Hair Color Disaster: Addressing Uneven Blonde Highlights & Base Correction

Question
Hello Hairman

I am despereate for the answer to this question. Recently over the past 6 months I decided to lighten my base when getting blonde highlights. I am naturally about a level 5 and have heavy foiled bleach highlights. This has been disasterous as the hairstylists want to color/lift my base and highlight at the same time ie. putting on the all over color first and then going through and highlighting with bleach on top of the color. While this I am sure saves time, it meanwhile turns my hair a nice burnt orange color. Is it not obvious that the bleach cannot cut through the color put on my hair (Artego brand)??? After clearly explaining this to a new stylist and growing out the previous disaster, she did exactly what the last stylist did uggggh!!!! I said why can't we lighten the base first ie. color, wash out, dry...and then do the highlights? She said that would take too long....oh boy.... So my question to you is why are my highlights turning orange? Am I correct that the bleach doesn't cut through the all over color they have processing at the same time? Is it the brand of hair color ie. Artego? She was using 35 volume bleach so should be a nice light blonde right? I have had same experience both salons using Artego...  How can I lighten my very dark base (just a few shades) to a nice lighter brown and have nice light beige blonde highlights? They are currently now a burnt orange AGAIN!!! I JUST WANT  TO SPIT!!

Answer
Jenny,
 The technique you are referring to is called wet on wet. It involves applying the colour and then foiling right over it for highlights. Although it is a very effective technique for caramel or butterscotch highlights and such, it is not really appropriate for pale or beige highlights. Each technique has a purpose that it's suited to. For your desired end result the colour does not have to be done first, rinsed out and then the highlights applied. It can still be done all at once. The main difference would be that the highlights must be foiled in FIRST and then the background (base) colour applied around it. This way the bleach is not trying to work through processing colour. What will have to be done now to fix your issue is rather simple. Your foiling will have to be done and then the colour applied around them to lighten the new growth if needed and at the same time to darken the mid-lengths and ends to the same colour as the new retouch. They may want to use a non ammonia colour for the mid-strands and ends, but that would be their choice.
Best of luck to you.
Stephe (hairman)