To think my hair is nothing like I asked for and be crying about it?

[CrazyDogLady2022]

I changed my hair colour quite substantially today. I had a full head bleach/platinum blonde before and wanted something like the colour in the second photo shown. The first photo is what I have. I specifically mentioned that I didn’t want it to ‘just’ look highlighted and not frumpy.

it’s a big change and I know my hair is shorter than the picture, but I feel it doesn’t look anything like I asked for and I feel really upset about it and keep crying. Not least as I suspect the condition of my hair means it may not be possible to correct it.

I know I need to message the stylist. I feel awful as she is SO lovely. I’m also not sure I now trust her to correct it however.

AIBU? (I’m thinking it’s not like the photo and for crying like a wally)

Starting with more grey as a base is going to have different challenges both in terms of colour and texture. Plus the photo on the right is very professionally lit and shot.

Going from all blond to something that shows more grey is always going to make you feel you look older. It’s really hard to go from light to darker as we get older!

I also think she did a good job with yours, she will have assessed what she can do without compromising the condition too much.

I think yours is nice but the hair in the photo is brighter and the colour is ‘chunkier’.

I empathise, OP.

I have all-over bleach at the moment with a lilac toner (actually going back to balayage in the new year) and I'm obsessed with making sure the condition is good.
Are you using a colour protect shampoo? Do you do a deep conditioning treatment weekly? Do you use heat protector? Do you minimise the heat you're using on your hair? All of this will help the condition which will mean you can have bleach packed at the ends.

Once she's packed the ends with lots of bleach, its then fairly easy to maintain and doesn't need as much bleach on subsequent visits.

I think it looks lovely op

Girl that colour is literally the same. Sit yourself in front of a ring light and take another photo. Your hairdressers done an amazing job

I don't know what other people are looking at but I think it looks very different! The model shot has big chunks of bright white / blonde against a generic grey.

OP has generic grey with a few whisps of lighter grey

The model has extensions and probably more than one ring light on her plus the contrast looks edited. Your hair looks lovely and not actually that dissimilar to the pic.

For what it's worth I much prefer your hair to the inspo photograph, I'd LOVE mine to look like yours!
However I see the difference. There's a lot more blocky bright highlighting in the inspo hair. However this is probably under fab lighting and may have been touched up, I can imagine it looking quite harsh in natural lighting, yours looks much softer.

Take a photo in daylight not id car.then compare

I think your hair looks like the real life version of the one on the model. The hairdresser can't transplant what the photoshopped model has on to you. There are too many variables. I think she has done a lovely job.

i think yours looks nicer than the photo!!

Maybe wash and restyle it as you like it. I never like mine until is style it myself. Colour looks nice and quite similar.

Surely everyone by now realises how much these model photos are edited and you own hair won’t look like that in real life with normal lighting?

You can’t bleach hair to white as it will disintegrate before then. You have to bleach it to a very pale yellow (level 10) then use a purple toner to neutralise the yellow tones.

I think the OP’s hair looks ok and if she styles it herself, she’ll probably come to accept it. I definitely wouldn’t want to add more bleach to the ends as it will end up like chewing gum.

I think your hair looks gorgeous. At least you have hair, not alopecia. And you don't live in a war zone. So, you know, that's good too

It’s a bit drab, while the other photo is much more glamorous.

If you don't like it OP let them know. You're allowed to!

I LOVE your hair BTW 😊 your hair is my dream hair!

I think it's beautiful and very like the photo. It might just be the shock of the change.

Sleep on it, wash it, style it yourself and if you are still unhappy go back to the salon and ask what can be done to get it closer to your vision.

I've done this in the past when my hair colour wasn't what I was expecting and they were very nice and added a few more highlights at no extra cost.

Agree, though I think most have spotted it now. I thought they were similar until I took a close look. OP's is just shades of grey, no contrast.

She's also not happy with the it, which is the main point. I agree with people that OP's hair looks in nicer condition than the photo.

I think it looks as close to the inspiration photo as it can, given you have much less length and volume to work with (as she has a lot of extensions).

The girl in the photo not only has longer hair, it's much thicker than yours too. So she can have much chunkier strips of dark amongst the blonde/grey without looking like a badger. You need something more subtle.

I know it isn't what you hoped for but I just wanted to say, I think it looks great!

I think yours looks better.

Don't forget, the dark toner will fade & more of your bleached hair will show through.

Bang on!

OP, you’ve sat in a dark car, no flash, nothing and expected it to look like an edited photo. Colour will always look more “blocked” in shorter hair and if it was a big change, unfortunately often with blonde it takes a few goes to get what you want (although your hair looks the same as the photo).

Yes, all of that. I use Aveda/Joico products on it and am very careful with it. No heat styling except for special occasions/going out etc. I don’t really style my hair or wear make up etc often, but having nice hair is really important to me.

it’s just disappointing Given that I was SO blonde beforehand. It may fade wite fast anyway as my guard is so porous.

As others have said

1. Your hair does not have the curls in it. The curls are the things bringing together the blond and allowing big gaps where you can see yhrough to the darker roots on the model. Wihtout them, you have all the hair strands blending together. To be really blunt (but not meaning to be rude) - you would never get that chunky look without the curls.
2. The lighting is different, particularly the contrast. Higher constrast in your photo would exaggerate the blond vs dark, as it has done on the model.

I think it looks a similar colour, they probably put a toner in, which when washed out, brightens it IMO. The girl in the photo has much thicker hair, it would never look that similar.