Hi,heres my dilemma......At the moment my hair is medium/dark brown and i would like to go blonde which would involve bleaching it.I am thinking about going to the hairdressers to get it bleached first because it would probably go ginger if i attempted!!My question is after ive had it professionally bleached/toned could i do the regrowths myself with a home bleach kit as i cant afford to keep going to the salon every few weeks or would i have to bleach the roots AND the lengh of my hair to get an even colour or would the home bleach kit be the same colour as the salon one.Ive asked this because once ive had it bleached i wouldnt really like to bleach it again.thanks,you can email me at xxshell_pxx05@hotmail.co.uk

I would suggest talking this over with your color specialist.  Getting home products to match salon products is not easy, and in some cases can give disasterous results.

It is possible to color just the roots and not the entire lenght.  In fact this is desirable if you have longer hair.  The less chemical processing that occurs to the hair, the healthier the hair will be.

It sounds like you are going for a rather drastic color change.  Usually it is not recommended that you lighten more than 3 shades.  If you do go more than 3, your roots will be very evident quickly.

Again, I'd suggest you discuss your plans with a competent color specialist.

Good luck!

i know someone who does it herself ... now well, she has strange color effects and you see demarcation lines everywhere on the whole scalp area. the annoyment is that every minute that stuff is in your hair counts and small differences in time show (also if you dont aply it very homogeneously, and you'll get funny "circles" on your scalp)

personally most other blondes i know really go to a hairdresser!
also keep in mind the damage especially on very long hair ... luckily on blonde you see less the damage but it will never be the same again (especially if you redo the length from time to time)

Hi, I've been lurking for a while and joined so I could reply to this message and share my experience.  Anyway, I had been thinking of bleaching my hair for months and finally went through with it last April.   I went to a stylist I had been to before and it took a while.  Be prepared to have goop on your head for a couple of hours.  I have naturally black hair and my hair only got to an orangy color after one bleaching (I left it like that then dyed it fuschia) so  it might take you more than one bleaching period to go blonde.  

It would be best to go to a stylist you trust for the initial bleaching because it really damages your hair and if you do it at home and aren't careful, your hair could actually melt off (that usually happens if you try to bleach multiple times in one day rather than spacing it out over several).   I think doing the roots yourself might be okay, but do some research first.  Oh, and 30 developer is really strong and roots bleach quickly so it might be a good idea to use 10 or 20 developer.

Hope that helps!  Good luck!

I think you should have it done at a salon.  Go to a reputable salon (not one that hires people right out of beauty school, like great cuts or super cuts) with experienced stylists.  A girl I know went to have her hair bleached, the stylist didn't know what she was doing, and her hair turned orange and she was still expected to pay.  The darker your hair is, the more experience you need to bleach it because darker hair is more likely to turn orange.  
Once you do get your hair to the desired lightness, you will need to put a toner on top of it.  Your hair, no matter how light you get it, will still have a yellow or orange tint, and you put a toner on it to take away that yellow or orangey look.  Compare Paris Hilton or Anna Nicole Smith's Platinum hair to the home-bleached hair you see on lots of women.  The home bleached air is easy to spot because it's yellow and completely FRIED.  Paris and Anna's hair looks better because of the toner and the extra care put into bleaching their hair.  So even if you do home bleach your roots, you will have to either have a stylist put toner on it or learn how to do it yourself.  And if you do the roots at home, you'll likely end up with different colored bands in your hair because hair will darken for a day or so even after you wash the bleach out and it's hard to match colors (when I had my hair bleached at the salon, even the stylist didn't match the colors perfectly).
You CAN bleach your hair at home if you really want to or don't have the money to go to a salon, but it's safe to say it won't come out nearly as well as if you had a salon do it, ESPECIALLY with your haircolor.
Hope this helps!

I would definatley get it done at a salon.  I had my med brown hair bleached and roots touched up at a salon and I still have damage.  Of course, then I didn't know how to take care of my hair(I thought I did) but now I know much better since finding the boards.  My Bleached hair is still not the same as my virgin hair.,albeit much better since I've discovered jojoba oil, non sulfate shampoos, ect.  that's one of the reasons I'm trying hard to grow out the blonde colour, because there is sooo much maintence in going blonde AND keeping it it good condition, escpecially if you want it long.(mine is also very fine and fragile)  

I have done this to my own hair at home and by a professional. I would say it is a bad idea and definatly NOT recommended if you want to have long, healthy hair.However, if you decide otherwise, I would not do the entire head. Go with highlights.Add alot of them. This will give your hair dimension and you will not have as obvious roots, you will not need to do roots as often. Since you have never done this before or are inexperienced, I must recommend you go to a professional. You can ruin your hair or turn it orange. I ruined my hair by bleaching it and my hair literally came appart just by brushing or light pulling. You will have some damage, but if your hair is healthy, you will not suffer as much.NEVER double process! (bleach hair over already bleached hair)Thats what I did and I had to pay for my mistake!

Hi.

  Remember when going lighter now i'm not familar with store products.. But when using proffessional products, the bleach will only lift you up to 7 level off lift. It also depends on what volume develop they are using 5,10,20,30,40.  If you are a natural level lets say 3 the lower the number the darker the color.  I donot think the over the counter bleaching kits will be strong enough to bring you up to the right color blond..

Go see your stylist..  In the long run you will save money.  and save your hair.   if you add up the cost of the over the counter color, then you will probably need a toner and it still wont come out right. Then your spending money at the salon for your hair dresser to fix your head.  

charmedpea