Many years ago I had lowlights done to bring my hair back from the golden blonde I had made it to something closer to natural, which is dark blonde/light brown. It looked great and allowed me to grow it out to my natural color without being obvious.

Now I have highlights done every few months. Although I can't carry off being a golden blonde anymore, I have to be careful to keep my highlights on the gold side, because the highlights that tilt towards ash look like gray hair.

Both my sister and my SIL has this done to their blonde hair. I love it! I don't know what is involved in keeping up on it. I have wavy/curly hair too and finding a good hair salon that knows what they are doing is priceless. What brand of products do they use?

Funny, I was paying an arm and a leg for a haircut ($80.00). It seemed like my hair cutter was getting worse and worse so in frustration, I decided to boycott her. I had a court date in Sacramento and on the way home I needed to use a restroom. I stopped at JC Penny. Lost, I ducked into their salon to ask for directions. They offered me their restroom. I asked if they had time to cut my hair then and there. I went for a restroom and came out with a haircut that I finally liked. Their master tech knows all about cutting curly/wavy hair. All for $28. before tip. I have been driving down the hill to her since that fateful day.

Back to you, I think you will love your hair like this!

Are you also covering gray? Will you continue to color at home over the lowlights?
I think they look great but once you get into root maintenance, the upkeep is every 3-4 weeks.
I would go for it though even if over time it reverts back to all the same.
And you could do it at home in the future, they make low light kits.

My hair is mainly salt and pepper. I have it colored overall in a medium blonde and then I have highlights and lowlights put in. Roots aren't a problem as I have them touched up every 3 weeks. My hair grows so fast I can't wait to do it every 4 weeks.

I'm very pleased with this process and I get compliments all the time. People can't believe my color isn't really medium blonde. I can't imagine having my hair all one color anymore.

My blonde DD has her hair done similar to the first picture and it's the perfect way to be blonde without looking like a floozie.

Go for it!!!

I say go for it! If you find someone that knows what they're doing, and it sounds like you have, it will turn out great. Highlights or lowlights add such dimension and make hair stand out.
They will require upkeep so just make sure you feel up for that before you go.

Lowlights look great but they're not without problems. They're done in foils and when you need a retouch it's almost impossible to color the strands that were originally colored so you end up getting more and more percentage of your hair getting colored. There is a technique called baliage where you paint the lowlights on with an artists brush. I've done it for years but I'm a hair dresser so that makes it easier to do lol. Just so you'll know. Generally if you hair gets brassy, using a color shampoo like SHIMMER LIGHTS will cut the brassiness and correct the problem. That product is also great for people with mousy gray hair, it will brighten right up.

auntjen - My first thought would be what is your natural hair color? If your natural hair color is very light blonde, you will need to have the low lights done when your tolerance for the "line" at your part becomes bothersome. The down side of high and low lights is that you can't just run into the salon for a touch up. Your colorist will need to foil every time you have color applied.

I get a combination of high and low lights each time I have my hair colored. I could get away with the low light every other color, but as was pointed out, the problem is that it is virtually impossible to repeat the exact foiling pattern with each coloring. I like the definition the lowlights provide. Prior to starting the lowlights, I felt like I was totally blonde, with no definition at all.

I think you will love the look of the definition provided by doing both high and low lights. However, it is another thing to keep up with. The amount of time between color appointments will depend on how fast your hair grows.

Does anyone follow the Color Me Beautiful Seasons anymore?

Short version: you are either light or dark, plus warm or cool.
light + warm = Spring,
light + cool = Summer,
dark + warm = Fall,
dark + cool = Winter.

Following this chart: Miss Clairol Swatches
As long as you stay in the right color range, there is a variety of colors that will be flattering, and look natural.

Springs can wear G or the lighter oranges that ends in R;
Summers can wear D or N, but should stay lighter;
Falls can wear R, or the yellow orange G for highlights;
Winters can wear any color that ends in D.

-Lena

Color Me Beautiful was my fashion bible when it came out. I still have my original book. It changed how I looked at colors.

I used to color my hair about once a month too. I felt so... self sufficient - that I could do it, and it could look nice, on my own without the salon prices. But then I ran into the same experience as you. It looked nice at first, then it became brassy. My hair is naturally dark blond with a little gray on top. I began highlighting it about every 3 to 4 months with the foils. I found someone inexpensive that I enjoy spending time talking with. Last time I let her foil in carmel color as well. I liked it at first, but now I thing I'll just do normal highlights next time. That's the beauty of the highlights. Your color doesn't have to be done every 4 to 6 weeks. And if you want to do something a little different, you can without obvious roots when it grows out. I'm waiting until I have a ton of gray to do all over color again. I like only getting my hair done quarterly. (I trim my long bangs myself inbetween).

Thanks so much for all of the input! I appreciate you all! I received a call from a woman at the salon this morning, and now have an appointment for later on today. She sounded very knowledgeable over the phone, so I'm very excited to meet her and see what she thinks would be best for me! She mentioned that perhaps a toner, combined with lowlights and highlights would give me the look I'm after. My natural hair color is medium to dark blonde, and I have a few strands of gray in my bangs, but they cover well.

I guess at this point I don't mind becoming a bit more high maintenance than I have been. So long as I'm doing something that makes me look (and therefore feel) my best, I'm willing to put forth the extra time and expense. The bottle-blonding just wasn't cutting it for me at all, so I feel ready to take on more of a commitment if need be. I used to get highlights on a regular basis, so going back to having a hair commitment won't be anything new to me really.

So thanks again to everyone who offered input and encouragement! I'll let you know how gorgeous my hair looks later on today. (CROSSING FINGERS!!! ;-D)

I started having my hair professionally colored about a year and a half ago. I had always done my own color, usually using a semi permanent color and sometimes adding in some highlights from a kit, but decided to splurge and start pampering myself. My stylist is also a very good colorist, and she gives me caramel highlights with a medium brown base, which looks great. It does cost me about $45 more than DIYing it, but I only have it done every 8 weeks, so that's only about $5.50 a week. Now that I'm in my 50s I am starting to get more gray hair, so it's been worth it to me. When I DIYed it, I would put off coloring because it always seemed like a pain to to it. Now I just relax and get pampered.

Well, I'm back from the salon ... and I'm in loooooove! The stylist did an amazing job, and I couldn't be happier. She spent two full hours coloring, cutting and styling and the outcome is everything I hoped for! It's very similar to the first photo I posted. She didn't want to go too dark with the lowlights so as not to give me a drastic change. My overall look now isn't something that would cause anyone to go, "Whoa! What did you do to your hair?" -- but it's caused several people in my office to look at me a bit longer than usual, smile and say, "Your hair looks really good today." It's so shiny and has a subtle multi-dimensional look to it.

So now I'm out $150 (color, cut and bottle of straightening cream), but I consider it money well spent. Terriks, this was most definitely a pampering experience, which is such a nice change from my usual getting-half-nekkid in the bathroom and squeezing a bottle of foul-smelling stuff onto my head (inevitably getting a good deal of it on the floor in the process)!

I may be a lot more high maintenance now. But I look better than before, too - so I think it's worth it.
;-D

I'll bet it looks great - pictures???

I really liked the first pic that you posted and hoped that was the direction you would go.

Amazing news, you're so worth it, lol......

Our hair is so important, crowning glory as they say.
did she suggest any particular color conserving shampoo ?

She just said to use a shampoo without sulfates. They use Parvana products at the salon, but she said drugstore brands such as L'Oreal EverPure are fine. She also suggested I not shampoo daily, as I've been in the habit of doing forever. When I go the gym daily, I just feel like I have to shampoo, but she assures me I can equally clean by using conditioner alone, and save the shampooing for less frequent use so as to minimize dryness.

Yes, you can clean your hair with conditioner alone. I actually tried CO cleansing for a couple of months and my hair did fine. Conditioners actually contain gentle cleansing agents in them. However if you use a lot of styling products you do need a shampoo occasionally. Trader Joes has a good inexpenisive sulfate free shamppoo - I think it's the Spa shampoo.

Wonderful to hear you are totally satisfied with your new salon and their services. I always feel sooo much better after a salon appointment. I think it is a great thing when you've had your hair colored, but anyone looking at you can't really put their finger on what it is that you've done. It is a very good thing.

My natural color is dark brown with little gray. I have been having it highlighted blonde for years now. Last month she practically did my whole head blonde, it looks too blonde. I may have some darker blonde lowlights put it. I could kill her!