my hair is super sensitive and it does not take much to highlight it -- or to completely fry it.

I'm very happy with my current colorist -- I don't know what she uses but she claims it cannot over process. Still she sets the timer, and checks frequently before the timer even goes off. I've been going to her for years. However, every now and then I will get a dye job I am not perfectly happy with, but it's never so bad my hair is fried & breaking off -- it's just the color is slightly off.

Right now is one of those times - I think she went too light, expecting that since it's summer I'll get a tan, but I am ultra-scrupulous about sunscreen these days, so I am still pale as a ghost. I think the highlights are a tad too platinum, and are washing me out.

I know the fix is simple as can be: just go back and have her add a gloss that has a tint. Or semi-permanent color. To darken it up ever so slightly. I've done this on occasion when I'm not happy (after giving it a good couple of weeks for the color to settle in). I just haven't had the time lately to go back in. But I can live with it a few more weeks, as I have another appointment coming up.

If you go to get the color corrected again, your option at this stage may be to add color over the highlights.

Kim

Remember when perms where a big thing? Back in the 80's...Well, I wanted "ringlet curls" and came out of the salon looking like a poodle! (with a bad haircut....LOL) I cried, and had to let it grow out, for a year or so and I was in my fragile 20's where *everything* mattered!...I'm still scarred. Never got another perm again...

I'm sure your new colorist will be able to make lemonade out of this and you are old enough to know that it *will* grow out, but still...I understand.

rabbit

I feel you. I think part of it is that the whole process is so expensive and hair is fairly fragile so you don't want to keep messing with it. Lately when I've had highlights I liked, I've done the root touch-ups at home because the box color I use tends not to cover the salon highlights (or at least not for more than a few days) and just get salon cuts done. Then when the highlights are really grown out I might go to the salon for another set, but it's luck of the draw what that will look like.

Ugh. It's so hard when someone does a bad job on our hair. We wear it every day. I would likely try to over dye an all over darker color over it. Mismatched streaks would be just too much for me.

Glory

Yikes I feel your pain. I had to quit the salon I was at for the very same reason and I had been there a very long time. She did a great cut but her colouring skills were not ideal and I often felt unhappy with the colour.
One option would be to seek out a colourist in the salon you go do. I did not do this because I felt her feelings would be hurt.
I asked a few people whose highlights I liked where they went and moved there for cut and colour.

shedev

I'm sorry that you had this experience, Emily. I get my hair cut at a salon, but because I work a lot of hours, I don't have time to do color there so I do it at home. I wanted to get away from a lot of chemicals so I used henna. I used a dark brown, which wasn't bad but it was warmer than I really wanted. I went on some henna sites and asked for advice. It was recommended to mix henna and indigo, 50/50. It seemed like a lot of indigo. I used 1/3rd instead. It still turned out really dark.

The good news is that henna is temporary and most of it will wash out in a couple weeks.

The bad newsis that I have to fire myself.

Ariadne

Oh, I feel you. After multiple failed attempts to return to my natural ultra-cool ash blonde, I recently gave up and went scorched-earth: full-on white-blonde, a la Danaerys Targaryen. I owe the forum a thread about that. Hair colour is tricksy and crazy expensive. It's awful when it doesn't work out. Cool shades are incredibly difficult to achieve, especially on previously colored hair.

viva

Emily, I really hope this turns out well with the new colorist. One of the things I learned the hard way is that coloring and cutting are two different skills not always held by the same hair professional. Don't beat yourself or your stylist up. I have high hopes for your recovery!!

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