Help with dying hair red?

red_red_wine

I feel like a change in hair colour and found an online virtual makeover tool where you can try on different hairstyles and I think red hair suits me fairly well (from what I can tell.)

My hair is naturally very dark brown, although I did get some caramel coloured highlights put in last October. I have two problems:

1. I can't afford to get it done professionally, so will have to do it myself. Given that it'll be the first time I've ever done it myself, is red too risky a colour to be trying to do?

2. I really don't want to bleach my hair. Do you think my hair is too dark to take the colour without pre bleaching it? Also, I'd love to just try a semi-permanent colour first and I've been looking at this one:

http://www.healthchemist.co.nz/mm5/graphics/00000001/large_914358.jpg
http://www.healthchemist.co.nz/mm5/graphics/00000001/large_2_914358.jpg

According to the back, my hair should take the colour, but I've heard that semi permanent colours are no use for hair lightening.

This is kind of red I want and my hair at present (ignore the weird eyelashes and whatnot, I was enjoying trying on the makeup too!)


Thank you

donegalgirl28

Thanks for introducing me to that website! It's amazing! Might be dying my hair light brown or auburn now! haha!

Anyways, with the advice thingy, I'm not an expert as I always dye my hair close to my natural colour but least if you're using the Casting gloss and it doesn't work out, there won't be that much damage on your hair. You should give it a shot anyways!

red_red_wine

I know, it's a fabulous website, I'm never going blonde anyway! In relation to your suggestion, that's basically what I was thinking, I was just looking for some advice/reassurance. Also, I'm certain I want to do it at Easter, to celebrate the Leaving Cert orals being over...but we have our graduation ceremony two weeks after Easter, so if it's a disaster, it'll be forever immortalised in the photos :P Oh well, I guess I could always dye it back brown if it's terrible. Thanks for the advice

Ah I freaking love that website! It's brilliant!

Would you think about using the Live range. . Its available in Boots.

Here's a few of their red dyes.

This?

Or

This?

And last one

This?

They are all fairly vibrant, but if you want to go red and get a nice solid colour, maybe this is the way?

donegalgirl28

Those Live colours absolutely destroy your hair though. If it doesn't come out the way she wants, then she'll have to dye it again which will do even more damage. The semi-pernaments are far better.

@red_red_wine - why don't you dye it now? only takes about 1 hour to do at home and then you have a month to let your hair recover should you need to dye it again?

donegalgirl28

donegalgirl28 wrote: »

Those Live colours absolutely destroy your hair though. If it doesn't come out the way she wants, then she'll have to dye it again which will do even more damage. The semi-pernaments are far better.

Ive used the live range before and had no problems with them.

And semi-pernaments - since hair is already so dark, the chances of the colours coming out are slim to none.

tan11ie

Try crazy colors they are the biz!! burgundy or fire are lovely and they don't damage your hair.

red_red_wine

@Ava-Adore: I've decided I'm not going to risk any permanent colour, at least not the first time doing it myself at home.

@donegalgirl: The reason I'm not going to do it now is because I'm pretty occupied with orals at the moment and I think it'll be a nice way to celebrate those being orals and also to surprise everyone with a new look before we go out on the Fri/Sat night of Easter!

@tan11ie: I've looked Crazy Colours up and it looks great, but I've never seen them sold anywhere. Where can you get it? I live in Cork, if that's of any relevance.

moonflower

I've never had any problems with the Live colours wrecking my hair either, and I've used them a lot. Actually I find my hair is much softer and shinier after I use them, but I think that's from the conditioner included in the box, it's fantastic!

I do find their reds fade quickly though, last time I dyed my hair red I was using their 'Red Passion' and I had to re-dye every 3-4 washes. My hair was bleached beforehand though, so the fade was really noticeable, you'd get away with leaving it for longer if you don't bleach your hair first.

I've used their 'Hypnotic Red' dye over my natural colour (it's very dark brown, a lot darker than the OP's) and it works over that, but it's only really noticeable in the light. Over your hair colour it would be more vibrant, but I doubt you'll get it as light as in the mock-ups without lightening it first or getting it done professionally.

Tayla

The thing about the live xxl colours is that these days a lot of people have started to use colour b4 and similar products to remove dye rather than bleaching and the xxl dyes are one of the only dyes that it has trouble removing......in particular if you use a lot of heat on your hair like straighteners because whatever is in the dye gets kind of glued into your hair and so it makes it impossible to remove in that way.

Cupcake_Crisis

I use live colours a LOT, especially the Ice Blonde, and my hair is in no worse condition now tha it was when I started using them. I found their reds to be very good for 3 or 4 washes but then they fade to an orangey, coppery colour and i hated that.

Stench Blossoms

donegalgirl28 wrote: »

Those Live colours absolutely destroy your hair though.

Have to disagree with this and agree with the other posters who say the opposite.

I used Live XXL for awhile and it didn't cause any noticeable damage to my hair.

Red's fade very quickly though.

@ OP - Salon services in Cork would sell the Crazy Colour range.

Salon Services
Unit H2, South Link Park, Ballycurreen, Off Airport Road, Cork, Cork

Madame Razz

I would recommend Manic Panic or Special FX dyes as opposed to the Crazy Colour range, much better selection of reds/any other fashion colours and they last longer too.

They sell them here with fast delivery:

www.beeunique.co.uk

To keep your colour looking fresh the Revlon Colourball in 500 or 600 is your best bet. You can buy it here:

http://www.ukhairdressers.com/store/details.asp?ID=Revnutricolorcreme

You'll definately have to lighten your hair in someway before going red, it'll just come out like a very subtle reddish tint if you don't lighten it up first:)

tomissex

I don't find the xxl reds fade that quickly at all. I use the Real Red shade and I alternate between a colour lock shampoo and a red shampoo each time I wash my hair and I find I'm happy with how the colour looks for at least a month.

Stench Blossoms

Madame Razz wrote: »

I would recommend Manic Panic or Special FX dyes as opposed to the Crazy Colour range, much better selection of reds/any other fashion colours and they last longer too.

They sell them here with fast delivery:

www.beeunique.co.uk

What would be the benefits with using the Manic Panic or Special Fx dyes? I've seen them lately but wasn't sure whether to just stick to what I know.

Madame Razz

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

What would be the benefits with using the Manic Panic or Special Fx dyes? I've seen them lately but wasn't sure whether to just stick to what I know.

Better selection of reds(and other colours), better coverage, more vibrant, wash out better etc.

Crazy colours are rubbish by comparison, on all levels. I used them for years as I didn't know any better, and then I went and tried the Manic Panic ones and the Special FX ones, and I never looked back:)

moonflower

+1 for the Special Effects dyes, they're fantastic. I've only used the Manic Panic toner and it's really good so I assume their dye would be decent quality too.

The Special Effects dyes are really vibrant, don't damage your hair and last for a long time. The ones I've used fade out nicely too, my bright blue faded to a light purple. I'd definitely recommend them over Crazy Colours or Stargazer, which seem to be the two most easily available brands here.

Cupcake_Crisis

Ive always had good experiences with Stargazer Golden flame if you want a more vibrant red. Thats the colour im using at the moment and I swear by it, i can throw a picture up if you want to see the shade. I only have to top it up ever 3 to 4 weeks.

gubernaculum

really just reiterating what others have said but going red can be very high maintenance so just be aware of that before you do it! on dark brown with a semi-permanent you'll probably just get some red tones which you'll see with camera flash and in strong daylight but otherwise will be quite subtle. could be nice though, a friend of mine has hers done like that!

if you want to go the full hog with red, you'll almost certainly need a permanent red but it depends on what condition your hair is already in; if it's mad dry it'll soak it up but obviously also be more damaged by the colouring. i used to perm dye it with Live every 6 weeks and top it up with things like manic panic in between 'cause red really does lose its vibrancy very quickly. less of a problem for natural brunettes but think long and hard before doing it if you're - like me - a blonde! i loved having red hair but got sick of the upkeep. it took me and numerous hairdressers about 3 years and multiple dye jobs to get the blorange out of my hair. that said, it's a great colour and it suits a lot of people so if you're tempted, go for it! i ended up buying a wig in the same shade as the red i used to be for the nights out when i wished i still had red hair :P bit tacky, but it keeps me from indulging in my dye job whims in the aisle of boots!

tan11ie

red_red_wine wrote: »

@tan11ie: I've looked Crazy Colours up and it looks great, but I've never seen them sold anywhere. Where can you get it? I live in Cork, if that's of any relevance.

Salon services or Terry Sales (not sure if they are in Cork) but you can buy them online http://www.hairsupermarket.com/p/1259