Going from Blonde to Brunette?

[february2003bride]

I''m considering going from my current hair color (blonde) to a warm brunette. Has anyone else done this? Did you love it? Hate it?

I have fair skin, green/blue eyes and my natural hair color is a dark blonde/light (mousy

) brown. I''ve been blonde forever (highlights) and I''m ready for a change! I''d love to go to a more low maintanence color. I won''t be doing this myself- I''ll have my stylist do it!

I''ve asked a couple of friends who said to go for it, and one who said "no way! Not EVERYONE can be a blonde. Don''t do it!" Huge

here. It''s been 3 months since my last highlight and I have a good 2" of roots (my hair grows fast!) so I feel like this might be a good time to make the change!

 

[somethingshiny]

Maybe try some low lights since you don''t seem fully on board with brunette.

Use the highlighed pieces to place your new color (not sure if that''s how it''s done, but seems to make use of your new outgrowth.)

If you like it darker, next time do it all the way.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

If you can go 2+ months without getting highlights because the coloring still looks good, then stick with that. The deal is when you dye over the blonde, the darker coloring will fade and you''ll find that you''ll be having to keep up your coloring (darker) just as often to prevent a grow out line. Regardless if you go lighter/darker, once you dye your hair, you''re stuck with maintanence.

 

[miraclesrule]

ditto on the "fade factor". i found it far more expensive to stay brunette than a blonde. if your hair color is mousy brown (like mine), it will fade as fast as mine did, even with expensive fade resistant non-alcohol hair products. i found that i could go much longer between highlights with my natural color than i could tolerate with fading. i loved my brunette color right when it was first done, but the color was difficult to recreate every time since you are coloring different tone each time.

also, it''s difficult to go back to blonde after brunette. the virgin hair at the roots will lift well, but the colored treated hair will require bleach to boost the rest of it. my hair does not do well with bleach.

having said that, if you really want a change...go for it.

p.s. i am too lazy to capitalize anything tonight.

 

[Burberrygirl]

I'm about to change my hair from blonde to brown. About every two years I switch. I'm not exactly sure what I want but my colorist is really good. I have a ton of hair and I'm sick of maintaining the blonde color. I'll probably lighten it up again in the summer. I think you should do it, I've never regretted going from blonde to brown.. but I always go back to blonde eventually

ETA: I should mention that when I dye my hair brown, I'm going back to my natural color. I didn't think the upkeep was that bad. Maybe dye your hair a lighter brown, close to your natural color and add some low lights in. You're going to have to maintain it no matter what, but I think it's fun to change things up every so often.

 

[MagsyMay]

I''ve been thinking about this lately too. I''m also a mousy brown with current blondish highlights and blue/green eyes. Would love to see pics of those who''ve gone from blond to brunette, and back again!

My experience with other people doing the same is that it is a hard thing to pull off. Most girls I know that went darker immediately returned to blond the next coloring. It seemed to wash them out or make their skin look sallow, I''m not sure how to explain it. Perhaps it just wasn''t the right shade for the skin tone, or they didn''t have the coloring to begin with, but I''ve not seen it work well on many girls. Part of the reason I''m so hesitant to do so, but gahhh the costs of highlighting!

 

[that_someone_special]

I went from brown to blonde, which SUCKED and since I have normal-ish brown hair, my roots REALLY show if I don''t update it often. OK, so, I have been wanting to go back to brown, but now my hair wont hold brown....... everyone wants what they dont have!

 

[AdiS]

My natural hair colour used to be blonde, like a real sunshine blonde. As I grew older, it was becoming darker (not mousy though, it was a warm, rich colour). I decided I want my bright blonde hair back and I started dying it. I still regret it, but anyway. A few years ago I went from scandinavian blonde to light brown. I didn''t like it. It made my blue/green eyes really pop and went well with my fair skin but I just couldn''t accept myself as a brunette. I actually believe that you shouldn''t drastically change your natural hair coulour, like going blonde if your natural hair is dark brown/black, for example. I went darker than my natural hair colour and I didn''t like it.

I also had the fading problem and when I decided to go blonde again, it was harder than I thought. The darker dye was really persistent and it took me quite a few visits to my colourist to cover it up. Just be sure that''s what you want before you go for it.

 

[steph72276]

I would say if you are going to do it, do it gradually with some low lights. I have naturally dark blonde hair with highlights and I decided I wanted to go brown. Well, it looked AWFUL with my skin tone. Not a good look for me at all. It really washed me out and made me feel depressed. I went back to blonde immediately! Just like your friend said not everyone can be a blonde....not everyone can be a brunette. Trust me, I would love to have lower upkeep costs by going light brown, but it just did not work with my skin tone at all.

 

[Laila619]

Blondes have more fun.

I would do some honey brown low lights at the most.

 

[princesss]

It sounds like you've got my colouring, so I'll share what I did.

I went from blonde highlights to brunette, and I love it! It was an expensive transition, but so worth it. My stylist did a two-step process where he first dyed my hair red since the highlights stripped that from my hair, and lacking that can apparently lead to the colour fade. Then he did a really dark brown demi-permanent colour over that. I love it because it does change and fade, so I feel like I get 2 different shades for the price of one (I like to change my hair a lot). Also, because he uses a demi-permanent colour, I never have a distinct root line, so I can go ages between colourings if I want to. I do it on my budget (which is pretty tight, TBH), and my schedule. And I've got to tell you, rich brown hair and light skin/eyes is a gorgeous combination!

ETA: This is the "after" shot. I don't really have any before shots right now.

 

[soocool]

I have no idea what happened to my original post, but I agree with princess. Try a demi permanent hair color to see if you like the brunette look. It is a lot gentler on your hair. I do my own hair at home (I think I do a better job than the salon anyway) and use Wella Color Charm in dark sandy blonde (warm with some red in it, looks almost coppery). It blends in quite well with my hair and gives the few gray hairs I have beautiful highlights. Since it washes out gradually, you don't get that yucky root grow out look that you get with permanent color (IMO anyway).


ETA: I am adding a link to the Wella site for the demi permanent just so you can read about this kind of hair color. Your stylist/colorist may have their own brand they use. Just so you know, 1 tube of the color lasts me for 2 hair colors and 1 8 oz developer lasts for 4 colorings. The cost to me per hair color is $5.00.

http://www.wellausa.com/color_charm/reference/colorcharm_download_5004_0_sl.pdf

 

[Cehrabehra]

I am naturally a very light blonde and one day I got a wild hair to dye it brown (and my brows to match) and it was just too dark for my complexion (and I had never had to pluck my brows before but when they were dark - ick!!!)

 

[jcrow]

i did! i was blond for most of my life. then it started getting darker and i started highlighting it. i got sick of doing that in college and went dark. i was dark for about a year. but when i looked into the mirror i felt like it wasn''t me. i decided for graduation i didn''t want to be brunette. i wanted to be blond since that''s how i saw myself and this was a documented milestone [pictures and all]. so i went blond and stayed that way for a few years. but after i got married, i went darker again. i miss the blond. i do. but i don''t miss the upkeep. the money. the going every four weeks! and i don''t miss the damage to my hair. darker = silky hair, at least for me. it looks so much healthier now.

 

[NakedFinger]

I did it at the request of my SO, and HAAATTTEEDDD it. I have lighter skin and natural hair color is like yours, a mousy dirty blond-brown color. I have been highlighting my hair blond for a long time. I went from heavy all over blond...my "summer blond" (I do put some low lights to tone it down in the fall) to a deep chocolate brown.

My SO loved it, everyone else hated it. My problem was that I felt it washed me out, so I would compensate with too much bronzer and heavy eye make up, etc....anything to make me feel less washed out. I did keep it for 2 months, to see if maybe I was just not use to it and maybe it would grow on me. It didn't...and I am now back to a happy blond.

However, I LOVE brown hair with blue/green eyes. I have brown eyes and felt so "blah" with brown hair brown eyes (my blond hair makes my very dark brown eyes pop). However, I think since you have blue/green eyes, it may make a huge difference than my hair did and really make your eyes pop.

 

[radiantquest]

I have been all over with my hair. I have dark ash brown hair which is awful. So I am always coloring. I have been blonde, red and brunette. Currently I am a medium brown with highlights and I am going to go darker for the winter. Close to my original, but even coloring it the same shade is better because there is no ash.

I was blonde for a few years and got tired of it and dyed it back to my original and most people liked it, but I had one person tell me that it didn''t look right. How can it not look right if that is my natural hair color? Fair skin light blue/gray eyes. A problem that I do run into is that for some reason my eyebrows are not as dark as my natural hair. I refuse to color my eyebrows since I spend money and pain ripping those suckers out.

All in all I think you should do it. The color can fade a little on the really light places, but really it just gives you highlights for your new color without paying for it. I have heard though that when going dark your blonde hair will really suck up the color you are adding because essentially blonde hair is hair that is stripped of color. The actual cuticle of the hair is different between blonde and colored. That is why darker is adding color and seems to make hair look more healthy and silky because the cuticle of the hair strand is laying down as where when you remove the color to make it blonde the chemicals lift the cuticle. I always go dark in winter for many reasons, but one is that it makes your hair look and feel softer. The heat in winter is so drying so having the added color really helps it seem healthier.

 

[february2003bride]

Thanks ladies! I just wanted to give an update and get more advice.

So my stylist did low lights and high lights in my hair yesterday and I hate it! Not because of the darker low lights but because my hair now looks ashy! I wanted a warm color not an ashy one.

I still want to go brunette but how do I fix this? Should I ask my colorist to add copper brown low lights to it? She said that it will fade after a few washes but I don''t see how the ash tone will fade? Could the problem be because she did highlights at the same time?

 

[Laila619]

Oh I''m sorry Feb. I too HATE ash tones, they make me look so washed out. Go back and tell her you need warmth. See what she can do.

 

[janinegirly]

SDL/Princess: you guys look great as brunettes! SDL what Keratese product do you use?

Feb~ go back to your colorist to fix it--how about coloring everything rather than low lights? Look fwd to some pics.

 

[joflier]

My hair has been every color of the rainbow. I say DO IT, GIRL!!!! If you don''t like it, it will fade some, and you can always go back. That''s the fun thing about hair, is if you do something you don''t love, oh well, just have a little patience and you''ll get it right where you want it.

 

[Burberrygirl]

Feb- I just had the exact same thing done. I had low lights put in and my high lights touched up. My hairstylist told me not to go back to my natural color because it wouldn''t look good with my skin tone. So I let her do what she thought would be best, at first I didn''t really like it. I had it done on Friday, and now I really like it. It wasn''t exactly what I wanted, but I''m glad I went with what she recommended. My stylist also told me the color would change a little bit and settle. If I were you I''d wait a while. Maybe it''ll grow on you! If not you can always change it later, but be careful not to damage your hair. I have to go to class soon, but I''ll post before and after photos later.

 

[Callisto]

Date: 11/3/2009 11:27:42 PM
Author: february2003bride
Thanks ladies! I just wanted to give an update and get more advice.


So my stylist did low lights and high lights in my hair yesterday and I hate it! Not because of the darker low lights but because my hair now looks ashy! I wanted a warm color not an ashy one.

I still want to go brunette but how do I fix this? Should I ask my colorist to add copper brown low lights to it? She said that it will fade after a few washes but I don''t see how the ash tone will fade? Could the problem be because she did highlights at the same time?

Did you ask for a warm color. If so then DEFINITELY go back. You should get what you want. I would ask them at least for a hefty discount on fixing it.

 

[Callisto]

Date: 10/28/2009 8:52:39 AM
Author: Laila619
Blondes have more fun.

Hmmmm... I might have to respectfully disagree

I''ve been blonde and brunette and everything in between and I had lots of fun as a brunette hehe.

Actually I don''t remember where I read this but apparently they did this study somewhere and discovered that red heads have the most fun (at least in the bedroom...no joke, that was the study) and it didn''t even matter if you had natural or dyed red hair, you still fit the curve.

 

[LGK]

My sister has your coloring, and she highlighted fairly subtly for years to keep it on the blonde side of things (she was a blonde kid and teenager, then her hair darkened a lot as an adult). This year she lost the highlights and got some subtle lowlights, and the overall effect is definitely brunette, albeit a lighter shade. It makes her blue eyes really pop. However, I do think it can also make skin look paler too, and I should adjust her foundation shade a smidge to give her a bit more color, but I'm lazy and haven't yet.

Also I think brunettes can get away with more makeup, speaking very generally.

She's liked the change, and has kept it for a while. I think it's pretty on her too. It isn't drasticallly different, just enough to make her a definite brunette.

 

[Burberrygirl]

Before, me with blonde hair this summer. Ignore the awful roots!!

 

[Burberrygirl]

Darker hair now, I think it looks better.

 

[Burberrygirl]

Here is what I wanted, this is my hair 4 years ago. I think what I have now is pretty close to how my hair used to be. I think eventually I'd want it to be more auburn, but for now I like my hair.