hair dye

[insideontheoutside]

Two times now I've tried to dye my hair and it's basically just all washed out right away and did very little. I had it black for quite some time but it was a more natural brand and fades a lot (over the course of about 45-60 days). Last I dyed it was October so it's had plenty of time to go back to boring old brown. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this before? The first time I was trying to add blue and this last time it was a burgundy/purple that at best just left some slightly auburn highlights. I'm wondering if it's just the funky colors or something I'm doing.

I haven't had any trouble with the black sticking (which is the same brand as the one I just tried) but just wanted to go for something a bit funkier without being over the top (over the top = bleach job with really bright color).

[JohnAlex]

I don't think hair dye is related to FTM transsexual talk, lol.  But anyways, I have medium-dark brown hair.  I tried to dye my hair black once.  ONCE.  completely failure.  It didn't work at all. and I used like the whole bottle.  I was so disappointed that I never tried again.  And I don't care enough to pay a lot to get it done professionally.

[Espenoah]

In order for bright colors to show up right, you'll have to bleach your hair first. You can make your hair darker without any trouble, but if you go lighter, you have to bleach it. If you add color to already colored hair, it just mixes together and looks very bad, especially when it fades.

[wheat thins are delicious]

You posted in the wrong board 

[xAndrewx]

Espenoah has it right. Few people with brown hair can dye their hair anything other than darker brown or black without bleaching it first.

[Padma]

Yup - hair dye isn't a coating, it actually colours the hair itself - so if the hair is already full of pigment, there's nowhere for the dye to go!

[insideontheoutside]

Hey thanks to whoever moved this.

I guess because there must have been a small amount of color still left in then that new color didn't "take" ... but when I do black over the already dyed black is does make it black again ... which is what was tripping me out about it.

Someone else told me there's some sort of product that actually washed out hair color. So I might try that first before anything else. I used to be able to do any sort of red pigment and have it stick but never tried that after black faded.

Oh well, thanks for the responses!

[JesseO]

I once had an issue where I tried to color my hair black using semi perm color. The roots would not dye, only the other hair (which had previously been colored). I asked someone who did hair and they said that semi perm color never takes as well to virgin hair because it's not as porous. I am guess that because you are talking about un-natural colors, you are using semi or demi permanent. Maybe that is your issue? And what yoxi said is very true. Once you dye your hair dark, putting a lighter color over will not do much at all, unless that lighter "color" is bleach.

[insideontheoutside]

It was demi perm. I usually don't like the semi perm stuff because it doesn't last very long at all. I was just after some highlights basically this time around as I know to get true colors I'd have to go the bleach route.

[babykittenful]

Since you are talking about hair dye, I might as well slip my story through.

I was always against dying my hair, being kinda on the hippie side. But then this summer, mostly because of a girl I worked with who had her hair dyed red, I decided I wanted to give it a try. I have naturally dark brown hair with lot of white (and I'm only 20 I guess one can't hide her wisdom for too long). I settled for even darker with shades of purple (I love purple <3). I got it from the salon, which cost me around 70$ with the haircut.

The dye stayed on for 2 weeks to a month before it faded to some weird reddish. I didn't mind that much. What I minded the most was that my hair started to grow back, and I started having an horrible stripe of grayish hair showing their dirty faces. I don't mind having white hair in my mane, but I'm definitely not fit for the skunk look! Eventually, I got to the drug store and bought a commercial hair dyer. I got my hair dark brown. Usually, the color stays for about two weeks before it starts fading once again to the reddish color. Since I don't really mind the color, I just wait till I have my next growth line before I dye them again, which takes about a month or two. I feel stuck here, because now I'd like to go back to my natural hair color, but there is absolutely no way that I'm going to cut my hair (I might end up killing the hair dresser in a panic attack).

I was against dye before I tried it. I tried it, and now... I'm stuck with it. It's not that I don't like it, it's just that now I feel like I have become dependent on the stuff, which doesn't come for free. That and also the fact that the pretty color actually last for only a very short time before becoming very dull. If I were to want a really rich color all the time, I'd probably have to dye my hair every two weeks, which would be totally nut. I gave my soul to the devil (hair dye). 

[insideontheoutside]

@babykittenful Have you ever tried that henna stuff? It's pretty much all natural and usually lasts about a month or more (at least when I'd used it did). If you want or are happy with a reddish color you're all set because that's mostly what henna is. Although I've actually seen a brown and dark brown henna I've never personally tried it. Might be an alternative for you than the chemical dye.

[Padma]

I used to henna my hair when it was down to my bum in my 20's (and that was hard work, 2 hours and a bucket were involved!) and it looked great while I had more dark hair than grey hair, because the grey hairs looked like polished copper in the sunshine (zing!). But once I was more grey than dark, it just went a kind of pinky-orange, and that was deeply awful! I've just begun thinking about dying it again, because I have a thing about auburn - and I might try henna again (people tell me it works better if you add coffee, but then people tell you all kinds of crap ) but it'll probably end up being commercial hair dye that's specially brewed for grey hair - and my hair grows fast, so I'll be buying it in bulk .

[insideontheoutside]

but it'll probably end up being commercial hair dye that's specially brewed for grey hair - and my hair grows fast, so I'll be buying it in bulk .

If you want a more natural dye you might try what I've been using. The brand name is Naturtint and it says on the box it covers gray.

[wendy]

My hair tends to turn "reddish" over 6 weeks after coloring.  I have found a shampoo and conditioner that is designed to protect colored hair lengthens the time between colorings.  Colorings tend to work best if they are a little darker or a little lighter.

[Padma]

That Naturtint does some nice colours - I'll check them out once I'm moved and my hair is a bit longer .

[babykittenful]

I've checked out the Henna stuff, and it looks quite interesting. They can actually make a colored version by using other natural ingredients such as woad and indigo, which is quite interesting. If you are interested, there is a company that offers Henna especially for gray hair. You might give it a look: http://www.hennaforhair.com/suppliers/

Personally, I think I'm going to try this stuff.

[ChloeDharma]

I've checked out the Henna stuff, and it looks quite interesting. They can actually make a colored version by using other natural ingredients such as woad and indigo, which is quite interesting. If you are interested, there is a company that offers Henna especially for gray hair. You might give it a look: http://www.hennaforhair.com/suppliers/

Personally, I think I'm going to try this stuff.

Henna for hair is a great site and Catherine certainly knows her stuff. You don't have to buy the henna from her though. Don't get me wrong, she has a great reputation but it does work out expensive. 2 good types of henna are Yemeni and Jamila. These tend to have a good lawsone content and push more towards the red than coppery/orange tone. There are many things you can add to henna to change the colour. Indigo is the most common and many people make a hendigo mix to acheive brown or black colours. To simply tone down the red of henna and introduce some ash tones some people use amla powder which is indian goosberry and also a traditional ayurvedic remedy for promoting hair growth. Bhringraraj also produces a darker dye and can be added to a henna mix to produce a toned down shade.

It is very important though to pick body are quality (BAQ) henna as often the stuff sold as a hair dye contains metalic salts. Once this is in your hair it has to be grown out and if you do decide to use a chemical colour over the top of henna containing these metalic salts you risk anything from turning a sludge green shade to actually causing a chemical reaction with the peroxide and your hair going up in smoke.

The best way to do it is to strand test with shed hair from your hair brush and see what colour you get.

Also a diluted vinegar rinse after washing off the henna i find helps keep the colour vibrant for longer.

I hope that helps :-) xx

[insideontheoutside]

Henna for hair is a great site and Catherine certainly knows her stuff. You don't have to buy the henna from her though. Don't get me wrong, she has a great reputation but it does work out expensive. 2 good types of henna are Yemeni and Jamila. These tend to have a good lawsone content and push more towards the red than coppery/orange tone. There are many things you can add to henna to change the colour. Indigo is the most common and many people make a hendigo mix to acheive brown or black colours. To simply tone down the red of henna and introduce some ash tones some people use amla powder which is indian goosberry and also a traditional ayurvedic remedy for promoting hair growth. Bhringraraj also produces a darker dye and can be added to a henna mix to produce a toned down shade.

It is very important though to pick body are quality (BAQ) henna as often the stuff sold as a hair dye contains metalic salts. Once this is in your hair it has to be grown out and if you do decide to use a chemical colour over the top of henna containing these metalic salts you risk anything from turning a sludge green shade to actually causing a chemical reaction with the peroxide and your hair going up in smoke.

The best way to do it is to strand test with shed hair from your hair brush and see what colour you get.

Also a diluted vinegar rinse after washing off the henna i find helps keep the colour vibrant for longer.

I hope that helps :-) xx

Thanks ChloeDharma! The henna indigo sounds interesting.

[Shannon]

If you have super-thick or super-long hair, pick up two boxes of hair colour so you have the extra on hand in case you discover halfway through that you don't have enough.
"Despite the cautioning,  colourist and co-owner at Shagg Salon in Toronto and consultant for Clairol Canada, advises using an ammonia-free formula, or going with highlights, because highlighting colour doesn't touch the scalp.

[insideontheoutside]

Right now, one box works out good (even have a little left over). There's a salon near me that has a perm color that acts like highlights. Right now they have bright red, dark red, and an orange color. I was thinking about going for some dark red accents as it's similar to regular highlighting and doesn't touch the scalp.