Going brunette?

[Hullabalooo]

I'm actually a brunette but haven't been for about 15 years. I've forgotten what that looks like.

I'm thinking about going back but am in my 40s and worried that I'll just look ill instead!

Has anyone else done this? Not sure whether to take the plunge or continue as a dirty blonde.

Don’t do it ! For a start it doesn’t necessarily take, I thought it would just all be the same lovely chocolate colour all over, No plenty of poo coloured part blonde part brown bits. Then as it faded it went a particularly nice shade of ginger

Mine's brunette with a few blonde highlights kept in, so its not too harsh, but it has taken years to get it back to that, as it fades so quickly on blonde hair, it would look good for a couple of weeks and then fade, and I was left with brassy/orangey hair for most of the time. It finally takes now, and stays brown, but I'm not sure the years of hideous brassy hair were worth it. (My natural colour is brown, but I have a few greys, so get it coloured).

My friend just did this and it's knocked years off of her. She was originally a brunette though and has been blonde for years.

@inliverpool1 was that using box dyes or through a salon?

An £150 salon job, wasn’t happy, went blonde again

Oh and I forgot about the dinner lady burgundy stage. All the underneath bits that weren’t originally highlighted got dyed brown too, which was fine until it washed out then went purple

I wonder whether it might be better to do a brunette root and then a blonde balayage? Might be a good transition and also your roots won't need as much maintenance if it's near original colour?

Eg

I'm naturally dishwater blonde and had highlights all my adult life. I went dark brown last year and it looked nice but I just felt wrong. I ruined my hair bleaching it back to light blonde and wouldn't recommend it. Never again.

Think long and hard. Dark hair can really wash you out and quite often the dye doesn't take well on lightened hair. It could really look a mess.

dinner lady burgundy stage

^This, I love it (not the hair but the description), so very apt.

Oh dear so do I have to stay blonde forever now then?

I went back to brunette recently. It took 2 box dyes (over the course of 1 month) and it looks lovely.

Some blonder strands have faded a little but generally it looks like chocolate brown with honey & caramel highlights. I love it and my hair is shiny!

If I was to offer any advice it would be to stick to the lightest of the brown shades. Otherwise with a darker shade your hair may look black and too dark for a while and you'll hate it.

Take it gradual also the brunette equivalent of purple shampoo will help with brassy bits.

I used John Freida Visibly Deeper and was quite impressed with the result (although use conditioner with it!)

FYI I used Nice n Easy Lightest Brown 6.5

I did. Had a blonde bob for years and changed to a brunette pixie at 50. Love it. Mine is quite a light brown though, about a 6. It’s closer to my natural colour and suits me much better.

Ooh two positive responses so all is not lost! Great to hear that it can be done with box dyes without it going green.

Wondering whether to stay blonde for the summer then try brunette from autumn onwards

That's a good compromise because the summer sun will lighten your dyed hair quicker too!

Many years ago I went from bleached blonde back to brunette. I had to go to the hairdresser twice because the dark dye doesn't take to bleached hair easily, so it was expensive.. I got my hair cut quite short so the growing out wouldn't be as painful. My hair was a bit of an odd colour for a year or two, and I was put off dyeing my hair for life. Apart from a few boxes of Castings and ill judged highlights, my hair has been au natural for nearly 30 years. I am fortunate however to have very few grey hairs. My 83 year old mother hasn't many either!

Grow out about 2" of roots so your hairdresser can then do a colour match. While your roots are growing out, use copious amounts of Head and Shoulders to get as much as the dye out as possible. It's taken about 4 months to get mine to this stage........... then get the hairdresser to run the colour slowly down so you start off with a balayage effect and eventually are your own colour. It's a slower but more organic process.

That's very good advice @janeeyre07 thanks for that