I have had the same cut, color for many many years. My husband and I were talking and he said jokingly that i needed to be a blonde. I have had my hair highighted and like it. I am a brunette. So, I was thinking about going lighter. Maybe a golden bronze? And I also have straight hair, the longest it has been. It is thick. I wanted to add bags and keep it long. So, how light should I go.
Oh, an dI have light, pale skin, so I don't want to look like a ghost!
Don't do any color that says golden. It will bring out the red in your skin tone. I always notice people who have that yellowy blonde and I always think it looks cheap and well, like they did it at home and forgot to put the toner in the mix.
Choose ones that say ash, it is a non yellow color. I always do ash brown if I am coloring all over or ash blonde when I am doing my own highlights.
I noticed your question because I recently went through this same dilemma. With my 38th bday approaching I wanted to try something different. I haven't colored my hair since I was 26 and leaving it natural all these years has been good to it. I am also lucky that I don't have a lot of gray and I dread having to go the salon every 6 weeks and drop a fortune on color, so I want to put off a full-on color change until as late as possible. I'm very low maintenance in the hair care dept!
The good news i wanted to share is that I finally got my hair done on my bday a few days ago and both my husband and I love it! I'm also brunette but not too dark. my natural color tends toward ashy in the summer, but darker and mousy the rest of the year. I wanted highlights that did not look obvious, like "Hey I have highlights!" Where I live, everyone has them and I mean everyone. What I told the stylist was that I wanted the color to look natural, not too much contrast, be able to grow out without looking stupid if I should decide to do so. As for the color I said something between between blonde, orange and beige, like a honey tone. She said there was one she could use called carmel... perfect!
To my surprise, it really came out just the way I wanted it and the shade is similar to a carmel color. It really warms up my hair and makes it look richer, but still looks natural and could easily pass as my own hair. That would be my suggestion for you ... I have fair skin too and especially in the winter we need something to warm up our skin. If you go too blond with the highlights, like you said it can make us look more pale. Post a picture when you get it done! Good luck ....
I have done my hair at home for a long time. I am also a burnette, but I used to bleach it blonde when I was younger. DO NOT USE AN ASH base! It will turn your hair green! Trust me, I've done it before and even turned my hair green a week before my wedding. If you are going to go lighter, I would go to a salon to have it done. Also anything that says golden, might turn your hair more red than blonde. If you do do it at home yourself, try to get a neutral base and you will have to add some powdered bleach to the color too. I would rather be safe though and go to a salon. Good luck!
See a professional stylists. It will be worth more in the long run than trying to repair an at home mess up job plus better for your hair.
If you want to go lighter...I would not dye your hair yourself. Adding some bangs, getting a nice trim in the back (maybe some long layers since it is thick) would be nice. What if you did some copper highlights with your brunette hair. Just to see if you like it a little bit lighter. You could go lighter than that or bleache it blonde but that way you could get a feel for a new look and see if you want to keep it that way or really go drastic. All the Best...
I go with the natural progression of things. Even medium brown my hair had red in it. The natural progression as it get lighter is the red comes out more. So I now go with light red brown. Looks great with my complexion. A lot of times when you go with that which is unnatural for you is it looks unnatural.
I hate bangs, never seen them look exceptionally good on anyone. A long face frame would probably have the same effect without making you look like a sim.
Go talk to a hairdresser. I've done many things to my hair. Even turned it green by accident. It was not an attractive hair color. lol. A hairdresser could help you decide what would be best for your hair color and your skin tone. My husband likes red hair which I do medium golden brown on my mousy brown hair and get a reddish undertone or I have also tried those wash in colors that last about 4 weeks and went with Mahogany and Cherry. No orangie reds for me as it makes my pale skin look ruddy. It can be fun but going blonde when you have dark hair can be tricky if you have never done it before. I was blonde once in my late teens for about 6 months. I didn't like the upkeep. Have fun with it. It is just hair.
