Bleached dyed black hair twice - what's the next step!?

I would mix up my own custom toner to get it looking more blonde rather than yellow. You can do this by using a violet semi permenant direct dye and mixing a tiny bit with white conditioner to create a light purple colour. The purple will combat the yellow tones (as it's the opposite colour on the colour wheel and will neutralise the colour). However light or dark purple you mix it will depend. I would mix it so it's quite pale and do a strand test. If you like the result just put it on all over, but if it's not dark enough, add a little more violet and test again.

(Sorry if I was being over descriptive, wasn't sure how much you know)

Also, this worked great for me when I first bleached my hair and it turned out a very gingery blonde. I managed to get it looking more natural, like a dark blonde.

It is more yellow where the black dye was, artificial pigments don't bleach as nicely/easily as natural ones which is why it is always better to start with a colour remover. I would try using one now, it may take out the remnants of gold you are seeing. If the black dye wasn't put over virgin hair it may have stained though, and ou will have to go for a darker shade of blonde (staining from permanent dye is totally permanent, needs to grow out/be cut off)

Wicked_Pixie wrote: It is more yellow where the black dye was, artificial pigments don't bleach as nicely/easily as natural ones which is why it is always better to start with a colour remover. I would try using one now, it may take out the remnants of gold you are seeing. If the black dye wasn't put over virgin hair it may have stained though, and ou will have to go for a darker shade of blonde (staining from permanent dye is totally permanent, needs to grow out/be cut off)

Thank you so much for the advice. However, I forgot to mention - I used a colour remover after the first bleach, followed the instructions exactly - but it hardly made a difference, if any. I'm thinking the colour remover may not work, the ends of my hair ecspecially have been dyed a lot over the years. I'm thinking the most sensible decision may be to dye it a dark blonde/light brown colour, as I cannot afford salon treatment. What level of blonde/brown dye would you suggest? I was hoping to use this one maybe: http://www.boots.com/en/Nicen-Easy-Permanent-colour-7CB-Natural-Dark-Champagne-Blonde-Former-shade-106B-_1445716/

Also, do we think a silver hair shampoo treatment might be of any use to reduce the brassiness before I dye it dark blonde?

Generally I find silver shampoos or ready made voilet hair masks quite weak, and generally better for paler yellow blonde hair rather than yellow/gold brassiness.

Like I said before I think mixing your own toner with a violet semi and Condtioner would be a good bet.

Kennii wrote: Generally I find silver shampoos or ready made voilet hair masks quite weak, and generally better for paler yellow blonde hair rather than yellow/gold brassiness. Like I said before I think mixing your own toner with a violet semi and Condtioner would be a good bet.

Would there be any particular brands you'd recommend? I'm not experienced at all but I'm sure I could work it out. Ultimately I'd love to stay full blonde (and get blonder with monthly bleachings...) but I'm just worried that I'd end up frying my hair but still not being able to get the brassiness out (because of the remaining black dye).

Agree with @Kennii that toning with a home made toner would be your best option. After two rounds of bleaching, I would suggest trying to get the desired result with a non-damaging direct dye instead of more bleach or box dyes that use peroxide. Manic Panic violet of Directions Violet would both be good choices for making your own purple toner.

Have you strand tested to see if it will lift further? If you tone with violet, keep the mix off your roots or they will go lilac. You may need to use a natural shade from Adore to make them match the rest of your hair (they look white in the pic) I wouldn't use a box dye at all, you have no idea what the base is and it will have a high vol peroxide. If you really want to use an oxidative dye get a professional quality one so you know exactly what the colour is and separate peroxide in a low volume.

I agree with Kennii... making your own toner should get you to a more natural blonde with no damage and will give you better control over the outcome. Box dyes will just cause more damage and you might be left with an undesirable shade. Fear those more than semi+Conditioner. Plus it'll condition your hair which is always a good thing. You're very close to your goal, toning and maybe adding a little bit of the same violet semi to your Conditioner so you can use it every time you wash your hair should hold you over until you can Bleach again.

Personally I like pravana violet because it seems like the best true violet. Unfortunately it's a little expensive compared to say directions but it lasts a really long time (quantity and staying power). I've been blonde for about a year (I use a violet Condtioner for each wash) and I've only gone through like a 1/5 of the tube. If you're planning on being blonde for a long time it's a useful dye to have around.

If not pravana violet, then maybe manic panic ultra violet, or directions violet. I wouldn't reccomend crazy colour purples as there's no true violet as one is too warm and the other is too cool so you'd have to mix them. And even then I think they fade quicker. As for stargazer violet and adore violette I'm not sure what they'd be like.

Thank you all so much for the advice, you've all been so helpful. I guess I'm just frightened that toner won't work on the orange/gold bits in my hair due to the residual black hair dye/potential staining. In don't really want to go and spend more money on another toner if it isn't going to do anything, ecspecially if I just have to end up biting the bullet and going to the salon anyway! I used a white toner after my last bleaching - but it only effected my roots. This is why I'm frightened it may not work... although I don't think it contained any purple? I used Bleach London white toner (I'm in the UK).

If you buy a violet dye you can make it as strong as you need. A tub of Directions will last ages diluted as a toner, and costs less than a fiver. White toners are not very strong, they are designed to take the last remnants of yellow out of platinum blonde hair. You need a stronger, more purple toner to neutralise the strong yellow you have in your base.

Wicked_Pixie wrote: If you buy a violet dye you can make it as strong as you need. A tub of Directions will last ages diluted as a toner, and costs less than a fiver. White toners are not very strong, they are designed to take the last remnants of yellow out of platinum blonde hair. You need a stronger, more purple toner to neutralise the strong yellow you have in your base.

Ah okay so if I got a tub of say the purple directions - what should I mix it with to create my toner and how should I apply? Just follow the instructions that come with the directions colour? Thank you so much for all the help!!!

You can mix Directions violet with cheap, white conditioner. You only need a tiny bit of the violet, and a lot of conditioner. I'd do a strand test before applying it to your entire hair, to see how strong you have to make it. Start of making on the light side (say a palmful of conditioner and just a drop of violet for the strand test. It's easier to add extra violet than to add extra conditioner). If you know how strong to make it, just fill a bowl with a much conditioner as you need to easily cover all your hair (except your roots, like @wicked_pixie said, because else they will probably turn lilac because they are white already) and add as much violet as you need, judging from your strandtest. (When I mix colors or toners, when I find the exact color/tone that works for me, I put some in one of whose tiny see through plastic bags, squeeze out all the air and tie a knot in it, just for future color reference)

Asha_ wrote: You can mix Directions violet with cheap, white conditioner. You only need a tiny bit of the violet, and a lot of conditioner. I'd do a strand test before applying it to your entire hair, to see how strong you have to make it. Start of making on the light side (say a palmful of conditioner and just a drop of violet for the strand test. It's easier to add extra violet than to add extra conditioner). If you know how strong to make it, just fill a bowl with a much conditioner as you need to easily cover all your hair (except your roots, like @wicked_pixie said, because else they will probably turn lilac because they are white already) and add as much violet as you need, judging from your strandtest. (When I mix colors or toners, when I find the exact color/tone that works for me, I put some in one of whose tiny see through plastic bags, squeeze out all the air and tie a knot in it, just for future color reference)

Ah I see, simpler than I thought! Okay I'm definitely going to give this a go, I'll post an update (although I may have to order the violet directions online, not sure if there's anywhere on my hometown that sells it!) If it works...how often should I apply the toner/conditioning mix do you think? I could easily apply every time I was my hair with the usual conditioner really. And then say in a month's time should I try bleaching again? At least it'd be well conditioned!!!

You can add some to your conditioner, but then it would be more difficult to keep it away from your roots. Also, if you add violet to your conditioner, you have to make it less strong, or else after a few washes your hair will turn lilac ;-) I think just toning it once, and then every couple of weeks is probably easier.

As for bleaching: if you really feel you have to after a month, I would be careful to stay away from the roots, because they are already so light. Just start at the ends and work you way up to the midlengths. Also, I think you could manage to lift your hair the 1 or 2 shades you need for platinum by doing a bleach bath, instead of a full on bleach. Or use a very low level peroxide and a bleach powder without ammonia, to minimize damage.

Also be aware that the violet will go green when bleached, so you need to fade it out before bleaching again. You will need to make several different strengths for the different colours in your hair, the strongest one for where the ends are orangey. There is a lot of trial and error involved when toning this way. I am not certain your hair will lift any further, so do strand tests. A really good quality bleach will give more lift for less damage. I don't think ammonia free bleach will prevent any damage, I prefer traditional formulas with ammonia as they have the most lift so you can use a lower volume of peroxide.

@Wicked_Pixie, is this the case with all violets, them going green? Because I heard this which made me paranoid about bleach bathing over my toned hair, but I did it anyway and my hair wasn't green at all. I used pravana violet. Or is it just because I used so little of it when diluting?

Just one more question before I take the toning plunge - should I wash my hair and have it towel dried to apply my toner? Or apply it straight to dry hair? Thank you all so much! Will post an update...