Wrong Hair Color with Roots Showing!

I was going to a colorist/stylist for over a year and she could never give me the hair color that I wanted. I wanted a strawberry blond color but instead she gave me just a bright red color that was pretty much at the level that my hair color naturally is. I thought that a years worth of my time and money was a plenty so I (guilt-fully) found a new person.

I realized that it would take some time to get where I wanted to get, especially since I no longer had virgin hair and I was fine with that. I wanted all over color because I don't like the way that highlighted hair is usually only color on the top layers and then the bottom is a completely different color, I just think that it looks tacky unless the highlights are similar to the natural hair color. So she did all over color first and then convinced me that I should be doing highlights because it would be healthier for my hair and she could still give me the color and look that I wanted. I said that I would try it but I insisted that she do full highlights for the reason that I mentioned above and that I wear my hair up, half-up etc. frequently.

So now we come to the issues.

As I feared I have gaps where there is no color, just several inches of roots. There are highlights on the top and around the hairline all the way to the back but on the interior of my hair there are no highlights just roots. I am new to highlights but this is exactly what I didn't want. I hate how if the top layer of my hair moves you can see all the roots that are on the layers underneath.

Do I just need to go to allover color or do I need to insist that she actually do full highlights?

Is it just me or is this a horrible highlighting job?

Also it seems as if she is just making my hair blond and that there is no red or not enough red to it.

It may sound weird but the colors that I seem drawn to seem to have an almost pink tone to them and not necessarily just the orange that would normally be attributed to "red" hair. Does she need to add some red and orange to the toner? Something else?

Can I achieve the hair color that I want through a high lift developer instead of bleach which she is using a lot of on my hair? I would prefer a higher volume developer over bleach since this would be a little easier on my hair. Right?


Info just because I'm curious:

What level would you say that my natural hair is based on what you can tell from my photos?
What level is the is the hair that I want to achieve?

What do I need to be asking for to get what I want?

Am I just being picky? I mean in my head I know what I want and I'm not getting it and I even brought pictures instead of just trying to state what I want but I just can seem to get it.

I know this was long but I wanted to give as much info so that you have all the facts. Any advice from the professionals out there to some one who may not know how to get what they want, but knows exactly what it is that they want, would be GREATLY appreciated.

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Your stylist did not give you full highlights. That's a fact. If she had, you'd be able to see them in the pictures.

All you need is a root touch up color and more highlights.

You can achieve a high lift color by using color and a high lift peroxide but red colors have a tendency to pull pink when you use them. I don't think they'll be the pink color you want either. Using high lift peroxides with color are less damaging to your hair, however using bleach shouldn't damage your hair either unless your stylist doesn't know how to use it properly.

Its best to let your stylist stick to using bleach. There is no reason she can't use a strawberry blonde toner on your hair after bleaching. That should give you the strawberry blonde you want, mixed with your slightly darker red hair.

From the pictures, it looks like your hair is a level 4, possibly a level 3 if you used a flash on your camera when the pictures were taken. Strawberry blonde colors are typically levels 6, 7, or 8 but can be even lighter.

You are not being picky. The heart wants what the heart wants. It sounds like you need to do a consultation with your stylist so she knows exactly what you want. Tell her you want a 'plan of action' to achieve the color you want. If she won't do it, leave and find another stylist who will!

Many times stylists take the easy way out. The first stylist went the 'safe route' by coloring your hair basically the same color.

Because you're hair's been colored so much, your stylist might want to remove the color and start with a clean palette, since lifting red hair pulls pink.