Dying Hair Red - Anyone Had Success?

[fawp]

I like to keep my hair a dark, reddish brown and I've found the best method is to dye it every three to six weeks (depending on my schedule and how I feel about my current color). I just buy a home color kit and keep it up myself at home. It works really well for me and it's relatively inexpensive...I spend less on at-home color every year than I would spend on one salon dye job. Hope this helps...

 

[rejectstar]

I'll be doing my hair red really soon, but I have some henna that I'm going to use. It's natural, a powdered plant that produces a red dye molecule when mixed with something slightly acidic. You need to leave it on for several hours, and apparently it's really messy... but I vowed a year ago that I'd never use chemical dye on my hair again. And I want red hair, so this is my solution, LOL.

Henna actually coats the hair smoothly, as opposed to chemical dye which lifts up the cuticle of the hair to deposit it directly in the hair shaft. After dyeing chemically, the cuticle usually won't ever go back to it's original state and that's where you get the frizzy, dry damaged look from over time.

Henna is apparently really good for your hair and makes it shiny and smooth, so you can use it as often as you want and your hair won't ever be damaged... it actually ends up healthier! Multiple applications help make the colour darker and richer, and it won't fade much, if at all. But yeah... I'm going to try it soon and I'll update on how it worked for me. It'll be quite labour intensive, but for me it's worth it, since I'm all about natural stuff!

 

[Xuity]

The problem is that Henna contains Plumb and it's highly prejudicial for the hair. The red color just won't go out either if you try to bleach your hair, neither if you try to cover it with another color. There's a risk of breaking your hair into pieces.

 

[Micki2984]

I have been using henna for years. Its great, really good for your hair, and gives you a good strong red that is slower to fade than normal dye (I have used both) it also gives you an awesome glow in the sun. I am not sure what "plumb" is, but good quality henna only contains henna. No good getting henna based, many still have ammonia or peroxide. I only need to re henna when i have roots showing, but I do more often as i love the deep condition it gives, though at first it can occasionally give you a temporary slight dry feeling. A good condition with hair oil fixes that straight away. It is a fallacy that you cant remove it. Bleach will eventually remove anything, although as it sticks fairly well, you may dry your hair. i thought i might like to return to blonde from henna, and I did, but my hair was dry, and then i decided the deep rich red was better. 2 henna treatments later and my hair is healthy again. You can get so many colours that you really dont have to only henna red, you can get brown as well as clear if you don't want the colour but want to condition. Think of it as a kind of "boot polish" layer over your hair. It will never have been so shiny.....

 

[beaglette]

Originally Posted by Xuity /img/forum/go_quote.gif The problem is that Henna contains Plumb and it's highly prejudicial for the hair. The red color just won't go out either if you try to bleach your hair, neither if you try to cover it with another color. There's a risk of breaking your hair into pieces. That is only the henna sold in retail outlets and that is due to the metallic salts in the dye. Use that over color and your hair is apt to turn green!
You *must* use a body art quality henna. You can read about it here: http://www.hennaforhair.com/faq/index.html (this is not my site-- I just found out allll about it there and buy my henna from her-- dirt cheap!)

It *is* messy. And it requires some prep. You must mix it with something acidic (lemon juice is what I use) and allow it to sit overnight PRIOR to using it so that the plant dye can come out the the "henna". Unlike when using hair dye from the store or your stylist, your hair must be clean with *NO* product on it. The reason is that it has no chemicals in it to break down the hair product. Hair dye will eat right through a product, hence the reason for not needing clean, dry hair. Also, it needs to be left on a minimum of one hour and longer if you wish for a deeper red. The site above has a HUGE gallery of ranges of colors that people achieve with traditional body art quality henna and with mixing it with various other hennas, like indigo henna, etc.

I used to use Loreal Preference 5b on my hair and yes, it faded quickly (as reds do!). Most of the time, I use henna and LOVE the color. It lasts FAR longer than traditional dying, including from the salon and is a fraction of the cost.

Another product to help you keep your color from fading, regardless of the color, is Pureology Shampoo and products. They are quite pricey and I love them HOWEVER, I've recently found a new product that is comparable to the Pureology line and is about 1/3 of the cost. It's called Coloresse and it's at Sally's Beauty Supply. I bought it when it first came out thinking that it sounded a lot like the Pureology line. I went back into Sally's a month later and found them comparing it to that line. It lasts a LONG time, too. I think I paid $7.99 for a bottle of shampoo (not huge- 12 or 16 ounces, perhaps?(Sulfate-free Shampoo) And, this month the products are buy 2 get 1 free. It's my fave shampoo now (and smells good too!)

Let us know what you decide and how it turns out!

Warmly,

beaglette

 

[greeneyedangel]

Originally Posted by jasilinda /img/forum/go_quote.gif I died my brown hair red a few times. Of all the dyes that I used, Garnier 100% lasted forever! It looked great month after month. And the color was beautiful! Hey there! I love Garnier products and wanted to do my hair red as well. What shade did you use?

 

[Leadfoot]

Thanks for all of the responses. From what I've read here, Henna seems to be a great way to go if I decide I like my hair red. I'll probably get it dyed red (the "normal way) first and decide if I like it before I'd take the plunge to Henna.

Does anyone know if salons do this? Is it pricey?

 

[Trixie24]

Thats the funny thing about red. It is the hardest to keep yet at the same time it is the hardest to remove. Due to it's molecular size. I always use a color deposit shampoo to help maintain vibrancy. I love the Artec line... It is available at most high end salons. They can actually concoct a specific color formulation for you at the salon to maintain your color. At least that is what we did when I was a stylist at a high end salon... Years ago. Also always use a thermal protectant when using heat styling tools and a color safe shampoo and conditioner. The porosity of your hair will also determine how well you hold red.

Oh and DO NOT use henna. Henna is a metallic compound and if by chance you color results went haywire a stylist wont do a color correction on your hair. All professional products (haircolor) are alkaline based or acid based. If you mix an alkaline base with a metallic compound you will get a nasty chemical reaction. The color wont take even, it wont remove even, it will be damaged further, etc. Also stay away from sun in... It does the same thing (especially when mixed with bleach and highlift colors). I NEVER recommend anyone to use Henna! There are better options IMO.

 

[Micki2984]

Just wanted to add that pure henna IS NOT a metallic compound, those are the old fashioned henna based dyes you are thinking of. Pure Henna is a plant. Thats it. No compound. And no reaction, but it IS hard to remove. And many hairdressers know very little about henna, so don't like to touch it, or hair that has been henna'd. Henna is absolutely a commitment to red or red toned hair though, as with all dark colours, to remove or lighten you have to use bleach, which is always damaging. And henna grips hard, so you need more bleach so therefore more damage.

 

[JuliannaSophia]

yeah red is really hard to keep from turning faded. You should wear a sunscreen for hair and/or a hat/scarve over your head. Keep it conditioned also.

 

[rayvendawn]

I never had a problem keeping the red in my hair, after bleaching it usually any color will stay in. I think blue or purple is a harder color to keep imo.