Blonde and Want to Be a Redhead Temporarily

[rkathleen]

I have blonde hair, and right now it's somewhere around classic length. It's virgin and healthy. For several years, I've been bummed out about how 'mousy' it looks in winter. It turns that 'dirty dishwater' color. But I love the way it looks in the summer. I really want to dye it red. I've been thinking about it for ages and would love to do it, but I've been warned that red dye, even semi or demi permanent, can take a long time to fade out of blonde hair and can turn funky pink colors.

It's perhaps worth noting that I died my hair using two boxes (not sure which sort of dye) when I was 13. This was more than 15 years ago, so my memory is vague, but I don't remember being freaked out by the way it faded at all.

What do you all think? I really want to try this, but I have a very professional work environment and can't get away with pink hair at work!

[Nique1202]

You could collect the hair from your hairbrush/comb over the course of a week or two, colour treat that as a test run, and then run it through a number of "washes" with your usual shampoo, to see how whichever dye you choose fades. It may involve most of a day of washing a mat of hair over and over but it'd give you an idea of the final effect and how many washes you'd be committing to.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

You could collect the hair from your hairbrush/comb over the course of a week or two, colour treat that as a test run, and then run it through a number of "washes" with your usual shampoo, to see how whichever dye you choose fades. It may involve most of a day of washing a mat of hair over and over but it'd give you an idea of the final effect and how many washes you'd be committing to.

This is a great idea. Better than testing on your actual hair and finding it won't wash out, or something.

[Anje]

A demi might be OK, or actually a permanent mixed with a lower volume developer (like 10 volume instead of the probably-30 volume one that comes in the box) for minimal lift and less damage. Red permanent dyes have a reputation for fading out really badly, and you might be able to finish it off with Color Oops after a couple months. Don't take my word for it though, because I haven't tried it and I'm not certain.

Your standard deposit-only semi, though, isn't a good option. Somehow the reds from those stain really strongly.

[turtlelover]

I used to use some stuff by Clairol that was a semi called Advanced Gray Solutions and there were some red colors available. They would fade out of my gray streaks relatively quickly and leave a blonde-ish shade behind. It definitely didn't last as long as a demi but longer than the average semi. It works just fine on non gray hair, by the way, it just covers very well so it is labeled for that.

Edited: ridiculous typos

[rkathleen]

I like the test run idea; is there a way to do it even if I'm having the hair dyed at a salon? I'm afraid to do it myself, as there's quite a lot of hair do deal with and I won't have any assistance! Would I find a demipermanent dye that might work, test it, and then ask them to use it?

[turtlelover]

I like the test run idea; is there a way to do it even if I'm having the hair dyed at a salon? I'm afraid to do it myself, as there's quite a lot of hair do deal with and I won't have any assistance! Would I find a demipermanent dye that might work, test it, and then ask them to use it?

Just remember demis WILL do some damage from the peroxide. If you can live with that, go for it. If not, try something w/ no developer.

[rkathleen]

Hm, so demi-permanents do more damage, but semi-permanents stain worse? Sorry, you can probably tell that I'm awfully new to all of this.

[FennFire911]

I've been wondering this same thing, but if there are things around the house to try but will fade when they are stopped? Teas? Juices? Herbs?
Shouldn't be too hard to get blonde hair to red. I just wouldn't want it to last forever. By spring I want to be blonde again.
Anything less complicated than chemical dyes?

[turtlelover]

Maybe veggie dye semis stain worse? I have not used those, but the Clairol semi stuff that I used DEFINITELY didn't last that long. I was constantly re-doing it on my length. It was vivid at first and then gradually faded to more coppery. Roots really weren't that obvious. Demi lasted way, way longer on my gray hairs. Not even close.

[vampyyri]

Hmm, I was contemplating this myself not long ago, and got pointed in the direct of veggie-dyes by Adore since they have a natural color range alongside the funky ones. In the end I decided against it, but it might be worth a shot to grab some sheds and a bottle of Adore (generally cheap) and see what happens, and wash/condition it when you wash your hair to gauge the lasting power.

[LadyCelestina]

Here we have little sachets of shampoo based red semi dye (instead of conditioner base dyes such as MP). They are very cheap and the pigment really only lasts a couple washes. Any chance you might find something similar?

[Kiiruna]

If the red doesn't seen to fade enough, you could always try cassia to brighten up your wintery hair colour. Cassia gives warm, golden tones to hair.

[Akville]

I want to do the same, so If you will try something, post it so I know... ok? I whant to try this shampoo dye.. should look great..

[Adavidal]

The best red dye I've used thus far (and I've dyed red dozens of times) is Vesuvius Red by Madison Reed. Super gentle an I had no damage when I've used any of their dyes. Beautiful bright coppery red color, doesn't fade word and on blonde hair it fades to a light strawberry blonde. Check them out because I've used 3 different colors from them and I have loved them all.