Can't help with the hair questions but I'd like to say you look great! You got back in shape fast! And your new son is so sweet! Just seems like you announced you were pregnant!

First of all--wow, girl, you sure got your figure back in a hurry. What a sweet little one you have there. I know nothing about hair, but I think yours looks fine--nice and shiny.

Here's another useless response for you: You look great, and so does your baby! (I know nothing about hair coloring.)

LOL--thanks for the kind words. No offense to my kid, but it's a terrible picture of him. He's in mid-cry and covered in dried milk!

Looks like my hair may stay dark :)

You do look great! And so does the little one!

I've been having a similar problem with my hair. I've been trying to go lighter the last couple times I colored. Last time I used "light golden brown" but my hair keeps turning out darker than I want and darker than my natural color when I color it. It looked very close to your shade when I last colored it and I was going for "light golden brown". I never had problems before. I called Nice N Easy to see what was going on. They told me I was actually overprocessing my hair so it was going darker, not lighter. I have to admit, I didn't really understand what they were saying but it was suggested that next time I just focus on my roots for a shorter time and run the color through the last five minutes. I had been leaving the color on for the maximum time, so I'm guessing maybe a shorter time would have been better.

Maybe you could put a call into Clairol. If they tell you anything interesting, please post back. Thanks. Good luck although I think that color looks really good on you. You're young and can handle a darker color. I need some lighter tones considering my age!

I asked about putting hi-lights in but she told me I couldn't do that because you couldn't color over them. Really? Didn't know that... Anybody else ever hear of that? I'm pretty clueless about hair and thinking I really need to just fit in the time to get to a salon and let someone else mess up my hair!

Good luck to you.

Well I think your hair looks pretty and healthy. I would suggest having a pro do it. It's so tricky going lighter after you have colored it darker. I had a roommate that had darkened her hair, let it grow out about an inch, lightened it, and wound up with orange hair and almost blond roots. Looked kinda funny. Maybe you could have a colorist weave in some slightly lighter color to brighten it up a bit. Just some subtle highlights might make you feel better about it. JMHO

Gosh I miss having a little smooshy baby in my arms. He's a cutie.

I also think you should go to a pro to have it done the first time as it would be rather "tricky" to get your dark hair as light as you want it. It won't be cheap but I have heard of women that tried to do it the first time with bad results and then had to go to a salon to have it corrected which probably would cost more.
By the way, you hair is beautiful but I understand why you want to cover the gray at your young age.
Lois

I covered my grey hair for years with frosting it. Made it easy to do less frequently than a solid dye job and still look good. Finally I did away with the frosting only to find that my hair was naturally frosted the same amount I had been doing it.

You and your hair both are beautiful. So is your darling baby, mid-cry or not. Oh to be able to hold a little baby in my arms again. Enjoy, they grow up sooooo fast. Dottie

I agree, go to a pro. I'd have her lighten it, and then add hi lites throughout.
If I remember right, you weren't very big when you were pregnant either. Hardly a baby bump even. You must have a great metabolism.
Leslie

Your hair looks beautiful, healthy and shiny. And the baby's cute, too!

Oh to have such a tiny little post pregnancy body!!! You are graced with some seriously good genes!!!

Regarding your hair, I personally like it dark. But, if you want to lighten it, I would very much recommend having a professional do it. Going from dark to lighter is tricky and from what I've heard, easy to mess up. So if you can, have a pro do it.

I am a hairdresser, and can suggest a couple of tips.
Stay with the same neutral base you are currently using, but try going into a medium neutral blond. when you see the color strips hanging at Sallys you have to remember those colors represent what the color would be if coloring white hair. Try any new color in the back underneath at the nape of your neck or behind your ear to see if you like it. Any time you do your whole head, do the roots with 50/50 color and peroxide for 20 minutes only. I would stick with the 20 vol. peroxide for what you are doing. Then do the rest of your hair with a mixture of 1/3 color, 1/3 H202, 1/3 shampoo. leave that on for 10 minutes only and wash and cream rinse as usual. It will keep the porous ends from grabbing too much color.
Also ask the gals at Sallys if they are hairdressers, I knew at one time they had to be, if so they can help you make a choice, and give good pointers.
Also I agree with everybody else to have a pro do it the first time, and then get the recipe from them and do it yourself after that. I used to make the most money doing hair after Halloween. If you mess it up, corrective color can cost you a fortune!
Good luck! I think your hair looks really nice as it is.

Trin