Finally highlighted my own hair!!

[BlkMane]

As some of you know, I've been experimenting with Texture & Tones Permanent Haircolor trying to find the right color to highlight my hair dark brown.

My hair is naturally black (or near black), but now that I relax it, it acts funny...sometimes it looks very dark and other times it looks dark brown? I don't get it either, but I swear some days people tell me my hair is brown and other days it looks shiny black...even to me.

Anyway,when I looked at my hair close up after relaxing for a few months, I started to see more and more brown streaks in my hair.

Okay, so...I like my black hair, but wanted a color change. I wanted to give myself dark brown highlights which I've never had. In the past, I've been dark blond (professionally done) and auburn (did myself), and I've had reddish (did myself) and blondish highlights (professionally done), but NEVER dark brown highlights on my black hair. I thought that would look nice.

However, as most dark hair tends to do, my hair almost always will turn RED no matter what permanent color I apply to it (without using a bleach, of course). I wanted to find a way to apply a GENTLE permanent color to my hair and achieve a BROWN, not a reddish tone.

I experimented with Textures & Tones colors individually and by mixing two colors together.

I tried Cocoa Brown, Lightest Blond, Bronze & Lightest Golden Brown.

And the winner is: Lightest Golden Brown.

This color used ALONE created the closest thing to brown in my hair. Yes, it was a little on the reddish side of brown, but not as brassy as the red I got from using Lightest Blonde. I always planned to TONE the color to my ideal brown anyway by using a semi-permanent color over it, and I chose Adore in Cinnamon . I applied the highlights to my hair using the weave method and highlighting papers in sections and rinsed out each section after 20 minutes. I then shampooed, deep conditioned (for 10 minutes) and then applied the Adore Cinammon, put on a cap and sat under the dryer for 25 minutes. I then rinsed, lightly shampooed and applied Tropical Avocado for 10 minutes (no heat). I rinsed, applied my leave-ins and roller-set and dried.

And my highlights turned out....A PRETTY MEDIUM/DARK BROWN!!!! Just like I wanted! I love them!!!! /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I had some trouble doing the back of my hair, but now that I know what colors to use I can always just take the stuff to a Dominican salon and have them highlight my back some more.

BTW- I didn't put in TONS of highlights, because I wanted a natural look, but it's enough to really notice especially in sunlight and it does look very natural. I will probably gradually add more if I want my hair to be more brown, but for right now the highlights have added enough dimension to my hair and have "broken up" the black very nicely. I got a lot of compliments during the holidays /images/graemlins/grin.gif...my hair looks much "richer."

P.S. Textures & Tones permanent colors have NO AMMONIA!


Regarding the other colors I tried on my black hair:
T&T in Bronze was the second runner up, color came out a little red as well, but not bad, not to brassy and a little lighter than the Lightest Golden Brown. I might actually add a few strands of Bronze to the front of my hair this summer and tone it with Adore to get a few lighter streaks in my hair.

Cocoa Brown also gave nice SUBTLE dark brown highlights...and I'm stressing SUBTLE. (They were more apparent as time passed and the sunlight lightened them a little more.) However, note that the dark brown created by the Cocoa Brown color is DARKER then the dark/medium brown I achieved with the Lightest Golden Brown/Adore Cinnamon combo.

Lightest Blonde: would not use again, results too brassy.

[I also did a lot of color mixing and actually found a combo that gave me a nice color, but I don't know where I put my notes!] /images/graemlins/blush.gif

I would post a picture, but I don't have a decent digital camera that will pick up the color difference. I will update my hair album as soon as I'm able.

 

[Valerie]

Congratulations, I hope that we see pictures on your new highlights.

 

[pebbles]

Hi BlkMane,

I'm glad it went so well! Congratulations! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Robin41]

You go girl! Your highlights sound scrumptious! My hair never looks the same color to me either - sometimes dark brown and sometimes reddish. I'd like to go like a coffee brown all over but my hair suffers terribly when I use permanent color. Any recommendations for a semi-permanent color or rinse that would give the same brown color all over?

BTW, have you tried your Aphogee Balancing Moisturizer yet? In my ongoing search for moisturizers this winter, I bought it last week and it worked very well on my hair - it's a keeper! I'm curious as to how it worked on your hair.

 

[BlkMane]

Robin41-

Adore makes some darker browns (Cinnamon is a medium brown) that may give you the look you want. If I were you I would experiment. You might even WANT to try the Cinnamon as it does tone down red really well.

I also like Clairol's Beautiful Collection Semi-permanents which seem to last longer than Adore.

 

[LondonDiva]

BlkMae glad the highlight turned out the way you wanted them to. I use the Adore in Black velvet but have been meaning to get my hands on the T&T hair colour over here, but I've yet to find a black hair shop that sells it.

 

[BlkMane]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
BTW, have you tried your Aphogee Balancing Moisturizer yet? In my ongoing search for moisturizers this winter, I bought it last week and it worked very well on my hair - it's a keeper! I'm curious as to how it worked on your hair.


[/ QUOTE ]

I used it once (the day I did the coloring). I liked it. Need to use it a few more times to REALLY assess it. BTW- my Aphogee Green Tea Reconstructor spray smells like vomit to me. I'm not joking. I think something was wrong with it. I opened a bottle at Sally's and smelled it and it didn't smell like my bottle. My bottle might be defective, I think I'm going to have to throw it out. It truly stinks! I sprayed some on my hair ends last week, but it smelled so bad I just rinsed it off. Bummer! I got it for such a great price..can't return it cause it was on final sale.

 

[LondonDiva]

Sorry Blkmane that is the actual smell of the product. I had to go upstairs and smell it, and I can see what you're talking about,although it's not off putting for me. The smell is potent but I always thought it was the green tea smell.

 

[BlkMane]

Thanks for checking, LD. But, like I said, the bottle in Sally's smelled different. It had a slightly BETTER not "vomity" smell. More herbal. Maybe the older the product is, the worst it smells?

Have you used this? If so, how do you use it and do you like it? I was just going to apply it to my ends, before rollersetting.

 

[LondonDiva]

I do like the product. For me it makes a great detangler when I spray it on, which is strange for my hair as I need slippery moisture to detangle my hair and this is very watery. But I just spray it very generously and comb thru quite easily. To tell you the truth I don't notice that much difference in my actual hair after that.

 

[daviine]

Blkmane---maybe that's why you got it at a great price and was final sale? /images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[BlkMane]

I don't think the store intentionally sold me a bad product as the ENTIRE store was on "50% off, final sale" and I bought some other stuff including another Aphogee product and it was fine.

Could have been a return that someone 'messed' with..who knows? All I know is that stuff is STANK!!! /images/graemlins/mad.gif