A question for the red heads...

[BeBopBaby]

A question for the red heads who dye their hair... What color/brand hair dye do you use? I'm growing tired of the shade that I've been using, it's kind of blah. I've been wanting to try a new shade, but I am wary of the purple reds/unnatural red shades that most of the red hair dyes seem to be. I'm looking for a natural coppery auburn red - not the purplely auburn red that a lot of store bought hair dye seems to be. Any thoughts/advice? Thanks!

 

[ohairas]

Hi Bebop! It is a problem and depends on what your color is when you start. Natural blonds and dishwater blonds acheive this color much easier and it stays more vibrant.

I'm a natural brunette. I have fought for years to get the perfect shade, which I strive to be Rose red from Titanic, and NOT her mother, lol!
I switched to Pravana brand at work a few months ago and am LOVING it. The color is more shiney and lasts longer. Which, for reds, is good.
My current formula is 7.45 and 8.45 mixed. It's a copper red.

Still, reds fade so quickly and depending on what I'm going to be doing I sometimes I add a bit more red to the copper formula because in a few washings the harsh red will be gone anyway.

In Titanic you'll see Rose's hair looking a different shade in almost every scene. That's kind of how it goes. Just when you love the shade, POUF! It's faded and time to re-color.
And it looks different in every light. Frankly it drives me batty, but I just can't quit being red for now!

Here's mine right after a touch up and using a bit more red and washed a few times,

This is after it's quite faded and with the camera flash

This is my sister's hair I streaked with Redken 7RC and 9RC. She's a bit more dishwater naturally and had blond highlights already.. so she turns more vibrant that I would with those colors.
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/ohairas/album/576460762343343421/photo/294928803642782127/19

This is me after I had had blond hilights and my nat. brunette. I wanted to go back red. I used Redken Shades Bonfire mixed with Cherry Cola. A bit "wine" at first, but again, it fades quickly. Also, shades is semi permanant and won't lift the nautral color... so it's basically red mixed with brown which will look darker and more "purple".
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/ohairas/album/576460762343348698/photo/294928803642926154/21

Hope this gives you an idea!
Nikki

 

[anabolina]

Oh man, I feel such envy right now. I've never been able to find a good red for me and I've always wanted red hair, its taken years for me to accept my hair color, I even like it most of the time.

 

[fortworthgal]

My hair is naturally a light to medium auburn, but sadly I've got quite a bit of gray, so I color to hide that. I also like to experiment a little - going darker in the fall/winter, adding highlights in the summer. I'm one of those people that is constantly changing their hair! My personal favorite is L'Oreal Excellence. It has a great comb applicator, a pre-coloring protective serum, and the color is thick and creamy and won't drip. I also find it to be about as non-drying as a home color can be. It is quite true to the color it claims, unlike many other brands. I use 6RB, light reddish brown. It is a very rich auburn brown, quite close to my natural color. You can see it in my avatar.

 

[BeBopBaby]

Fortworthgal, It shoulds like we have the same exact hair. Mine is reddish brown as well and I color it because of white hairs. I've been using Nice and Easy and I'm not thrilled about the results. It fades to a color I'm not fond of. I'll have to try the L'Oreal hair dye that you recommend.

And Ohairas, your haircolor is so pretty! I'm jealous. When I used to get my hair professionally dyed every month, i had a very similar color. I think my stylist used Biolage. They had a gorgeous copper red. It stayed well and the dye was very kind to my hair. Unfortunately, I've had to cut back on costs and go back to home dying my hair.

One great thing about having red hair and dying your hair red - you never notice the roots! I can go almost 2 months before the roots get really noticeable.

 

[Miss Brill]

Herbal Essences makes a color called Molten Lava that I would love to try. My hair is natural and dark auburn, but I'd love to make it redder.

 

[fortworthgal]

One great thing about having red hair and dying your hair red - you never notice the roots! I can go almost 2 months before the roots get really noticeable.

lol Yep! I know when the grays start showing through, time to re-color!

 

[anabolina]

Alright, I've changed my mind about dying my hair red again. The idea just wouldn't leave me alone after I found this thread. I'm going to use Nice 'n Easy 110, natural light auburn tonight and will tell ya'll how it is tomorrow. It was on sale, had a dollar off coupon, a nice color, and a free color glaze with purchase.

 

[imoldfashioned]

I've been using Clairol Natural Instincts #16 Spiced Tea (Light Auburn) for a decade or more. I love it because it really does look quite natural and washes out very evenly so I haven't had a problem with roots showing. It is almost like watercolor over my natural haircolor rather than magic marker obscuring my natural haircolor (does that make any sense?). I highly recommend it.

 

[BakingInPearls]

Everyone has such great recomendations and beautiful hair! I have been dying my hair red for well over 5 years and I believe I have tried every color in the drug store so I finally switched over to mixing the dye myself. The past couple times I have used Elgon 6/55 Dark Red Light Blonde with a 20 weight developer and it turns out a little wine like in the begining but after a week or two fads to a nice red.

Here it is what it looks like after about two weeks. Mind the funny faces.

If you are afraid to mix your own dye I always used L'Oreal. It has been over a year long I can't remember the name of this one.

If you really want to peg a color go into a beauty supply store and ask a knowledgable counter women or man. They have helped me numerous times. Good Luck!

 

[woodyinnyc]

First things first, I am a licensed hairstylist and have a hard time recommending anything over the counter. I have recently started freelancing in NYC and its a whole differnet world than working in a salon. That being said, I have a client who is naturally a light auburn and starting to grey and wondered if I would be willing to apply her color for her if she brought it to me. If I worked in a salon setting I would have never agreed to it, but sinceI am freelance I figured what the heck. Let me say, I was amazed. After it was done and dried it looked like a natural light brigth copper auburn. She uses L'oreal (I like to pronounce it lo-real) colorspa moisture actif #40 Sunset.

O'Haira, Please forgive a fellow stylist for recommending an over the counter color, but it truly is a better red than most of the reds I have tried.

 

[ohairas]

O'Haira, Please forgive a fellow stylist for recommending an over the counter color, but it truly is a better red than most of the reds I have tried

Oh I have to agree.. there are many otc reds that are FAB! I've actually leaned towards trying them myself! The hardest part with reds is finding the right one for you.
Just like Baking's L'oreal pic.. I LOVE that color, and you look adorable!! Very, very tempting to go and buy that shade myself! (if only you could remember which one it was!)

The setbacks with otc color is just misuse. I generally don't have anything against them. Afterall, most are made by pro lines anyway.. just as L'oreal has a pro line and is also owned by Matrix now.

With the more grey you have you usually have to mix a bit more brown/natural with it so it doesn't take a pink or overly vibrant hue. But see, this is wear it's hard for me to reccomend otc colors because they're formulated differently from how we would mix ours. And if you have really grey roots you might have to use a different color on those, and freshen up your ends with a different shade.

Sigh.. it can all be so complicated, lol!
Nikki

 

[ohairas]

I love, love, LOVE your hair here! You are too cute, welcome to the lounge!
Nikki

If you are afraid to mix your own dye I always used L'Oreal. It has been over a year long I can't remember the name of this one.

 

[swinggal]

I have been dying my hair red for for 1o years + and the only brand that really seems to stay longer that the rest for me is Nutrisse from Garnier. Ive used a variety of the reds in this range. Just seems to fade less than other brands. I think Feria from Loreal was the absolute worst.

 

[anabolina]

So I did dyed it tonight. I've got Herbal Essences deep red on the right and my sister dyed hers as well in Nice'n'easy natural light auburn. Our hair started out around the same color as my avatar color. Well, my siter on the left's hair was a few shades darkr then mine.

 

[RetroModelSari]

Looking at the treat makes me want to go red again... But I hate to colour my hair since it is so sensitive and I´m happy to have all my hair-colourings grown out.... Maybe some wash-out colour... Maybe this weekend.... Maybe....

 

[Kim_B]

I love the Garnier Nutrisse brands - they make my hair feel wonderful! I've used the True Red, which is a bit darker than usual; the Hot Tamale, which was a little too bright for my liking, but my hubby loved it; and my last shade of choice was a Red Auburn color, and I can't remember the goofy name they gave it. Summer Berry, maybe...drat. It's going to bug me until I remember!

I went back to blond for a bit just because it's so hard to maintain the red during the summer months as my hair lightens. Maybe in the fall I'll go back to red!

 

[GoldLeaf]

You hair pros - I don't want to use permanent color on my hair since I started having my hair glazed at my salon. I really like that my hair stays healthy, because I have been so mean to my hair in the past.

My problem is that hubby and I made a deal, I can continue to get my eyebrows waxed if I color my hair at home from now on. ::sigh:: I have caterpillars on my face if I don't get them waxed, and I am a bit obsessive about my brows, so I would rather continue to get them done professionally.

So - Is Natural Instincts the only non-ammonia otc color? Is it bad for my hair? Is there any other brand that you can recommend? Would I be better served by the dyes at Sally's? I haven't been there in ages, so I don't even know what they sell these days. I am currently using the bright red Rocket Fire that Ohairas has recommended previously.

Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it!

Oh, and Ana, your hair looks fab!!

 

[anabolina]

Thanks Goldleaf, the color really seems to bring out the green in my eyes.
I think the Herbal Essences I used has no ammonia, but the coverage wasn't perfect. I know it smelled much better than the Nice n Easy my sister used and it didn't sting a all and they have a pretty broad color range, at least the Wal mart I went to did. I like the Ion color brilliance better. It does have ammonia, but its supposed to be low-ammonia. I got the Ion at Sally's and they seem to have several nice reds.

 

[ohairas]

Awesome red Ana! Whoa!

The amonia isn't always the only factor. You want a very low peroxide for a good wash out color as well. Permanant color starts with 10 volume peroxide, depending on what type of color, and the usual norm for permanant dye it 20 volume peroxide. 10 vol. won't lift very much, but it does lift somewhat.

The peroxide level is what make your hair "lift" or lighten.. then the 'color' is deposited into the hair shaft.

So, if the color isn't strong enough to "lift", then the color will wash out like it should. I've hear that some of the OTC colors that are supposed to fade out, do indeed lift the natural shade.
Nikki