This may be a strange scenario but I have to ask you guys anyway. I've never got my hair done at a salon before... as in I've never had it dyed professonally. I used to do it myself but I learned from those mistakes.
Anyway, I have fairly long hair, maybe about 4 inches past my shoulders. It's naturally ashy light brown, but not anymore since I've dyed it and whatnot. I haven't permanently dyed it in a couple of years since I was letting it grow out to my natural color and I just covered the roots with semi-permanent dyes.

Anyway, now I want to have blonde hair so I've been using peroxide, but that can only do so much since I use a very mild solution (I want to avoid damage).
Since it's not lighting my hair as much as I'd like I was thinking about going to a salon and getting it dyed and highlighted.

So my question is exactly what should I expect? I was thinking about setting an appointment for next week... so what should I tell them when I call? Are they going to be willing to dye my long hair blonde and than put highlights on it?

I've heard stories of people going to salons and their hair stylists giving "advice"... more like being pushy and trying to convince clients to cut their hair a certain way, dye it a certain way, and buy all these expensive products.
I'm a college student and I can't afford salon stuff anymore. I don't want the stylist trying to sell me super expensive products that I cannot afford; or to tell me what to do with my hair as far as cutting and coloring goes (I don't want it cut at all). That's a major pet peeve for me.
My friend recently got her hair chemically straightened and dyed and was influenced by her stylist to buy all these expensive straightening shampoos, conditioners, serums and straightening irons that she couldn't even afford but got it on a "discount" anyway. I do NOT want that to happen. I need to save my money.

Should I expect that from them? And if it happens what should I say?
How should I explain to them exactly what I want so that they know and do it right?

Wow...it sounds like you've had many hair adventures! I'm proud of you that you decided to go get your hair done professionally. When you call you should make an appointment for full highlights and tell them that you also need to dye your base color to enhance the highlights. When you are placing blonde into your hair, I think that it is better to pay the extra money and go to a salon. If you see that they are doing something that you don't want...feel free to say so. You are paying them. Don't forget that.

Thank you very much. I wasn't sure what to say in the first place since I don't want my hair to be platinum blonde or anything... I just want it kinda medium blonde with highlights to make it lighter. I figure if I went platinum it wouldn't look good, and my hair would be fried afterwards.

I will have to call them tomorrow and set an appointment to get it done sometime next week. I was going to do it myself but realized that I really don't know that much about dying hair effectively so I'd rather pay a pro to do it correctly (hopefully) than risk it and than having to cut it super short or something.

I, too, have never been to a real beauty salon, so I share in your anxiety about it!

If you're afraid of the stylist pushing certain styles or products at you, I would recommend asking friends/classmates/coworkers who they go to. Ask what salons they like, and whom they see in particular there.

You can then call the salon, and make an appointment by saying that "Sheila was recommended to me by a friend, and I'd like to make an appointment with her for a color and small trim."

Good luck!

Definitely bring pictures with you! That way they will know what you are wanting. I remember one time I was trying to go blonde and they were making my hair more gold colored when I wanted it lighter.

Ask friends if they know any good salons as well and don't go to the place your friend told you about them trying to get her to buy a lot! I actually just tell the stylist I can't afford to buy a bunch of products (I'm also a college student).

Some people have to gradually go blonde if their hair is lighter, but it sounds like yours is already lighter so there shouldn't be a problem with them doing it all at once. I'd also recommend highlights to really lighten up your look. Ask for lots of highlights since you are trying to lighten up your whole look. I have friends who went from brunette to blonde just from highlighting over and over and it looked great!

You may want to set up a consulation appointment (they're usually free) where you can just go in and talk to them about what you want. They can give you a price estimate and can make sure they do what you are hoping for. Just give them a call and let them know what you would like done to your hair and they will help you find an available time that works for you! Good luck!

Thanks you guys, this helps A LOT!
I wasn't sure whether or not I should ask friends for recommendations. That may be hard since most of my friends don't really go to salons either, and those who do rely on "friends" to do their hair. I really don't want to go to a stylist just because they're friends with my friends... I'd rather trust a pro to do it. They have a couple of salons in a mall by where I live. One is Trade Secret and the other is Regis... so I'm thinking of going to one of those. They're pretty well established so I'm hoping that they'll have good stylist who know what they're doing.

And the photo tip is very helpful. I wasn't sure whether or not I should bring pictures or if they'll have magazines (or whatever) available for me to look at and pick out which color I'd like. I'll definitely have to look into that and bring photos of exactly what I want so they know.
I also plan on getting lots of highlights to make it look bright and natural. That is a great tip and hopefully they'll agree to do that.

Thanks so much!

Hi there....I'm a hairdresser, so perhaps I can give a little advice. All of us are used to having clients come to us after they have colored their own hair. It's not a problem to fix (most of the time). I had even lots of male clients through the years so it's not an issue ever, but you need to find someone who is a colorist in the salon, some only cut hair, some do both... My suggestion to you would be to ask around and find out who is happy with their hairdresser, then make the call to that salon. Explain to them that you are looking to have color correction done. Always ask the price ahead of time. At your appointment, make sure you communicate well to whoever is going to do your hair. explain to them carefully exactly what products you have used to color your hair this is important, and will determine the success of your finished haircolor. Also....you can purchase generic products in stores that they suggest you use which generally are cheaper.
From your description, it sounds to me like you would need to have the ends of your hair (up to new color coming in at root) filled with a color or product that will enable the new color to go on evenly. This entire process will take some time, so take a good book to read :-) In the meantime, I would condition your hair so it's in good shape to go through the process of coloring which can be harsh on the hair. Good luck! Hope this helps! Chris

Thank you! This helps a lot. I don't really have many people whom I could ask about this stuff since, like I said, most of my friends don't go to salons to get their hair done. I'm like the first, haha. My friend went all weird on me last night first because she heard that I was going blonde (she's the opposite) and second because she thinks it's outrageous to pay close to $200 to get this done (I did a little reading on TS website and based on their estimated prices the whole dying and highlighting processes would cost close to $200.) While I agree that it is very expensive, if I get what I want than it's totally worth it (plus this is a gift from my sister, so it helps that I don't have to pay :)).

I think I'm just going to go to the mall today and look around at the salons... ask a few questions and see what they say than I'll set up my appointment.
And you're definitely correct about my ends. They will definitely have to do something to make sure that the color goes on evenly since I've dyed my hair sooooo many times that I can barely tell what my natural color is anymore. I used to have tons of damage too... but I'm glad that I've managed to grow my hair out a lot since then and have cut off all of the damage so it's in pretty good shape now.
Thank you very much for your input. It helps to get an opinion from someone who knows about this stuff.

I'm glad I could help. Depending on what's available in your area....going to a salon like "Hair Cuttery" (that's in my area) may be a good option for you. It is not known for being pricey like other salons. One thing for sure is that Hair Cuttery generally employs people who are just finished with their state boards, so they are fresh out of school....so you have new folks working there....BUT they educate their employees very well in addition to their original training which is a plus. Not sure if this chain is in your area, but you could always request the manager and see what he/she has to say and requesting him/her to perform your service. Driving farther away from your major city will generally lower prices too.
Highlights are pricey for sure! Especially foils. Most hairdressers prefer to do foils, but ask to be "pulled through the cap" (I still do it for my clients!)...it's sometimes cheaper.....they'll probably groan, but hey it's your money, and your hair! :-) Good luck! Chris

Thanks, I will try to look for that place...I'm not sure whether or not they have it here since I've never heard of it.
I'm first going to see how much it would all cost to do it at one of the salons in the area, and if that doesn't work out than I'll look for other places. I'm really looking forward to getting this done right.

Hey Elle good luck on your quest for a big change!!1 Dont let your friends sway you,alot of times friends get nervous that you will get your hair done wayyyy different and you will come out and start getting alot of attention adn they get secretly jealous of all your new attention.Secondly I use Regis salons often they are great!!!! at least the one here,,,, Also I havent heard anyone mention the upkeep or maintance on blonde hair something to consider,once you get it done you will have to go back to the salon for your roots or "new growth" depending on how fast your hair grows.I am naturally blonde with highlights and I have to get my hightlights touched up about every 4 months ,but you will have to contend with the roots so it will have to be done more often or you will look like a skunk; and you will have to go to the salon for that because the color kits OTC are not recommended to mix with professional products just wanted to mention that.I say go for it,ley us know the outcome Good luck,Ginger:)

Hey Elle good luck on your quest for a big change!!1 Dont let your friends sway you,alot of times friends get nervous that you will get your hair done wayyyy different and you will come out and start getting alot of attention adn they get secretly jealous of all your new attention.Secondly I use Regis salons often they are great!!!! at least the one here,,,, Also I havent heard anyone mention the upkeep or maintance on blonde hair something to consider,once you get it done you will have to go back to the salon for your roots or "new growth" depending on how fast your hair grows.I am naturally blonde with highlights and I have to get my hightlights touched up about every 4 months ,but you will have to contend with the roots so it will have to be done more often or you will look like a skunk; and you will have to go to the salon for that because the color kits OTC are not recommended to mix with professional products just wanted to mention that.I say go for it,ley us know the outcome Good luck,Ginger:)

Thank you for your imput! :)
I set up my appoinment this morning for Friday at Regis. The woman on the phone was really nice and asked me what I wanted, told me what they plan on doing based on what I told her about my hair, and approximately how much it would cost. I'm actually looking forward to this. I've always wanted to get my hair done professionally with highlights and all that.

I actually did consider the maintenance part of it. That is probably going to be a pain and cost a lot, but hopefully it will be worth it :)
My hair unfortunately doesn't grow very fast, so I guess that is kinda of a good and a bad thing. I probably won't have to touch it up as often as some people, but than I love having long hair so if I trim it (hopefully I won't have to), it will take forever for it to get back to the lenght I like it to be.

I'll just have to wait and see and I will definitely write back after I get it done to tell you how it turned out.

Ok, so I went and did it today!
I went to the salon early to look at some photos of the color I wanted it to look like. They had TONS of pics and I found tons that I liked a lot.
When my stylist came I explained to her that I wanted blonde hair with highlights just like in the photo I showed her.
I also told her about the peroxide thing and she said that basically she wouldn't be able to color my hair blonde because of the peroxide. If she did it would be a waste since nothing would happen and only my roots would get lighter. She told me that it would be much better to just get really, really heavy highlights and keep doing that (about three separate times) in order to achieve the color I wanted. She said that she could do it all at once but didn't want my hair to start falling out so better be safe than sorry.

I agreed and she started. She did them all the way from the back of my head, than the sides, and than the top. It took her full 2.5 hours to do it (4.5 bowls of dye). I was impressed with the skill and dedication because, according to her, she's never had to use more than 3 bowls on anyone and it's never taken more than an hour to do foils.
She was super amazing, patient, and did everything perfectly. I was impressed.
After those 2.5 long hours of sitting in the chair with like 5 lbs of foil on my head (everyone was amused by how many foils it required). Apparently I have twice as much hair as most people she's worked on (lol) so it took forever.
She than put me under a fan for a while. Than she toned my hair, conditioned, and blowdried. It came out really gorgeous. The highlights are all over and they're very fine with about the same amount of my natural color mixed. It looks great. They're blonde and not yellow like I expected them to be. I'm truly impressed and very happy with the results. Can't wait to go back and put more in to make it even lighter (even though it's pretty light right now). I just hope it doesn't take as long next time (which I doubt it will since she already put so many in).
It ended up costing about $120, but it was worth it in my opinion.

I do have another question for you guys... next time I put more highlights in/touch up my roots, is it going to take a very long time?...as in, is she going to have to do my whole head again (the parts that remained natural). And also is it going to cost the same as it did this time? I hope not because I don't think that I can pay over $100 for every highlighting session/touch up. I hope not.

Thanks!

Hey Elle,I am glad your salon visit went so well,and man you must have some long thick hair!!!! Can I borrow some?I dont know the answer to your question,but I wanted to tell you BRAVO!!! Ginger

Hey Elle,I am glad your salon visit went so well,and man you must have some long thick hair!!!! Can I borrow some?I dont know the answer to your question,but I wanted to tell you BRAVO!!! Ginger

I do have an insane amount of hair on my head. It doesn't look that thick, it looks kinda normal, but I guess it's not. It turned out great. Everyone was shocked/surprised when they saw it and all the responses I got were really positive. I'm so glad I did it... can't wait to do it again!

Oh, and if I could let you have some of my hair I would, lol.