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View Full Version : Talk to me about deposit-only colouring - need a dark brunette colour.



finzi
April 8th, 2013, 07:57 AM
Hi there

After telling myself since the age of 16 (when my first white hairs started appearing) I have caved and am starting to investigate my options! I'm a brunette (see this photo (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=8313&attachmentid=3676) in my LHC album) with quite a few whites now clearly visible, even more so when my hair is up.

I am not prepared to spend oodles of time and money in a chair in a salon, not least because I really cannot be bothered to go through all of that frequently enough to stop white roots showing every few weeks. The reason I used to vow never to dye is that with my dark colouring I knew that any white regrowth would show very quickly, thereby necessitating regular re-colouring. That dark colouring would also tie me in to a lifetime of colouring unless I wanted to go through a particularly obvious "growing out" period in my 60s! I don't want to change my natural colour too much, I'm looking to get as close a match as possible.

I spotted Aveda's Clove conditioner a few months ago and it got me thinking about other ways to disguise or lightly colour my whites. After a little rooting around on the web I now have a very vague idea about what deposit-only colour products are and why they might work for me. For a start, this is something I can do at home as and when I need to. It also appears that these products don't cause the sort of damage typically associated with hair dyes (although I am aware that these conditioners contain cones, but that is a separate issue and one which I am prepared to work around). The third aspect which appeals to me is it seems that if I decide to stop "colouring" my hair, I can sort of let the colour fade a little more subtly than growing out a permanent colour.

I've looked into the Lush Caca bars but understand that henna-based products can leave previously white hair slightly orange. I also don't want the red tones that seem to accompany henna products.

Today I read about the Sebastian Cellophanes Deep Brunette and think that either this or the Aveda Clove conditioner might meet my needs. I'd really love a little input on this, as it feels like a HUGE step to take and I'm feeling quite nervous.

Have any of you used something like this over a prolonged period? What can you tell me about deposit-only colouring? Are there things I need to be aware of? Are there other deposit-only products out there (other than Aveda and Sebastian products mentioned) that I should investigate? I've found several threads here on LHC dealing with deposit-only dyes but lots of them give bright colours (e.g. Bee Unique, La Rich'e Directions) and others mention that some deposit-only dyes do use developers and I think those aren't supposed to be great for hair, is that right?

Summary - I need a natural-looking brunette shade to help hide whites in my dark hair. Virgin hair, never been dyed/processed before. I want to avoid peroxide and other damaging ingredients. Also someone to pour a large glass of red wine and make suitably reassuring noises when I take the plunge and put the gunk on my hair. :p

Firefly
April 8th, 2013, 08:43 AM
Years ago when I was growing out old highlights (bottom 4" or so), I wanted a deposit only color to match the ends to my natural hair color. I used Loving Care by L'Oreal. It was very gentle, does not lift color, and blended seamlessly. I'm not even sure they still make it, but it might be something to investigate. Good luck. :flower:

finzi
April 8th, 2013, 09:20 AM
Hi Firefly. Thank you for your input! I don't think L'Oreal make it anymore, there's no sign of it on their website. They now make something called Healthy Look Crème Gloss, which is a non-permanent colour but uses a developer and isn't deposit-only.

pinchbeck
April 8th, 2013, 09:59 AM
Walnuts to this post. Seriously...walnuts came to mind and here is a little post on natural ways to darken hair: Since you said your hair is already dark, I don't know if your hair would get darker with these methods, but if in doubt doing a strand test might be a good idea: http://www.hairboutique.com/blogs_p/index.php/2010/12/29/black-walnuts-and-other-natural-dyes-to-naturally-darken-your-tresses/

jillosity
April 8th, 2013, 10:19 AM
I've had good luck disguising my parti-colored hair with clairol Jazzing in coffee Bean, lasts about 3 weeks tops, and will wash out completely when you stop using it. It's inexpensive, and works on my greys, I'm probably 20-25% grey I think. You might also think about using a dye like Manic Panic, you'd have to get a few shades to mix up a brown, but it's also completely gentle on hair, however it might not wash out completely tho depending on the colors you chose, I've read that the reds can be tenacious.

Firefly
April 8th, 2013, 10:33 AM
Hi Firefly. Thank you for your input! I don't think L'Oreal make it anymore, there's no sign of it on their website. They now make something called Healthy Look Crème Gloss, which is a non-permanent colour but uses a developer and isn't deposit-only.

Aw, sorry to hear that. :( Hope you find something that works for you!

finzi
April 8th, 2013, 11:39 AM
Walnuts to this post. Seriously...walnuts came to mind and here is a little post on natural ways to darken hair: Since you said your hair is already dark, I don't know if your hair would get darker with these methods, but if in doubt doing a strand test might be a good idea: http://www.hairboutique.com/blogs_p/index.php/2010/12/29/black-walnuts-and-other-natural-dyes-to-naturally-darken-your-tresses/

Lol. :D Peanuts to you!

I read about walnuts for dying in an article by Nightshade called Hair Coloring with Herbs, Plants & Other Natural Ingredients (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51646) but had concerns about potential toxicity issues when using walnuts over a long period of time. See this post by ktani (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=76880&p=1746761&viewfull=1#post1746761) in one of the walnut threads here on LHC. I thought that adding walnuts to a cassia treatment would work well but if this is something I want to do for a long time to come, I'm not sure if I want to risk stomach problems etc. Shame, because from what I've read you're right and walnuts do a great job!


I've had good luck disguising my parti-colored hair with clairol Jazzing in coffee Bean, lasts about 3 weeks tops, and will wash out completely when you stop using it. It's inexpensive, and works on my greys, I'm probably 20-25% grey I think. You might also think about using a dye like Manic Panic, you'd have to get a few shades to mix up a brown, but it's also completely gentle on hair, however it might not wash out completely tho depending on the colors you chose, I've read that the reds can be tenacious.

Oooooo, thanks! You're right, the Jazzing is cheap. I've added some of that to my Amazon wishlist for future reference. I think I'll steer clear of anything I have to mix myself to get the right colour, that's bound to go wrong in my hands...



As I type my freshly washed and conditioned hair is wrapped in a turbie. I used my usual conditioner as normal, but also used a pea-sized amount of the Aveda Clove conditioner on a very small section of hair at the front. It will give me a chance to see immediately how the treated white hair compares to the surrounding untreated whities. I sooooooooooooo want this to work.... After digging around I've found the ingredients list for the Sebasatian Cellophanes Deep Brunette and it contains fewer cones (only one, and it's a PEG Dimethicone) than the Aveda. If the Aveda makes any difference to the colour I might splash out on the Sebastian.


Sebastian Cellophanes Deep Brunette ingredients:
Water, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Benzyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Xanthan Gum, Green 5, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Violet 2, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Methylparaben, Orange 4, Red 40, Yellow 10, Benzophenone-4, Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch, Wheat Amino Acids

kaydana
April 8th, 2013, 11:45 AM
Superdrug Effects might work for you. They're basically just colour depositing shampoos (unless they've changed the recipe since I used them). I used them for about a year, using them instead of my normal shampoo about every other wash, and the colour always looked very natural and I didn't need to worry about demarcation lines or anything like that. The colour change is fairly subtle (though that could have been because I never used anywhere near as much as I think I should. They should last 3 applications and I usually got about 10 out of them), but built up quite nicely. I'm not sure how well they'd cover white hairs though, so you'd need to strand test it to make sure it'll work for you. If they do work for you, they're a fairly hassle free way to colour your hair.

finzi
April 8th, 2013, 11:51 AM
Superdrug Effects might work for you. They're basically just colour depositing shampoos (unless they've changed the recipe since I used them). I used them for about a year, using them instead of my normal shampoo about every other wash, and the colour always looked very natural and I didn't need to worry about demarcation lines or anything like that. The colour change is fairly subtle (though that could have been because I never used anywhere near as much as I think I should. They should last 3 applications and I usually got about 10 out of them), but built up quite nicely. I'm not sure how well they'd cover white hairs though, so you'd need to strand test it to make sure it'll work for you. If they do work for you, they're a fairly hassle free way to colour your hair.

Thank you! Never heard of those before. I'll see if I can find it tomorrow when I'm in town so I can check out the ingredients. They're still available online so shouldn't have any problems.

Any ideas why so many of these products are described as unsuitable for use on grey hair??? It won't stop me trying them on my whites and I can't figure out why they would say that.

jillosity
April 8th, 2013, 12:19 PM
I think they're covering themselves a bit, because some people would think that if they color their hair, no matter what kind of color they use, that it will all be uniformly the same shade afterward. But greys might end up being lighter since it's harder for the color to stick to them. So the manufacturers just say no greys allowed ;)

Forgot to mention that I use a bit of heat when i use Coffee Bean, just to help it last longer, and I use a clarifying shampoo just beforehand. Easy stuff, kind of underrated too, for how versatile and reliable it is!

kaydana
April 8th, 2013, 12:20 PM
Thank you! Never heard of those before. I'll see if I can find it tomorrow when I'm in town so I can check out the ingredients. They're still available online so shouldn't have any problems.

Any ideas why so many of these products are described as unsuitable for use on grey hair??? It won't stop me trying them on my whites and I can't figure out why they would say that.

I think it's probably because the colour results can be a bit unpredictable on greys and bleached hair, and the colour isn't as strong as with "normal" hair dyes. They won't completely cover greys with one application, as, like I said, the initial colour change is fairly subtle. You'll probably get something more like light brunette highlights, at least until the colour has built up a bit, so they probably say that so people know not to expect their grey hairs to immediately match the rest of their hair.

Given that you're feeling a bit nervous about it, the subtle change approach will probably work well for you. It makes it pretty easy to backtrack quickly if you have an "oh my gosh what have I done?!" moment, so there's less to worry about.

Would you believe I almost forgot the wine? :toast:

finzi
April 8th, 2013, 01:39 PM
Would you believe I almost forgot the wine? :toast:

Don't worry, I hadn't! :toast: :toast: :toast:

I wonder if I will have any luck with the colour conditioners. I've read great reviews of them but I imagine a lot of those were written by people who have previously used semi- or permanent colours, in which case their hair would be more porous than mine and more likely to take the colour, correct? Or incorrect?!

finzi
April 8th, 2013, 01:40 PM
***Duplicate post***

kaydana
April 8th, 2013, 01:53 PM
Don't worry, I hadn't! :toast: :toast: :toast:

I wonder if I will have any luck with the colour conditioners. I've read great reviews of them but I imagine a lot of those were written by people who have previously used semi- or permanent colours, in which case their hair would be more porous than mine and more likely to take the colour, correct? Or incorrect?!

I think it's better to just try it and see rather than guessing how your hair will react. I think the shampoo type colours are likely to work a little better than the conditioner ones as shampoo lifts the cuticle slightly which might help the colour to take better. But this is just me guessing.

pinchbeck
April 8th, 2013, 02:03 PM
I read about walnuts for dying in an article by Nightshade called Hair Coloring with Herbs, Plants & Other Natural Ingredients but had concerns about potential toxicity issues when using walnuts over a long period of time. See this post by ktani in one of the walnut threads here on LHC. I thought that adding walnuts to a cassia treatment would work well but if this is something I want to do for a long time to come, I'm not sure if I want to risk stomach problems etc. Shame, because from what I've read you're right and walnuts do a great job!Well, then walnuts to walnuts! Thanks for the info. Disappointing but good to know.

NightOwl26
April 8th, 2013, 10:56 PM
I recently heard of Elumen hair dye from another thread. It's deposit only without ammonia or peroxide with almost the lasting power of a permanent. I'm thinking twice about growing out my natural after discovering it.

juliaxena
April 8th, 2013, 10:59 PM
I recently heard of Elumen hair dye from another thread. It's deposit only without ammonia or peroxide with almost the lasting power of a permanent. I'm thinking twice about growing out my natural after discovering it.

I love Elumen. Dye shine without damage.

finzi
April 9th, 2013, 03:51 AM
Update on the Aveda Clove conditioner strand test.

There is a very subtle difference. Perhaps with repeated use there will be a greater change. I'll try the same strand another couple of times before deciding what to try next.

Thanks for the tips about Elumen. I've been looking into it and it sounds promising! There are some very encouraging reviews on Makeup Alley. I'll read the Elumen thread and think about it.

finzi
April 10th, 2013, 05:56 PM
I used the Clove conditioner again today and can see a subtle colour change to my white hairs. I've decided to try the Sebastian Cellophanes in Deep Brunette. I was torn between that and the Golden Brunette, but I think the latter would be too warm for my colouring, so I'll do a strand test with DB and see how it goes. I've read various things about Cellophanes (including the infamous "comes off in chips"!) and think it's worth a go.

Tristania
April 10th, 2013, 08:27 PM
I've been considering Elumen myself - my only issue is being on a college budget, and Elumen seems a tad pricy:/ Does anyone know of any cheaper alternatives?

NightOwl26
April 10th, 2013, 09:12 PM
Elumen kind of makes me nervous because it should be done by professionals. Its very very staining and has weird coded colors. I'm not sure which one to get! Right now I'm loving Clairol advanced gray solutions in the dark brown. It blends my blonette roots pretty good, but only lasts 6-12 shampoos. I don't care, I touch up my roots every 2 weeks with half a bottle and fine with that.

ghost
April 11th, 2013, 02:30 AM
I used to use the Clove conditioner to even out the demarcation between my natural blonette hair and the white-blonde hair that I was growing out. I did color over the bleached part first (only once!), and then switched to the Clove conditioner once that had faded a bit. It was actually a little darker than my natural color, but looked more or less even on my hair.

finzi
April 11th, 2013, 03:59 AM
Elumen kind of makes me nervous because it should be done by professionals. Its very very staining and has weird coded colors. I'm not sure which one to get! Right now I'm loving Clairol advanced gray solutions in the dark brown. It blends my blonette roots pretty good, but only lasts 6-12 shampoos. I don't care, I touch up my roots every 2 weeks with half a bottle and fine with that.

Yup, that's precisely why I'm keen to examine other alternatives first! In this Youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOp-OSmu8yQ) the girl showing us how she uses Elumen on her hair also shows us how badly the stuff stains her skin, even when it's mixed with the water she uses for rinsing it. Scary stuff! I don't want to end up with zebra stripes on my face!

I'm excited about the Cellophanes, can't wait to try them. MUST be patient and do a strand test first...

finzi
April 12th, 2013, 03:43 AM
Yay! The Deep Brunette Cellophane arrived this morning. I swabbed a little onto white paper to get an idea of colour. You can see it here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3722&d=1365759670) in my photo album. I'm glad I ordered both this and the Golden Brunette, I think I might have to mix the two to get the right colour. The other one should be here tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll do a strand test.

I'm posting this information because it might be useful to someone else asking similar questions about deposit-only hair colouring. :)

jacqueline101
April 12th, 2013, 08:07 AM
I don't know about lhc friendly brands but I used the jazzing line by clairol and loved it. It's temporary or semi perminate I did the temorary application. Deposit only doesn't require bleaching. I don't know anything about the shade you're wanting to do. I done purple in my hair.

finzi
April 13th, 2013, 07:13 AM
Thanks Jacqueline. I did look into the Jazzing line and it is on my shortlist!

I tried the Cellophanes Deep Brunette today. I did a strand test, but chose a one-inch section of hair still on my head rather than cutting a section or collecting shed hairs. It has done a fantastic job with my white hairs! I chose a section of hair at my forehead, where my bangs would be if I had any. I spritzed it with a little water (instructions on the Cellophanes website says the treatment should be applied to damp hair), smeared on (wearing gloves), covered with a little cling-film and set a hairdryer on it for the recommended 15 minutes. Allowed to cool, rinsed and left it to dry.

There is a great reduction in the amount of visible white hair. Most look as though they've been properly dyed and a few are less pigmented but still really well camouflaged and blended with the surrounding hair. I have tried and tried to get some good photographs but In most of them the shine on the dark hairs makes them look like white hairs. :lol: In the first picture below, I've taken the treated strand of hair and pinned it back horizontally against the rest of my hair to show the contrast of colours. The colour is too cool for me and I think I need to try either the Golden Brunette or Red Brunette, and I'm leaning towards the latter because of the slightly coppery tones in my hair. The second picture is my attempt to show the reduction of visible white hairs. The treated hair looked just like the other untreated hair before I applied the Cellophanes, so I think you'll agree there's a definite improvement!

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3754&d=1365858019

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3756&d=1365858620