From brown to blonde hair help?

[27Harper]

Hi there. I'm in a bit of a pickle here. I currently have fairly dark brown hair at the moment, but I'm wanting to go blonde. I have an idea of how to do it myself, but I know that I'm much better off going to someone who actually knows what they're doing, especially with bleach.

The thing that's putting me off is that I want it done in one session. I have really long hair and I know I'll need to get a few inches cut off and that's grand, but whenever I go in there they make it sound like they need to cut all of my hair off, or they won't do it in one session. I don't know how to really say that I want it all done in one session at at most 3 inches off if that's possible?

I'm thinking either one or two shades, one quite a good bit lighter than the other one.

Would either of the two of these be possible in one sitting without cutting too much off from medium to darkish hair? Its not super dark or anything but I don't know how else to describe it lol. Thank you if anyone can answer if possible. Thank you! xx

Hey lovely .... any of those pics will look gorgeous, a good hairdresser will be able to recommend a suitable blonde tone to match your skin colour, I would love the ballyage but unfortunately I have a few greys going on so blonde is best for me. If you take a picture of what you like, they will talk you through what will suit you best. Please don't attempt this yourself, ballyage is a procedure that should be done by the professionals only! It's a great way of adding blonde without it looking too much, too much blonde can make some skin tones look washed out. Oooohhhh exciting : ) I would probably recommend Saks or another high end salon for this, I've definitely found that the high end salons do a better job, but that being said some smaller salons may do just as good job also. Just don't bloody do it yourself! x

If they are a hairdresser with specific experience in blonde/lightening then yes, they can do it. OLAPLEX all the way though - if you're in a city, you should be able to find somewhere that specialises in "cool" hair, and they'll be able to do the silvery/grey-toned thing you're looking for. But make sure they are an Olaplex salon - it has made SUCH a difference for me.

Don't do it at home though. I tried to do this six months ago, and the effect was basically yellow as I didn't have the nerve to bleach to near white in case it all fell off (bleaching over dyed dark-ish brown hair). I ended up having it finished in a salon (that specialises in super blonde hair) and it's fantastic now.

Thank you everyone, as I said I know what to do sort of, but I know that a professional would do a much better job as they know exactly what they're doing, not just 'sort of' which is why I changed my mind lol, I don't want to wreck my hair because it's so long. As for the Olaplex I have heard that it's a miracle product, but should I just outright ask them if they use it? Idk, ugh curse my natural dark hair! Wish I was blonde or a redhead sometimes, or just change my genetics lol xx

If the salon is any good then they will suggest Olaplex to you. Olaplex has 3 parts and the first part is specially used in the lightening product i.e. the bleach. Step 2 is applied after the process and rinsed through your hair. Step 3 is used at home as a maintaining treatment.

They won't do it in one session. I was actually at the hairdressers yesterday going blonde. I too am dark and had a box colour on (about 6 months or so ago) and they were concerned about how the dye would take on the dyed bits. They basically said that if I got highlights, I would end up like a highlighter as my undyed roots would take the colour better. In the end they gave me a lot of balayage and an olaplex treatment and I'm going back in 6 weeks for more balayage to lighten it again. They said that was the best way to prevent damage. My hair feels great today.

This is how light they got my hair yesterday.

Yes definitely make sure you ask, any salon that's up to date with their treatments should do olaplex or a similar product. My hairdresser uses BlondMe every time and my hair feels like silk.