Thinking of dyeing own hair - bad idea?

Polka_Dot

My natural hair colour is brown, but I've been trying to go more of a coppery ginger colour lately (think Christina Hendricks, that kind of colour). I've been getting it done professionally. The first time I got it done it turned out quite a dark copper colour, which I expected because my hair is naturally dark. Last time I got a few highlights put in as well to lift the colour a bit, and it turned out a bit lighter. I'm happy with the colour I get at the hairdresser, but it fades extremely quickly due to the fact that it's a semi, and also red which is notorious for fading. I've been using colour refreshers and they work fine at first, but once the fading gets bad there's nothing they can really do.

Last time the colour barely lasted me 3 weeks with washing my hair every other day. This time it's doing a bit better but has already faded quite a bit. I should be able to get the colour I want if I keep going to the salon, but at this rate I'm not sure I can afford it. So I'm thinking box dye.

I've seen several brands with the colour that I'd like, the only thing is that most of them are permanent dyes. I'm worried about ruining my hair. I didn't want my hair to be lightened in any way before getting the colour, I wanted to see if it would take naturally. I got the highlights done just as a bit of a lift to my hair overall, and got them done subtly so that they wouldn't need touching up as often. Would I be making a huge mistake if I stopped going to the salon and started switching to doing my own hair?

xzanti

The box hair dyes are crap, you will ruin the condition of your hair.. for a while anyway..

Henna is supposed to be good for DIY but a bit messy.

shopaholic01

Red is the hardest colour to maintain, it always washes out easily. If you are trying a home colour I would recommend a patch test. Secure a small amount of hair at the back of your head with elastic and cut it off (make sure it's a small amount and not from your hairline!). Colour that section to see how the colour develops and then wash it a couple of times to see how the colour lasts.


Do plenty of research before using a permanent dye - stripping your hair is a nightmare.

Chain_reaction

I use L'Oreal Feria Paprika power, lovely colour and if you purchase your own application brush its a doddle to put in. I've recieved lots of compliments over the colour or mainly "How do you get it so even doing it yourself?" so not all home dyes are a disaster.

http://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/hair-colour/all-over-color/feria/p78-paprika-power.aspx

I'd also recommend getting sem-perm or tint in copper/read to brighten the colour inbetween applications like the revlon colour bombs, beaut.ie did a good article on them a while back. http://beaut.ie/2011/revlon-professional-nutri-colour-creme-in-740-for-red-hair-review/

You should have no problem picking these up in a salon supply shops without a trade card as you can do very little damage with them.


Lush do a lovely henna called caca rouge thats does little or no damage but you may have issues if you try to change your hair colour. It can be so messy to apply too, especially as you've to leave henna on for such a long time.

Polka_Dot

Chain_reaction wrote: »

I use L'Oreal Feria Paprika power, lovely colour and if you purchase your own application brush its a doddle to put in. I've recieved lots of compliments over the colour or mainly "How do you get it so even doing it yourself?" so not all home dyes are a disaster.

http://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/hair-colour/all-over-color/feria/p78-paprika-power.aspx

I'd also recommend getting sem-perm or tint in copper/read to brighten the colour inbetween applications like the revlon colour bombs, beaut.ie did a good article on them a while back. http://beaut.ie/2011/revlon-professional-nutri-colour-creme-in-740-for-red-hair-review/

You should have no problem picking these up in a salon supply shops without a trade card as you can do very little damage with them.


Lush do a lovely henna called caca rouge thats does little or no damage but you may have issues if you try to change your hair colour. It can be so messy to apply too, especially as you've to leave henna on for such a long time.

Do you find that your hair is in good condition after using the Feria? I'd been looking at that range myself, that colour and also "Mango intense copper" look lovely

The Revlon nutri creme is actually the exact one I use! I find it great at first but as soon as the brown starts peeking through again it doesn't really do much good.

I'd thought about henna before but decided it would be too much hassle and a pain if I wanted to dye my hair another colour.

Polka_Dot

Sorry to bump up this thread, but I thought I'd share how I'm getting on maintaining the copper! It's almost a month now since I got it coloured a second time, it's held up much better than the first time round but still fading rapidly. The colour bomb has definitely helped prolong the colour, but now it's gotten to a stage where my roots are showing and it's not quite the colour I wanted any more.

I saw this Schwarzkopf colour on offer in Boots yesterday and decided to give it a go. It's a true semi-permanent, in that there's no mixing of two bottles, and the box claims that it lasts 6 - 8 washes, so I figured it was worth a shot to see if it would do anything to refresh the colour - the colour bombs are great for prolonging, but once it fades that's it.



Put it in today and I'm pleasantly surprised at the results! My hair is naturally dark so I knew it wouldn't turn out anything like the bright, intense orange on the box (and wouldn't want it to!), I'd just hoped it would help restore the copper colour to my already dyed hair and that's exactly what it did Unforunately it did nothing for the roots which is a shame, but I think that if I were to continue on with a salon visit every 2/3 months and using this in between I should be okay! Wouldn't have to resort to permanent colour then.