You can be too careful

[turpz]

I've been wanting to go red for ages now, and henna seemed like a good idea, but I was put off by the permanence - wanted to check the colour suits me before committing.

So after weeks of debate, I thought I'd get a semi permanent dye at the hairdressers, to try it out 'for size' etc. This roughly shows what colour I was at. (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/turpz/14-07-08.jpg) Perhaps darker at the top 4/5inch of roots, where it's virgin.

This (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/turpz/gahair.jpg) or this (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/turpz/red-hair-long.jpg) was the kind of colour I was going for.

What I got was.... THIS (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/turpz/notred-1.jpg). Hmmm not exactly the same!

So once this has faded, do I try my luck again with the hairdresser? Or do I get some henna (and maybe cassia) and a) go for it - after lots of strand tests of course, or b) keep doing glosses til I eventually reach the colour I want (which then leaves the problem of not knowing what mix to use for my roots?)

All I want to do is avoid ending up with a henna colour I don't like, but apparently testing it in a 'safe'way beforehand hasn't done me much good either :shrug: - Any advice?
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/turpz/gahair.jpg)

[mellie]

I think that you can get your desired color very easily with henna! Especially since it's a lighter red, you won't have to leave it on really long either.

If you don't want to wait for your current color to fade, you can pull that it out of your hair right now with something like Clairol's Uncolor (I got mine from Sally Beauty Supply). Other folks here have had success with ColorOops, but I've never personally tried that one.

Then I would try some straight henna on some test strands. Since you don't want it very dark, I would say don't leave it on overly long, maybe just 1 1/2 - 2 hours. I mix mine with just straight tap water, no lemon juice or anything. A little splash of vinegar will make it hold to grays longer, if you are interested in that at all.

You are right to be wary of the permanence though - your starting color is so beautiful and light. If you ever want to go back, you'll just have to wait for the henna to grow out.

[prairiechild]

I would definitely go for the henna. I would mix half cassia, half henna. That way you can always go brighter later on if you want. Or even one third henna to two thirds cassia. I'm dark blonde by nature, but even half henna mixes ended up going irish setter on me eventually.

[Awalia]

I'm so sad for you if that is one of those semi permanent dyes that wont completely fade =( The hairdresser must be complitely colorblind. Did you bring a picture with you? I agree that the color you want can easily be done with henna.

[Isilme]

you could get that colour with henna and cassia! Or a henna gloss. To fade the current colour, use deep treatments, long oilings and keep them on as long as you can stand. Box red is known to fade really fast. You really don't have to get commercial colour removers.

[spidermom]

Pure henna won't do it. Your original color is very similar to mine, and when I did henna, I got an ugly brick color.

[turpz]

It should fade easily enough, reds don't stick around for long anyway do they, and the last semi I had on was a fairly dark brown (http://photos-320.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v149/67/69/827535320/n827535320_1583819_7327.jpg) and it lightened up to what it is now.

As for what the hairdresser was thinking, I know she was trying to give the colour some depth, she reckoned it'd look too "wishy washy" if she went too light, because of the bleached ends. Just a shame that the mix didn't give the right tone. In her defence, it looked warmer in the salon, I was really pleased, then outside I changed my mind a bit!

I'm sure I could get the colour right eventually, I think it's more the guesswork and trying in the first place, and then matching roots later on that worries me - can see me ending up stripy :D

[Alun]

Be careful about mixing henna and synthetic dyes. I think problems only occur if you use a henna mix that contains metal salts, but then an exothermal reaction can occur, i.e. one that generates heat! Such a chemical reaction can 'fry' your hair! It can also turn it green.

having a semi-permanent dye followed by henna could place you at risk. You need to be very sure that any henna mix you use now contains only herbs. If in doubt, test before applying it to all your hair.

[turpz]

Thanks for the warning :) I was going to wait until the semi's gone anyway, and only use BAQ henna. And I think strand tests will be essential, if only to save me panicking about the potential colour with it sat on my head!

[Isilme]

if you use henna you are sure is pure it's no problem. If you want to be 100% sure, get BAQ henna. Read the henna thread:)

[Jeni]

I vote do a few hair ball test. Try full strength henna, and 1/2 henna 1/2 cassia. From those results figure out if you want more henna or less.

The 1st picture is the color I started with (a light ash blond, box dye, natural med-dark blond). I did a test strip of 100% henna and one of 50/50. The 100% henna turned very red/orange, a pretty color but not for my skin tone. The 50/50 was lighter, more of a "I Love Lucy" or "Queen Elizabeth" orange/red, still not a good color for me. The color I have right now is made using 4 parts cassia, and 1 part dye released henna. You want more red/orange so maybe 4 parts cassia to 2 parts henna? Go slow, henna is some powerful stuff!

As for your current color I have no idea about removing it/letting it fade, never tried before. I do agree that chemical red fades quickly!

Oh and I'm sure you know this but remember about oxidation! Give your color 3(ish) days to calm down before you decided on the color. I just did mine again last night and my roots are orange (as usual) but in a few days they will go more red and I will no long look like my natural color is bozo orange.

[misstwist]

Your original color looks very ashy (cool) and the "want that" color pictures you provided are for very warm, golden reds. I have my doubts that you will be able to get a warm red like that with henna.

It would certainly be worth buying some samples and experimenting with hairballs.

Looking at Jeni's hair, hers doesn't look as ashy as yours and her result is still a very cool red.

[lora410]

Henna will prob be much brighter then that color unless you add indigo I believe. My roots where your color and I got a coppery top color.

[hennabrain]

i vote for extreme caution with the henna. my hair was naturally ash blond with some honey tones. straight BAQ henna (jamila 2007), no cassia, left on for 4 hours gave me a very strong orange color that oxidised to a darkish auburn. i wanted a gillian anderson red, like your link, but jamila henna + ash blond hair gave me dark brownish-purplish-coppery red with bright orange highlights in direct sun.

if you are going to use henna, your best bet is to get your synthetic color faded as light as possible, first - preferably all the way to blond. then, either use very weak glosses to gradually build up the orange tones, or try strand testing a 4:1 cassia:henna mix. a very weak mix may oxidise to a color like what you want, but with henna, there's always the risk of going too dark.

[Jeni]

Looking at Jeni's hair, hers doesn't look as ashy as yours and her result is still a very cool red

It does look rather cool doesn't it ( have to get a picture in the sun, its v. bright)? I actually am trying to stay on the cooler side of things. My ideal color would be what I would call cinnamon. I can get a very warm color though, the 100% henna and the 50/50 both came out quite warm (read-orange).

[turpz]

i wanted a gillian anderson red

That pretty much sums up what I wanted lol. Been thinking about red for months, but just been getting into X Files recently and get serious hair envy whenever I'm watching :rolleyes:

I've been hanging round the henna threads here since I joined, but I'm starting to wonder if it's a bad idea, purely because I'm so hard to please! If I'm honest, if the hairdresser had managed to give me Scully red, I'd be tempted to just carry on with semi-perm dyes, then I'm only tied to it for as long as I want. I know it's not as healthly for my hair, but I could get cassia for the health benefits and just let the chemical dye be my one guilty pleasure.

(This is presuming I can find someone who can get me a good colour match - but Gillian's natural colour is not too far off mine I think, so might just be a case of trial and error)

Even now I'm just thinking "screw it, get some henna and just chuck it on", but maybe I should start realising I would most likely change my mind down the line :lol: -must remind myself of the perm I'm still regretting!

[detritus]

That pretty much sums up what I wanted lol. Been thinking about red for months, but just been getting into X Files recently and get serious hair envy whenever I'm watching :rolleyes:

I've been hanging round the henna threads here since I joined, but I'm starting to wonder if it's a bad idea, purely because I'm so hard to please! If I'm honest, if the hairdresser had managed to give me Scully red, I'd be tempted to just carry on with semi-perm dyes, then I'm only tied to it for as long as I want. I know it's not as healthly for my hair, but I could get cassia for the health benefits and just let the chemical dye be my one guilty pleasure.

(This is presuming I can find someone who can get me a good colour match - but Gillian's natural colour is not too far off mine I think, so might just be a case of trial and error)

Even now I'm just thinking "screw it, get some henna and just chuck it on", but maybe I should start realising I would most likely change my mind down the line :lol: -must remind myself of the perm I'm still regretting!

I think your instinct here is right. I think you could get close to the color you want with henna or a mix of henna and cassia. But because the color is so different from your natural blonde, it's like to look "flat" and not have a lot of variation with highlights and lowlights. The "brick" that spidermom mentioned.

And it is very, very, very permanent. If you go too dark, you will have a very difficult time fixing it. Henna is good if you want a general red shade. If you have a very specific red in mind, it's not so great. Also, if you think you will change your mind down they road, even just to tweak the color this way or that, you are probably going to end up unhappy with henna.

If I were you, I'd continue with the semipermanent dyes, maybe even using a manic panic or special effects type of dye to push your current color towards a more coppery tone. Growing out henna with blonde hair is b&#tch.