Please help me.

[MissStrawberry]

Just coloured my hair. Left it on the 20 minutes. Decided not to leave it on longer in case I started to get the pain of tingling. There is barely any change at all . What did I do wrong and when can I colour it again?

Wait until you can see it in daylight. There has probably been more of a change than you can currently see.

what colour is your hair and what colour/product did you use?

Very slight change but only if you know I had coloured it.

It was Garnier 3.8. Natural Medium Golden Blonde. My hair was light brown, aka mousy, before.

I don't think that would do anything. Those products don't tend to lighten...if you want to go blonde it'll have to be highlights at the salon.

Last time I went to the salon it was crap and hardly noticeable which is why I was doing it myself.

These colors deposit color (ie they cover grey) they usually only have 20 vol peroxide in them with does not lighten the hair.

To lighten you need to use stronger peroxide, typically it's 40 vol and more often than not it stays on longer than 20 minutes.I am not well versed on these home colors but I think you can only get 30/40 vol in the highligher/bleaching kits.
The reason is because 40 vol can burn the scalp if put on directly for too long so they tend to sell them in highlighting form so there is a barrier between your scalp and peroxide.

It can be really tricky to lighten hair at home,but if you are doing it I would start with a highlighting ki.Strand test your hair first to check it is strong enough to take another color seeing as you have done one already.Stand test details should be in the pack.

Go back to the salon and tell them you want more noticeable results than last time. I had mine done 6wks ago - the ushered me into the toilets to show me the "beautifully subtle" highlights under the halogen lights in there! This week I told them they needed to be more noticeable, and they are. I should have gone back straight away really, they will usually correct colour if you're not happy.

Maybe find a photo of someone with the colour you want to achieve? I can't imagine golden blonde on mousy hair could be expected to make a difference tbh. Garnier do highlighting kits though if you wanted highlights?

I have sometimes asked a mobile hairdresser to apply shop-bought colour/highlights for me - can work out cheaper and she doesnt miss great big chunks at the back

I haven't got the time to go to the salon now the kids are off which is why doing it at home can be a God send. I was a bit scared of the bleaching kits in case I went too light as I am worried already I am too old to be blonde. In my day it was called streaks and I would like different shades of very light brown and blonde running through. Impossible to do at home I suspect.

I have just looked on line at my hair dressers and these are the options -

Hi/Lo Fashion Foils ? Full head foil or roots only From £80
T-Junction ? Foils in T shape to blend around hairline and parting From £56
Global Tint ? Full head colour, fashion or grey coverage From £38

No idea what T shape foils would give you .

T shape foils are for just doing the parting and the front around the hairline.

I get them done when I don't have the time or money to do a full head.Full head tints will always be cheaper, because you just put it on and wait,where as the foil takes a while to put in.

I need to have a think what I want to do. Thanks!