About my hair - hairdressers help please

[hairlemmer]

So I have been going to the same lady for a few years and I'm generally happy.

I'm naturally dark blonde/ light brown. When I started going to her we did highlights.

It was all over highlights so I was basically blonde. She sometimes used a lot of concentrated toner and my hair would be grey for a few days and then wash out. This was to avoid it going yellow too soon etc.

Anyway long story short, about a year ago I decided I had enough of highlights and roots and looking unkempt. It's a lot of maintenance.

So we've been trying to get me down to a brunette with some subtle highlights.

A few times she's done an all over brunette and then after a few weeks it washes away of course. To reveal my root colour, the brunette dye and the blonder ends.

In the summer she got it completely spot on. She did a darker smudge and some very subtle highlights. I was a light brunette with subtle highlights.

Last time I went to see her I said I wanted the same and she said, this time let's do all over brown. The colour on the ends always goes lighter after a couple of washes anyway so I thought ok. We can just put some highlights in it towards the summer. We had looked at some shades and it looked like a light brown colour.

She did a very concentrated colour which I hate. It's really dark and just not me. I told her straight away, when can I come back so you can put some highlights through it ? She said a couple of weeks.

So I went back after a couple of weeks and she highlighted it slightly but basically back combed it and the highlights are not near the top of my hair at all and I don't know why she did that tbh. Why would she do it like that ? I didn't realise in the salon, I just thought it needs a couple of ways to come through, but it's just not enough and not near the roots at all. It's near the bottom which tends to lighten anyway. I feel a bit ripped off ? Or maybe she had her reasons but didn't tell me. But I still don't like my hair.

Any thoughts ?

Stop going to the hairdresser?

I was wondering more like - is there a reason she did that ? Maybe she couldn't highlight the top of my hair because of the recent colouring ?

She likely did that to avoid problem of obvious roots and to increase your maintenance window. It sounds like balayage rather than highlights and is meant to look more natural and need less maintenance. Often, the stylist will whack a few highlights at the front to frame the face, though.

If she keeps putting colour on your roots you're going to be stuck in a cycle of going back every few weeks when it grows out.

This is the problem with dying your hair - unless you're willing to go back regularly and maintain it long-term, you're always going to have visible roots and it obvious periods of regrowth.

I think you either need to let it grow out and accept the awkward phase, or cut it short start from scratch really.

I'd ask for recommendations and be careful as highlights are not as easy as people may think. I went to Toni and Guy once and came out looking like Garfield. But change hairdresser, get a few put in around the face and then take time to think about what to do.

There are hairdressers who follow the colouring rules.
Then there are those who are great colourists and just know exactly how to get the effect you are looking for. Often they have there own way of doing things that is not quite the rules.
Sounds like you need a great colourist to get what you want ask around with your friends.