How can I dye bright red hair to brown?

[shinyred]

Hi there :waving: i'm after some help and advice. I currently have hip length bright red dyed hair, which i did using majicontrast, henna glosses and directions pillar box red, plus old layers of bleach. I have about 3cm of dark brown roots at the moment and i am thinking of maybe dying over the red to go back to my natural dark brown colour.
I'm not sure whether to do this gradually with darker low lights or to just go for it. I've had this colour for about 5 years now, but i'm finding it hard to keep it in good condition now that it has reached hip length. It's also getting pretty expensive because it fades and because of how much i now need.
So, can anyone help me with some advice as to which are good brands of hair dye that would cover well and last till i can grow out the dyed section. Or does anyone else have any experience of this and can help.

Thank you,
Shinyred :blossom:

[Auburndreaming]

I've dyed over bright red hair on myself before with the casting creme gloss semi permanent brown dye (I can't remember the name of the shade now), but I will say be careful because I have chosen too dark of a brown before and my hair was pretty much black in most lights. Not sure if that helps or not but good luck anyway :)

ETA: maybe my hair turned almost black because it was red previously, I'm not sure but that's something to think about also, maybe some others will be able to help on that one :)

[FireFromWithin]

I'd go to a salon and get it done professionally if you are worried. Less risk of the wrong colour result!

[Anje]

You know, you might be able to tone it with a contrasting shade of Directions. I'm thinking a tealish sort of color might take your hair toward a dark brown. You'd want to strand-test first though.

[Rosetta]

I've dyed over bright red hair on myself before with the casting creme gloss semi permanent brown dye (I can't remember the name of the shade now), but I will say be careful because I have chosen too dark of a brown before and my hair was pretty much black in most lights. Not sure if that helps or not but good luck anyway :)

ETA: maybe my hair turned almost black because it was red previously, I'm not sure but that's something to think about also, maybe some others will be able to help on that one :)
Casting Creme Gloss actually tends to often turn darker than expected, in the brown shades at least (starting from light brown or so), I've heard so many people say that; and it's also pretty close to permanent on already processed hair, so that might be an option if permanent is what you're looking for. ;)

And as your hair is very bright, OP, you might want to try to fade it a bit first (with oil treatments, clarifying shampoo etc.), so that the brown dye has better chances of covering it well.

[shinyred]

Hi everyone,

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply. Thank you for all the advice and tips.
I'm still undecided whether to dye all of my hair or just some lowlights to see how i like it. I've brought some Clairol nice and easy Non-Permanent dye No 75 in Light Ash Brown. It's only supposed to last 8 shampoo's and has no ammonia or peroxide in it. :)
I'm gonna do a strand test first to see how it covers and what colour it turns out. Then, if i'm fairly happy with it i'll maybe do a few lowlights to get used to the colour, and to blend in my roots a bit.
I'll post some pics once i've plucked up the courage to try this out. :pray: