If you have your hair highlighted...

[CarrieMayBe]

How close to your scalp does your stylist take the bleach?

Mine stops a good half cm or so, within a couple of weeks I have really noticeable roots showing through (I'm really quite dark naturally) and now, 6 weeks in - and still 2 weeks away from my next appointment - I look awful. Just like my hair hasn't been done for months, I can't go more regularly as its so expensive.

I'm even considering going back to brunette but then I'd have a similar issue with greys

I have spoken to my stylist about this but she says she can't go any closer, yet I don't see others with blonde hair have such rootage going on. Although my hair is highlighted - as in its done with foils - it is blonde throughout. Well...apart from these bloody roots!

Is this really how it has to be or can she indeed go a bit closer to my scalp? I accept I'll have regrowth between appointments obviously but it's not worth the money I pay to only have hair that looks nice for about the first two weeks and spend the next 6 weeks wishing time would hurry up until my next visit

Oh that would really annoy me, mine goes a mm or so up to the scalp. I can usually get 8-10 weeks out of mine which suits me fine.
I'd change hairdresser if I were you. It's too expensive and time consuming to have half the job done.

About .5 with foils, about .25 when they paint them on. TBH though I prefer foils so I just ask her to touch up my roots more and they paint them on when the foils are in place.

I'm a hairdresser and it should be really close to the scalp with the ideal 6-8 weeks next appointment for colour. hair grows 3/4 of an inch in 6 weeks, id change hairdressers if happened more than once. I've seen this before!

I get it done every 6 weeks though, due to my cut/the thickness

Mine goes very close, and I get them done every 8-10 weeks. However, my highlights are very natural and are interspersed with a darker colour as well as my natural colour. They are also very fine. This means that it all blends very well when it grows out and the root isn't very noticeable.
If you are very dark naturally, you will struggle with root growth when it is blonde. It is probably time to rethink your colouring and a good stylist can advise you on this so you still get a good look and sort out your greys.

Does it not depend on your Base colour and how light your highlights are as to how bad the regrowth looks. E.g I get mine done every 3 months but mine are done so they aren't much lighter than my natural colour and I only ever get half a head done

I've been blonde (and using same hairdresser) for about 4yrs, then last autumn she persuaded me to cut back on the bleach at the roots as my hair was struggling a little with breakage etc. So we went a bit ombré but it was a very light brown she used at the top of my head.

I didn't really like it so went back to highlights a couple of visits ago and this is when I started having issue with the roots. I'm certain she used to go closer before.

Trouble is, although I'm naturally dark, I do look better blonde. Everybody agrees it suits my skin tone better even though I'm sure it probably shouldn't! Having said that, if I could find the right shade of brown I'd be tempted - I'd love that shiny, deep chocolatey brown but I've never managed to come out with it in the last. I either end up mousey or with some sort of red in it or at the very worse a horrible almost black colour.

I never look forward to having my hair down, it never comes out how I want it. Might be brave and post a pic in the morning and see what you all think!

Done, not down!

As close as you can get to the scalp.

This is mine right after being coloured. Naturally it is a very dark brown so it is just lifted with the two tones put on it.

If your hair is pretty dark naturally your highlights are going to show up more and so then is the regrow.

I have very fine highlights done every 5-6 weeks, only a few but all over to keep it blended in. I have fine hair so still have highlights done using the old-fashioned cap method rather than foils, as it gives an extra fine and random highlight effect that foils can't achieve. Also it means that far less of my hair is highlighted as even with careful foils, more hair ends up getting highlighted than I'd like (or my hair can take being fine). When I had foils they left the first cm or so out, the hair is so new there it can bleach super bright compared to the lengths, so I wouldn't recommend it. I think your hairdresser is right not to.

Maybe opt for less and finer highlights but more regularly?

Awful pics but hopefully you can see how awful the roots look after 5 weeks compared to the colour of the lengths.

Trouble is, I'm going through an awful divorce and I'm really scared of doing anything to my appearance that is new and I may not like as my confidence is shot right now sad

Gah! Try again!

Also Carrie - my hairdresser is not expensive though as it takes less then five minutes to prepare the hair (pulling strands through the cap and applying the dye), I used to have bleach with a toner in applied but now it's just plain bleach (lower strength to suit my fine hair). If it was more expensive like it is with foils I wouldn't be going as frequently.

I once paid £120 for cut & highlights (foils) and they were too chunky for my fine hair so she then put lowlights in to tone it down, then the next time after more chunky highlights my hair started breaking off (a lot) so now I'm very happy with my humble and cheap cap application for £45 including trim & blow dry

Carrie - x posts. I can tell you exactly what's going on there. Your hair has been highlighted all over so much that it's turned into a block colour not highlights. I don't see highlighted hair in your pics, it looks like you've block-dyed your hair and are now letting it grow out. Your natural colour is brunette but the lengths are blonde not really highlighted any more.

You need lowlights putting in to break it up. I'm surprised your hairdresser hasn't advised you. Although I had lowlights and it stressed my hair, my hair is super fine and fragile and I had the treatments done too close together also the bleach she used was too strong, ordinary hair should be fine with lowlights.

OR if you want to maintain blonde, tell her use a bleach x2 to highlift blonde X1, doing a full head but scatter at the back putting more in the top and sides (for them not to charge a full head plus more). she needs to put more highlights in as you've had so much blonde, especially as it's lots of fine ones.