Went to the salon and had my hair lightened this past Friday; I'm still in shock over how light it is - Angie, the gal that cuts my hair, advised me that if I went platinum I would be in the shop every 2-3 weeks getting a touch up - the cost would be $60 each time - I'm too thrifty for that one so she talked me into doing my hair one shade lighter than platinum - it's still very light/bleached looking; now I need to get new makeup to compliment the lighter shade so I don't look so washed out. Back in my day I was a blondie - even this shade - but as you age your skin tones change and I guess I just need to get used to it.