Hair Color

C

clothesminded

Cathlete
I highlighted my hair over the weekend. I get it done every 3-4 months. Been with the same lady for about 2 years. She suggested that this time I "break the base." She said that it would lighten my roots and make them less noticeable when they grew in, and it wouldn't fry my hair. SO... when I got home my husband asked me what I did to my hair. He said it looked orange around the hairline. Yes, it did! I went back in yesterday, and she rehighlighted areas that she didn't before to make the orange less noticeable. That did help.

I'm still confused on what "breaking the base" means and why it caused my roots to look orange.

Can anyone help me out?

Thanks :)
 
Not something i have ever done.
Did she foil you?
Did she do a base color and highlights?

Got me on that one.
Sorry i can't help there.
Anne
 
Maybe it means coloring just the roots instead of the entire head. I've had this done lots of times, but never ended up with different color roots though.

Carolyn
 
I've never heard of breaking the base. I've heard of breaking the color for when someone dyes their hair too dark and wants to go lighter. Maybe she meant to lift your natural color 3 levels. This is easier on the hair than highlighting, is easier to maintain, roots look more natural when grown in , and looks good if done correctly. My natural color is a level 3 dark brown. My hairdresser achieves a highlighted blondish caramel/lowlighted brown just by lifting my hair a few levels. I thought I would be able to do it myself at home. I used the wrong tone (dark golden blonde), but correct level (a level 6) and correct percentage peroxide (20%). It ended up turning out orangish-red at the roots. Well, my hair naturally pulls warm tones and my hair wasn't accepting the color. I should have gotten a netural instead of golden and brown instead of blonde. She fixed it by adding ash brown in a level 6 to cover my mistake in Decemeber. In Feb, she used a mixture of ash and neutral. This month, she'll be able to go back to a neutral which will give me back the highlighted/lowlighted look that I love. I might have a few highlights done in the summer to brighten it up more. I only need to do this once. When I go back to my regular coloring, the highlighted part will remain brighter than the rest of my hair.
 
Never heard of it and it doesn't really make any sense to me. What color is your natural color and your highlights? When I had my blonde highlights, my stylist said that eventually we would need to put in some lowlights to break things up. Eventually, the highlights just take over and then when it grows out, you have that dreaded root "line". By putting the lowlights (darker color - usually your natural color or whatever color you are currently using as your main color) in, you break up the color and make the growth less noticeable. I have no idea what she did to your roots though. To me that would just make the line really noticeable when your new growth comes in. Glad you went back and made her fix it. I'm interested in hearing other responses on this.
 
Hi! I am a hairstylist and I do alot of color. Breaking the base means lightening the roots just a little. If the roots are lifted or lightened too much the results can be orange! It is supposed to be a subtle procedure, but if the colorist uses too strong of a solution, or leaves it on too long, once again, you may get orange, especially if you have dark hair. You may want to get some lowlights(your natural color) weaved in next time with your highlights, to counteract the orange as well. Hope this helps!!!Take care, Nancy~~~
 
>Hi! I am a hairstylist and I do alot of color. Breaking the
>base means lightening the roots just a little. If the roots
>are lifted or lightened too much the results can be orange! It
>is supposed to be a subtle procedure, but if the colorist uses
>too strong of a solution, or leaves it on too long, once
>again, you may get orange, especially if you have dark hair.
>You may want to get some lowlights(your natural color) weaved
>in next time with your highlights, to counteract the orange as
>well. Hope this helps!!!Take care, Nancy~~~

Nancy - Would this help someone like me who has medium brown hair and light strawberry blonde highlights? Everytime I have the highlites redone, she never quite gets down to the roots and I always leave looking like I have 1/4" of brown roots already.
 
Hi -

It is basically just lightening up your root color....it should only take a few minutes at the sink in your salon. Your hair should not be orange at all! I used to have this done all the time and it was great...but not all salons know how to do it. Good luck!!!
 
Hi, Liann! Yes, breaking the base should work well with your hair. How often do you highlight the roots? If you are leaving with 1/4" of brown roots something is not quite right. I know foils don't get to the roots as close as applying color straight on the scalp, but you should not be seeing that much dark root right after having it done.
 
My gf has very light brown/blonde hair and gets her hair lifted to a pretty blonde. She used to get her hair highlighted until she found a salon that knows how to do lifting.

I would think that if she can do it, so can you. The key is to go 1-3 levels lighter than your natural color. No, really, the key is finding a stylist who can look at your hair and determine the correct level, shade and tone to achieve the look you want. As I have learned the hard way, you can't pick out the color you want or thought you had, and expect that your hair will turn out like the sample.

Oh, and it will get to the roots. I have my stylist not place any jelly stuff on my hairline. I have short baby fine hair at my hairline. Before she rinses out the color, she rubs more color onto my forehead to remove any color stains. It feels good too, like a mini massage.
 
>Hi, Liann! Yes, breaking the base should work well with your
>hair. How often do you highlight the roots? If you are leaving
>with 1/4" of brown roots something is not quite right. I know
>foils don't get to the roots as close as applying color
>straight on the scalp, but you should not be seeing that much
>dark root right after having it done.

I usually do it around every 6 - 8 weeks. I've been trying to think of a way to "nicely" ask my stylist to please get the color as close to the roots as possible. I do not like leaving looking like I need to get them redone already!
 
Thanks for the responses. At least I'm not the only one who wasn't sure what "breaking the base" meant.

She foiled my hair, like always, and then the other thing on my roots and let it sit for 5 min. My hair is a med/light brown.

I've never had this done in the 8 years I've gotten highlights. Should have known better. I would rather have darker roots than orange ones!

Thanks again. :)
 
Liann,
Highlights are expensive and you do them often. You shouldn't see roots when you leave!! Maybe you should try either lowlights,or breaking the base. If you still see roots, it might be time to break up with your stylist :eek:
 
"I usually do it around every 6 - 8 weeks. I've been trying to think of a way to "nicely" ask my stylist to please get the color as close to the roots as possible. I do not like leaving looking like I need to get them redone already! "

Liann,

I would say change hairstylists, at least for your highlights. I go to my hair stylist as expensive as some others might thinks she is, but I never leave unsatisfied and I've been going to her for 3 years. I've gone other places just to cut costs, but was always unhappy as I left. Esp. if you're going 6-8 weeks, that's too much. If done correctly, you should only have to go every 3-5 months unless your hair grows super fast. With my stylist now, I go about 3x year for highlights because she's that good.

Lisa
 
I just wanted to add that you can do highlights yourself if you feel a bit adventurous. I have been doing my own hair (highlift and highlights) for years. Just buy a box of Frost & Glow, cut some foil strips and mix what you need. I do suggest though, that you put some heavy conditioner on your existing highlights so that you protect them from overlapping bleach. Leave the bleach on for about 40 to 60 mins (checking the whole time) and then rinse off. I have saved soooo much money by doing my hair myself. Many hairdressers (no offense) don't know what they are doing and will never admit that they made a mistake!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top