Jump to content

Menu

Has anyone successfully gone from dark brown to red hair at home? Any tips?


VaKim
 Share

Recommended Posts

Well, it depends on how red.  One process hair colour (in the box type or the salon equivilent) can't lift hair. In other words, it can't make it lighter than it is.  So that requires a 2 step process, where your hair is bleached to remove the dark colour and then the colour is replaced with what you want. It's not uncommon, and lots of people do it. BUT it isn't something generally done at home, at least not the first time. I would suggest you get it done professionally a couple times and watch and learn.

 

I own this book:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Hair-Color-Book-Salon-Perfect/dp/B00DPO37LM/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1422366589&sr=8-3

 

and I think it is very helpful if you are a fairly experienced home hair dyer. But even she says not to do a double process at home.

 

Now, you can have your nice dark brown hair with a red colour, that is totally doable at home. Or even a shade lighter..your natural hair colour will influence your final product.  But you can't really go much lighter than what you have.

 

Plus, if you already dye your hair, that will also influence the final product. What is the tab of your colour that you use? Is it a 4 or a 7 or a 5?  There should be a number on your hair dye that you are using. Find a reddish colour with that same tab. It won't be a bright red, but it should be ok.  Maybe do a test bit?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went from cherry black dyed hair back to my original red. I had it done in a salon.  It took four hours. The red was not vibrant at all. Not as vivid as my real hair, which is just a normal light auburn.

I have double process at home many times. I like Flash Lightening from Manic Panic. It's hard to lighten red, but this stuff does the job quickly. I've never had any damage from it. 

You would want to black it past the orangey stage, to white or close to it, then layer the color over it. It will be quite bright, and maybe soften a bit over the first few days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My youngest attempted to color her dark brunette hair cranberry last year. The bathroom looked like she had sacrificed a rat (or two) in there and it took two expensive hours of corrective coloring at a local hairdresser to make it completely cranberry. Now only the bottom half is cranberry, but she is cool enough to get away with that. If I had been 15 and walked around with half of my hair one color I would have been tormented to no end, lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I don't really want to bother with a salon, since I may pay a crazy amount of money and then hate it or it not last, like a pp said. So, after reading all these replies (and thank you all for replying!), I think I will just go with a dark reddish shade of what I already have instead of aiming for actual red. I just looked at the box, and what I currently use is actually chestnut brown. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dd just did this and it came out great.  She bought hair coloring at Sally Beauty, some stuff with Argon oil in it.  She bought the brightest red she could get.  It came with enough to do it twice, even though that was not her plan.

 

She followed the directions and did her hair.  It didn't do much, just gave a bit of color.   So we looked up ideas online.  We found a site where the woman said she just did it twice, so my dd went for it. It was at least an hour later, so her hair was dry.  She did it a second time, like the first, but  letting it sit on for 30 mins (which is what the web-site said).  It came out nicely.  It is a pretty red, and looks good on her.  Her hair feels super soft and she is happy with it.  

 

When I asked around about why it worked, I was told that it worked because the second time the dye held onto the first dye job.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I don't really want to bother with a salon, since I may pay a crazy amount of money and then hate it or it not last, like a pp said. So, after reading all these replies (and thank you all for replying!), I think I will just go with a dark reddish shade of what I already have instead of aiming for actual red. I just looked at the box, and what I currently use is actually chestnut brown. 

 

You can also dye your hair the colour you like and then a day or so later put a redder temporary dye (that doesn't use peroxide) over it. That should boost the red

 

So, for example you could go to Sally's and use a regular old Ion hair colour with a 20% peroxide solution.  Let's make pretend you used this, Dark Red Brown (3R)

http://www.sallybeauty.com/hair-dye/ION88,default,pd.html#start=1

 

and then use Ion temporary in Hot Red:

 

http://www.sallybeauty.com/ion-color-masque/ION108,default,pd.html#prefn1=brand&prefv1=ION&start=2

 

The temporary isn't a peroxide colour. That means it just puts a coating on your hair. It doesn't penetrate the hair shaft. You wash it in, let it sit and rinse it out. It is supposed to last approx 2-5 shampoos. Lots of people use a temp to extend the time between colouring or to boost their colour between colourings. It is less than 5$ and washes in, so it isn't a big deal.

 

Especially with red hair, you have to have a few tricks to keep it vibrant. A temp colour between dye jobs is one. Some people mix a temp colour into some shampoo and make a colour refreshing shampoo.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can also dye your hair the colour you like and then a day or so later put a redder temporary dye (that doesn't use peroxide) over it. That should boost the red

 

So, for example you could go to Sally's and use a regular old Ion hair colour with a 20% peroxide solution.  Let's make pretend you used this, Dark Red Brown (3R)

http://www.sallybeauty.com/hair-dye/ION88,default,pd.html#start=1

 

and then use Ion temporary in Hot Red:

 

http://www.sallybeauty.com/ion-color-masque/ION108,default,pd.html#prefn1=brand&prefv1=ION&start=2

 

The temporary isn't a peroxide colour. That means it just puts a coating on your hair. It doesn't penetrate the hair shaft. You wash it in, let it sit and rinse it out. It is supposed to last approx 2-5 shampoos. Lots of people use a temp to extend the time between colouring or to boost their colour between colourings. It is less than 5$ and washes in, so it isn't a big deal.

 

Especially with red hair, you have to have a few tricks to keep it vibrant. A temp colour between dye jobs is one. Some people mix a temp colour into some shampoo and make a colour refreshing shampoo.

 

Looks like I could order from that site? Because we don't have a Sally's here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have really dark hair with red highlights that don't show much because my hair is so dark. I brought a red hair kit for people with dark hair and had a friend help put it in my hair. The color came out fine. I passed off as a redhead. I have freckles and light skin.

I have the light skin and freckles too. And my natural color when I was younger was a more auburn. It got darker as I got older.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like I could order from that site? Because we don't have a Sally's here.

 

yes, but you can really use anything.  And if you order from Sally's don't forget to order your peroxide b/c their hair colour doesn't come in a little box set like it does from the store.

 

If you want a way to keep the permanent red in your hair (not the temporary) I can give you some stuff from Sally's that can help.

 

And my colours were only suggestions. If you order from Sally's you should poke around and find what you like.  I am currently using a Wella hair colour, but I have used Ion and I like it very much.

 

I think almost all hair colour is made by either L'Oreal or Wella and then they put different names on them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...