Anyone have highlights on their dark brown hair?

[springlamb]

My hair is dark brown with increasing gray at the front. I've been having highlights for most of this year and I'd like to continue. They seem to need doing about every two months. Never costs less than £100.
My hairdresser always insists I have the highlights combined with a toffee-ish base colour. TBH I just can't afford to keep it up anymore.
When I last kept my hair highlighted (admittedly twenty years ago!) we didn't seem to bother with 'base colours' but the hairdresser seems to feel it's essential.
Is it really? Does everyone have one? Would it look totally weird nowadays just to get her to do a half-head highlights?

I think that the base colour is to cover the grey hair, which is why you wouldn't have had it done 20 years ago - you had no grey to cover.

TBH, highlights in dark hair that is greying sounds vile!

So I take it you'd be saying 'yes sweetie it would look weird' if you were in empathy mode Bonsoir.

In my defence, I actually mean less than 10 grey hairs around my widow's peak area. But if half head highlights are £35 then I am paying a lot for that base colour to cover those 10 hairs.
Why do the buggers grow so noticeable.
Why can't one begin greying from the nape.

My hair is greying fast round the temples. But I am blonde, so it is not quite as visible as on a brunette - and I love my hair colour so would rather stay the way I am than cover it all and highlight.

Can't your stylist do highlights with 2 or 3 colours and then use a toner to cover the remaining grey? Not sure if that would work, but that's how my highlights had been done up to last year. I was never true blonde, more of a light brown/hazelnut colour.

I now do all over darker brown semi-perm colour and I see the greys coming through upon re-growth. Who knows how long those greys have been there! I'm considering adding in some highlights again now b/c I'm feeling frumpy with darker hair. It's not impossible to do highlights on darker hair, it's just trickier to get right, I would say.

Yes, my four sisters have that advantage, however they have to stay out of the sun to a great degree and have trouble showing off their arched and glamorous eyebrows. Swings and roundabouts...
However, back to the issue, what to do about this hair.

As an aside, my sister, with her fabulous Liz Hurley-esque hair, has just had 'under'lights on hers, it looks so natural and they catch the light, sort of a caramelly colour on the bits that fall around her shoulders and below. But this has nothing to do with your hair, Springlamb so I'll shut up now! I just hadn't heard of underlights before!

Ask for a "t-bar" of highlights rather than a half head as that will cost alot less. If the highlights are combined with lowlights close to your natural colour i think the effect can be very flattering and look more like you have cuaght the sun in your hair that frames your face. Like this

I have mid brown hair. For colour I have one shade darker than my own hiar, two shades up, a caramel and a blonde alll as high/low lights alldone at diff widths and never "on top" at my parting- looks to fake- and it is very nice. Costs about £80, rather than the £120 I used to pay for half head of highlighs and a semi as well all over.

No, you don't want to be a blonde.

I have four sisters too (older, I might add!), but they've all been dark for ages while I held on to my highlights. Now I'm not so sure. I like being brown, just not frumpy. Can I please have Giselle Bundchen's hair? (And the rest.)

Is your all-over toffee colour semi-perm or perm? I wouldn't think you have to do all over colour as well as highlights. In fact, I would think that would make the re-growth look more obvious. Maybe next time ask about more colours of highlights rather than the all over colour. I would think your hair would be in better condition, too, without all that extra processing.

Ooh, mango, where does she get that done? Sounds fab, although I'm definitely not channeling Liz.

Monkey = exactly. That's what I mean by 2 or 3 colours, you have darker shades mixed with lighter shades. And I love that pic of SJP, but she still a bit blonde for me - too much maintenance. Damn, I keep forgetting we aren't talking about meeeeeeeee.

JFly, Have c&p'd her email to me...

Takashi at Windle in Cov Gdn, they get loads of v good reviews;

?The pièce de résistance of British hairdressing.?
Time Out Magazine

?10 out of 10 for cut and atmosphere.?
The Sunday Times, Style Magazine

She went to Brooks & Brooks for years and fancied a change!

My new hairdresser did that last time - the highlights with the base and it cost me £160.
I don't have much grey at all but the toffee/caramel colour was actually very nice, trouble is I can't keep it up either.

I was sure that I used to need just highlights and no base so now I'm going to go back to her and say I want more colours (at least three, one of which being that nice warm shade).

Am due to go next week so am glad I found this thread!

Do you live in London springlamb?

Thanks all. The dc have their clubs tonight so only just home.
The 3 different shades of highlights sounds a possibility.
Yes, I'm on the outskirts of London.
The regrowth is very obvious.
The condition's blimming awful (and I use straighteners so imagine).
I noticed as I drove past that the hairdressers are doing a Monday special half price highlights and colours, so may pop in tomorrow to discuss.
But the hairdresser further along the road is doing 75% off cut and blow dry.
Maybe I could run between the two.

OK...you need to invest in some good quality product for your hair and you need to get a cut that works for your hair and does not need straighteners everyday. It is so bad for your hair.

Try REDKEN "extreme" shampoo and then REDKEN "all soft" conditioner. Will cost you about £25 for both and will last for about 3/4 months if you wash everyday.

I have dark brown hair too and i have a half head of highlights - I usually have 2 or 3 different colours, one of which is dark brown to rebalance as the lighter colours can make your hair go very blonde if you keep doing them. costs a fortune though so i only have them done 2 or 3 times a year!

Thanks, I'll try the Redken, I have a Trade Secrets in shopping centre so can pick it up reasonably there. Never tried Redken, more of a Kerastase person.
I wouldn't mind having it done 2/3 times a year but although my hair is old and grey, it still grows very quickly.
Last had them done on Aug 11th and there's at least an inch and a half now.
My hair is a nightmare. Weird cow lick effect going on, waves all over like Brighton beach, and won't grow beyond the shoulder now.
However, I have magnificent boobs and I've lost 3 inches on my waistline this month, and my kids and the dog love me [desperately tries to salvage self esteem].

I have naturally dark brown hair- always had highlights till about 18 months ago, when I grew my hair from a short crop to a choppy long bob.
I stopped having highlights due to cost, and actually like being all over dark. It's very shiny= I have pale skin and dark eyes, so it looks dramatic, but not draining, despite being 50.
I have it coloured every 6 weeks due to sporadic gre hairs.

Could you maybe use a conditioning semi permanent on your hair plus heavy duty conditioners for a while until your hair is in better condition? My hairdressers will put on a deep conditioner for me post highlights if I remember to ask too.

I have what sounds like a similar thing to you (except 2/3 colours for the highlights) and get charged £35 pounds! Thank goodness I don't live in London- can't imagine who can afford those sort of prices every few weeks!

I wouldn't try a new salon if you're doing something quite radical. Maybe try a hair cut first and see the general talent in the salon before you go for colour.

Hair straighteners are the devil's work, but I have to use them, too, despite a very good haircut. My hair is fine and wavy and every morning I wake up with bad, kinky hair. I try to wash it every third day, so as to minimise blow drying. But, it's a catch 22 with the straighteners. I like Kerastase, too, and their intensive conditioner is v v good. Must get some more.

My hair is actually in worse condition now in a bob with semi-perm colour than it was long with highlights. Having shorter hair is definitely not less maintenance for me.

Springlamb, people are probably looking at your fabulous rack rather than your grow out, so don't despair!

I have dark hair with a grey streak just where my parting falls...typical. Tbh I'm starting to go a bit salt and pepper at the front too. I have a warm base colour and a few blonder highlights around the top and under my hair. My dh loves the blondness but It gets on my nerves by the tme the dark nights draw in so I revert back to a shiny dark colour. Trouble is my grey roots show up after 3 weeks and i have to get to the hairdresser pretty quickly. Costs a fortune but I've found nice local salon not too expensive. Ideally I think I need prof advice from one of the big london salons.

How weird - I was going to tell you that my hairdresser does special offers for highlights on Mondays!
They do have other branches further out of London I think - can't link but they're called HOB.

I have a chocolate all over then copper low lights then a few hi lights scattered in.

Maintenance is 6 weekly colout and hi/low lights every 4 months

However have recently moved to a v hot country and despite copious amounts of serum/sunscreen my hair has bleached (and looks brassy)

Am aiming on a toffee colour (I think) blonde is a step too far for me (always imagined Bonsoir as a soignee brunette

The ladies on "mistresses"have dark hair with lighter highlights, they look ok I think. The blonder highlights certainly make my grey roots less obvious but I never think my hair looks healthy and shiny enough with highlights

I get underlights too. Cheryl Cole also has them. Means you don't need to get your colour done as often.

Lots of ideas, thank you all.
No, I see Bonsoir as a Michelle Pfeiffer sort, swishing along the Champs Elysee in a long swirly coat with a fur collar and very high heels. She also has a very small handbag with Mary Poppins effect - it's got everything you could ever need in it. That's right isn't it Bonsoir?
Who shall I keyboard-picture next?!?

I feel your pain. I've got a lot of grey, am naturally dark (with pale skin) and worse still (every hairdresser's nightmare) am curly. My roots are very noticable (grey!)after 3 weeks so it's expensive. Have started getting Aveda permanent colour as scalp was getting itchy. Tbh it still does get a bit itchy even with Aveda. I would get Daniel Field colour but cba to travel to Barnet cos I live in S London.