I want to make thin red or burgundy highlights in my dark brown hair but I don't know what brand to use. This will be my first time coloring my hair at home and I don't want it to come out looking tacky. So does anyone recommend a brand that won't damage my hair? THX!! =)

Last night I was bored, so I decided to dye my hair. My hair pre-dye disaster was a very light brown. I was coloring it a auburn color using Natural Instincts. Well, they've changed a lot of the directions since the last time I used it, so not only did I mess up the dye job and get super red, punk hair, but for some reason it didn't take to quite a bit of my hair. It turned out flourescent red on top, and blond brown in splotches on the bottom.

The husband and I ran out to Wal-Mart, where I picked up a dark brown dye (Garnier 100% Color) to cover it up and make it all one color. This dye worked considerably better than the other one, but there's still that one spot where it's a little blond/brown, and the rest is a very dark burgundy color.

I kind of hate it. It's really dark, not very natural looking, and that blond spot is bugging the heck out of me.

I dyed my roots blonde again. I did just highlight like I always have. I just love blonde on me. I think it is flattering and don't like my drab brown natural color. BUT I also cut 3 inches off and got a good deep conditioner for blonde dyed hair. I made sure when doing my roots to only get my roots and to not do such large chunks this time to maybe avoid so much damage. It was enough to get rid of the look of my obvious roots. Well it does feel a lot better and softer. The stylist that cut it even said it isn't that bad. It just seems to get that way when it gets about 3 inches below my shoulders.

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Originally posted by Alli in the Sunshine:
Hi there everyone,
Have been colouring my hair for a long time now, however this time some permanent colour has gotten on my skin the only advice I have been given is to rub cigarette on the area. As I am a non smoker this is not an option. If anyone could give me some other advice that would be great.
thanks in advance

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Originally posted by pollyhyper:
Hi Alli!
This post will probably get moved into one of the already-established haircolor threads, but I wanted to suggest a few things you can try. Try rubbing alcohol or an alcohol-based toner or astringent. If that doesn't work, you can try baby oil.
If neither works, I believe they sell a product at beauty supply stores that is made to remove hair dye from skin, or you can just wait it out and eventually it will come off.
Welcome to Digs!

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1) I dye my hair every few months, and my sister's friend told me that to keep the color longer to wash my hair with egg... Is she full of it or is this a good thing to do?

So I figured I'd just go back to one uniform color for a while. I grabbed a Natural Instinct color close to my shade (which usually doesn't show up in my hair at all).

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Originally posted by Lis:
I colored my dark brown (almost black) hair around Thanksgiving. It was some sort of L0real highlights; I wanted red highlights streaked through. It's OK, but is growing out and probably would look tons better if a professional did it (which I can't afford, and I don't trust myself to touch it up correctly).

So I figured I'd just go back to one uniform color for a while. I grabbed a Natural Instinct color close to my shade (which usually doesn't show up in my hair at all).

Now I'm nervous. It says it works on color treated hair, but will it make my hair all one color (or close enough to it)?

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Originally posted by Tender_Rose:
My hair is brown and I've never dyed my hair before, so I'm thinking a semi-permenant is the way to go, but I've got some questions
1) what color should I go to, I'm thinking of some shade of red
2)will Natural Instincts fry my hair?
3) does Narural Instincts really completly wash out (after 16 or so washes ) leaving the hair the original color with so signs of dying?
and any other information anybody has about Natural Instincts
Thanks in advance ,
Dela

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Originally posted by blondie1208:
I hope someone out there can help. I have naturally medium blonde hair and have used Sun-In for several years to make it shiny and give it natuarl highlights. My hair dresser told me to stop because it was damaging my hair. I have not used for about 6 months, but my roots were drab blonde and the bottom was still light blonde. I got a wild hair (no pun intended) last night and put Herbal Esseces highlights on the roots and now my hair is a cheap yellowish color. I think if I could tone down the yellow it would look alright. I'm afraid if I try to color over it that the result will be worse. What can I use to tone down brassy yellow? Thanks a bunch!

[This message has been edited by blondie1208 (edited 02-13-2005).]

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hey, ive tried uing natural insticts a few times before,and right now its a temporary reddish colour. i like the red, and i wanted to go permanent. to make it stand out and show more, i was going to lighten it first with blonde hair dye rather than bleach, let it be for a while, than a week after put more blonde in and thena aweek later the permy red. i thoguht this would help keep it from getting too fried, but now iv4e heard some stories about this going wrong. i still have some temp. red in my hair, will the blonde turn it orange? if it does, will an additional blonde cover it up? if nyone has any tips, that would be great.
thanks a lot

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Originally posted by bekkaboo:
I had to do that once - was trying to lighten up black dye on my naturally dark brown hair (FYI - YOU CAN'T) -- stripped it, turned ONLY my roots bright orange, dyed it the lighter dye that I had bought, which turned the roots pinkish-reddish, and ended up dying it back black to cover up all the ridiculousness. My hair didn't fall out, but it sho'nuff didn't feel pretty.

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Oh god. I did that once. I'd been dying my hair red, then dyed it black, because I was tired of the red [and red is a bitch to grow out]...then after a month or so, I got tired of the black and had the bright idea to just bleach it at home, myself. People do that all the time, right? Piece of cake? Wrong. I wound up with a full-on calico cat look--which is not the style I was going for.

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Originally posted by jo-ze:
ok just to update, I tell ya I need to join a dying addicts group or something...guess what I did *hanging head down*

I dyed my roots blonde again. I did just highlight like I always have. I just love blonde on me. I think it is flattering and don't like my drab brown natural color. BUT I also cut 3 inches off and got a good deep conditioner for blonde dyed hair. I made sure when doing my roots to only get my roots and to not do such large chunks this time to maybe avoid so much damage. It was enough to get rid of the look of my obvious roots. Well it does feel a lot better and softer. The stylist that cut it even said it isn't that bad. It just seems to get that way when it gets about 3 inches below my shoulders.

Thanks and I will hang around here to hear everyone elses stories. Can you post pictures here? We should all show our hair adventures in photos...

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Originally posted by carolcyan:
i've been dyeing my hair a dark black for years and now want to change to a dark brown. but don't know what to do. any advice? do i get something to get the black out. my hair is a dark brown normally.

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Originally posted by flippygirl:
I think you'll have to strip the color (bleach it) then dye it brown since you can't overdye a darker color...sounds like something you'll have to call a professional for. What color is your hair naturally? You've dyed yourself, I assume?

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Originally posted by bekkaboo:
Hi carol, there's a haircolor thread over here with questions about hair dye. And I believe I already posted it over there, but I'll say it again over here: If you do decide to bleach it/strip it, DON'T try and do it yourself, go to a professional. I also have dark brown hair that I dyed black for years, tried to strip it myself once, followed all the instructions, and it just ended up a horrible disaster that I spent more $$ on dye and stuff trying to fix than I would have spent at a salon, plus my hair was fried.

[This message has been edited by bekkaboo (edited 03-06-2005).]

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I colored my hair for the first time in September on a whim. My hair is very gray and about shoulder length (thin on top). I am male. I play drums (rock music), so ... I'm not shy about making a bold statement with my hair color. Plus, I live in a horridly ignorant little town in eastern KY near Huntington, WV. I really am tickled by the looks I sometimes get from this backward morons around here. When I was young, my hair was so thick that I had to BRUSH it rather than comb it. But that's no longer the case, I'm sorry to say.

Anyway, I saw this "Maxim Magazine Just For Men" RED RUM on sale at Walmart. Little did I know that it was NOT designed for gray coverage. The results were dramatic ... unusual ... but I liked it. And I liked it even better the second time. And it DID cover my gray very nicely, by the way. It was INTENSELY RED with pinkish highlights (my natural color is a medium-dark brown). My guitar player swears that it was flamingo pink, but he EXAGGERATES alot.

Eventually, I went over it with Just for Men light brown. That toned it down a bit. Better still. Then used the last of three packages of the RED RUM.

But Just for Men has BORING colors. So, I went to Nutrisse (drawn to it for the same reason a friend was -- the claims of how nicely it treats your hair with moisturizers, etc, and the CREAMY consistency of the product). I've used both light and medium golden browns over the original red. I now have light brown roots with a medium auburn over the rest of my hair, basically. It's not bad at all. So, I'm trying to pick a color that will keep me in a similar range.

Nutrisse is nice, but I am interested in some other products and wondered what results any of you might have experienced with them. I have heard excellent things about Hydrience (Clairol), but don't care too much for their color choices.

I am very curious about the Revlon products, particularly the High Dimensions (10 minute developing time!!!). How does it leave your hair? Also, the Revlon Color Silk has NO AMMONIA. That's attractive. But are they any good? Are they reliable? I need body and moisturizing as much as possible. I also need good gray coverage. I don't mind bold colors. The Nutrisse leaves my hair feeling great. Both Nutrisse and Hydrience have good reputations for being reliable (colorwise) and gentle to the hair.

I'm in a fairly safe color range (red/brown) to avoid color disasters, or so I believe. So, what about the comparative moisturizing and conditioning qualities of various products you've used?

Comments? Thanks.

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Originally posted by crowjoy:
Hi Alan, welcome to the boards.

So, as you see, you don't want advice from me!

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One thing I do have to add is I learned my lesson by coloring my hair myself. I leave everything up to the professionals now. After ending up with orange-yellow roots, black-brown hair, with reddish-brown-yellow highlights. Yeah, NOT doing that EVER again. Wow you digsters would really not have believed what I did to my hair. I am not exaggerating at all. After about 2 months after getting my ahir fixed and half of it chopped off, my hair is starting to like me better . Just thought I'd put my $0.02 in.

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Originally posted by fluffygurl:
My only concern is Ive been reading a bit on hair dying diasters and Ive found that some people have said if you put a light brown colour on light hair it tends to turn the hair a green/blue colour

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Fluff, don't panic. DON'T PANIC!!!

I cannot find a phone number for Revlon there in Ireland, but here is a number you can call for Clairol: 1-800-535909

And their Ireland website: http://www.clairol.ie/

Clairol seems to be particularly responsive to hair color disaster assistance.

Good luck!!!

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Originally posted by pollyhyper:
Alan, I don't know about the brands in particular, but take a look at the ones that are formulated to cover gray. From what I gather, those that aren't formulated that way can lead to problems like what you posted about, where the color is off.

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Yes, I am focusing only on those that offer 100% gray coverage. That includes Nutrisse, Revlon Color Silk & High Dimension, Clairol Hydrience and L'Oreal Excellence (though I did not mention this one earlier).

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Originally posted by pollyhyper:

I've been thinking of going red myself...am I insane?!

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I never coloured my hair before and recently tried a at home semi-permanent colour and it just wont wash out or cover (re-dye).

My hair is fine and was a nice light brown-dark blonde colour. I tried a hair colour that came in 2 white and black bottles and now my hair is a yellow-orange awful colour. I was told that it would wash out in 6-8 washes, so I saw no harm in trying it...expecting it to completely wash out quickly.

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Originally posted by bekkaboo:

I never coloured my hair before and recently tried a at home semi-permanent colour and it just wont wash out or cover (re-dye).

... ...

I will do anything to get rid of it. Has this ever happened to anyone of you? What can I do?

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Bekk,

I have no idea which product you used, but the major companies (Revlon, L'oreal, Garnier, Clairol) have toll free numbers you can call for assistance with such situations and for color advice in general. If you don't still have the package, then find a similar package or track down the company's number on the internet. The manufacturer may be best prepared of all to coach you through corrective coloring, since they know the chemical base of the product you bought from them and possibly WHY it has affected your hair as it has. At least that would be MY first step. Your instinct might say, "They're the last folks I want to talk to -- they screwed up my hair." But they might hold the key to correcting it. Hair coloring is apparently NOT an exact science, since hair is so individual and since one person's hair might react so uniquely to a given dye. Good luck. Keep us posted.

Alan

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Originally posted by bekkaboo:
[b]Originally posted by B:

I never coloured my hair before and recently tried a at home semi-permanent colour and it just wont wash out or cover (re-dye).

My hair is fine and was a nice light brown-dark blonde colour. I tried a hair colour that came in 2 white and black bottles and now my hair is a yellow-orange awful colour. I was told that it would wash out in 6-8 washes, so I saw no harm in trying it...expecting it to completely wash out quickly.

I went to a salon to fix it and the 2 colours they tried (brown) did not work at all!!! So they tried a dark brown which very very slightly made it darker, but even that has washed out now and to make matters worse, everytime I wash my hair, it gets lighter and brighter. I does not suit me at all. I will do anything to get rid of it. Has this ever happened to anyone of you?
What can I do? I am thinking of trying at the salon again this afternoon to re-colour it. How long should you wait between dyes? What colour should I use? How do you strip your dye?[/B]

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