I need dark-roots-touch-up-at-home advice!

I wasn't too sure where to post this.. but I suppose here is okay? if not - mods feel free to move me

Anyways, I have real dark brown hair that I bleached all blonde, like on my sig pic and other pics in my albums if you wanna see. My roots are about an inch - and I am broke.. I need to touch them up myself, definitely can't afford the salon. SO! What to do?

First of all - how much do you think doing it myself will cost me? Getting all the stuff I need? I suppose bleach - what kind? And do I need a toner? Would I spread that all over my hair? Where can I get all this stuff?

Any other useful advice?

 

i've been dying my hair all over the place blonde for the last six years and i have dark brown hair too. i used to do the top, there's a kit you can buy just for root bleaching (i'm not sure how much it is, i haven't used that specific one in a while) normally to strip my hair since i only do it underneath i get a box of beaching blonde, garnier frutis sometimes, i do three different sittings of it (it takes a real long time but i still do it) with the same bottle, i normally try and use the bottle up.
it kills your hair but of course dying it does! it's not as healthy as a professional but i dig i'm real poor i can't afford to go to a salon either!

 

Try lemon juice. Then, a blow dryer.
Or a kit costs about 6 bucks.

 

I should get a bleach kit and a toner tho, definitely, right? so the blonde shade matches the shade I have right now?

 

yeah that would be a good idea. i normally just bleach it until it's white or a color that doesn't look like it's orange you know haha but since you're whole head is blonde, that would be a good idear. if you get a toner i recommend the garnier frutis one it comes with a little bottle of oils in one of their blondes that make me hope it makes my hair a little less dry when i'm dying it

 

Penny, you look great as a blonde, but looked awesome a bruenette. Have you thought of going back? I dyed my hair brown for the winter and save a lot of time and money.
I've never bleached my hair myself, but I am guessing you would bleach it (the roots) and then dye it blonde (all over the first time-the roots after) and then tone it all over. That's how my old stylist did mine.

 

Being blonde takes a lot of upkeep, time, money. I used to have my hair dyed an almost platinum, and I seemed to always have a problem with my roots looking more strawberry blonde than blonde when I did the touch ups. And in order to keep my roots from doing the peek-a-boo, I was almost constantly having to do touch ups. Let me tell you, by the end of my blonde days, my hair was quite fried, breaking off, split ends like crazy. Never again would I go back to being blonde!

As Bella said, you look great as a blonde, and I mean, you would look good in any color because you're just a striking woman in general, but going back to the brunette really would save you a lot of time and money right now, plus I really think you looked even more stunning as a brunette, IMHO! And what about this...if you say, go back to brunette, and once you get some more cash to play around with, maybe you could get blonde highlights? The upkeep on those would be much easier, and a lot more forgiving with the time frame between touch-ups!

 

i would say that with your current color of blonde to let your dark roots grow out. i like that look with that kind of blonde. it's so punk.

 

thanks for the advice everyone..

I *really* wanna stay blonde for now.. blonde all over.. the way it is now.. not highlights. I will eventually go back to brunette but I really am going through this blonde phase and.. it was SO much work to get my hair like this, I don't wanna dye it back dark just yet! I had to get it professionally bleached twice, and cut so much.. and now it is perfectly healthy too! So touching up the roots really shouldn't be an issue.. as long as I get the right stuff and do it right.

I have a REALLY dark brown base and hard to bleach - tends to go strawberry blonde/brassy.. so I will have to use 40 volumes bleach. They have these kits.. I have a friend who just bleached her entire hair with it and it looks great! It doesn't even look damaged even if it probably is a bit but she used Bio Silk right away and it seemed to repair most of the frying - and she's gonna help me with my roots.

I guess my only issue now is whether I will need a toner or not.. but I guess so.. if I want the color to be even all over.. now with my hair lenght and thickness.. I'll probably need a bleaching kit for the roots.. I don't think I'll need 2 boxes just for the roots.. what do you think? And definitely at least 2 toner boxes.. 1 box won't be enough, definitely not.

I should get a paintbrush too..