A hair colour one - my error or theirs?

[GingerAle1]

Not sure whose fault this is, nor am I planning to complain.

I posted before about highlighting Asian hair.

Went to the salon today with the plan for doing a T section. Spoke to loads and this was the only place I felt did a proper explanation.

I noticed when they did the foils, it looked like a lot more than I thought for a T section but I have no experience so kept quiet.

They left bleach on for 45 mins, as per the strand test, and from speaking to other hairdressers, that's the standard idea about how long it will taje to bleach Asian hair.

Then after they did the colour and blow dry, I realised I wasn't happy but thought perhaps I'd picked the wrong colour. I raised that possibility and they said no, it just needs to be a shade darker, we won't charge extra because we want you to be happy.

I thought it was okay after the second try but did comment that they had done a lot more than I thought, plus they seemed to have dyed the top layers but not the rest.

At this point I think they probably wanted me to leave as much as I wanted to go home. The lady who did it did look a bit worried and I saw her exchange glances with her boss, who might not have been happy with it either? He did check it the second time when it was developing.

I am now home and under bright light, it looks awful and very "orange henna". Plus there is so much of it! I am amazed that's considered a T section.

Not sure who is at fault, also if I picked the wrong colour the second time, shouldn't they have said?

I think a dark brown (not black) box dye will need to go on it tomorrow.

Be interested to know if I made any poor choices here. I was expecting glints of colour. Has T section changed meaning?

Thanks.

Can you share a photo? It's hard to comment otherwise.

I don't want to post a photo but just curious to know other opinions.

I saw her scrolling MN on her break! 😂

Sounds like what you actually wanted was a balayage.

Wouldn't that be even more colour than a T section?

re only colouring the layers, what are people's thoughts on that?

So are you hoping she sees your post and offers an explanation?

Please share a photo.
However I have been surprised in the past with how many highlights are included in a T section.

Not necessarily no. A t section is large (as wide as the high recession points on the forehead, all the way back to what they call the back crown) and highlights are thorough, lots and lots of small slices of colour. Not 'touches of colour' like you describe you wanted.

Balayage is entirely customisable. As much or as little as you want.

Ah, so I needed balayage. Okay. They seem to have done a root melt too, which is good.

You wanted some hand painted highlighted strands throughout the hair, not a t-section. Did you ask for a t-section or describe the end result you wanted?

I described the end result.

all the salons said "ah you need a T section".

I see a lot of posts here about orange tones and brassiness, I guess this is a common thing. They said the second lot of toner would alter it but it didn't.

the layer thing strikes me as the most odd, after getting home.

the root melt is good. Put the hair in a bun, it looks nice. Hanging down, it looks like pure black sticking out at the lowest level.

Did you have a photo to show them?

I think a t section was the right thing to ask for- it should only be about 12 foils max - 3 each side and six down the middle, its meant to be glints of colour. It sounds like they packed the foils in which has made the contrast to the underneath really noticeable. Stick a caramel brown toner on there and Im sure it will look really nice, and blend better.

When I have had a T section before it has been too much for me, it was quite a lot of hair. Now I just get about half of that done to break my colour up. As for the colour we can't comment as can't see it. But red colour can be very stark on bleached hair, especially if you wanted something more subtle.

You may as well post a photo. If your hairdresser was seen scrolling on Mumsnet then she will no doubt see this post anyway, as she can't have done that many t-sections on Asian hair that's had to be redone recently..,,,

Btw I wouldn't put a box dye over highlighted hair

@Orangebadger it was meant to be a brown with a bit of gold, I had it before about 20 years ago. Process seems to have changed a lot!

@gooddayruby why is that? I know a lot of people say don't but I do know people who have done it and been fine.

trying to work out the worst that can happen - green probably. But the toner they use is a semi, so I thought it would be okay.

only seeing family till 30th now.

Right, that's what I thought but foolishly didn't ask. I was that tired, .i nearly slept in the chair but I think at least 20 foils went in!

do you have any recs that I could get in Boots or via Amazon maybe? Thank you.

DH will be home soon, be interested to see his face.

Id try to pop back to the salon and ask them for a toner, say you're not happy with the colour and they should do it for you. The risk of using box dye is that you'll lighten/darken the hair around the highlighted bits as well as it will affect all the hair. If you really don't want to go back to salon use L'Oréal Dialight to tone it, but you need to get the correct peroxide to go with it- usually 9vol. Hard to recommend a shade without a pic but 6.23 or 6.13 are nice and help to get the orange tones out whilst still keeping warmth.

Silly question but why would I need a peroxide?

They put two toners on today, I doubt they'd agree to a third.

DH came home and said "oh you decided to colour it all then?" This can't be a T section. She might have accidentally done half head.

I then pointed out the black hair still sticking out, he was diplomatic but said it's okay and not noticeable - I disagree but he's trying to be kind.

He also asked if I'd worn anything else to see the colour differently - I had a red top on which might be making it look worse.

So I put a black one on, it does look better with that.

I'll see how I feel in the morning but I think it's likely I'll cover it up with a dark semi.

Now I remember, that's how I grew out highlights in my 20s - covered them with a semi. I had very long hair and it was expensive to keep doing highlights, though they were lovely.
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Again, I realise things will have changed in terms of chemicals though. I'll do a strand test first.

It's really ironic that after being told by many hairdressers that it would be hard just go from black to darkest brown, I've ended up with what looks like a brightly hued henna!

If the colour takes less on the highlighted hair, I might end up with what I wanted - some tonal variation in a sheet of black. Here's hoping.

I’m back to have a rant just to get it out of my system. It’s covered by a semi now.

Have attached a pic.

I took the pic after deliberately rough brushing so the semi permanent colour would take better - it is normally smooth.

But that’s how the contrasted hair looks if you are up close.

Whatever they think is a correct way to do highlights, no one wants their hair contrasting like that?

This was bugging me all night. I looked up how many foils are in a T section and got figures ranging from 7 to 25. Given how clear I was about adding touches of colour, they maybe should have suggested balayage or said how many foils is normal?

I would actually like to go and complain to the salon but I’m still not sure if some of this is my fault and I didn’t understand the service.

I showed fuller pics to two Aunties last night and they said “but lots of Indian women choose to henna hair like that”.

Maybe - but I don’t feel that was what to expect from T section highlights.

I’m also reluctant to complain because I think I’ve misunderstood. When I had it done 29 years ago, I think it was 7 foils, delicately painted in two different shades. So probably balayage but under another name.

A few family friends go to this salon so I’m also reluctant to complain because of that. If I thought I could discreetly catch the salon owner, I wouldn’t mind so much but I worry the girl who did my hair - junior stylist- might get into trouble.

Pleased to say I’m pretty much restored to my usual colour. If glints come through as it wears off, I don’t mind. It’s going to be a hassle as I normally wash my hair daily but want the semi to last.

I think I will have to do another semi in a couple of months and after that will try a permanent dye.

Any chance the semi will cover the highlights for good?!

OP it's impossible to tell anything from that photo, with your hair brushed like that.

I have to say I can't really understand the issue.

From what I can see the colour looks fine. It also looks like a T-bar, but as a PP said, perhaps too crowded together, giving more an overall block of colour, not highlights.

It doesn't look orange to my eye.

Your hair condition doesn't look great but perhaps that's just how you have it brushed.

So would it be normal to have a block of colour next to your natural colour, with such a huge difference in colour?

the colour looks less orange in this pic because we have bright white halogen lights.

it looks more like they dyed a T section rather than highlighting a T section.

I won't complain but I certainly won't complain about having boring hair again! 😂

my hair condition is good but I read that roughing up the cuticle was a good plan for dyeing so I attacked it with a bristle brush before putting the semi on.

I don't understand why you are trying to correct this at home yourself. I would be back to the salon or going to another if you can't face that. Hair is too precious to muck it about.

When you say brown with a bit of gold, do you mean a warm brown? And which shade level? Browms can go from very dark to almost blonde.

I may have missed it but did you show them a photo of what you wanted?

Your posts here are a bit confusing. A t bar will always leave you with underneath bits that remain your natural colour. How many foils you have will depend on how much hair you have and how thick it is.

I think this appears to be a miscommunication. I think whatever you explained to the hairdresser hasn’t translated. Or vice versa

Oh and don’t rough your hair up. You are risking alot of damage