hair coloring?

I've been feeling really restless with my haircolor lately.. I have a long & complex history with my hair, whi*****ludes chopping it super short, dying it red, dying it back brown, perming it, etc etc.. eventually my hair got very damaged from all the over-processing it and I started to grow it out at the end of 2007. Like, grow out my NATURAL color (which I hadn't seen in many many years). It's now about 2 inches past my shoulders and I want it to grow probably another 3-4 inches (a bit over waistlength, I think). But my problem is that.. although I've actually grown to like my natural dark brown color, I'm SO bored with it right now. I keep changing my bangs whenever I get restless but then another few months pass and I'm restless again.. right now I'm on this bender to try blonde. I've never been  blonde, so I wanna try it. Why not, after all? It's a great color for the summer.. and though I recognize that based on my coloring, brunette is a way better look for me, I just WANNA TRY BLONDE.

My problem is this- I haven't really noticed any hairloss (other than the usual) since my surgery in January.. but I wonder if dying it will actually damage my hair so much & prompt the typical post-WLS hairloss to happen.. I really rather it didn't since my hair is thin enough as it is.. but I'm also so bored with my hair that I just can't take it anymore.. What do to?? Any advice?

My mom always dyes her hair and after wls she still did, but she used the impreminent dye instead. Blonde would mean bleaching though...  which would probably not be so great for your hair, but I wouldn't think you'd lose more hair than you would otherwise by coloring if the hair loss has yet to start. Maybe your doctor would know something more about it? Maybe just a lighter brown color with bleached tips or something would be safer? I'd be worried about doing much at all to the roots.

Bleaching your hair will seriously dry it out and you may suffer some hairloss, if you haven't yet you may not though.  really its a chance you're going to have to take.  A word of advice though, why don't you just try doing some highlights first?  maybe even heavy highlights?  I went blonde one, it was BAD but I think it was the extreme shock from auburn to blonde.  Anyway, its your hair tho and you do what you want to do :)

well i  would wait a lil at least been 6 month out to do it.
u can get some hair extansion to have a new look!! i love mine!! `cuz my hair is really short.
and blond sounds a lot of fun!!! i can´t wait to see the pics after u do it!
have fun!

I really can't give any input as far as dying your hair after WLS because I haven't had the surgery yet but as someone who colors her hair every 3 months (and I have since I was 14) I highly recomend that you go to a really good colorist.  I always have my aunt do it because she's been cutting and coloring hair for 20+ years and I really think it makes all the difference to see someone who has been doing it for a long time and has a ton of experience. If you do it yourself (or see someone who doesn't have much experience) you can really damage your hair even more, especially with the bleach. A good colorist should be able to get the colors you want without damaging your hair too much. Also, if you're going from brown to blonde you should invest in a good conditioner. I always go back and forth, I'll have brown for a year or two and then want blond again and the conditioners make a huge difference. Good luck :)

~H

Hey Girl!
I haven't colored my hair since surgery (even though i NEED to get my roots touched up), I would start with blonde highlights. It's less damaging then going all blonde!  Thats what I did awhile back, and every 6 weeks I went to get a touch up, my hair stylist would add more highlights and lowlights.  just an idea if you are worried about it damaging.

Good Luck

i bleach but i have been for about 2 years now. Im really restless with my hair too. i always think im going to grow it out but then I cut it again. I was bleaching before surgery and then at like 3 months i noticed that i had no roots. like my hair wasnt growing. but now its growing for sure and my roots are way dark. Im actually growing out the roots so i can dye it black. haha. like the opposite.
It looks like our surgeries were close together and if you havent had thinning or loss then you might b ok. I have extremely thick hair and if I lost half of it I would probably wear it a little longer.
I recommend getting it done and spending the 60 bucks it cost to get it colored. those people have been to school and know what you can and cant do with your hair. I color/bleach my own hair but since im changing from blonde to black I am also paying the price of major hair color change. If your going drastic, use a professional. Maybe just highlights and lowlights would be cute and enough change to keep you from being bored. Im broke so I cut my hair this paycheck and Im going to get it colored next one.
:)
you know im a hair chamelon too and now that Im losing weight Im doing all kinds of things that I couldnt pull off when I was overweight. Niiiiice.
post some pics so we can see what you decide
erika

First off, good luck going blonde if you decide to.... secondly make sure you go to a really really good colorist because going blonde can be a really horrible experience if its not done right... With that said I'm a natural blonde and nothing buggs me more than seeing someone with pee yellow hair that "claims' to be blonde. Please don't take that the wrong way but if your going to go blonde PLEASE have it done right. I just had highlights put in my hair to lighten it up a bit and even that KILLED my hair its so much dryer. This is the first time in years that I have done any coloring to my hair and this was just over a month post op. I was having slight hair loss before dying it but haven't noticed an increase in hair loss since I got it done. Again good luck and I hope it works out for you! Being blonde is fun!

omg i desperately want to be a blonde again!!! but im terrified of all the damage.
what do you think?? i actually love they way i look as a brunette but i have to admit that i miss the attention i got as a blonde lol

so I had a consult yesterday at a salon super nearby (like a block away). The woman really seemed to know what she was talking about and we talked a while about my hair coloring history and what I do (she says where I work can determine how adventurous I can be) and what I want in terms of upkeep/etc.. what she recommended in the end was doing blonde & light brown hilights on my dark brown hair, so that 1/3 of my head would be each different color. but it would be super-nice & blended (NOT skunky). It sounded great.. except she quoted me $180. Which, actually, sounds about right because the procedure is complicated. But then upkeep would only be $120 every 3 months or so. She also recommended I start taking prenatal vitamins for the folic acid, so that  my hair'll grow healthier & stronger & faster. I might do that...
I'm going to my regular salon (that I almost don't use anymore) to get a quote from the woman who usually cuts my hair (tho I only see her twice a year). We'll see what she says...
and I've also considered the from-the-box option cuz I found out L'Oreal's Super Blonde lightening kit is MADE for dark hair, so it could totally work to blonde me up.. and the upkeep would be way easier at home. BUT if I F it up, it could get REALLY F'd up... but I do have plenty of experience with DIY haircoloring, so I'm a bit tempted to just do the damn thing myself (though of course I wouldn't get beautiful hilights)

p.s. Blanca you look HOT blonde. but you look hot either way... the funny thing is that while my boyfriend is supportive of anything I do (including my WLS), he's not a fan of blonds AT ALL and is a bit apprehensive.. but he's not with me for my hair, so I think he'll just have to deal! haha.