Refuse Hair Color Stripping

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Q: Basically, at the minute my hair is in a short bob. It is 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. I used a home dye kit. It's dark brown naturally anyway, but with a little gray.
 
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. 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 a 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 to be 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 professional’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.
 
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See also:
 
How bleaching hair works
 
What your hairstylist really sees
 
Why hairdressers never do what you want to