How to fade really dark hair dye?

[iSuperHeroic]

In February I dyed my hair a "chocolate brown" which ended up being black. It's June now, the color hasn't faded AT ALL, and my light brown roots are killing me.

Any ways to fade hair dye without using Color Oops? (I'm afraid color oops will damage my hair badly and a friend used it on her black hair and it turned orange!)

I heard putting Baking Soda in Anti-Dandruff shampoo fades hair quickly, but I don't know for sure if it works. If anyone has information on that it would be incredibly helpful too.

Thank you~

[akilina]

It is very possible color oops would bring out a brassy hue. You could always color oops then match your roots to a color and just dye your hair that one time so you could grow out, if you are trying to grow out your natural color.
Every one is different but I found color oops very NON damaging on my hair :)

[ladylowtide]

I heard that dandruff shampoos are notorious for fading dye, but I don't know if it will work on dark permanent dye.

I myself have used color oops to try and lift dye out of my natural medium brown hair and ended up with a horrid orange color. I ended up having to try and dye it back to brownish, Now I am stuck with lighter ends, and the only color that sticks to them is henna.

I hope you find something that works.

[jillosity]

You can end up with orange hair if you've used permanent dye because the dye lifted your natural shade. Color Oops. colorB4, etc, remove hair color, but they won't restore your natural shade, they can't because the dye changed your natural shade.

I used color Oops 2 times, for a total of 6.5 hours, it didn't damage my hair even a bit. It uses sulfur, not peroxide, to remove color. It also didn't remove the henndigo, but that's beside the point. Regular dye is a breeze to remove compared to henna or indigo. Try the color oops, but be prepared to color your hair to compensate for the lift you got from dyeing your hair in the first place.

p.s. it is very smelly! but it goes away ;)

[iSuperHeroic]

Okay, I'm thinking about trying the Color Oops.

But I have a couple more questions.

One, how light will it make my hair?

And two, if it DOES turn out brassy and orange will I be able to dye it over that same day or do I need to wait a while?

[jillosity]

How light it will make your hair depends on how often you dyed before, and how much lift the shades had, if you've bleached or highlighted, it's really pretty impossible to say how light, but count on your hair being lighter because you used dye.

The box said you can dye immediately, so no need to wait. It's super easy to use, and apparently works great on regular dye.

Good luck!

[iSuperHeroic]

How light it will make your hair depends on how often you dyed before, and how much lift the shades had, if you've bleached or highlighted, it's really pretty impossible to say how light, but count on your hair being lighter because you used dye.

The box said you can dye immediately, so no need to wait. It's super easy to use, and apparently works great on regular dye.

Good luck!

Ooh, I've bleached my hair A LOT over the years and the reason I dyed it so dark was to hide some bleached streaks I had in my bangs. Will color oops bring the streaks back orr?

Sorry I'm bombarding you with so many questions.

[jillosity]

There's no way to predict for certain, but I'd count on the highlights coming back.

I've had a crash course in color removing the past month so I don't mind ;)

[iSuperHeroic]

There's no way to predict for certain, but I'd count on the highlights coming back.

I've had a crash course in color removing the past month so I don't mind ;)

LOL, I would not mind my highlights coming back at all. My hair has no dimension with it just black.

[door72067]

I tried Color Oops and as a result hair that was essentially virgin with only Natural Instincts on it is one color, the ends that were over-color saturated are another and the I have virgin hair at the root (about 5" worth)

before I decided to grow out the color and go virgin, when I would dye my hair (I had gone back to permanent color after Natural Instincts in a medium brown eventually turned my ends nearly black), I had a really difficult time getting even color between where the less-colored hair was and the ends because when I Color Oops-ed, my hair turned a really brassy orangey-gold at the root an a medium brown at the ends

proceed with caution


I know I've seen Vitamin C tablets as a way to lighten color but I don't know the details, maybe you could search for that

if I had known about that 4 years ago, I would have tried that first

[Tisiloves]

If/when you do re-dye go a shade lighter than you want. When your hair's dyed/processed it becomes more porous, this can lead to dye taking better on it.

[Jade_Pixie]

I'm currently in the same boat (too dark hair dye) my tips so far to gently deal with it are -

* Warm olive oil treatments
* Washing regularly with a clarifying/volumising/chelating shampoo
* Also I'm spritzing my hair with chamomile daily (not sure if this actually does anything)

Goodluck :)

[iSuperHeroic]

If/when you do re-dye go a shade lighter than you want. When your hair's dyed/processed it becomes more porous, this can lead to dye taking better on it.

Noted.

I was reading up on Color Oops and I found that it made some peoples' hair feel really dry and brittle, is there a way to counter-act that or something?

[jacqueline101]

I heard clarifying shampoo will fade hair.

[iSuperHeroic]

I heard clarifying shampoo will fade hair.

I've been using Clarifying shampoo waaaay more often than I should to try and fade the dye and it isn't working. :(

[battles]

Noted.

I was reading up on Color Oops and I found that it made some peoples' hair feel really dry and brittle, is there a way to counter-act that or something?

You could try a good deep conditioning afterwards. SMT's usually work well on me.

[JellyBene]

Try frequent heavy oilings. I faded some seriously dark henna (egglplant color) to a bright red over about 6 months by doing frequent heavy oilings and adding lots of cinnamon to my conditioner, I also did many honey lightening treatments. I am not sure what worked in the end, maybe a combination of it all? Henna is different than chemical dye but if that stuff faded henna, its sure to do that and more to chemical dye which is generally weaker.

[pink.sara]

I know I've seen Vitamin C tablets as a way to lighten color but I don't know the details, maybe you could search for that

if I had known about that 4 years ago, I would have tried that first


I use Vitamin C tablets to fade my hairdye. It works best on the bright veggie dyes but repeated (3) applications faded my black to brown.

You can use normal Vitamin C tablets (about 30 of them) or the effervescent ones (about 10) ...
-crush them up into a powder, I put them in a tough plastic bag and squish them with a rolling pin ...
-before putting them in a BIG bowl ...
-mix the powder with about 2-3 tablespoons of shampoo (clarifying or clear shampoo to prevent adding colour not removing it)...
-it will fizz up into a big slimy goop probably...
-smoosh this into wet hair, you do not need to shampoo first
as this will remove any build up...
-leave for as long as you can stand. Under a cap or something to keep warm. Some say 1hr, I've left it for 4...
-wash out as if shampooing normally...
-condition it with a very moisturising conditioner or SMT as it will be dry.

HTH :)

[iSuperHeroic]

I use Vitamin C tablets to fade my hairdye. It works best on the bright veggie dyes but repeated (3) applications faded my black to brown.

You can use normal Vitamin C tablets (about 30 of them) or the effervescent ones (about 10) ...
-crush them up into a powder, I put them in a tough plastic bag and squish them with a rolling pin ...
-before putting them in a BIG bowl ...
-mix the powder with about 2-3 tablespoons of shampoo (clarifying or clear shampoo to prevent adding colour not removing it)...
-it will fizz up into a big slimy goop probably...
-smoosh this into wet hair, you do not need to shampoo first
as this will remove any build up...
-leave for as long as you can stand. Under a cap or something to keep warm. Some say 1hr, I've left it for 4...
-wash out as if shampooing normally...
-condition it with a very moisturising conditioner or SMT as it will be dry.

HTH :)

Did you see results? I've tried using natural methods like honey mixed with water because I was told it would lighten it and nothing happened. :confused:

And I'm sorry, I still having gotten up to speed with all the lingo. What does SMT mean?

[pink.sara]

Did you see results? I've tried using natural methods like honey mixed with water because I was told it would lighten it and nothing happened. :confused:

And I'm sorry, I still having gotten up to speed with all the lingo. What does SMT mean?


Yes it did work, slower than colour B4 but much faster than honey lightening (I tried this to remove colour and found it didn't work, but on natural hair it lightens nicely.).

The first application my black hair wasn't black anymore, just kind of darkest brown, subsequent applications took it a few shades lighter to just a medium/darker brown.

An SMT is a moisture treatment that works well for most people here's the link:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128

I find the aloe gel makes my hair a bit sticky feeling and prone to build up as it's fine so I leave it out and just go for the conditioner and a bit of honey and coconut oil. The fun is finding a mix that works for you :)

[akilina]

If you do color your hair after, personally I would use a non permanent dye. If it turns out too dark atleast it will lighten up over washes. This will be more healthier since permanent dye lifts color, then deposits color. Where demi just deposits color. After color oops do some good moisture treatments.
A good moisture treatment that smells REALLY good after will be your friend.
Color oops smells like huge farts. !! XD
I just used color oops yesterday and used henna directly after. It pulled very red first because I had henna on previously and black dye. Black dye always pulls pretty brassy because of the pigments in it to get that dark color.
And always remember anything you do to your hair never goes away. For some reason alot of people think that because they covered up their bleach that it just went away magically so you probably have many layers of color/bleach/more color.
I will admit though that this time I color oops-ies-ed my hair didn't feel as great so I will probably baby it for quite a while. But it may be because I have several layers of color and bleach and henna in my hair. :( It isn't that great over all to play with your hairs structure like that

[Bagginslover]

I used ColourB4 (the UK version of color oops) twice, for a total for over 4 hours, and my hair wasn't at all dry or damaged. My hair was a bit brassy afterwards, but it calmed down after a few days. A good soak with your conditioner, or a special moisture treatment afterwards will ensure you don't have dry hair though if you are worried.

Regardless of what it looks like right after the oops, I would still leave it a few days before re-dying it. If you'd not rinsed thoroughly enough the dye will reoxidise, and your hair will darken again. If you wait, you will see if you need to repeat the oops-ing, and won't waste the new dye ;) My own hair calmed to near virgin colour after my second treament to remove a permanent box dye.

Rinsing is the key with these products. a normal length rinse is NOT enough. I rinsed for over half an hour both times, and there was still dye left in there!! You won't see the colour as it rinses out, so don't stop just because the water is clear ;)

[Bagginslover]

Oh, also, my bleached sections never did come back fully-I could see them very bright in the shower when I was rinsing out the ColourB4, but as soon as I applied the last bit of the treatment (a neutraliser, I can't remember what they call it though) they dissapeared again. Bleaced hair grips dye better, so removing the dye from those parts was always going to be harder.

[iSuperHeroic]

If you do color your hair after, personally I would use a non permanent dye. If it turns out too dark atleast it will lighten up over washes. This will be more healthier since permanent dye lifts color, then deposits color. Where demi just deposits color. After color oops do some good moisture treatments.
A good moisture treatment that smells REALLY good after will be your friend.
Color oops smells like huge farts. !! XD
I just used color oops yesterday and used henna directly after. It pulled very red first because I had henna on previously and black dye. Black dye always pulls pretty brassy because of the pigments in it to get that dark color.
And always remember anything you do to your hair never goes away. For some reason alot of people think that because they covered up their bleach that it just went away magically so you probably have many layers of color/bleach/more color.
I will admit though that this time I color oops-ies-ed my hair didn't feel as great so I will probably baby it for quite a while. But it may be because I have several layers of color and bleach and henna in my hair. :( It isn't that great over all to play with your hairs structure like that

Well, I only had bleach in my bangs. Any other bleached parts had been cut off(I had the bottom half of my hair bleached and cut most of it because it was fried and frequently trimmed it after that until it was all gone).

So how does henna work? I've seen a lot of people tell me that henna is harder to get out of your hair than permanent dye is.

[akilina]

Well, I only had bleach in my bangs. Any other bleached parts had been cut off(I had the bottom half of my hair bleached and cut most of it because it was fried and frequently trimmed it after that until it was all gone).

So how does henna work? I've seen a lot of people tell me that henna is harder to get out of your hair than permanent dye is.
Oh, thats good.!
If you use henna to color your hair you should always always use 100% body art quality henna (IMO). Henna is just purely red. It takes a while to get a color you really love sometimes. I am aiming for a really deep cherry color. So I will need to do a few applications. It is just a mud you leave on for hours. I leave mine on for hours, some leave theirs on over night.
You should check out the henna and herbal hair care sub forum on here. For me it makes my hair very strong and nice.
It is really hard to get out, but there are success stories. When I used color oops yesterday the henna came out of my natural roots but it will never ever come out of my length that has been chemically mistreated.

[iSuperHeroic]

Oh, thats good.!
If you use henna to color your hair you should always always use 100% body art quality henna (IMO). Henna is just purely red. It takes a while to get a color you really love sometimes. I am aiming for a really deep cherry color. So I will need to do a few applications. It is just a mud you leave on for hours. I leave mine on for hours, some leave theirs on over night.
You should check out the henna and herbal hair care sub forum on here. For me it makes my hair very strong and nice.
It is really hard to get out, but there are success stories. When I used color oops yesterday the henna came out of my natural roots but it will never ever come out of my length that has been chemically mistreated.

O: I'll definitely check it out!

So if Henna is completely red, will it fade like red hair dye? Because I LOVE LOVE red hair but it never lasted more than two weeks on me.

Sorry for all the questions.

[Tisiloves]

O: I'll definitely check it out!

So if Henna is completely red, will it fade like red hair dye? Because I LOVE LOVE red hair but it never lasted more than two weeks on me.

Sorry for all the questions.

It might fade a little for the first application, but once it's in it's in there forever, because it binds to the keratin your hair's made of. My first henna faded a little where I had chemically dyed, but the second one's going nowhere.

[akilina]

O: I'll definitely check it out!

So if Henna is completely red, will it fade like red hair dye? Because I LOVE LOVE red hair but it never lasted more than two weeks on me.

Sorry for all the questions.

No problem :)
You should check out some henna threads theres one like "Show me your hennaed hair" that might give you some inspiration and and idea of all the different variations henna comes out in. For me it might fade just a tiny tiny bit at the beginning but once I have several layers of it on my hair it will be pretty darn permanent. Normal red dyes do fade so fast which is a bummer. If you are going to henna though it has to be something you are very committed to. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2963 Theres the hennaed hair link

[templeofvenus]

I have done the dark dye thing (black permanent dye) and personally I just started dyeing my roots only with the next brown shade up like a dark chestnut brown then gradually working to a natural brown over time (this takes a long time but doesn't run risk of hair damage with colour correcting) when you do this only ever dye the roots don't touch the black hair with anymore dye and over time it does fade gradually with washing your hair. The shampoo I find that strips colour over time is baby shampoos or head and shoulders. Don't expect results overnight this ha taken me months to get my hair to a very dark brown from black but its now noticeable, it has more reddish tones in the sunlight and is far less harsh than black and the condition is ok.

I use tints of nature dyes number 3 as number 1 or 2 are too near black in colour or holland and barrett sell naturatint dyes the dark chestnut brown blended my roots in with the black gradually. the garner nutrisse ones are ok too in the dark brown shades.

depends what you want in the end really as to what you do I just wanted mine a nice dark brown instead of black and this is the method thats helping me with that transition its slow but works. My natural colour is light brown (with a few greys lol) hope this helps

[iSuperHeroic]

Thank you guys for all your help!

[akilina]

I have done the dark dye thing (black permanent dye) and personally I just started dyeing my roots only with the next brown shade up like a dark chestnut brown then gradually working to a natural brown over time (this takes a long time but doesn't run risk of hair damage with colour correcting) when you do this only ever dye the roots don't touch the black hair with anymore dye and over time it does fade gradually with washing your hair. The shampoo I find that strips colour over time is baby shampoos or head and shoulders. Don't expect results overnight this ha taken me months to get my hair to a very dark brown from black but its now noticeable, it has more reddish tones in the sunlight and is far less harsh than black and the condition is ok.


I use tints of nature dyes number 3 as number 1 or 2 are too near black in colour or holland and barrett sell naturatint dyes the dark chestnut brown blended my roots in with the black gradually. the garner nutrisse ones are ok too in the dark brown shades.

depends what you want in the end really as to what you do I just wanted mine a nice dark brown instead of black and this is the method thats helping me with that transition its slow but works. My natural colour is light brown (with a few greys lol) hope this helps
This is a great idea to start touching up your roots with a few shades lighter, then in another few inches, even lighter, until eventually you won't even have to. I considered doing this but I did henna instead. I think this would even have a cool effect if done right. Kind of like your hair fades from dark to light in a nice way

[templeofvenus]

This is a great idea to start touching up your roots with a few shades lighter, then in another few inches, even lighter, until eventually you won't even have to. I considered doing this but I did henna instead. I think this would even have a cool effect if done right. Kind of like your hair fades from dark to light in a nice way

well it is so far working for me! and blending pretty well so far there certainly isn't a line of roots growing in at all its like you say fading from dark to gradually lighter over time