PDA

View Full Version : Light roots regrowth - the reverse ombre thread



LaraAntipova
September 20th, 2015, 01:33 AM
Hello LHC members,

I haven't been able to find a thread on this exact topic so I thought I'd make one!

What do you do when you're growing out dye that is darker than your natural hair colour?

Any tips on dealing with this, disguising it, or ultimate plans?

My re-growth is dark blond and is starting to look funny against my dyed-brown hair. It's like a reverse ombre!

I have thought about highlighting my hair to conceal the difference but I am afraid of going down that path, causing damage and also risking another hairdresser mistake.

Another option is to use honey lightening on my old hair.

I need to give this a lot of thought but would appreciate anyone's thoughts, ideas or experiences with the same situation.

Also feel free to vent if this is happening to you too!

LK

Decemberrose
September 20th, 2015, 03:25 AM
I did this! After some time I bleached my dark hair to get it to match better. I did color oops and a couple of bleach baths. There is damage and I knew that I couldnt avoid that, but I just couldnt stand the two tone look.
If you chose to grow out this way, avoid to part your hair. The lighter regrowth is less obvious this way.

missblueeyes
September 20th, 2015, 03:58 AM
Dark dye may also just fade over the years. Here's the best example for that that comes to my mind:
http://blog.nrsss.de/2015/01/30/haare-13-update/
The blog is in German but you honestly just need to look at the second picture to get what I mean. :)

restless
September 20th, 2015, 04:15 AM
A couple of years ago my hair was dyed pitch black and I wanted to get my medium brown colour back. I tried getting rid of the dye with heavy oiling, lots of conditioner, Head&Shoulders shampoo, etc but it didnt work at all due to several applications of dye throughout the years. I couldnt stand the two toned look though, so when my roots were about one inch long, I went to the hairdresser and asked her to help me out. She decided to go for highlights instead of a full bleach all over to minimize the damage somewhat. After she had bleached highlights, she dyed them in a colour close to my natural one and I was actually happy with the result. The transition was very smooth and I was slowly trimming away the dye/bleach as my virgin hair got longer. Of course the bleach did damage to my fine hair, but I feel like it was worth it in the end. I cut out the very last of the dye/bleach in February this year.

Nellon
September 20th, 2015, 07:20 AM
This is what I'm going through now... (Growing out henna over blonde hair.) I'm thinking I might bleach and dye to even it out once the demarcation line gets to my chin. But then again, I might not :) I don't want to put bleach on my scalp or damage my hair more than nessecary.

I also know that with regular sulphate schampoo use dye tends to fade. So maybe give it some time and after a while it'll have grown, and the old dye will have faded and you might actually enjoy your reverse ombre! I know the first four/five months or so are hellish... But in a matter of time it might be a whole different cup of tea altogether! :)

Chocowalnut
September 20th, 2015, 10:31 AM
I am doing this too. Growing out henna and I have dark blonde/light brown hair. It kind of sucks. I also might bleach the henna out some day but don't know yet. There are some pics in my profile of it.

Thoughtcriminal
September 20th, 2015, 12:10 PM
I'm growing out blue-black dye, my natural hair is warm, dark brown. There isn't a huge difference in color (especially since the dye has faded), but it's noticeable.

Does color oops damage hair like bleach does? Getting the dye out now instead of waiting for it to grow out is appealing, but I already have so much breakage I don't want to risk any more damage.

meteor
September 20th, 2015, 12:44 PM
LaraAntipova, what kind of dye was used on your hair? Depending on the type of dye, porosity of your hair and some other factors, it's very possible that it will just fade with time. :) Some things that might help dyes fade faster: sun exposure, soaks in strong clarifying shampoos (not color-safe ones), vitamin C treatments, heavy pre-poo oiling sessions, swimming in chlorinated pools, saltwater... Unfortunately, some of these methods are quite damaging to hair. (More here: https://www.haircrazy.com/articles/misc-articles/10-ways-to-remove-hair-colour/)
If the dye was permanent or demi-permanent, then developer (peroxide) was used, so, as the dye pigments fade, they may reveal lightened (and possibly brassy) ends, possibly closer to an ombre or sun-kissed look...

If you really have trouble dealing with the roots/demarcation, you can ask a colorist to add a combination of lowlights and highlights to soften, blend in the demarcation line. Or you could ask to make your roots longer, to achieve a "longer" ombre, which might make it easier for you to grow out.

Personally, I find reverse ombre a very cool and unique look! :D It might help to get inspiration & motivation along the way, e.g. on the LHC or on Pinterest, as you are growing out the dye. :D Some examples of super-thud-worthy reverse ombres are KittyBird, SingingBird, Seeshami...


I'm growing out blue-black dye, my natural hair is warm, dark brown. There isn't a huge difference in color (especially since the dye has faded), but it's noticeable.

Does color oops damage hair like bleach does? Getting the dye out now instead of waiting for it to grow out is appealing, but I already have so much breakage I don't want to risk any more damage.

I'm not sure, but it looks like Color Oops/Color B4 might be damaging as well, even though it doesn't use the bleach pathway. Some LHCers report no damage from multiple uses of Color Oops/Color B4, while others reported that it was damaging to their hair.

You might find this interesting:
http://thebeautybrains.com/2015/08/does-hair-dye-removing-products-like-color-oops-really-work-episode-94/
There are essentially 2 pathways for chemical dye removal. One is by oxidation (e.g. peroxide- and/or persulfate-based products), which removes electrons, and the other is by reduction (Color Oops/Color B4, hydrosulfite-based), which adds electrons.
The article suggests that not only oxidative products but also Color Oops might be damaging too, because the reducing agent it uses, hydrosulfite, converts to bisulfite during washing, and bisulfite (used in perms) can weaken the structure of hair.

And obviously, heavy wash cycles required after Color Oops applications can be a problem for hair, too (hygral fatigue and all the extra handling)...

Chocowalnut
September 20th, 2015, 05:07 PM
I'm growing out blue-black dye, my natural hair is warm, dark brown. There isn't a huge difference in color (especially since the dye has faded), but it's noticeable.

Does color oops damage hair like bleach does? Getting the dye out now instead of waiting for it to grow out is appealing, but I already have so much breakage I don't want to risk any more damage.

I used color oops a couple times and didn't seem too damage my hair noteiceably. On the contrary, I used a deep conditioner after the color oops and I think it made it seal in and it gave my hair a lot of moisture and shine. Didn't do much for removing henna but it probably would help a lot with normal hair dye.

Sparklecake
September 20th, 2015, 10:18 PM
Oh this is definitely me! I'm growing out dark brown dye, and my natural colour is a fairly light golden blonde. So far its been almost a year and my dye has faded to a dark auburn, but only in patches. Oddly enough I have been getting complements on it... but I really am not liking the two colours. I'm thinking about highlights, so id love to see pictures of people that have done similar things to ease the grow out period. :)
ETA: I have tried colour oops and it didn't do anything but make my bathroom and hair smell like a windy loo

tigress86
September 21st, 2015, 01:40 AM
In this case, I would use a color remover.

But I think lowlighting and highlighting can make it blend really nicely too and result in a reverse ombre. A few examples from Pinterest of how it might look:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/210332245074548672/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/210332245074548674/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/210332245074488921/

RavennaNight
September 21st, 2015, 04:30 AM
Has anyone had a drastic demarcation line and just grew it out, and never cut? I'm curious to see that.

KittyBird
September 21st, 2015, 04:58 AM
I remember seeing someone with a drastic demarcation line in the "growing out dye" thread a few years ago, RavennaNight, but I don't think it would be easy to find those pictures now. She had blonde or blonette hair and was growing out black dye. It looked really cool in braids and updos. I think the difference between the light and dark hair gets much less noticeable when the regrowth gets longer, like after a year or so of growing. At least that's my experience. ;)

Anje
September 21st, 2015, 07:35 AM
You know, if I were in this boat, I might consider dyeing closer to the ends with another even more contrasty color. Accentuate the ombre and make it look more intentional, you know?

hennalonghair
September 21st, 2015, 11:51 AM
I'm growing out cherry cola red henna with 90% silver roots on my canopy hair and I love the contrast. I've got no plans of either cutting or trying to remove colour. I happen to find the colour contrast very appealing.

hennalonghair
September 21st, 2015, 11:51 AM
You know, if I were in this boat, I might consider dyeing closer to the ends with another even more contrasty color. Accentuate the ombre and make it look more intentional, you know?

:thumbsup: absolutely !

RavennaNight
September 21st, 2015, 01:30 PM
I remember seeing someone with a drastic demarcation line in the "growing out dye" thread a few years ago, RavennaNight, but I don't think it would be easy to find those pictures now. She had blonde or blonette hair and was growing out black dye. It looked really cool in braids and updos. I think the difference between the light and dark hair gets much less noticeable when the regrowth gets longer, like after a year or so of growing. At least that's my experience. ;)

Oh man I'd love to see this. I'm kicking the grow-out without cutting idea around in my head, only because the monthly maintenance is a PITA. I just feel like I waste so much time dyeing my hair (hennindigo 2 step).

ETA: and the roots are really sparkly...

KittyBird
September 21st, 2015, 01:47 PM
Oh man I'd love to see this. I'm kicking the grow-out without cutting idea around in my head, only because the monthly maintenance is a PITA. I just feel like I waste so much time dyeing my hair (hennindigo 2 step).

ETA: and the roots are really sparkly...
Hey, I found it! I thought I might have seen those pictures not so long after I joined, so I looked around a bit and found them. It looks like it might have been dark brown dye instead of black, but quite dark anyway. Here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51155&page=61&p=2080958&viewfull=1#post2080958)and here. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51155&page=83&p=2384489&viewfull=1#post2384489)

lapushka
September 21st, 2015, 02:39 PM
I once grew out blue/black dye. I once grew out henna. I grew out mid-tone ash blonde. Grew out brown. I had my fair share of dye "issues". :lol: It can be done, just the first few inches are a big issue to get over. Once you have about 2-4 inches, it gets better. I have a light ashy brown color (under normal lighting circumstances) and the blue/black was the worst of them all, the first half inch it was as if I had a bald patch where my part line was.

RavennaNight
September 21st, 2015, 02:49 PM
Hey, I found it! I thought I might have seen those pictures not so long after I joined, so I looked around a bit and found them. It looks like it might have been dark brown dye instead of black, but quite dark anyway. Here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51155&page=61&p=2080958&viewfull=1#post2080958)and here. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51155&page=83&p=2384489&viewfull=1#post2384489)


Thanks! I saw two growing out heads of hair there that would be similar to mine. Feles andAkilina have similar natural colors to mine. Good to see what it may look like if I decide to go that route! Thanks :flower:

CRX<3
September 21st, 2015, 03:24 PM
I'm growing out my henna just for fun, I love my burgundy hair but it would be nice too see some of my natural golden blondette hair too, so i'm diluting my henna with more cassia every month to get a smooth demarcation line :) and if it would look horrible on me, I guess I just dye it with 100% henna and a dash of indigo to be back at normal :D you have to distract yourself from the growing with something! Hehe

Unnamed
September 22nd, 2015, 06:13 PM
RavennaNight -- I pretty much just grew mine out, although I *did* eventually do a combo bleach/Colorfix to get rid of the multicolouredness, but then I left it alone after that.


I grew out black dye, and my hair is a dark ashy blonde. I *did* do what I could to fade it (hour long soaks with olive oil), and it did fade some. It was still black, but the 'edge' was gone. Far fewer pics that were just a pit of darkness, at least! And I did eventually (after 4-5 years) bleach/use Colorfix on the multicolouredness, and turned it into something less...multicoloured (and to a more normal ombre, if a bit bright, as I didn't dye over the gold).

Since it looks like you have a medium to dark brown dye?, I'd think it'd go easier for you than for me (and it might fade more/faster, too...not sure, I've only dyed black or blonder). I'd also suggest against honey lightening, as it could make the demarcation line a bit wonky if you get some on the undyed hair, plus some have experienced damage from it. And the dye won't necessarily fade out or lighten (even with bleach) evenly. For me, the highlight method was out (bleach couldn't get it near light enough to get within even a level of my regrowth, otherwise I might have tried that). I remember there being a member here that also had dark blonde hair with black dye, and she did have it highlighted with her natural colour, and it came out really nice. But I can't remember her name. Started with an N. First I'd see how it goes/if it'll fade some on its own, though, if you're hoping to avoid as much damage as possible.

Anyway, right at first was the worst, and I remember how very pale the new growth looked. Once my hair started not only growing out from my head but 'down', that got better--my hair just looks lighter that first 1/2"-1" or so. Even now. Was great when I dyed my hair blonder...not so great with the black! When letting the black grow out, first I did a lot of half-ups. Carefully, just grabbing the hair from the front, otherwise it'd look like I had bald spots. By the time those didn't work as well, braids did, and I got a lot of compliments. I did double dutch/french braids back into a bun a lot once I had about 2-3" of growth. Then, once got to about 6" of regrowth, the new colour started showing in updos more (especially a Chinese Bun, which seemed to show the earliest--I did those braided a lot, too), and I felt that's when it really got easier to grow out. So hang in there!

I had hair like this for...a while (this was nearly three years after the last time it had been dyed):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/UnnamedGryffon/2007b/jul21_multiside.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/UnnamedGryffon/2007b/th_aug21_bigsiggy.jpg

And, yes, do some braids:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/UnnamedGryffon/pics/rangeofcolours.jpg

moontree
September 22nd, 2015, 09:12 PM
I am at very close to a year of growing out henna! My roots are lighter (ash blondette) than the henna and it was very awkward at first but braiding it and pulling it back helped a lot. Color oops fried my hair badly, it lightened the henna but left some lasting damage, so it is a risk!

Here is my hair at the beginning of this month:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y266/Keyake/0901151314_zpscjhdbkbj.jpg

And at the 6 month mark:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y266/Keyake/IMG_20150329_153558-1_zpsh1hvecpf.jpg

And barely a month/less than a month:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y266/Keyake/IMG_20141021_160041_zps43ed5fcd.jpg

Seeshami
September 22nd, 2015, 09:25 PM
I'm growing out cherry cola red henna with 90% silver roots on my canopy hair and I love the contrast. I've got no plans of either cutting or trying to remove colour. I happen to find the colour contrast very appealing.

Me too kinda sorta!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/BrokenCagedBird/103d231b-f2f6-47ce-bc57-5c009454ce23_zpsuax5ypnj.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BrokenCagedBird/media/103d231b-f2f6-47ce-bc57-5c009454ce23_zpsuax5ypnj.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/BrokenCagedBird/d79ab315-ee29-4050-b9b5-9bf0226c48e4_zpswgveyjl8.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BrokenCagedBird/media/d79ab315-ee29-4050-b9b5-9bf0226c48e4_zpswgveyjl8.jpg.html)

Sparklecake
September 22nd, 2015, 11:41 PM
Me too kinda sorta!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/BrokenCagedBird/103d231b-f2f6-47ce-bc57-5c009454ce23_zpsuax5ypnj.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BrokenCagedBird/media/103d231b-f2f6-47ce-bc57-5c009454ce23_zpsuax5ypnj.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/BrokenCagedBird/d79ab315-ee29-4050-b9b5-9bf0226c48e4_zpswgveyjl8.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BrokenCagedBird/media/d79ab315-ee29-4050-b9b5-9bf0226c48e4_zpswgveyjl8.jpg.html)

:O your hair is so incredibly beautiful! :bowtome:

Seeshami
September 22nd, 2015, 11:47 PM
Thank you!

ebaviisakas
September 23rd, 2015, 06:09 AM
I am doing this! I have been for a few years now (3 almost now I think?) My hair grows slow so my natural hair is only just past my shoulders and my dyed parts are almost to my waist. Natural hair colour is dishwasher or potato brown/blonde (how its called where I am from haha) and I am growing out jet black dye.
The hardest part for me was the start of it, when you just have a few tiny inches grown out... I felt really frustrated with it but the longer you stick with it the easier it is not to give in and dye over. I wore it up a lot when I started growing it out. I considered dyeing it but I felt the same as you, as my ends are already very damaged and I really really wanted long hair. The dye has faded a bit on its own, in the light its not dark brown, but I didnt expect it to at all because I dyed my hair black for 7 years straight almost.

Wearing two coloured hair up looks really cool in my opinion, especially all kinds of braids. I honestly am not actively planning on cutting of my black parts anymore because the longer it has gotten the more I like it, I am sure it will eventually be trimmed out though. If you want to grow out natural then I would not colour your own hair, rather colour the already dyed part.

ebaviisakas
September 23rd, 2015, 06:12 AM
Dishwater, not dishwasher, sorry!

DollyDagger
September 23rd, 2015, 06:48 AM
Me too kinda sorta!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/BrokenCagedBird/103d231b-f2f6-47ce-bc57-5c009454ce23_zpsuax5ypnj.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BrokenCagedBird/media/103d231b-f2f6-47ce-bc57-5c009454ce23_zpsuax5ypnj.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/BrokenCagedBird/d79ab315-ee29-4050-b9b5-9bf0226c48e4_zpswgveyjl8.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/BrokenCagedBird/media/d79ab315-ee29-4050-b9b5-9bf0226c48e4_zpswgveyjl8.jpg.html)

This is an insanely gorgeous pic! You're extremely photogenic..!
You look like a mischievous sometimes evil but lovable Disney Princess..lol :p for real!

RavennaNight
September 23rd, 2015, 08:32 AM
RavennaNight -- I pretty much just grew mine out, although I *did* eventually do a combo bleach/Colorfix to get rid of the multicolouredness, but then I left it alone after that.


I grew out black dye, and my hair is a dark ashy blonde. I *did* do what I could to fade it (hour long soaks with olive oil), and it did fade some. It was still black, but the 'edge' was gone. Far fewer pics that were just a pit of darkness, at least! And I did eventually (after 4-5 years) bleach/use Colorfix on the multicolouredness, and turned it into something less...multicoloured (and to a more normal ombre, if a bit bright, as I didn't dye over the gold).

Since it looks like you have a medium to dark brown dye?, I'd think it'd go easier for you than for me (and it might fade more/faster, too...not sure, I've only dyed black or blonder). I'd also suggest against honey lightening, as it could make the demarcation line a bit wonky if you get some on the undyed hair, plus some have experienced damage from it. And the dye won't necessarily fade out or lighten (even with bleach) evenly. For me, the highlight method was out (bleach couldn't get it near light enough to get within even a level of my regrowth, otherwise I might have tried that). I remember there being a member here that also had dark blonde hair with black dye, and she did have it highlighted with her natural colour, and it came out really nice. But I can't remember her name. Started with an N. First I'd see how it goes/if it'll fade some on its own, though, if you're hoping to avoid as much damage as possible.

Anyway, right at first was the worst, and I remember how very pale the new growth looked. Once my hair started not only growing out from my head but 'down', that got better--my hair just looks lighter that first 1/2"-1" or so. Even now. Was great when I dyed my hair blonder...not so great with the black! When letting the black grow out, first I did a lot of half-ups. Carefully, just grabbing the hair from the front, otherwise it'd look like I had bald spots. By the time those didn't work as well, braids did, and I got a lot of compliments. I did double dutch/french braids back into a bun a lot once I had about 2-3" of growth. Then, once got to about 6" of regrowth, the new colour started showing in updos more (especially a Chinese Bun, which seemed to show the earliest--I did those braided a lot, too), and I felt that's when it really got easier to grow out. So hang in there!

I had hair like this for...a while (this was nearly three years after the last time it had been dyed):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/UnnamedGryffon/2007b/jul21_multiside.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/UnnamedGryffon/2007b/th_aug21_bigsiggy.jpg

And, yes, do some braids:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/UnnamedGryffon/pics/rangeofcolours.jpg


Actually, my hair is quite black. I think the sunlight on some of my sig pics may soften that, but it's really really dark. It's got layers of hennindigo going back to 2008 in there lol. It's been great for my hair, well better than box dye, it's just so much work. Just the thought of spending an entire day almost every month on this is becoming a huge turnoff to me. If I did grow out, I might try honey and/or baby shampoo. Olive oil strips color I noticed too, just based on how dark the water is when I rinse from that. All the pics so far that I have seen looks like it could be fun. I just hope that if I do do it, I won't draw the condemnation of my corporate job. They're both natural looking colors, but I might get comments. I don't know, they've never said anything about the length, so that's up in the air.

My husband said i would look like the chick from X-men :lol:. The reverse ombré in braids and buns looks really fun.

Seeshami
September 24th, 2015, 03:06 PM
This is an insanely gorgeous pic! You're extremely photogenic..!
You look like a mischievous sometimes evil but lovable Disney Princess..lol :p for real!

I have wanted to dress up as a villain forever but none of them really fit. I guess it all comes down to what I choose in RPGs and MMOs. I always want to be the healer so I can swoop in and save people...............

when I feel like it :rollin:
And when I don't, totally going to sit there and giggle.

Ice castles was an amazing shoot. It sucks they didn't have one last year and it doesn't look good for this year.

Chocowalnut
September 24th, 2015, 09:48 PM
Here are some pics of my progress growing out henna. At times I really want to bleach it out but at the same time I don't want damage.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=17760&d=1434504477http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=19158&d=1443152745

LaraAntipova
October 24th, 2015, 03:52 AM
Omg you guys thanks so much for all the advice! Your encouragement and GORGEOUS photos helped me decide to just grow it out, reverse-ombre style. Those that said to wait and let it fade were right, the colour difference is getting less and less with time. So I am going to focus on just caring for hair and making it as healthy as possible. Keep up the pics please or vent if you need to :) It's a really hard call to make between colour correction and hair health and I sympathise with anyone going through that. I think I may have gone for a colour correction if I could be certain the hairdresser wouldn't make a mistake but even then, you have to consider how it will look 1 month, 2 months, 1 year later, no matter how good it looks at first! Highlights and lowlights might still be on the cards if I ever do find a genius HD just to blend out the line xo

Nastasiya
May 28th, 2017, 09:24 AM
Bless this thread, I'm so happy it existst!
I know it's been inactive for ages, but I wanted to write my experience in case someone in a distant future seeks for help here.
I've done horrible things to my hair in the past year. I went for henndigo, did not like it, put some permanent blue-black dye in it, and after being tired of touching up my roots all the time, after rocking the black (I looked sooo good, the roots not so much), I decided to go light again.
About month ago I used Colorb4 and a bleach bath, which helped a bit, but my hair went a bit patchy and is very dry now. So I put some semi-permanent dye over it, which is close to my color, but it's slightly darker and much more warm toned than my natural colour (ashy medium brown).
Now I have about 1+cm/0,5" roots, and what helped to minimize the difference was mixing the vitamin C with anti-dandruff schampoo, putting it in the damp hair and leaving it for an hour. And, of course, conditioning the heck out of it afterwards.
This really helped to lighten the dyed hair and make my roots blend a bit more.

I hope there will be more photos posted here, I hate my roots and this thread helped me to keep the fingers away from bleach and scissors!