Dying bleached/highlighted hair

[SadLampshade]

Hi all,

I’ve got half-head highlights (over a previously done full head - but many months ago), but can no longer afford to have these done. These highlights are just one colour, and have turned brassy and dry due to lack of time to look after them properly/currently very stressful life stuff (but lovely greasy roots - fabulous!).
As I’m totally penniless, I can’t even afford to go to the hairdresser and have a brown full head dye put over it.

So, my question is, can I just bung a shop-bought permanent chestnutty type dye over my previously highlighted hair, or do I need to do something prior to this?

I’m a professional who is looking not very professional and comments have been made at work (obviously in a ‘caring’ manner), but I need to sort my shit out.

TIA

I did exactly this last September. My hair was full of blonde highlights and I put a warm brown semi permanent on, it's fine. I actually like hen colour now. I'll put a photo on so you can see, it's a chestnut colour now. Semi permanent actually takes better in highlighted hair and lasts longer than permanent (don't ask me why!). For highlighted hair you need warm or golden brown rather than ash brown or there is a danger it will go green.

Here

Better light in this one, it actually has s more chestnut tone in daylight

I like that @ellapella, it’s a lovely colour. Usually I’d go for ashy as I suit those colours better, but thought it might be green tinged. Did you go straight to that colour? Or did you do a lighter one initially?

No I just put a semi permanent light warm brown on. Clairol I think. Was very dark for the first week but soon settled into a nice chestnut colour and I haven't had to top it up since. Ideally I'd like a bit more 'oomph' if that makes sense but I needed a good break from bleach, my hair was like straw after years of highlights and bleach.

Thank you @ellapaella (I’ll get it right this time!) - that’s really useful

Following as mine is also the same. Last time I had it bleached the girl overlapped the bleach on old bleach and ended up with lots of it snapping off. That was July last year and now I have half a head of lovely thick natural brown hair... and the rest blonde! I’m pregnant so managed to sort of get away with it looking so bad but really need to sort it out now. I’ve had a semi permanent nice’n’easy ash brown upstairs for months but haven’t had the balls to use it yet!

Betty step away from the ash brown! you need a warm/golden brown for bleached highlighted hair or it'll go a green tinge!

Thank you!!!!!! It’s a bloody minefield. I do prefer mine blonde but it’s just knackered from over bleaching :(

Use a semi permenant brown with a red undertone. I've done this loads of times and it turns out fine just stay away from anything ash.

The problem is my natural hair is a very mousey/ash brown so it’s finding one that matches! Sorry OP I’ve hijacked your thread!

Hi @betty - that’s fine! Highjack away!
Mine’s a mousey-brown/mousey-grey. A lovely ‘blurgh’ of a colour... perfect for dying. I’ve not had a natural hair colour for years, and have used box dues previously. There’s always a slight hesitancy in case it goes more wrong, and I have to pay out for the hairdressers anyway!

I checked mine again last night and it’s says “dark blonde” nice’n’easy. Think I’m going to pop on a patch test and strand test this morning so see how it looks...

Choose a Warm brown, then add a cool brown over the top a couple of days later. Did it on mine last year, and was fine. (Full bleach with hairdresser toned fading silver before hand!)

I did this last week, I couldn't get use to my ombre lengths - they were a mix of golden blonde & yellowy blonde so I got Schwarzkopf Poly Colour Tint in natural brown & warm brown, mixed them together & it turned out lovely, a nice chocolately brown - I didn't want it too warm/red or too flat/ashy.

I like the Schwarzkopf Poly colour tints, but my only bug bear is that they do tend to wash up quickly although they are permanent colours, which is a shame because I love the colour result they give.

Yes you can do this easily.

You need to add warmth back in as others have said but not as much as auburn if you don’t want to push it that warm.

I have had reliable results with Loreal excellence 5.15 on bleached hair. No green tones or black ones but a deep chocolate brown. If you can’t get hold of that the preference one which I think is called ‘Caracas’ does the job.

Frankie, how is the L'Oréal excellence 5.15 on greys/stubborn hair? And does fade quickly or not really? How dark is it? Sorry for all questions/hijack!!

I presoften my hair because it is very resistant especially at my temples.

I would describe the colour like a rich chocolate brown that glistens a conker red in the light but it is nowhere near dark enough that it looks black. It lasts pretty well.

Somewhere between this....

So, my question is, can I just bung a shop-bought permanent chestnutty type dye over my previously highlighted hair,

If it is very light at the moment, I think professionals would normally colour it red first - otherwise the dark colour mixed over the light may look green.

You can put a darker colour on blonde. Shouldn't be a problem. Shampoo before hand with a clarifying shampoo to remove previous conditioner and hair products, this helps to give a good even colour.