If you color your hair, have you ever been surprised of the results?

[lynn]

To cover grey on my dark brown hair that can appear auburn at times I use medium natural brown and now its more red....why. Its not wear a hat horrible but a bit more drastic than I've ever experienced. Did I get the wrong color in the box? Other reason?

[Crimson Wife]

I didn't realize that my naturally dishwater blonde hair had red undertones until I started coloring it in high school. I shouldn't have been surprised as my grandfather and younger brother are/were redheads. My DS is a redhead as well so that confirms I'm a carrier for red hair.

 

I'm no longer coloring my hair, but I used to use an "ash blonde" and it would come out golden due to the red undertones. If I used a neutral or golden shade, I'd get light red.

[AK_Mom4]

The first time I had my hair professionally colored, the stylist was young and not as experienced as I might have wished for.  I asked her to match my existing color and cover the grey.   It covered the grey alright, but came out much, much more RED than it was when I went in.  I went from medium brown to extreme auburn.

 

The stylist was quite surprised.  I came back the next day and the manager kindly worked some magic to get me back to my normal color.

 

So - it can happen for the pros, too.  And I learned to SPECIFICALLY say that I DID NOT want the red and to choose Ash tones.

[lynn]

I didn't realize that my naturally dishwater blonde hair had red undertones until I started coloring it in high school. I shouldn't have been surprised as my grandfather and younger brother are/were redheads. My DS is a redhead as well so that confirms I'm a carrier for red hair.

 

I'm no longer coloring my hair, but I used to use an "ash blonde" and it would come out golden due to the red undertones. If I used a neutral or golden shade, I'd get light red.

Funny how that works. I did use a different brand but did not expect this.

[lynn]

The first time I had my hair professionally colored, the stylist was young and not as experienced as I might have wished for. I asked her to match my existing color and cover the grey. It covered the grey alright, but came out much, much more RED than it was when I went in. I went from medium brown to extreme auburn.

 

The stylist was quite surprised. I came back the next day and the manager kindly worked some magic to get me back to my normal color.

 

So - it can happen for the pros, too. And I learned to SPECIFICALLY say that I DID NOT want the red and to choose Ash tones.

I have used auburn brown in the past but with the medium natural brown, I am surprised

[Tap]

I don't color my hair.....but my sister had a hair dresser turn her hair lavender once. LOL

 

She has medium/dark brown hair.  She wanted light brown with frosted highlights (ala 80 style) and ended up with lavender hair.  It was a day or two before she had a chance to get it fixed and she was mortified.  If it happened now, it wouldn't have been seen as odd at all.....but definitely stood out in the 80s! 

[gardenmom5]

gray has it's own behavior for how it will react to being colored - so you need a color specifically for covering gray.   mine was pinkish once.  It mellowed after a few washes.

 

eta:the pink was at a professional salon where they were training their new hire.  they didn't fix it, but it did look "normal" after a few washes.

Edited January 22, 2018 by gardenmom5

[SparklyUnicorn]

Well, not really surprised, but the color doesn't always come out how I want/expect.  It's never been horrid.  Although cheaper dye tends to be weirder.  Emphasis on "tends" because sometimes it's fine. 

 

 

[wintermom]

I didn't realize that my naturally dishwater blonde hair had red undertones until I started coloring it in high school. 

 

This was exactly me with my first time colouring! My sister was a red-head, and we teased her relentlessly. She got back at me when I became a carrot top!  :laugh:  

[HSmomof2]

Yes, my medium brown hair easily gets too red with some color. My stylist uses a neutral medium brown, which comes out a perfect chocolatey color. The first time, we did a golden brown, which ended up very red. Ash brown makes me look older and washed out. The neutral brown has given me the best results.

[Ellie]

My mother once turned her hair green. :ohmy:

[Katy]

All dark hair has both cool and warm tones.  If you're going darker yourself you want to do both one "natural" ie: orange shade AND one "ash" ie: blue shade.  Just go get a second box of color that has the word "ash" in it and layer on top.  It may be a few shades darker than you want for a couple shampoos, but after about 3 you'll get the color you want.

 

If you color it "ash" and too much color gets soaked up, turning it purple, gray, blue, or green, just wash it with cheap shampoo, or if it's super dark and you want it to fade most of the way immediately, apply dawn dish soap to your hair, and leave it on for about 20 minutes. Then wash out and deep condition because it will strip ALL of the oils out too.

[wonderchica]

Funny how that works. I did use a different brand but did not expect this.

If you’re switching between drugstore brands, I wouldn’t be surprised that it doesn’t look the same. Too many variables, plus grays are odd and like to do their own thing anyway.

[Arcadia]

I have typical black Asian hair but with weird natural red streaks. When I dyed my uneven grey hair the first time with black, I realized I can’t use the blue black color because it makes me look sickly. I have to go for colors with a red undertone so that my face don’t look so washed out. I don’t have a problem with trying different brands to highlight my hair or color the greys as long as I stick to red undertones.