Lighter or Brighter Hair Around the Face:

I've had my hair highlighted but there are some strands around my face that are too light, is there any way to easily darken them a bit without going back to the salon??

A common problem with coloring is when the different types and textures of hair on the same head are not taken into account or on a first time application, the degree to which certain areas will react are not realised.

In your case the strength of product used for the rest of your hair is too strong for those fine downy hairs around the face, resulting in them going too light or bright. It is easy to fix for the hairdresser by adding in the case of blonde a little gold back to the hair. It is not so easy for you to do yourself and although it will "calm down in time" you want to look good now.

Therefore I would pop back into the salon and ask your hairdresser to have a look at it for you. Any professional that I know would offer to put it right, at no charge to you, and make a note of it on your card for next time so that they can adjust the formula in future or lessen the time it is left on in that area.

Orange Hair:

I recently dyed my hair blond and it has a lot of orange in it. What can I do to fix this besides re-dying it?

The orange comes from your natural hair colour, and is either because you have quite dark hair (or hair containing red tones) to start with (that should not be lightened as much as you want to) or you chose a product that was not strong enough for your hair type.

You can try to eliminate the orange with a naturalizing color i.e. a strong ash but this is really a job for a professional as it is not easy even for them.

Read through our sections in V: "Salon Services and Chemical Treatments" to find out more about Colour Correction as well as "Getting the Most from your next Salon Visit" the section on consultations, but a one on one chat with a stylist will let you know your options and the cost of what needs to be done better than I can.

Fading Reds:

I have long, fine, black hair. I'd like to have red streaks put through it, but I've seen that some reds can fade quite a lot. Would this be a problem when colouring the re growth?

Red streaks look great in dark hair, but you are right they do tend to fade to a more orange/gold tone after a while although recent advances are making reds last a little longer than they used to.

This is not a problem though as the old streaks can be refreshed using a conditioning semi permanent applied to all of the hair. This will only 'take' on the old streaks and last for longer than normal because of the nature of previously colored hair. The only down side could be cost as you will be charged extra for the refreshing semi permanent color each time.

You can also help to prevent fade by looking after your hair at home with refreshing colour shampoos with a red tone and using products with UV protectors in them.

Getting Rid of Unwanted Colour:

I was wondering if there was anything that I could purchase that would get rid of the hair dye in my hair other than bleaching it. I just dyed my hair and hate it!

If you have just done the color i.e. within 8 weeks and not got loads of old colour underneath, you could try a color reducer. You will need to get a professional to do this, as you cannot buy them yourself and you need to know what you are doing. The condition of your hair will not be affected, although it can feel a bit damaged at first, as the process requires lots of shampooing and this leaves the hair a bit rough to touch. Check with the salon before you book that they do have/use a colour reducer rather than bleach as some salons that don't do these regularly may not have one in stock, as it is a specialist product.

See our section in V, "Salon Services and Chemical Treatments". Here you will find a page on Colour Correction detailing your options. A consultation with the salon will be necessary and you should check the price as it can be expensive. Even though I have told you about colour reducers they may not be the only answer and a professional colourist will be able to assess this better when they see your hair.

Peroxide Issue:

How do you colour your hair with peroxide?

Dealing With Re growth:

I have black hair and a couple of months ago I dyed it mahogany and it looked awful. Now I'm waiting for the colour to grow out and it looks really bad. What can I do, as I don't want to cut my hair and color it again and damage my hair some more?

Because you went lighter rather than darker you can simply put a semi permanent colour (of your natural color) that will condition your hair at the same time, over the top of your mahogany colour.

By the way you are probably not black, this is a warning as going too dark is another story all together. Get this done professionally as there are a few more detailed points to consider when doing this than I have mentioned. Read through our section in V "Salon Services and Chemical Treatments" for more info on Colour Correction.

Not Happy With Your Salon?

I just went to the hair stylist and asked for a more blond colour.(My hair is a mousy brown) with no brown left and she gave me two or three shades lighter only on my crown of lighter blond colour. Is there anything that I can do at home to make it more blond without over processing my hair or messing it up. Maybe purple shampoo would do the trick? Thank you for answering my question.

If you are not happy with a result at a salon, you are perfectly within your rights to go back and ask the stylist for more blonde to be added if you did not get what you wanted. From what you say having a little extra blonde added will be no problem at all.

Consult our section "Getting the most from your next Salon Visit" ( in the V section) which has some tips on making a complaint, as there is definitely a right and wrong way to go about it. A salon will normally view a complaint as you giving them the opportunity to put things right and in doing so keeping you as a client. The one thing not to do is to try to fix it yourself as you could damage your hair and still not get what you want.

Multi Colour Problems:

I dyed my hair blonde, then put a red rinse in it about 7 months later, then today I made it blond again and now it's all multicoloured- it's gross. How can I fix it?

You can't fix it your self but a professional colourist will be able to. The problem has occurred because you put one colour all over, the roots that had no colour on before should be fine but the ends will have reacted completely differently!

This is not an easy job for anyone to sort out so you must be prepared to have the colorist say it will be better but not perfect. Also if the condition is very damaged you may also need to have some cut before you can colour it.

What type of Foils:

Hi, I was thinking of putting some "foils" through my hair (which is about medium length), but I don't know how many would look nice? I was thinking of round about 5 or 6 .........Would I be right? Also would you know how much each foil costs????

The amount of foils you get is dependant on the hair type and cut you have and should not be about a cost per foil, as with this you will not get a look that is designed for you.

Although some salons charge per foil, many charge by a portion of the head e.g. few foils, crown and parting foils or half head foils etc. I suggest you find a salon that does this or is prepared to as you will get a better deal.

Have a pre consultation and find out what they suggest and never be afraid to say cost is an issue for you. Hairdressers earn less than most people and they know about this I assure you!