Repeatedly coloured blonde hair, what to do?

[benefitofhindsight]

I have been having highlights and getting my hair dyed for years and have moved from one hairdresser to another so now I have bad roots as haven't done it for longer than usual due to having a baby but also I can kind of see where I have had it coloured by different hairdressers, it is not all even. I am wondering if I should try to find a home hair dye that is like my real (dark blonde) colour and dye it and then go to a hairdresser and get highlights to brighten it up, or if I just go to the hairdresser and get a full head of highlights will that sort it out? I am worried that because my hair is not all one colour it will take the highlights differently and not be even. At the moment I have a good 3 or 4 inches of re-growth and my hair is long, down to below the bra type length.

A good colourist will help and advise, if you can see where it's been done before then it hasn't been done properly ime. When I used to get mine done I also had a darker colour that matched my natural colour to break it up a bit.

I wouldn't put a home dye over high lighted hair.

Sounds a bit over dyed. I would maybe suggest a full head of lowlights or a full head colour with a few highlights in there to void lego hair.

I think a full consultation with a good colourist would be beneficial before your actual appointment so you have time.

Thanks, the problem is I live overseas and keep trying different hairdressers as I am never very happy with the results. I live in a country where not many people are naturally blonde but lots of women dye their hair blonde and it always seems to either look either really fake and barbie doll-like or really orangey. I never had this problem in the UK as they seemed to get what I meant by natural looking. I have been recommended a hairdresser and will try going there but I am just not sure what to say to get it like I want it.

Oh gosh,I know exactly what you mean,I remember that situation well when I lived outside the UK. If be tempted to cut it short and grow out out

I'd be

Do not use home hair colour, it will not cover the patchiness, in fact it will probably be worse.

You need to go and get it highlighted again, and I think the key word to use to avoid fake blonde is 'ash'. You want ASH blonde highlights.

Cutting it short may help with the colour but if I don't like it I expect I'll feel a lot worse about it than I do at the moment!

Yes I guess 'ash' is the way to go. I have a fear of 'ash blonde' since I tried a temporary ash blonde hair dye as a teenager and my hair basically went grey! I did get my hair coloured in a good salon in the UK a couple of years ago and asked them to write down the composition of the colour they used so I could ask for it here and I know ash blonde was on there along with something else.

Me too, I have the exact same problem in Spain. Over the years it has made me miserable. Didn't matter if I went to the best hairdressers in Madrid or otherwise... always barely noticeable highlights and/or orange.

I now fly back to the UK once or twice a year and get the top colourist at Toni and Guy and they highlight it and then they put in an ash toner, I now have a decent colour again but it needs redoing and I can't go back for ages.

I will not trust another hairdresser here though, it is not worth it.

PS took the EXACT colour, written down, from AVEDA in London to the one in Madrid and I came out with browny orange, it was dreadful.
They redid it for free and cut it for free but, never again.

I was planning to do the same, just keep going back to the UK but now it's much harder to go back with 2 small dcs and I can't afford the prices either... I'll have to keep trying to find someone I'm happy with. I have also had one really dreadful one, the guy that did it really didn't seem to have a clue what he was doing and it looked AWFUL but I was too polite to say anything, just went home and cried! I then went to another more expensive place and got it re-done and it was a lot better but again not right.