In part 1 of ‘Why to Take It Slow When You’re Going Blonde’, I explained what natural hair goes through and the amount of work it takes to get the hair to a lighter color. If the hair is naturally dark AND has box dye, it is much more difficult and more time is needed to remove not only the natural pigment, but the artificial dyes and extra ingredients as well.
Here in part 2, I will delve into artificial hair color. For hairstylists, there are two types:
1. Professional salon color
2. Everything else
Professional hair color, which is defined as color that has been applied by a licensed professional in a salon, is always a breeze for me to remove. The ingredients are higher quality and generally do not obstruct the goal in mind.
Everything else is an entirely different story. Specifically, box dye.
In my experience, I have seen some extreme cases of DIY color. The worst cases in terms of removing or correcting box color has been when the client has the desire to go blonde from having a very dark brown/black color on their hair. Your hair will always have color on it when it’s colored. It will not “fade off”.
The only way to fully get rid of previous color is to cut off the colored hair.
I have had clients choose not to disclose what is actually on their hair because they didn't want to deal. Not disclosing what is on your hair can result in patchy, uneven results. It's almost thought of as if its not mentioned it didn't happen. Which will not go well.