Wella - EIMI Stay Firm 9 oz

Holds well

This review is for T-10 Pale Blonde. I have medium neutral-ashy blonde hair that was starting to look pretty one dimensional. I bought a bleach kit and bayalayged some of my ends sporadically to break it up. The result was pretty and natural looking, but the underneath of my hair on the right side is a bit darker than the rest of my hair because color remover didn't fully saturate that side a few months ago. This has bothered me some but not enough to put color oops on again however, the bleach turned the pieces in this darker part a nasty orange. I mixed 1 bottle of toner with 3 oz of 10 volume developer and saturated my entire head (my hair was damp). I waited 20 minutes and was spooked to wait any longer because this was dark grey on my hair. This got rid of the orange. I'm so impressed. I think I could have waited a few minutes longer for an even brighter pale blonde, but I love it. My hair is smooth and silky.We'll see how this holds up but it's cheap to do at home so I won't mind having to do it once a month if that's what I have to do.

I don't often write reviews because hardly anything blows my mind to the point where I feel compelled to write a review, but this is a godsend. I am a big DIYer and prefer to take control over my own hair rather than go to a hairdresser and have them tell me the colour I want is unachievable, I'll need more than one process, pay through the nose and leave the salon with warm tones I detest. I don't have a problem with warm tones in general but I have a odd, sallow and yellowish kind of skin where any hint of orange, copper or red will just make me look hella ugly. I have always wanted a medium beige, ashy and dark blonde because it's the only shade of blonde I carry well and it's the only colour that's ever suited me the most. So, armed with knowledge and using strictly professional products (shout-out to my ride or die beauty supply store in west London where you don't need a license to buy professional hair products at trade prices) stripped my hair color, bleached two times using 20v, ended up a dark yellow/pale peach shade and decided this is the level I wanted to be, applied L'Oreal majirel dark ash blonde colour hoping it would be my base and toner in one. Unfortunately, it got me to the level I wanted to be, but it didn't eliminate the brassy tones. At this point I realise I need a colour charm toner. I wasn't near light enough to use T18 so I opted for T35 but also bought T18 to neutralise the bright yellow bits in my hair I put in as highlights. Used mainly T35 with abit of T18 with 30vol developer and it. Looks. Beautiful. I am now a beige bronde and I love it. It's still not perfect, I have a few bits of my hair here and there that were not pre lightened enough but I'm very happy where I am with my color now. Highly recommend, incredible product.

The same time I used Frost and Glow I've tried to correct my shade with Wella toners. T10 plus T14 combination is a far cry from what Fudge purple shampoo is capable of. Doesn't worth messing with, great purple shampoo will provide better result with less hair damage.

I am naturally a medium-auburn (the dreaded natural reds) and I keep my hair a nearly-silver platinum White for about 9 months now. Doing platinum at home is typically something I'm too lazy to do, but hitting my mid-30's I said to myself: "Nothing other than a boring color really makes you look better/younger after 30....so I should do whatever color is actually fun and not worry about how flattering or age-appropriate it is". And that's how I went from natural brunette with a few highlights to DIY Platinum in *literally* one day. (Yes I had chemical burns because I had to bleach 2x and did so in one day and then toned 2x in the same day, as well). I don't recommend you do ANY of that unless you are SUPER familiar with your hair type and know how it's going to react to double-processing, certain brands, etc. I have been coloring my hair since age 11, so I feel confident that no matter what I do *wrong* I can fix it. So please keep that in mind in reading anything I post about "blonding" yourself.Second....the snooty comments from "Professional Cosmetologists" and such are helpful and contain factual advice....but pretending that a Cosmetologist can do a better job that *yourself* at home if you are educated in haircare is blatantly dishonest. I have been colored at the very best salons that charge up to $500.00 for my hair....and frankly, anything other than a $300.00 quality coloring, I can do better myself at home. Including Platinum Blonde, bleaching, toning, and the dreaded root touch ups for a platinum blonde with dark/black roots coming in. I did my full platinum myself and then the first root touch up using Schwarzkopf BlondME Bleach (awesome) with Wella 20 Developer and then double-tone. First I use Wella T10 mixed with T14 and a touch of T050 (which is listed as a "dye" but is a purple additive specifically to add to blonde toners). Then I rinse and apply the T18 (or White Lady) to the roots first.....then the shaft and tips for a much shorter time.This gives me a solid White Silver Platinum with NO gold or hot roots and none of the "gold banding" I experienced at my Redken Salon AND at my local Aveda Salon. Both places charged me over $200 (not including tip) JUST to touch up my roots after I'd already done the Platinum myself. BOTH screwed it up and left me with yellow roots that were patchy and clearly showed their inability to listen to the customer when I told them that I have "very resistant roots/hair even when it's virginal hair that's never been colored". The best colorists out there are the colorists who listen carefully to their clients about things that only the client can know about their hair and absolutely change the results. Anyway....after being lazy and going to 2 "fabulous and expensive" salons and getting crappy results, I went back to doing it myself using just Wella Toners (though I still prefer the Schwarzkopf "BlondME" Bleach for up to 9 levels of Lift....I just use it with my Wella Developer).The T18 IS going to give you a "grey or granny" color at first. That's a GOOD thing. I know it's not the gleaming platinum you wanted to show off to the world, but if you rinse and have this greyish tone....you've gotten the most important thing done: abolishing the dreaded "yellow" hints, tones, or roots. The shaft and tips of hair will fade quickly to whatever color you were going for (likely platinum white to very pale blonde) and the roots will usually stay a bit darker....but not orange or yellow. BUT. If your hair was NOT totally "pastel yellow" prior to using the T18, you will NOT end up with a platinum/pale blonde overall. You'll get light blonde with yellow hints because the rule is that: Violet-Blue & Violet (T18) covers light yellow and gold (and will appear purple or silver at first on your lightest strandsBlue-Violet & Blue (T14, T10) cover light orange, gold, and cast a silver tone on pastel yellow and whiter pieces of hairNeutral Tones will basically tone the brightness of a bleached blonde to a "peachy" color at first and hopefully settle down to a regular "golden blonde", but is NOT good for neutralizing orange, gold, yellow that is unnatural looking.When I use T18 I have a routine that is NOT pleasant or easy and requires confidence....but gives me much better results than the Colorists at Aveda or Wella Salons can give me. I bleach my roots and any faded areas with NOTHING OVER a 20 Developer. In my opinion, it is better to have to bleach it twice with a 20 Developer than risk using a 30 or 40 Developer at home. The "speed" of using the 30 or 40 is NOT worth the risk and damage to your hair. I also add "Bond Angel" to both my bleaches and toners. Bond Angel is like Olaplex. It's a reconstructive/protective ingredient that salons charge a TON of money to add to your coloring and are also expensive to buy online....but the Bond Angel is lesser known and you can buy it on Amazon to add extra protection to your bleaching process. After bleaching either once o...