Natural Blonde?   

What are your options?

Go darker?   Change the tone?   Add hilights?    Soften the base?

Everyone's hair darkens at a different age particular to their individual genetics.

Even if you’re a natural blonde it will darken and dull as you get older, but the great thing about blondes going gray is that it isn’t usually noticeable for several years so you can often get away with adding a few hi-lights or “softening the base” instead of coloring all the hair. 

For some clients, they just want to go slightly lighter and maybe a little brighter. A natural" hi-lighting technique can be performed, or you can add hi-lights and slightly soften your natural hair-color.  “Softening the base” means to slightly lighten your natural hair-color at the new-growth area so that your hi-lights last a little longer without as much of a contrast between the hi-lights and the new roots (or new-growth) growing in. This gives the overall appearance of being a slightly lighter blonde while still looking as natural as possible. Most people get their hi-lights done one month, then soften the base 5-6 weeks later, then get a hi-light retouch 5-6 weeks after that. If your hair grows very slowly, then you can skip an extra week or two. And if your hair grows really fast, then you may want to come in a little more often.

Another option is to darken your hair-color, or change the tone. If you want to go more than two levels darker than your natural hair-color, then I need to “fill” the hair with the undertone of the darker shade and then apply the darker shade over the undertone or “filler”.

There are several shades to choose from if you want to go lighter with your hair-color... ash, beige, golden, honey, sand, wheat, etc. Your natural hair-color can make it easy or hard to go lighter than two levels. It all depends on the undertones within your hair and a well-educated colorist is a great asset in achieving the desired results.

To change the tone means to go from a blonde to more of a golden blonde or strawberry or coppery blonde. Or it could mean that your hair is already too coppery, strawberry or golden and you want to neutralize the warmth or make it more of an ash or cool blonde shade.

If you want to color your hair all over (coloring every hair on your head)... then you’ll need to revisit your colorist every 4-6 weeks for a touchup. Keep in mind that the more of a contrast between your natural hair-color and a lighter color will mean more visits to the hairdresser. A touchup only colors the new-growth and does not alter previously colored hair unless you get the added service of balancing the over-all color. Waiting too long between touchups can cause bands or dark areas in your hair-color and make it more difficult for your colorist to achieve beautiful, consistent results.

The best choice for you needs to be determined by looking at your eye color and skin tone, the color of your teeth, and consider your own preferences and clothing color choices. Your hi-lights or hair-color should never be whiter than your teeth because it can make your teeth appear yellow. You could have your teeth whitened if you want a very light, platinum or white blonde shade of color or hilights.

This site established and maintained by Linda Lynn Jacobs, 2001. Updated October 2010. All Rights Reserved.

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