I have dark brown hair and have decided it needs some lightening up. I want to do highlights in it. What are the pitfalls, or do's and dont's for highlighting dark hair? Is there any kit or brand that you think is better than another?

I have done highlighting on my daughters hair, but she is dark blond to start with, so for her hair it's pretty easy. I'm just not sure about starting with my dark hair. Kind of fearful that I'll end up with orange stripes or something equally odd.

Hi,

My daughter has dark brown hair - when she did the highlights, the lady at the salon picked a carmel color.... It really did come out beautiful. The color looks so nice with the dark hair

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That does sound nice. I am assuming that it was a two step process. One where they strip the color and then add the caramel to the stripped hair?

You can try a beauty school to save a little money. Ask for a senior student so you're sure that they have some experience in experimenting with color. I have had positive experiences at the one I've gone to.

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Do you have an Ulta close to you? I just went and had the Mother's Day special done (had it done last year also) It is a shampoo, cut, style and highlights for $75. They do a good job and well worth the money. Might want to check it out.

Ps. I have dark brown hair and the highlights she choose (not sure of the color) came out nice.

hashbug

I have medium/dark brown hair and get highlights every 8 weeks. They're a honey color-- I get them because it brightens me up, and to blend in the grey.
Go to a reputable salon and you won't have any problem. It costs a little $$$... but I'm pretty low maintenace so it's justified... I'm not ready to be "grey haired" yet!!

I do it myself and this is what I use.

http://www.lorealparisusa.com/_us/_en/default.aspx#page=top{nav|media:_blank|overlay:_bl ank|diagnostic|main:brandpage:couleurexperte|userd ata//d+d//}

I'm not sure how to hyperlink it so you can copy and paste to get there. I do have short hair with kind of a messy style so I have some room for mistakes. If you have medium or long hair I would recommend going to a salon. JMHO

The link does not work for me, either by clicking or cutting and pasting. I did use it to go to the Loreal site and looked at what their expert said, but I don't think I got the entire gist of what was discussed. The site does not work real great for me either. I guess it's because I'm on an old Mac.

I have fairly short hair. I guess 2 1/2 to 3 inches long. I'm not really worried about it too much because if worse comes to worse, I can always dye it back to something close to my original color. My hair grows fast, so whatever I do, I won't have to live with it too long. Besides, doesn't everyone love seeing an overweight 64 year old woman with strange orange stripes in her dark brown hair? I know I do...lol...