Want to go red... without henna?

[Eichan]

I've been wanting red hair for a while.

Not deep, just... A red tinted version of my own hair.

You can see an old picture of it for my avatar.

It is a lighter shade in real life; whenever I'm in natural lighting (even dim) my hair lightens itself up quite a bit as well.

Anyhow. I feel like henna is too much work, and too complicated, and just all around hard. Plus I'd have to keep up with it.

I'm also torn because I REALLY like my natural hair color, and you can't really undo henna. Or at least, I wouldn't try it.

I was wondering if there is like, a tea or juice rinse/soak perhaps that would tint my hair red? Or Orange-y red?

[Seeshami]

I would get one of the tinted conditioners for maintaining red dye. If it isn't enough add some deposit only dye

[Arien]

Why don't you try something that will wash out like a non permenant vegetable dye or a colour conditioner like Aveda's madder root for example. That way if you don't like it, it will fade out. Best not to to anything to drastic if you aren't sure. You could always make your own colour conditioner by mixing something like stargazer or manic panic with conditioner to get the exact shade you would like... Just make sure you strand & allergy test first :). Colour results can vary a lot when mixing with conditioner.

[truepeacenik]

Does Jason still make the red shampoo and conditioner? I played with it about 15 years ago or more. It had beet, among other things, and stained the tub a bit. Nothing comet didn't clear, but I wasn't big on using bleach cleansers.

[endlessly]

Before I took the plunge and dyed my hair, I used to do tea soaks all the time and I definitely felt they gave me a little bit of that red tint you're talking about. I've read online that you could also use cinnamon and make a paste to leave on your hair as well, but I've tried this and I can tell you firsthand that the mess is really not worth it! The only downside to a lot of these natural methods is that they are not permanent and if you want to keep that tint, you'll have to re-do every time.

[meteor]

I'd look into temporary deposit-only, veggie dyes, like Manic Panic, Adore, Directions or Pravana... They are easy to apply and can stick around for quite a while before fading.

Also, check out the list and discussion of herbs/plants that can temporarily give red stain here: http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51646

[Anje]

Temp dyes are definitely a way to go.

Another that comes to mind (especially if you want a cooler blueish red instead of the orange-red of henna) is hibiscus flower tea. I'm pretty sure I've seen people use that for a temporary stain, though I can't tell you off-hand how long it lasts. But I'll bet it'd give a nice tint.

[kidari]

I agree that you can use a tinted conditioner that is meant for correcting dyed hair. However, I have to warn you to be very careful even when using temporary dyes, especially if you have light hair. When my hair was lightened to a level 8 blonde, I read the brilliant idea of making a DIY purple toning conditioner. Since my issue was with orangey brass I thought why not counteract that with a teal color?! I put seriously the smallest amount of Manic Panic, maybe about half a teaspoon if not less, into a tub of conditioner and used a small handful of it in damp hair for less than 30 minutes and it went from dark blonde to BLACK hair that shined glints of emerald green in bright light. 2 weeks later it did not fade. I was washing it 2x a day every day with clarifying shampoo, everything under the sun to fade it, then resorted to bleach shampoo/soap caps. The front pieces around my face naturally grow in lighter than the rest of my hair and those stubbornly stayed mint green. I had to use bleach with developer full strength on that area. So yeah, do a test strand and do it only if you are okay with it never completely fading out on it's own. Demi-permanent and semi-permanent dyes are so misleading because they can be just as permanent as normal hair dye. Even the conditioner can potentially stain and build up permanently on your hair.

[lapushka]

So yeah, do a test strand and do it only if you are okay with it never completely fading out on it's own.

This. ^^ Strand test. Best advice *ever*!

[Lavendersugar]

Hibiscus tea but it's temporary. Manic panic is great and gentle.