The good, the bad, and the ugly. Above is not a do-it-and-forget-about-it process.
If you’re looking to be done with dye, I will NOT do this. You need to keep in mind that the silver toner does fade quickly.
After my second bleaching and toning, it had faded to a much more blond colour than I like and needed toning again, 14 days later, and it needs re-toned around every 2-3 weeks to stay silver, so if you’re hoping this means to tone it and forget, then no, this isn’t a good idea.
For me–I don’t mind the maintenance this will take for the next 4+ years because going this route has allowed me to keep my length and skip ahead to the part where I love my hair and can wear it down again without the demarcation line we all have to deal with during this journey.
I love how the contrast looks, and I’m so glad I decided to give this a try and so thankful to Jack Martin for posting his formulas, so I felt like it wasn’t “impossible”, even though it was pretty nerve-wracking to do on myself.
I want to try this, but I’ve never used anything other than boxed dye – & I’ve been coloring it dark brown (almost black) for about 15yrs. I’ve let my grey roots grow out a few inches & used “Oops!” dye remover last week (lightened it, but that’s about it), but am now stuck. I don’t know whether to bite the bullet & have a colorist have-at it, woman-up & grow it out (line & all), or concede the battle & break out the boxed dye.
One factor to help me decide: how much of a financial investment is it to maintain? Another: how long/difficult is the maintenance process each time? Please enlighten my indecisive mind!
Hi Gina!
Here’s some info from my process: All the products I used to bleach and tone for my initial bleaching, cost around probably $175.00, (but I also ended up with enough Wella Blondor bleach to last several people a lifetime..)
Maintaining it- I continued to use the same toner and brass kicker I had already purchased, so there hasn’t been much additional cost there, except I did buy some more Guy Tang toners on Amazon, can’t remember how much they cost but not too much, maybe $14 for a tube.
My favorite way to maintain has been OverTone Extreme Silver every few weeks (or longer), which is about $35+ for a good sized tub of it. It lasts me a long time because I’m only using it on my front bleached bits rather than my whole head.
Timing: Toner you have to mix with brass kicker and developer. OverTone is just a color-depositing conditioner. After applying either one, you rinse after 10-20 minutes.
Hope that helps!
Stefanie
I love the way your hair turned out! Great job! I have long hair as well, and so tempted to cut it all off real short to just let it all grow out from there. I have been through what you have been through. I just used what they had at Sallys, a mock olaplex, a charcoal and silver dye and toner. It faded as well, and I bleached again, just like you, dyed it again and it bled past my demarcation line so it set me back with the grow out. Now it looks like I only have about an inch and a half salt and pepper grow out with a light brown demarcation line and a dirty blonde length. I can’t stand it. But I tried Overtone like the girl mentioned above, extreme silver, and it matched better, but there was a lot of green that made it look dull. Even teal in the lighter places. When it faded, I tried it again, but still, it did the same thing on me. I personally do not like it however, she is on the right track with a temporary hair color. Because to dye it again, I am afraid to go over my demarcation line for a second time, (it is very hard not to make a mistake doing the back of your hair) to set me back. So I am trying to find a matching semi permanent hair color that matches salt and pepper. Because the bleached dark blonde after faded dyes, has made my hair look frizzy and dull with no pigment, and with my salt and pepper grow out. For me, at this point I need to be patient, but, maybe a black temporary color will look better and coat the no pigment locks of my mane! lol Thanks for sharing, Stefanie!
Oh that was you Stefanie that mentioned Overtone. Sorry I didn’t read your name…
Can you tell me how you purchased these products as they are only for licensed stylists? I cannot find them online for the plebeians.
Hi Laura, link to all the products used is given in the post itself. You can purchase them from Amazon.
Hi….Love how it eventually turned out – kinda edgy!! Question: Why didn’t you try Guy Tang’s MyDentity #9 for the bleaching process…it’s supposed to take brown hair up 9 levels in 1 sitting….