Platinum hair question...

[Grant Fan]

Ok so I have been on here a lot and looking at vintage hair styles and I am desperately wanting my hair to be platinum blond. I have always loved the color of Jean Harlow's hair. I wanted to know what the ladies who are platinum think of it and those of you who have been think of it as well. Also do you think it is a good idea? My natural color is very dark brown, but I make it red.

natural please pardon my less than pleased expression ( I was annoyed with what someone was saying to me, you just can't see them)

and here is me with red hair (it has been red most of the time for about 9 or 10 years now)

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

If I were contemplating such a drastic change, I'd take a trip to the wig shop around the corner and do some serious exploring. Platinum looks odd on a lot of people, but for you, it might be worth trying out. You've got such a vivacious look you could probably pull it off.
(Of course I'm watching a 30s flick with some gorgeous, classy platinum dames gracing the screen, so maybe you got me in a biased moment.)

Ooh, when you hit the wig shop, be sure to bring your camera along so you can show us what happens.

 

[cecil]

I think it would look great but I agree with trying a wig first!

Red is a funny one in that it fades very quickly but it's very difficult to get completely out of your hair. I'd say that if you were going to do it, do it gradually, with a hairdresser. I'm not a home colour snob by any means (i refresh my colour myself) but home bleaching is a whole different kettle of fish to home colouring. I attempted to go from your red to platinum a few years ago and snapped/melted my hair clean off from shoulder-length to about 1" long all over! Please go to a hairdresser first!

 

[Grant Fan]

I think it would look great but I agree with trying a wig first!

Red is a funny one in that it fades very quickly but it's very difficult to get completely out of your hair. I'd say that if you were going to do it, do it gradually, with a hairdresser. I'm not a home colour snob by any means (i refresh my colour myself) but home bleaching is a whole different kettle of fish to home colouring. I attempted to go from your red to platinum a few years ago and snapped/melted my hair clean off from shoulder-length to about 1" long all over! Please go to a hairdresser first!

Oh I wouldn't even think to do it on my own. I am not afraid to do red at home but bleach is different. I might do my roots on my own but that would be it. And my red doesn't fade fast at all. It takes about 3ish weeks before it starts to fade and at that point it's time for roots any way. And I know it's hard to get out too the picture with my hair dark that was after 3 or 4 tries to get it back my natural color.

 

[C-dot]

I've had every hair colour under the sun, including platinum blonde. Since you're starting with red hair, and I'm a natural ginger, my experience will probably save you a lot of headache if/when you take the plunge.

Don't expect an easy process! Red and yellow tones are the enemy of gorgeous white hair. Speaking of process: even if you fade your red colour out completely before starting, you're looking at double or even triple processes of bleach, depending on what volume developer you use.

You'll go through many colours before getting what you want: orange (I'm talking chicken fat), yellow, golden blonde, medium ash blonde, light ash blonde, platinum - if you keep brass tones at bay.

Expect to cut a lot of your hair, too. Since it's long, the bottom parts of your hair are a at least a few years old, and won't stand up to the bleaching as well as your newer, resilient hair will. You can try and keep the length, but it will probably end up snapping off.

One last thing: Definitely do not do it at home. Go to a salon, tell them what you want to achieve, and have them gauge the time and steps involved. They can more effectively lose your red tones until you're able to do the rest yourself, not to mention better damage control.

I'm not a professional, but I did train in basic hair colouring, and as mentioned I've done every colour in the spectrum. I had black hair when I decided I wanted platinum blonde, and it took me a year and a half before I got it - like cecil, it was 1 inch all over when I did.

*Phew* I think I'm done Good luck!

 

[cecil]

Oh I wouldn't even think to do it on my own. I am not afraid to do red at home but bleach is different. I might do my roots on my own but that would be it. And my red doesn't fade fast at all. It takes about 3ish weeks before it starts to fade and at that point it's time for roots any way. And I know it's hard to get out too the picture with my hair dark that was after 3 or 4 tries to get it back my natural color.

Really? Mine fades like a b**ch in about five seconds. What dye do you use? I think I need some!

 

[SweetieStarr]

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I personally love the red on you, so my vote would be to keep it. If you did go platinum, I think I would look more to Rita in The Lady from Shanghai for inspiration rather than Jean. It goes with your Rita image and looked great on her (and since you look like her, may look good on you as well). I am just afraid the whiteness of Jean's color would look washed out on you.

I'm not sure how it would work since your hair is already dyed red, but being a natural brunette, you will probably have to go through a very harsh process to strip out your natural color.

I definitely think you should try the wig before taking the plunge.

Keep us updated!

 

[LolitaHaze]

If you do go platinum, be prepared to have to get your roots done A LOT! My hair grows exceptionally fast so I only get 3 days without roots and *should* get them done weekly, but I get them done about once every 3 weeks. I have horrible roots right now that I need to take care of. Oy!

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

See, roots are a pain for me. I was blond for several years (not platinum though), but the root maintenance was so pesky. It was a relief to experiment to crazy, vibrant, unnatural red, and from there drift over to slightly more realistic red. Roots still happen, but are not nearly so obvious.

 

[Grant Fan]

Really? Mine fades like a b**ch in about five seconds. What dye do you use? I think I need some!

I think it is loreal it's called Intense Red Copper or Intense Copper Red ( I can never remember the order of the last two words) I honestly know the picture and the name of the color I am pretty sure it is Loreal but it could also be Revlon. But my natural dark hair gets a lot of copper in it if I even think about going outside for any amount of time. So I might just take red well. But give it a go it won't hurt.

 

[Grant Fan]

If you do go platinum, be prepared to have to get your roots done A LOT! My hair grows exceptionally fast so I only get 3 days without roots and *should* get them done weekly, but I get them done about once every 3 weeks. I have horrible roots right now that I need to take care of. Oy!

The roots are why I hesitate, my hair grows really fast also. I hate seeing my dark peek through I should do it like ever 10 days or so if I wanted to keep it 100% covered but I wait and like you do 3 weeks.I hate looking like I have a highway down my head and not a part.

 

[tuppence]

My daughter went a yellowy blonde before going platinum and while she looked good with the yellow tones the Platinum made her skin look really washed-out and she had to change back

 

[The Shirt]

Though I wasn't exactly trying to get all the way to platinum, It did take a long while before getting to blond. I had very dark brown hair that has auburn highlights naturally. I went step by step to red for a while. Then took it lighter and lighter about every 2 months.

I wanted the 2 tone look so only the top is now blond. It has been about a year and it still has a lot of strawberry tones to it. Which is fine for me as it looks better on my skin tone. I didn't have a ton of breakage but it certainly has changed the texture of my hair. It is crazy coarse now (nice because it adds volume, not so much when I want to go straight). Roots are necessary every 4 weeks but I think I can push it further because I still have brown underneath my top panel hair.

You are gorgeous either way - but just know it is a long term commitment. I have also noticed that going back (adding darker color to the once bleached portions) well it just doesn't hold very well anymore.

 

[Blondie]

I have had platinum blonde hair for the longest longest time,
and am now growing it out !
Here is my two cents worth.......
It looks beautiful , looks glamourous, looks fabulous (just look at Lolita Haze)
Take your skin tone into consideration and as the other gals said go try on a wig first to be sure that is the colour you want.
The downsides :
It is expensive to maintain, getting the roots rebleached every 4 weeks,
special shampoo's, conditioners, protein sprays, hair treatments, hair masks and toners.
Hopefully you wont have any breakage in your hair but be prepared for it breaking along the hair line and to break if the bleach overlaps your previously bleached hair.
You will need to find a hairdresser who knows how to bleach so you dont end up with cat's pee yellow regrowth & broken hair. Believe me there alot of sytlists that cannot bleach hair, find someone who specialises in colour , esp bleaching.
It can be a pain in the butt, but if you have your heart set on it, go for it knowing that it is not a cheap easy colour to maintain.

 

[RebeccaMUA]

For what it's worth, I think the red your hair is know is THE color for you! You look as if you were born to be a redhead, and not everyone can make it work for them.

Also, you have such a nice skin tone, I would think the platinum might work against that.

Obviously you are going to do whatever you want, but I put my vote in for keeping it red

 

[C-dot]

I say keep it red too - Though of course I'm partial.

LolitaHaze would be your go-to gal for everything platinum, I imagine. Fabulous lady with fabulous hair! When I was platinum, I only dreamed of that length...

 

[texasgirl]

I think you are probably just going through a phase, we all do, where we get so sick of our hair and want something new. But honestly, I think the red is just lovely. It really suits you and I would have thought you were a natural redhead or close. I vote to keep the red- not sure if you're wanting votes or not

 

[Grant Fan]

Well ladies you have officiall freaked me out I don't wanna loose my length I am quite attached to it. So I am going to go lighter red and see how that goes, we will see.

 

[LisaFreemontSt]

If you do go platinum, be prepared to have to get your roots done A LOT! My hair grows exceptionally fast so I only get 3 days without roots and *should* get them done weekly, but I get them done about once every 3 weeks. I have horrible roots right now that I need to take care of. Oy!

I agree wholeheartedly! :eusa_clap

I was platinum for about four months last year and, though I didnt do them weekly, I did have to pay a whopping 58.00 (whopping by my checkbook at least) every month at least. In the long run, it was far more expensive than any other color I've had and though it was beautiful, I couldnt afford it. [huh]

Also, a problem I ran into is that my hair dresser had some difficulty getting the roots the same shade of color as the ends. It ended up being blue sometimes at the root, where she used a toner to even it out and the toner took too much on the freshly bleached root. I have a friend who keeps her hair platinum and her roots are blue sometimes as well.

Whatever you decide, don't try to do it yourself. Platinum is not a shade I recommend trying at home.

 

[zombi]

Well ladies you have officiall freaked me out I don't wanna loose my length I am quite attached to it. So I am going to go lighter red and see how that goes, we will see.

The problem is that bleaching is damaging for your hair, and if you're trying to bleach off layers of red, it's not likely you'll be able to get to platinum without losing some of your length to breakage, etc from the bleaching damage, & it will definitely change the texture of your length.

Maybe you'll be happier with a lighter red! Who knows? Good luck, hon, whatever you decide!