ION Color Brilliance System

This is my natural color (Level 6-7 Dark Blonde):

Which I dyed to this using L' Oreal Superior Preference box dye in shade 4A Dark Ash Brown:

Then, I got sick of it being basically black so I went to a salon where a color specialist that I absolutely adored gradually lightened it to this (about a Level 9-10 with highlights and lowlights ranging from Level 8-Platinum) using heavy foil highlighting:

THEN, I decided I was craving a richer, more solid (even sexy, if you will) shade so I took it back brunette using box dye again (L' Oreal Excellence Creme in shade 6A Light Ash Brown followed by 5A Medium Ash Brown about a month later):

But now it is summer, and so I have let the dark brown fade out (permanent dye is never really permanent...) hoping that would be enough lightening to transition into warm weather. It was not. Too dark & too red. Not enough golden.

So I decided to use ION Color Brilliance products from Sally's Beauty Supply to attempt to lighten it at home for the first time ever!

Now the ION product section at Sally's has many helpful little charts and booklets to assist you in choosing the right products for your goal. I was looking to achieve a Level 7 Neutral Medium Blonde. Using the available tools & advice from a Sally's employee, I determined that I would need:

• ION Color Brilliance Color Corrector (to lift permanent dark brown dye)
• ION Sensitive Scalp Developer Creme 10 Volume (for use with Color Corrector; not stated on package, but needed in instructions)
• ION Color Brilliance Liquid Permanent Color in shade 7.1-7A (Medium Ash Blonde; natural Level 6 hair will ALWAYS pull orange/gold especially in naturally warm toned hair like mine so using an ash dye will give more of a neutral tone or more often still a warm tone)
• ION Sensitive Scalp Developer Creme 20 Volume (for dye mixture; ION permanent color dye chart recommends that natural level 6's use 20 volume developer with level 7 color to achieve lightening to level 7)
• Ardell Red/Gold Corrector Single Use Packet (recommended by employee; include in dye mixture to combat brassiness)
• ION Color Brilliance After Color Treatment (optional; seals cuticle & stops processing)
• Latex Gloves
• Callibrated Plastic Squeeze Bottle for Dye

Other items needed that I had at home:

• Plastic Shower Cap (for use with Color Corrector)
• Hair Dryer (processing Color Corrector)
• Wide Tooth Comb
• Gentle, Color Saving Shampoo (L' Oreal EverStrong Reconstruct Shampoo)
• Deep, Color Saving Conditioner (L' Oreal EverPure Moisture Deep Restorative Masque)

What I did:

• The ION Color Corrector had two sets of directions. I was using the product to completely lift the permanent dye from my hair so I followed the instructions for achieving a complete "color change." After evenly applying the mixture, you could choose to cover your hair with a plastic shower cap & apply intense heat using the hair dryer or to go without the cap & heat, but leave the product on for about 5-10 minutes longer. After the color corrector, my hair looked like this:
  
  
• After using the color corrector to achieve your desired level of lift, you have to do a 10 volume developer "rinse" to stop the oxidation/processing. This just means you coat your still wet strands with the developer & let it sit for 5 minutes. This part can be confusing, because after I did the developer rinse, my ends actually turned darker and my roots turned lighter. The opposite of what originally happened. I'm still not sure if that was just my hair, or if it's supposed to do that...
• Now, you are ready to color... I used the callibrated squeeze bottle to mix the proper ratio of permanent color/tint with the 20 volume developer. I only bought one bottle of color and one bottle of developer, but I almost ran out of the mixture so I recommend getting two bottles of the actual tint. There is only 2 oz. in the tint bottle, but the developer comes in an 8 oz. bottle.
• Instead of adding the entire pouch of Ardell Red/Gold Corrector, I added about half. I have a warm (yellow/olive) skintone so I didn't want the color to be too ash toned.
• The ION Color Brilliance instructions said to put it on your ends first then your roots if you were going lighter than your natural color so I did.
• Unfortunately, this step did not work for me. My ends became very dark very fast, and my roots couldn't process long enough since the ends were going to become way too dark. This left me with extremely orange/gold tone roots and more ash toned ends. Also, the roots are about 1-2 levels lighter than the ends.

That being said, I DO NOT think ION Color Brilliance products were the problem. I actually quite like the products. I think they are extremely affordable, easy to use and understand, and very gentle.

My hair turned out the way it did due to the porosity of my ends which have been dyed and bleached and dyed again! I left the dye on the ends too long, because I didn't go with my gut and rinse them when I noticed them turning too dark.

Since I wanted it to be lighter, I've been using Head & Shoulders Classic Clean (known to fade color) mixed with the other half of the Ardell Red/Gold Corrector packet to combat brassy tones. I run the shampoo mixture through my wet strands evenly, allow it to sit for several minutes, and lather it up right before I rinse it out. This is how it looks now:

Brassy roots in direct sunlight...

I tried to show the two tone which is hard to capture in pictures.

This is what it looks like most of the time. Imperfections aren't really noticeable since it blends nicely.

As soon as I nurse my hair back to health, I am going to attempt to correct this. My next post will be on how I am restoring the moisture and repairing the damage done to my ends... So check back!