Q: Basically, at the minute my hair is in a short bob- above my chin at the front and even shorter at the back. It's naturally
thick and quite wavy. It's also dyed very dark brown. (Home dye kit- although it's dark brown naturally anyway, but with a little grey.)
I'm getting it cut even shorter soon, and am determined to also get it platinum, almost white blonde. Is this even possible? Will they
need to strip the home dye out of my hair, and ask me to come back another day to get it bleached etc?
My hair's in good condition despite the dyeing but my eyebrows are dark. I have tried to get a stylist to do this before but she didn't
think it would suit me so talked me out of it. I really want it done though-but could they refuse to do it if they don't think it'll
suit me? Even if I assured them I wanted it?
Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.
A: Okay, there are a few things that I should address here among the questions you are raising:
First, it MAY be possible to take your hair to “platinum blonde” from the self-described “very dark
brown” origin color. I can’t say for certain that this is possible because I cannot physically view your hair in order to assess the
condition of the hair. If it IS possible, then there will most likely be multiple stages in the lightening process since this provides
the safest method of taking the hair through EXTREME transitions. This may mean one-day of stripping the home hair color and another
of further lightening, or it may mean multiple days of lightening with time in between for intensive conditioning in order to try and
maintain as much structural integrity as possible.
I generally urge against changing your hair color by more than 4-5 lightness levels and even this
can be too much change sometimes. At the very least, this level of lightening and chemical processing will stress the hair and can
damage it to the point that it becomes devastatingly fragile. I think the chances are very good that if you make this transition you
will be forced to shift your hair care routine’s focus to intensive care and conditioning of your hair.
Second, I always find it interesting when a client comes to a stylist because they want a
“professional’s opinion” (and who often come to the stylist asserting that they “really value your opinion”) but suddenly change
their attitude when the stylist doesn’t tell them exactly what they want to hear. And don’t misunderstand, it is always a goal for
the stylist to try to give a client what he or she wants, but only within reasonable parameters. The stylist who “talked you out
of it” before should have served as a signal to you that perhaps this was too extreme a change for you.
As for whether a stylist could refuse to do what you wanted done, the answer is an unequivocal
YES. In fact, most of the stylists I know would refuse your request, especially if they agreed with the assessment that the change
would not suit you. This is a common-sense reaction. Why would a professional want to have a client walking around with a look that
they feel is unattractive? Would you go to a salon for services if your introduction to that salon’s work was a look that you felt
was completely wrong for the person wearing it?
Personally, I would urge you to talk to your salon professional about what you want from a new
look. What is the reason you want to go “platinum blonde”? Is there another look that would better suit you that would give you
something that is at least similar to what you expect from a platinum blonde look? Be open to some give and take, and if you truly
trust your porfessional’s ability to create a good-looking style, trust their judgement, too.
Remember that a stylist sees his clients as an example of his work.
