Semi permanent dye not washing out

[Bhruninha]

I used a clairol instincts semi permanent dye in light blonde to refresh my highlights about 4 weeks ago and the color turned out awful. It lightened my roots to a copper brassy color. I tried not to freak out since I thought it would wash out in a few weeks anyways but it has been a while and it doesn't seem to be fading at all. Has this happened to anyone else? I thought about using color oops to remove it but I heard it doesn't work for lighter colors. Thanks in advance for any tips!

[Hay_jules]

Which exact dye did you use? From what I can see on their website their semi permanent dyes still use an activator or developer which has peroxide, which will permanently lighten your hair.
The color oops will only remove any colour that was deposited over top but it can't fix what the peroxide lightened.

[Bhruninha]

OMG I think I ruined my hair then! I used Clairol Natural Instincts in Light Blonde - nº9

[Anje]

You can try the Color Oops, in case there's a red pigment in there contributing to the coppery colors you don't like. But if it's just that your hair has some red pigments to it that the bleach didn't take out (pretty common), it's not going to do much. (It does tend to lighten hair a bit in the short term, so you might see more of a color change right after using it and then some darkening over the next few days. I got that the one time I tried to remove a bit of henna in hopes of going from deep red to more copper.)

You might want to look for some blue or purple shampoo and conditioner geared toward keeping blond or silver hair from getting brassy. Rumor has it you can make your own by mixing a bit of blue/purple semi-permanent dye (think Manic Panic-type color here) into a bottle of conditioner, which is good if you've got a favorite product already.

[HairPlease]

I'm sorry to say this but if it's lightened, that's it. It's permanent. Maybe the dye "color" was supposed to be semi-permanent, but the lightening agent aka peroxide, did it's job on your hair.
The only other thing besides Anje's suggestions you can do is get a deposit only dye, sludge it on straight up, and darken the color. Be careful.

Make sure the dye doesn't require to mix something with it like a creme developer. If it requires that, the dye is permanent no matter what the box says.

Even dyes that are darker than your natural color can do the permanent lightening thing--anything mixed with a developer will do this. The creme or clear developer (peroxide) that you mix the dye with opens up the cuticle, which strips out your natural hair pigment, then the hair dye goes in with it's molecules to fill those "holes" in your hair shaft. Those dye molecules may wash out with time, but the peroxide stripped your natural color underneath that.

I hope you can get this sorted out!

[Hay_jules]

Like Anje said, you could add a blue based violet semi permanent direct dye (ones that don't mix with any developer) to your conditioner to tone out the brassiness. Manic panic ultraviolet would be a good one. A little goes a long way so start with the tiniest drop and add more of you need it. It's more affordable and easier to control then the store bought formulations.

There's a brand called Adore that makes natural coloured direct dyes. I haven't used them myself by have heard wonderful things about them. You may still have to tone out the brass with a violet shampoo or conditioner before if you choose that route.

[Bhruninha]

Thanks girls! I just booked an appointment with a hairdresser for later this month and hope that she can fix this somehow. I do have purple shampoo at home so I will try that too! Never again I will use a box dye!

[lapushka]

Exactly how long does the box say the dye lasts? Has it gone past that period yet? If not, wait. It might still wash out. If the period has passed, I'd go see the hairdresser, but not until then.

[Bhruninha]

It says 28 washes. I scheduled the appointment for 3 weeks from now so hopefully it will have faded by then.

[DawnTR]

Hi Bhruninha,
I am in the same boat as you. I used the same stuff a couple of times in a row. I did not read the box I guess and did not realize that it can lighten our hair. I thought I could just cover some grey roots and it would not affect my darker hair. oops.
I am waiting for this to wash out and see what I have at the end. For me it takes a long time because I only wash my hair a couple of times a week. So 28 washes takes forever. I think I have two more washes and maybe it will all be out. I have used some purple shampoo here and there to speed this up, but it dries out my hair. I hope you don't have as much damage as I do. Good luck with the stylist.

[Bhruninha]

Sorry to hear you have the same issue DawnTR! I have accepted that the color won't change since usually it would have at least faded a little by now. Crossing my fingers that the hairdresser will be able to fix the color without too much damage.

[missmelaniem]

Natural Instincts is Demi not Semi. Demi has nearly the staying power of a permanent tint. The real difference is that its mostly deposit and no lift.

It covers gray fairly well, but has a tendency to build up and is overall less damaging than traditional permanent dye

my PSA for today

Good luck at your stylists. I'm confident she can fix it and you'll be happy again!

[Pixiebella]

I just went through this! I had been bleaching, so my hair was porous. As a result, the bright red semi I used never washed out. I tried color oops twice and it didn't budge. Luckily I wanted to go to a darker red anyway (I plan to henna my roots as the y come in, so I wanted the length of it the same color as I'd get from hennaing my natural color.) so I just dyed over it with a darker color. I hope you're able to get it out. Color oops usually works though, unless your hair is just really stained from being super porous like mine was.

[Bhruninha]

wow I never knew there was a difference! Good to know!

[Bhruninha]

I just went through this! I had been bleaching, so my hair was porous. As a result, the bright red semi I used never washed out. I tried color oops twice and it didn't budge. Luckily I wanted to go to a darker red anyway (I plan to henna my roots as the y come in, so I wanted the length of it the same color as I'd get from hennaing my natural color.) so I just dyed over it with a darker color. I hope you're able to get it out. Color oops usually works though, unless your hair is just really stained from being super porous like mine was.

Thanks Pixiebella! that was a good idea, to go darker. In the worst case scenario I will do an ombre.

[Anje]

Natural Instincts is Demi not Semi. Demi has nearly the staying power of a permanent tint. The real difference is that its mostly deposit and no lift.

It covers gray fairly well, but has a tendency to build up and is overall less damaging than traditional permanent dye

my PSA for today

Good luck at your stylists. I'm confident she can fix it and you'll be happy again!
Unfortunately, not all of them are very clearly or correctly labeled, even for people who know the difference. :(

[lapushka]

Sorry to hear you have the same issue DawnTR! I have accepted that the color won't change since usually it would have at least faded a little by now. Crossing my fingers that the hairdresser will be able to fix the color without too much damage.

It can take a long time before it starts to even fade! So be careful with that, and don't just rush to the hairdresser to maybe undergo unnecessary further processing (damaging), when it's not needed. Be patient and wait for it to fade out like the instructions say. *Then* make a hairdresser appointment. :flower: You do want to avoid any extra damage you can! Trust me. :)

[Zebra Fish]

Unfortunately, not all of them are very clearly or correctly labeled, even for people who know the difference. :(

Few days ago I went through most of the boxes labelled semi - all have developer (peroxide). Couldn't find a single one actual semi. And I promised a friend I'd help her... :/

Some years ago I used MP in Vampire red - it *never* washed out completely. I recently cut that part, but my ends were still darker and keeping some of the colour. And I used lots of oils, other treatments, swimmed in the sea, henna etc. over it.

[Bhruninha]

So I went to a new hairdresser and she fixed the color. It took 9 hours to get it done but it looks great and I love it. I am so glad I went to her. I am trying to attach a picture but I am not sure it will work.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNQ5lPoDj-Y/?fb_action_ids=289440978124112&fb_action_types=instapp%3Atake&fb_ref=ogexp&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B805718882864711%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22instapp%3Atake%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%22ogexp%22%5D

[Hay_jules]

Wow looks like she did a great job with the colour correction. You can chalk it up to another lesson learned. :cool:

[Bhruninha]

Wow looks like she did a great job with the colour correction. You can chalk it up to another lesson learned. :cool:

Thank you :)

Def never touching a box dye again!

[turtlelover]

Natural Instincts is a demi dye cause it uses developer. It can and DOES lift base color somewhat. Semi dye does not use a developer.