What home hair dye do you recommend for highlighting or going blonde?

I’d sure go to a hair salon. This is your head, you know? You’re going to wear it everywhere you go (as long as you don’t lose it).

None. Do not use drug store dye to go blonde. It’s nothing like dyeing hair brown or black. Blonde can go so horribly wrong, anywhere from orange to green to very burnt.

I’ve used $13 Loreal and been fine.

Side note, I went natural for Covid and I love it. I hope to be pure white someday. :)

@KNOWITALL, I’m almost there. The old color is just about below my jawline now, and the rest is white with some gray streaks. Oh, and a peekaboo streak of aquamarine.

@KNOWITALL I’m all natural for almost a year now. I’m fine with my color, but itching to brighten up my hair. My husband prefers me brunette or red, blonde is his least favorite.

@chyna Generally, I’ve felt the same way. I did blonde at home one time 20 years ago. It came out ok, but not really the color I wanted.

@Jeruba I’m not willing to sit in a salon for two hours during covid. That’s my dilemma. It probably doesn’t make sense since I just went to Disney for a few hours on Sunday and I go to zumba sometimes here where I live.

If it were me, I would wait til I could go into a salon and just stick with a basic color for now. You could go with an auburn or chestnut tint for home color.

You have bigger ovaries than I do if you go for either all blond or highlights at home. I’m a below-the-shoulders-layered blond who has gone about 80% silver. I go to a salon where they do ‘low-lighting’, which is where they add (for my hair) the lightest blond she can achieve using the foil method and doing just halfway down my head. It all blends together and adds depth. My silver ends up being the highlight color. That and a cut cost around $70–75 plus I usually give $15.00 for a tip. It takes around 1½ hours.

I’ve heard good things about store hair colors, like it will give you depth and that where your natural hair is lighter, it will dye that way also. That being said, I personally don’t want to chance it. I hate that all-one-shade-no-depth look you often get. For a blond to look natural, there has to be a variation in shades of blond, which can be difficult to get at home.

P.S. Why couldn’t you highlight it as-is rather than coloring it first? Your gray/silver should blend in with the highlight color you use.

You can’t dye hair lighter, you can only bleach it lighter. Best to have a salon do it.

@smudges I’d like the brown to be darker than it is. I want a lot of contrast.

During the summer I had a lot of natural highlights and it did mask the greys a lot to your point. I got way too much sun, usually I’m more careful. I have a few new wrinkles to prove it. I guess I could cover every inch of my skin and let the sun just do it’s work again on my hair for now, but like I said I ideally want some darker color.

I have done it and home dye jobs especially for lots of colur to change needs a professional the first time.
I have had to go to Salon over a year for touch-ups until I realized one day that they were not using permanent dyes.
Then I bought over the counter dye and did it then on myself for a year every thre or four months.
Lots of conditioners needed during that process.
I have now let my grey hair grow in naturally ( only on top) and had the Salon dye my hair grey/white highlights to match natural grey on top.
I still had dark brown hair growing so instead of high costs at salon etc, I had the Salon do dark brown highlights over predominently silver hair.
Turned out well.
No more maintenance except special Purple shampoo that keeps natural grey from going yellow/brown shade.
Works for me ..perfectly now.

I used to get salon highlights but the cost and the time in the chair was an issue.

I agree with others that you should get it done in a salon, at least the first time.

A salon that uses a good product (low ammonia) will give you a nicer hair texture than one from a box, which are often harsh on hair, resulting in a dried out look. Good salons with good products won’t be smelly, like the cheap stuff which is really harsh smelling from the ammonia.

@smudges: Where do you live that a cut plus highlights is only 70 – 75 dollars? Where I live, a cut alone is 30 in a cheap place, at least 65 in a good place, and highlights, at least 100.

@Jeruba Sounds lovely. Now that I’m work from home I have flirted with the idea of some low maintenance color.
I’ve worked in offices so long, I never had that option.

@KNOWITALL, I’m confused. It sounds here ^^ like you’re toying with the idea of color, but above it sounded like you used it regularly until covid.

I had my hair colored at a salon for more than 30 years, but covid was the perfect time and reason to grow out, and I’m fine with it. And all this virgin hair is healthier than it ever was when colored. Unfortunately I do miss the thickness that color added.

@jca2 I double checked, and the last time I got a cut and color it was $95 – $15–20 was the tip. I’m in Nebraska. My sister lives in Houston, and whereas I pay $45–50 for a mani/pedi, she pays around $25.

Yeah mani pedi combo used to be 25 here in NY CT metro area and just increased to 30, @smudges.