Help with coloring.. Stop me from bleaching O_O

[Berúthiel]

I found a thread similiar to this but my situation is a little different. I have dark brown hair, darker at the ends because of old black dye still clinging on after colorfix, and I want the most vibrant red possible. (As in, i want people to look at my hair and say it is RED, not... "brownish with a red tint", etc.) I have been using henna which made my hair slightly orange/red..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v160/ElectricPineapple/orangebun.jpg

Then I used special effects "blood red" over it recently, which made the red a bit darker/red than orange and more vibrant in the sun, but still mostly brown.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v160/ElectricPineapple/redder.jpg

I want red-red-red hair so bad I'm even *thinking* about bleach shudder: .. and then maybe doing 400000 treatments after to make it better! haha. Is there any other route I can take? I know how horrible bleach is, i'd never really do it but its crossing my mind much more now! I've heard of the honey lightning and I'll try it, but the results dont seem to be as dramatic as I want.

Nina

[Julesn]

DO NOT BLEACH!!!!! ;)

Seriously, buy some clip in hair extensions that are BRIGHT red (they do make them) & clip them in your hair. Here are some sites:

www.internationalwig.com

www.hairextensions.com

www.wigs.com

This way, you can have the look you want without killing your own hair :)

Julie :)

[wintersun99]

.................

[spidermom]

A few people here have tried this, and there is NEVER a happy ending. Clip-in hair extensions sound like a good way to go. Or get a wig.

[thankyousir74]

I second going down to the honey lightening thread

[Berúthiel]

=( wigs are no fun. Thank you for the suggestions though.. i will try the honey.

[spidermom]

=( wigs are no fun. Thank you for the suggestions though.. i will try the honey.

That depends on your attitude, I guess. I had fun with mine while I waited for my hair to grow out. Sometimes I really needed the instant gratification of going from shoulder-length hair to below BSL. Now my hair is longer than those wigs, so I haven't taken them out in a long time.

One of them is vibrant red.

[Berúthiel]

I just meant that I am happy with the condition of my hair now (after having dyed it black for several years its feeling much better with henna and treatments etc.) So i wouldn't want to hide it with a wig. I'm happy with the condition and waist-length, I just want a different color.

[LaurelSpring]

What about something like manic panic to go bright red? I dont know alot about it but I dont think its bad for your hair and is supposed to be all natural ingredients. That might satisfy that urge. I've thought about it a couple of times when I want to do something different.

[VanillaTresses]

Since you have already removed the black, I would NOT touch the bleach if I were you. There is, IMO, a substantial risk that the hair that has already been lifted would "melt," (i.e., you would denature the protein that is your hair). On top of that, since you have hennaed I would also avoid bleaching. I hope this doesn't come across as being harsh, but it represents my genuine concern... and after all, you did title this thread "stop me from bleaching!" :eek:

[Marcipangris]

Have you heard of Oxycur Platin? Supposedly that's less damaging than bleach. I don't know what's in it, though, except that it has no ammonium persulphate.

[Kirin]

If what you love about your hair is its new lovely condition and length, take a moment to run your hands through it, feel it...... stroke it......

and realize that will likely all be gone if you bleach heavily.

What you like about your hair and want to show off -may- dissapear with bleach. Some bleach with good non damaging results, but there are NO guarentees.

[Curlsgirl]

If what you love about your hair is its new lovely condition and length, take a moment to run your hands through it, feel it...... stroke it......

and realize that will likely all be gone if you bleach heavily.

What you like about your hair and want to show off -may- dissapear with bleach. Some bleach with good non damaging results, but there are NO guarentees.

Yep yep yep!!!!! :(

[Blueglass]

Actually, it seems you can highlight henna, at least I was able to. But I always hennaed close to my base color. If you henna is close to your base, why not speak to a hairdresser? You may get a henna red effect on the highlights. Definately ask if the color fix will make a difference, in condition. I got a lot of lift with seven volume. My hairdresser used The color my Paul Mitchell. Some of my hair feels fake now, but I had to adjust the color.

[youngsoulrebel]

Have you heard of Oxycur Platin? Supposedly that's less damaging than bleach. I don't know what's in it, though, except that it has no ammonium persulphate.

Thanks for the product name. I whiten my hair and am always on the lookout for something that can be gentler than what I currently use.

[RavenDream]

Three years ago I had some color I was trying to lift out and thought long and hard about bleach. Eventually I went through with it and I used the gentlist bleach that my stylist aunt recommended. I did it home and checked it every 5 minutes. My hair melted off after 20 minutes. I went from BSL to barely shoulder.

Please be careful. If you really want to bleach I'd go to a salon.

[goldenwaves]

Cinnamon is also a good way of lightening hair. I'm not sure of the details, but I think you can get cinnamon oil, or put some cinnamon in a mister bottle.