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Hair assistance desperately needed!

  • 01-02-2011 7:49pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,362 ✭✭✭


    Hi All,

    Another crisis in need of a boardsie rescue! It's a long post but all help is greatly appreciated.

    I dyed my hair quite a vibrant red for a good while (using swarzkopf's XXL). I had a job interview so I used a Garnier Nutrisse colour in a dark reddish brown, which in hindsight was a permanent colour and a damn stupid thing to do.

    When I tried to dye my hair with the XXL again, it gave my roots an orange/red glow and of course, the rest of my hair is dyed with this dark brown and wont lighten up.

    I went into a hair salon and asked them would I be able to get a few blonde bits in it as I was looking for a change, and they basically laughed at me because the hair is so dark it won't lift up. They dyed it a semi-permanent dark reddish colour all over so that at least it was all the same colour.


    The issue is that the semi permanent has washed out of my roots and I really can't afford to get it redone every 6 weeks so does anyone

    A) Have any experience with stripping hair that has been dyed dark (my natural colour is a light auburn colour)

    or

    B) Any suggestions for semi-permanent home dyes?


    Thanks all!


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 902 ✭✭✭lainey316


    I can't help with the stripping but I'm using Garnier Herbashine at home after years of highlights and it's working really well for me - the dark blonde is quite close to my natural colour and it's doing a great job of blending out the highlights into my roots. I use a tint brush to get good coverage, and have got it the last couple of times on special in boots for about €4.50


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,362 ✭✭✭Pandoras Twist


    Did you buy the tint brush yourself or does it come in the box?


  • Registered Users Posts: 902 ✭✭✭lainey316


    Did you buy the tint brush yourself or does it come in the box?

    Bought it myself in Boots, it was about €2.50 - but it's reusable.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 61 ✭✭zoby


    Colour B4 is in my humble opinion a miracle product :D


    I coloured my daughters hair red using the xxl live before christmas not realising it was permanent :eek: It did look fab for christmas but within weeks she had terrible roots :rolleyes:

    The hairdressers wouldnt even look at stripping it as shes not 16 (I know - not my best parenting moment :p ) and although using straighteners and xxl live together is said to be almost impossible to shift i went ahead and tried the colour b4.

    The result is fabulous - her hair has been lightened slightly but thankfully is in great condition and all for €14 :D

    There are loads of reviews on the boots website and also on facebook but for once it really does what it says on the box !


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 543 ✭✭✭CK2010


    Yep ive heard colour b4 is good. or you could try a bleach bath if that doesnt shift it. but id use that as a last resort.

    but id also like to say that alot of the time (some) hairdressers will tell you they wont do something or that somethings not possible and then they'll give you a more expensive alternative.

    sometimes it may be because they care about the condition of your hair (which is the case with good hairdressers obviously) but other times its because they dont want the hassle of a job that may go wrong in the end anyway, or if theres a more expensive alternative. ask around a few places if needs be and if they all say no then you know they're not fobbing you off alot of places will do colour correction if you're willing to pay.

    but im guessing you dont want the hassle and cost of upkeep.



    i used to dye with passion red (i think) XXL and then use a pink stargazer over it for a bright, deep hue. they've goot some nice red ones too.

    now i bleach and use crazy colour in fire. which makes my hair a bright red/pink. 'rihanna red' is what people keep calling it, much to my annoyance! :rolleyes: everyone thinks i copied her, when it was in fact the other way round! :p

    both those semi dyes stain everything but they condition the hair and come in loads of colours.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 773 ✭✭✭echosound


    Another one who's heard good things about the colour b4. Now, take the following advice with a pinch of salt, as I'm not overly fussy about hair colour being totally natural looking (I've been all the colours of the rainbow in the past) but when I went looking for colour b4, I couldn't find it, so had to improvise.

    Like you, I had been dying my hair a vibrant red for a good while (I'm naturally a warm chestnut brown). I then dyed it a very dark brown, almost black. Then got bored and decided I wanted to go much lighter.

    I couldn't get a hold of the colour b4, so got a pre-lightening kit (loreal and garnier nutrisse do them) and used that on my almost black dyed hair. It went through a few different colours as the dye did it's work (you're basically bleaching the colour out), and after about 45-50 mins I got it to a very light yellow/orange colour.

    I then put a dark blonde colour over it after a day or two (a garnier or loreal one) and hey presto - hair looked perfect! A slight auburn tinge where the worst of the dark dye had been in my hair, but as it worked out it looked like a professional highlight job, as I had light blonde, dark blonde, and some auburn tones running through my hair.

    Another caveat - my hair is currently short enough, above my jawline (I also have a tendency to go for drastic changes in cuts :P) so if things went haywire on me, I wasn't too fussed about destroying a full head of hair that was hanging halfway down my back. If I had still had that same length hair I had over a year previous, I'd have been a bit more hesitant TBH.

    As it was, if I'd made a haims of my hair, I would have just cut it off even shorter, and left it get back to a healthy state and grow it out a bit again. As it turned out, my hair is in great condition, and the colour looks pretty darn natural and professional.

    Sooooo - if you're feeling a bit daring, you could try the pre-lightening kits to lift out the worst of the dark dye, and given that it's a brown colour you have in at the moment, your hair will lighten up in to auburn colour, rather than a baby-blonde cololur, so could be very close to your normal colouring. If you do decide to try this, just make sure to lash conditioner in for a while after you do it to make sure your hair doesn't go all dry (some people's hair has a tendency to go a bit strawlike with bleach, mine seems to be pretty resilient).

    Once again - the caveat is that this worked great for me, but only you know how much of a battering your hair can take, or how much you're willing to try :)

    edited to add: two different hairdressers I know were both pretty impressed at the results, and were a little surprised I managed to lighten it so dramatically myself, and had said they generally would not attempt to do something like that on a client in case it went wrong and they'd get into all kinds of hassle over it, so that might be why hairdressers won't do anything for you.
    But both said that my hair was in great condition and recommended if I wanted to lighten it even further at some stage, to use a home-highlighting kit to put in some more blonde, so obviously they don't think home kits are the work of the devil if used properly :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 521 ✭✭✭alexa5x5


    zoby wrote: »
    Colour B4 is in my humble opinion a miracle product :D


    I coloured my daughters hair red using the xxl live before christmas not realising it was permanent :eek: It did look fab for christmas but within weeks she had terrible roots :rolleyes:

    The hairdressers wouldnt even look at stripping it as shes not 16 (I know - not my best parenting moment :p ) and although using straighteners and xxl live together is said to be almost impossible to shift i went ahead and tried the colour b4.

    The result is fabulous - her hair has been lightened slightly but thankfully is in great condition and all for €14 :D

    There are loads of reviews on the boots website and also on facebook but for once it really does what it says on the box !

    I can’t praise Colour B4 enough, the stuff is fantastic. After years of dying my hair with semi-permanant colour it had turned a dark brown/black colour. No amount of washing with cleansing shampoo worked, the lightest it went was a dull brown colour (my natural colour is dark blond/light brown). I was really nervous about using a stripping treatment because I was afraid it would damage my hair, but after reading so many fantastic reviews about it I decided to give it a go.

    I was honestly shocked at how well an at home product like this worked. I could literally see the hair dye rinse out of my hair. I’m now a light brown colour and my blond bits are showing through too. My hair was not in the slightest bit damaged either. Well other than being a bit static for a couple of days, which I sorted out with a hair mask.

    This is the one I used and I’ve seen it in all major Boots in Dublin: http://www.boots.com/en/Colour-B4.-Hair-Colour-Remover-by-Scott-Cornwall-hair-expert._1000978/
    Their is also an extra strength one, I decided not to use this as I’ve always used semi-permanent colorants: http://www.boots.com/en/Colour-B4.-Hair-colour-remover-extra-strength-by-Scott-Cornwall-hair-expert._1000976/

    If you do get it Id recommend following the instructions religously. Good luck.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,362 ✭✭✭Pandoras Twist


    Thanks a million guys, I'm going to give the Colour B4 stuff a shot tonight. I think I will go for the extra strength one as my hair is in good enough condition. Has anyone used the extra strength one?

    Also, will there still be a colour difference between my roots and where the hair was dyed? In which case I should probably buy a semi permanent dye to go over it.

    Has anyone seen it in the Boots in Nutgrove shopping centre? I'm down to my last 25 quid so would rather not pay the parking in Dundrum. (Oh dear this really is rock bottom isn't it)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 521 ✭✭✭alexa5x5


    Thanks a million guys, I'm going to give the Colour B4 stuff a shot tonight. I think I will go for the extra strength one as my hair is in good enough condition. Has anyone used the extra strength one?

    Also, will there still be a colour difference between my roots and where the hair was dyed? In which case I should probably buy a semi permanent dye to go over it.

    Has anyone seen it in the Boots in Nutgrove shopping centre? I'm down to my last 25 quid so would rather not pay the parking in Dundrum. (Oh dear this really is rock bottom isn't it)

    I think their might be a chance you will have a different colour at your roots since you used a permanant dye. But I could be wrong. It does say in the instruction for Colour B4 that it is ok to use a semi-permanant dye straight after. But to leave it on for a little less time or to a strand test first because the pores on your hair have been opened to release the unwanted dye....more porous hair means a semi will bond more strongly.....or maybe go for a lighter shade than you would usually go for.

    Good luck with it, hope it works out :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 61 ✭✭zoby


    I used the extra strength one as it was an xxl live colour - I left in on for an hour and wrapped her hair in cling film :rolleyes: (This was recommended by scott cornwall the guy who "makes" colour b4 - on his fb page) also make sure you rinse for the right length of time - it feels like forever :eek: but it will be worth it!


    There is a difference in my daughters roots as its growing but only if you look REALLY closely :rolleyes: her hair is about one shade lighter where the colour b4 was used.


    Handy hint - get into the shower to rinse - its impossible to hang over the sink for 20 mins :D


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 543 ✭✭✭CK2010


    zoby wrote: »
    I used the extra strength one as it was an xxl live colour - I left in on for an hour and wrapped her hair in cling film :rolleyes: (This was recommended by scott cornwall the guy who "makes" colour b4 - on his fb page) also make sure you rinse for the right length of time - it feels like forever :eek: but it will be worth it!

    yeh the cling film helps it penetrate the hair better, tis a good tip for when you're dying hair too, or deep conditioning. it stops it hardnening too


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,362 ✭✭✭Pandoras Twist


    Do you put it shiny side up or down or does it matter?

    Tried Boots in Dundrum and Nutgrove and they didn't have it. Going to make some panicked calls to Tallaght now.

    edit: They have it in Tallaght! Last minute dash!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 521 ✭✭✭alexa5x5


    Do you put it shiny side up or down or does it matter?

    Tried Boots in Dundrum and Nutgrove and they didn't have it. Going to make some panicked calls to Tallaght now.

    edit: They have it in Tallaght! Last minute dash!

    Let us know how you got on with this...hope it helped :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,362 ✭✭✭Pandoras Twist


    Oh dear, it was a bit of a disaster.

    The first two inches of my hair have turned a light blondey orange colour and the bottom two inches is a dark brown/auburn colour! So I'm currently wearing a hat and refusing to take it off.

    I followed the instructions exactly, and one of the FAQ's was "Why is my hair ginger" and apparently its because that is actually what my hair colour is now. Maybe its because of using the XXL stuff which has a lightner in it, but I don't see why the tops of my hair would be lighter than the bottom.

    I picked up a dye thats somewhere between the orange blonde and the dark auburn but should I leave it on the top longer to try and avoid ending up two tone? Or should I dye the top first and then see what it looks like?


  • Registered Users Posts: 419 ✭✭channaigh


    Hi if I reading this correct the middle to ends of hair are dark and top is brighter. The only way you'll lighten your hair is by getting it stripped or highlighted. Stop putting colour in your hair the middle to ends will just end up with a build up of colour nd will take forever to put right.
    If I was you I would go speak with a hairdresser. Or else put a dark brown through it all for a few months. Do not try and strip or bleach your hair yourself.


  • Registered Users Posts: 902 ✭✭✭lainey316


    I'd dye it all with a semi-permanent in a dark brown, in a two step process i.e. leave it on the lighter part for twice as long as on the dark part (but not going over the whole time recommended). You could try the dark auburn but it might be harder to get it even.


  • Registered Users Posts: 419 ✭✭channaigh


    Just get a plain dark brown with no tones in it no need to leve it on longer on the top


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,362 ✭✭✭Pandoras Twist


    It was getting away from the dark brown that started all off. I think Ill throw the dye in tonight and see what happens. Worst comes to worst I might use the Colour B4 again, and then go to a hairdressers to get it dyed. Ill let you know if its a disaster!

    Thanks guys!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 543 ✭✭✭CK2010


    It was getting away from the dark brown that started all off. I think Ill throw the dye in tonight and see what happens. Worst comes to worst I might use the Colour B4 again, and then go to a hairdressers to get it dyed. Ill let you know if its a disaster!

    Thanks guys!


    if you're using a blonde dye then make sure that its not gonna lighten your hair cause if it is then its stripping the colour away while dying it and colour b4 wont undo that. it will only undo colour deposited onto the hair.

    also if your ends are darker its probably due to a colour build up. the top part is where 'virgin hair' has been dyed over just the once or a couple of times but as your hair kept growing you were reapplying colour to parts that were already dyed, and as the ends were there the longest they recieved the most colour. your roots will always show results the quickest anyway because they're closest to your head which gives off heat which makes most dyes/products, especially bleach, react quicker.

    i strongly recommend you try using a veggie dye. they come in some gingery/peachy/gold/brown colours if you didnt want anything too OTT. and on a dark enough blonde/ginger base they wont be too bright.
    they coat the hair so unevenness in your base colour doesnt really matter as much as it would with a dye that penetrates the hair chemically. it will conditioner your hair and it will wash out eventually so you can try save up for a hairdresser visit in the mean time. i think once dye goes wrong once
    it only turns into a long and damaging process to fix it, especially when using lightening dyes.

    if the dye is one that has lighteners in it dont put it on the roots first cause they'll lighten quicker.

    hope this helps.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 521 ✭✭✭alexa5x5


    Oh dear, it was a bit of a disaster.

    The first two inches of my hair have turned a light blondey orange colour and the bottom two inches is a dark brown/auburn colour! So I'm currently wearing a hat and refusing to take it off.

    I followed the instructions exactly, and one of the FAQ's was "Why is my hair ginger" and apparently its because that is actually what my hair colour is now. Maybe its because of using the XXL stuff which has a lightner in it, but I don't see why the tops of my hair would be lighter than the bottom.

    I picked up a dye thats somewhere between the orange blonde and the dark auburn but should I leave it on the top longer to try and avoid ending up two tone? Or should I dye the top first and then see what it looks like?

    Oh no, that sucks. I read on the pack that can happen, if the colour you’re trying to remove had red undertones you can be let with a ginger hue. I would say a semi permanent would be ok....A few years ago I tried (foolishly) to tone down a black colour I put in my hair with a blond dye (stupid, I know) the result was a disaster; I was left with blond roots and brown hair, like what you have. I put in a light brown colour, all over, and the result was perfect.
    If you don’t want to go dark again, Id suggest picking the lightest shade of brown you can find. Perhaps trying it on a small section of your hair first to see how long you need to leave it to get the desired look. I say this because I imagine it will "take" much quicker than the recommended time.
    Good luck


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 61 ✭✭zoby


    Oh no :( I was so looking forward to that happy-i've-sorted-my-hair vibe :p


    As you have stripped the colour off the newer hair i would try another box to see if that will shift the older dyes :o Also although it says to leave it on for 20 mins on the box - the xxl live dye means you really need to leave it on for an hour.


    One thing i have read time and time again is that if you colour after using colour b4 that it will turn out much darker than expected - something to do with the chemistry of the products. The temporary (wash out after 6 washes) and ok to use -they are really hard to come by though.


    Hope that helps :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,541 ✭✭✭anothernight


    Whatever you do, please do a strand test! I know a lot of people don't bother, but they only take a few minutes (plus waiting time) and they are very helpful. You know that nervous feeling you sometimes get when you dye your hair? Like "oh my God is this gonna turn out right?" Well, the strand test solves that! :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 326 ✭✭evilmonkee


    Sorry to hear of your misfortune! Unfortunately I was in a similar situation, I also have auburn hair (fairly dark actually) I had permanent pink dye in my hair when my cousins wedding was pushed forward :eek:

    I was advised (cautiously) by a hairdresser to use washing up liquid to strip my hair. This is quite damaging but some leave in hair conditioner treatments helped sort out the damage.

    The washing up liquid helped to get most of the dye out but you will need to dye over it, I used the cheap stuff from lidl but im sure any one would work and just normal jojoba oil conditioner wrapped in clingfilm to condition my hair!

    hope that helps :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,362 ✭✭✭Pandoras Twist


    I threw in the Garnier Herbashine dye, left the roots in for longer than the rest of it.

    http://www.garnier.co.uk/_en/_gb/herbashine/index.aspx#/shades/
    630 is the closest shade to the one I put in.

    There's still a colour difference but its not as noticeable. I can leave the house without the aid of a hat anyway.

    My friend is a hairdresser and he said he might be able to bleach everything out section by section so its all even and then put in a medium brown.

    Thanks to everyone for all your help. Virtual chocolates for all!

    box+of+chocolates.jpg


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