Does´t look good with my natural hair color

[Zugar]

Hi!

Question; when your natural hair color just does´t suit you (my natural color is cold, I look much better with warmer tones), what to do? Is the only solution to keep dying the hair?

[Kome]

I like my natural hair color. It's a golden medium brown. I think its pretty, but I still dye my hair. I'm currently only dying the bangs now and hennaing the rest, but it's not because I don't like my natural color. I just get bored. :P

[meteor]

Question; when your natural hair color just does´t suit you (my natural color is cold, I look much better with warmer tones), what to do? Is the only solution to keep dying the hair?

You could experiment with herbal rinses, as many herbs/plants can give you a temporary warmer glow, like cassia, chamomile, marigold/calendula, carrot juice, cranberry juice, madder root, hibiscus, rosehips, diluted ACV and red wine vinegar..... the list goes on and on.
I recommend checking out this article and discussion by Nightshade: Hair Coloring with Herbs, Plants & Other Natural Ingredients - http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51646

Alternatively, you could experiment with Manic Panic over unbleached hair or any other non-damaging, temporary veggie dyes.

Many people do henna glosses to give their hair red/orange flares but those are permanent.

[CremeTron]

I am wanting to dye just the front 'T-section' of my hair as I don't like my natural colour either. I think my curls need a subtle highlight to give them depth. I have 10 months worth of roots I think about colouring everyday.

I think meteor has some great ideas you could check out.

[GlassWidow]

Some great options have already been mentioned. Another would be to do foils or highlights. If done well, it can look very natural, and is significantly less upkeep and cost than dying a full head of hair.

Also, if you haven't seen your natural color in a while, you might want to consider growing it out again for a bit. Here's why I say this: many years ago, there was a trend to have red hair with very blonde highlights, and so I started lightening my naturally dark red hair, thinking I was so stylish. I ended up all blonde, and decided to use henna to help get back to my natural red. A couple of years ago, I decided to stop coloring all-together before I hit the point where I had so much gray hair that it would be a pain to grow out. It turns out the henna, which I loved and was sorry to stop, matched my natural color so completely that I never even saw a growth line. What I have now is a more mellow, mature version of the color I had before I went blonde, and I'm extremely happy with it. So, if you haven't seen your natural hair color in a while, you might be surprised by what you find. :)

[Zugar]

Thank you everyone!

I do know my natural color, having had it for about a year or two, so I can honestly say; my cold shade doesn´t fit me :( I´ve actually experimented a bit to find ways to color my hair without using harsh chemicals, but the problem is that my hair just doesn´t take color well. I´ve used manic panic and directions (gave a beautyful color, but stained EVERYTHING), tea rinses (did nothing), honey (did nothing), vinegar (burned my scalp), logona herbal dye (gave a little bit of tint, but went out after two washes (and my hair was healthy at the point, too) .... Not supposed to be easy....

I was interested in trying the henna from lush, but the girls there did´t seem to know much about it. One of them said "I had to grow the color out". Another one said: "it went out after a few washes". Third one: "it´s not real henna".

In november I caved in, and used a box from the store. It gave me a warm, dark red/brown shade, and all of a sudden I looked a lot healthier too! I want to look healthy in my natural color.... *rant*

[GlassWidow]

Looking healthier is definitely a good thing! I'm sorry your natural hair color doesn't cooperate.

I was mulling this thread over while I was off doing other things. There's another thread lurking around the boards about seasonal color analysis. It's been a while since I looked, but I remember there were some amazing transformation photos of real people on the boards who ("simply")changed the colors in their wardrobe. One that stands out is a woman who was wearing deeply saturated colors because she really loved them, but switched to more heathered tones, and it was like night and day. It was still more or less the same color, but her skin and hair just glowed with the softer versions.

Even if it doesn't exactly fit your situation, it's a great thread to browse. :)

[Zugar]

Looking healthier is definitely a good thing! I'm sorry your natural hair color doesn't cooperate.

I was mulling this thread over while I was off doing other things. There's another thread lurking around the boards about seasonal color analysis. It's been a while since I looked, but I remember there were some amazing transformation photos of real people on the boards who ("simply")changed the colors in their wardrobe. One that stands out is a woman who was wearing deeply saturated colors because she really loved them, but switched to more heathered tones, and it was like night and day. It was still more or less the same color, but her skin and hair just glowed with the softer versions.

Even if it doesn't exactly fit your situation, it's a great thread to browse. :)


Thank you, interesting!

[Zugar]

Can´t seem to find the thread you´re talking about... do you remember where you saw it?

[FrostedLoki]

Ooooh I'd love to see that thread too!

I'm naturally some mousey brown (it's reddish if I live in a very sunny place, now I do not... reddish works but no reddish doesn't) and people always accuse me of dying my hair saying it's a colour that doesn't suit me. I dyed it black in 2009 and suddenly people kept telling me that I look great. o.O Oddly enough I was born w/black hair, it fell out, and the brown grew in. I'm back w/my natural colour (the black washed out) as I live at home w/my parents and they don't let me dye it at home while I'm too poor to go to a saloon. Going back to black (likely with Manic Panic as it's non-damaging and they have black) once I move out!

[GlassWidow]

I'll look in a bit! I tried to find it earlier, but I was short on time.

[GlassWidow]

I'm having a hard time finding the thread, too. Apparently it's older than I thought! Either that or it's spread across multiple threads, and not just in one spot, as I'd remembered.

I'm sorry to get your hopes up....but I did find at least one thread that might help.

This one, which started out with a questions similar to yours, Zugar, and went on to debate color analysis: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=118664

[GlassWidow]

double post

[browneyedsusan]

I understand.
My natural color doesn't suit/flatter me either! It used to be strawberry blond, but gradually faded to ash brown in my 20's. It's fairly common for redheads to lose their red as they age. Henna is a lifesaver! It doesn't fade, and is rock-solid permanent. (Most have to cut their hair to remove it. You can dye over it darker, but the orange flare is there forever!)

[Zugar]

Thank you, GlassWidow :)

[Zugar]

I understand.
My natural color doesn't suit/flatter me either! It used to be strawberry blond, but gradually faded to ash brown in my 20's. It's fairly common for redheads to lose their red as they age. Henna is a lifesaver! It doesn't fade, and is rock-solid permanent. (Most have to cut their hair to remove it. You can dye over it darker, but the orange flare is there forever!)


Hmm, I´ve been looking at old pictures of myself.... when I was two-three years old, I had this golden, warm blond color. In my pre-teens I had darker brown (or maybe medium brown is more accurate) with a red flare in the sun. There are a few golden tones in my hair now as well, but it seems all the warm have left.

Could it be that the color you´re BORNED with, always suits you, but if it naturally change over the years as you grow older (not including greying) does´t necessary suit you?

[summergreen]

I'm in the same situation Zugar. And I also had lots of red/gold tones when I was younger. I found that making a very strong roobois tea and leaving it on for most of the day, or overnight if possible (I didn't have it on my scalp though) did make some difference. It also made my hair feel thicker. I washed it out with shampoo after and my hair did look some redder. I've read some people find it a bit drying though.

[Pseudoavatar]

Could it be that the color you´re BORNED with, always suits you, but if it naturally change over the years as you grow older (not including greying) does´t necessary suit you?

That might be the case. I think most people seem to look their best with the hair color they had when they were babies. BUT, I think that a lot of people who say they dislike their natural hair color only judge by the roots showing. The color looks a lot duller when you just look at the roots, because there's usually a more vibrant color right next to it (the dyed hair), and because the natural color hasn't necessarily been subjected to sun etc., which naturally changes the shade and brings out the undertones.

I realised, when I didn't dye my roots for 5 months and spent the time in a sunny climate, that my natural hair color still gets very blonde in the sun. But it just hasn't really had the chance to show it, because where I naturally live there's not a lot of sun. So, if people dislike their natural hair tone, maybe let it grow for a bit then go on vacation to see how it reacts, what tones appear? ;)