I want to go from black to caramel blonde. How do I go about it?

[EweHaveGoatToBeKiddin]

I've never had more than a basic dry cut at the hairdresser's before. But I'm desperate for a change.

My hair is shown in the first picture, but is currently a little darker (almost black). This was done with a box dye or three.

I would love my hair to be the same colour as the second picture before Tuesday (important event). Is this colouring process something that can be done in one session at a salon? I have heard that to go from black to blonde, it's advised you do it gradually. Go brown first, add highlights etc. I'd really just get it all done in the one go if possible.

My hair is also naturally frizzy. And I've heard bleaching/dying will make the hair like straw, thus worsening the frizziness. Is this true?

I'd love some advice here as I'm hoping to call round tomorrow and book an appointment for this weekend. The most important thing i suppose is do you think I'll suit it? Apparently I have a 'square' face if that matters.

Failing all of the above, can anyone wiser than me advise another colour/style i could go for that might suit me better?

Thanks very much in advance for any replies.

yeh you can do it
I have very dark brown hair naturally and have caramel highlights
I am allergic to dye so have to have foils but I imagine you could have a full head of foils after a dye to lighten the rest a bit

Will prob be quite expensive . I paid over £100 for my highlights a few weeks ago . Is your hairdressed good at colouring? It's quite a skill to get good colour that looks natural.

Thanks ggirl.

To be honest i don't actually 'have' a hairdresser. I have about ten in my town and never been to the same one more than once. (and i only go for a trim/dry cut once a year, sometimes 2). So i don't know much about their skills.

The place I'm keen on trying has the following options on their site:

Highlights and full head colour £85
Cut and colour full head £60

I don't know what the difference is.

I think I'll need an all over dye rather than just highlights. Highlights will mean my base colour will still be black (if i'm correctly understanding what highlights mean).

Are you saying i will need highlights after i get an all over dye? Could this all be done in the one sitting do you think?

I would say get full head highlights-this is having the color wrapped in foils.Have plenty put in.

If you decide you want a full head color-this is like your home color straight onto the hair/scalp you will need a skin test at the salon a day or two before you have it done.

Yes it will be more dry,highlights use a stronger peroxide.But if you use a treatment like Aussie moisture mask when it feels bad then it should be fine.As it's colored before the salon may want to strand test your hair to make sure the color takes.
HTH

Go and talk to a few salons,see what they say and how much it costs.As sometimes the price goes up for long hair or color changes.

A reputable hairdresser would require several visits to strip the dye out and then return.

You could try the home colour removing kits then colour with a lighter dye. I have done so, successfully but my hair is about two, three inches shorter than yours.

I have dark hair like you but when I was a student I decided t try blonde, with a home kit, like you I have long hair and the result was a disaster, my hair ended up a patchy mix of tangerine orange, blonde and patches of dark brown. I then put on a hat and went to a salon where a skilled stylist gave me a full colour of dark blonde with highlights of lighter blonde. It looked great but the cost of maintaining that look was very high so after two years I returned to natural. On the basis of my experience I recommend that you find a stylist who will give you a free consultation and if you like them, use them.

go and visit a salon first for a consultation and a strand test. I would not advise doing this all in one go unless you are prepared to have alot cut of due to damage.

You would need to strip out the old due, put in a new base and then high and possibly low light to get this effect. Possible, in theory at one sitting though expect it to take all day! However, you need a colour specialist for the task, and they will probably warn you off tackling it like that! Definitely talk to them before booking, they need to be confident they can do the job. You'd be looking at full head colour, full head highlights, poss extra for the strip and whatever for the cut. I'd expect it to be well over £100 anywhere and up to £250 dependent on how swish your salon is.

Due = dye

Thanks so much everyone. You all sound like such experts (i had to google what highlights meant ). My hair is naturally dark, dark brown, almost black. Box dyes therefore hardly do anything. I bought a 'brilliant red' and ended up with the above result.

It sounds like a really scary process. I'm going to call up the hairdresser this afternoon and arrange to come in for a chat/consultation. It's the damage to my hair that's freaking me out and the maintenance costs... I'll see how I feel once I speak to her/him. It might be ll i need is a nice cut/possible fringe to make my mop look a bit less drab.

Thanks once again for all your advice.