I kind of like the red. That's what I'm going for. I'd call it a happy accident.
My length is made up mostly of previously bleached/dyed hair that fades out very quickly. I then switched to semi-perm colors, in various shades of brown and reddish brown, then gave those up in April.
I used Rainbow Neutral (cassia) in May, and then tried Rainbow Light Brown in June and it did nothing but add some red. I switched to Rainbow Dark Brown. The first two times I used it I got more red, no darkening.
This time I took some tips on here and used boiling coffee, 1 tsp of crushed cloves, 1 tsp of ACV, and 1 tsp of olive oil with Rainbow Dark Brown. Put it on immediately and left it on for an hour. It did darken more this time, but it really isn't going to the dark brown I've seen others on here get with the RDB.
This is right after it dried:
This is a few days later (just looks too red):
This is same day as the last one just about a half hour later (this just looks too light):
Yes, I know - I should have done strand tests, but I just can't be bothered and that's my own cross to bear. So here I am, my hair is seriously building up the firey red, and this below is what I have been aiming for (it's chem dyed in that photo). (The previously bleached hair just seems really wonky, it just doesn't want to darken.)
Should I change my mix and keep trying? Should I use something other than the RDB? Or can I (gasp) just use a dark brown chem dye over this without horrid results?
I honestly don't mind a bit of red in the sun, but this is out of hand. My natural color is a medium dark brown and I'm really just trying to darken up my ends to blend with that.
I kind of like the red. That's what I'm going for. I'd call it a happy accident.
Hmmm, I'm really not an expert (yet!! ) around here, nor have I ever used Rainbow hennas, but maybe doing an indigo gloss, over what you have now, will darken it to more of a brown? But I'd start weaker with the indigo gloss, so that you don't accidentally go BLACK.
It seems to me that since indigo breaks down so much easier than henna, that what you bought on the shelf was old and not stored properly, so the indigo was pretty much dead, leaving only the henna- hence the redness you're getting.
You could try an indigo gloss as was suggested, but if you do you should really get it from an online supplier where you know it will be fresh and do strand tests.
Henna, Herbal Coloring,Damaged Hair Articles
That's good to know. I just used RLB for the second time. The first time it worked great, this time it's kinda red
Nightshade,
Since you have experience with both hennas and chem dyes - and I realize this will be an unpopular choice around here, but I just have to ask...if I did decide to just do a dark brown chem dye over the henna I've got now, will it go to dark brown or will I possibly get an unexpected result?
Henna, Herbal Coloring,Damaged Hair Articles
I use a demi over my henna all the time and it doesn't bother it. Granted I am going black, but if you want dark brown, you should see dark brown with red hilites from the henna. If you want to tone down those red hilites, choose an ash brown. But be careful, as ash colors tend to go darker.
Rest in peace, little kitty.
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