Dying back hair after bleach - any point in trying?

[Everdeen97]

Some personal hair history:
- bleached my hair to light blonde
- after 7 months my “roots” really started to bother me so I went back and asked for ashy light brown hair, which turned out really nice
- 1 week (2 hairwashes) later my brown hair is completely gone, just washed out
- had no idea why that happened so went to an other salon, asked for ashy light brown hair again
- the hair dresser in salon#2 Fd up the hair color (ended up with dark auburn)
- after 1 week I went back to salon#1, they bleached out the brown and redyed it, the result was a very nice light ashy brown (the hair dresser who dyed my hair the last time used both permanent and temporary hair dye)
- 1–2 weeks later my brown is gone again

So the question is:
Should I even bother trying to dye back my hair to brown? I read somewhere that bleaching removes the pigments inside my hair and because of this the hair dye has nothing to adhere to and washes out eventually (?)
Is there any chance that with multiple redyeing, my hair is eventually filled up with dye molecules and my hair becomes brown again permanently?

I’ve also heard about fillers, but I’m not sure if the salon I went uses any.

I’m fine with paying multiple times and I’m fine with slightly damaged hair if it means I end up with brown hair eventually. However I don’t want to waste money and time if no matter how many times I have my hair dyed it only lasts a few hair washes.
I appreciate any answers!

[lapushka]

At this point, go back to the salon where you are happy with the dye outcome and ask for a permanent color, then just grow it out, no matter the hue it turns to (otherwise there's going to be no end to it). You can never get your actual color with dye, there's always a difference. And other than that, I would not mess around with dye so fast one after the other again and again, so just once more: done! :)

Ask me why I am so adamant on this issue. I have had bad hair dye disasters. BTDT. I know this is a case of wanting to keep dyeing until it's the color you want, but that's never gonna happen.

So: dye once more, then grow it out!

[Bat]

Some personal hair history:
- bleached my hair to light blonde
- after 7 months my “roots” really started to bother me so I went back and asked for ashy light brown hair, which turned out really nice
- 1 week (2 hairwashes) later my brown hair is completely gone, just washed out
- had no idea why that happened so went to an other salon, asked for ashy light brown hair again
- the hair dresser in salon#2 Fd up the hair color (ended up with dark auburn)
- after 1 week I went back to salon#1, they bleached out the brown and redyed it, the result was a very nice light ashy brown (the hair dresser who dyed my hair the last time used both permanent and temporary hair dye)
- 1–2 weeks later my brown is gone again

So the question is:
Should I even bother trying to dye back my hair to brown? I read somewhere that bleaching removes the pigments inside my hair and because of this the hair dye has nothing to adhere to and washes out eventually (?)
Is there any chance that with multiple redyeing, my hair is eventually filled up with dye molecules and my hair becomes brown again permanently?

I’ve also heard about fillers, but I’m not sure if the salon I went uses any.

I’m fine with paying multiple times and I’m fine with slightly damaged hair if it means I end up with brown hair eventually. However I don’t want to waste money and time if no matter how many times I have my hair dyed it only lasts a few hair washes.
I appreciate any answers!

You need to fill the hair with a red or copper first, then put a brown over it that helps it stick you'll need a permanent color. It might not be the ashy brown you are after however but it will stick.

[elaina]

Some personal hair history:
- bleached my hair to light blonde
- after 7 months my “roots” really started to bother me so I went back and asked for ashy light brown hair, which turned out really nice
- 1 week (2 hairwashes) later my brown hair is completely gone, just washed out
- had no idea why that happened so went to an other salon, asked for ashy light brown hair again
- the hair dresser in salon#2 Fd up the hair color (ended up with dark auburn)
- after 1 week I went back to salon#1, they bleached out the brown and redyed it, the result was a very nice light ashy brown (the hair dresser who dyed my hair the last time used both permanent and temporary hair dye)
- 1–2 weeks later my brown is gone again

So the question is:
Should I even bother trying to dye back my hair to brown? I read somewhere that bleaching removes the pigments inside my hair and because of this the hair dye has nothing to adhere to and washes out eventually (?)
Is there any chance that with multiple redyeing, my hair is eventually filled up with dye molecules and my hair becomes brown again permanently?

I’ve also heard about fillers, but I’m not sure if the salon I went uses any.

I’m fine with paying multiple times and I’m fine with slightly damaged hair if it means I end up with brown hair eventually. However I don’t want to waste money and time if no matter how many times I have my hair dyed it only lasts a few hair washes.
I appreciate any answers!

ive dealt with hair so damaged that it wont hold onto colour before, honestly i would say maybe try henna and indigo? you can get a whole range of browns by mixing the two in different ratios. eventually the indigo will fade, but so will permanent hair dye, and henna isnt damaging like chemical dyes.

[Everdeen97]

Thanks for the replies.
I've tried henna before and it was one of the worst mistakes in my life, took me 4 years just to get rid of it. I admit it, my hair was very smooth and shiny but the color was just hideous on my skin tone. Even though I have very pale, cool toned skin, reddish tones are just not for me (and unfortunately I've only learned this the hard way, after using henna)
Using red filler then dyeing my hair brown was exactly what they did in salon #2. I might as well just redyed my hair with henna because the result was the same color.

For now I'm fine with blonde hair, and I'm ok with growing it out, however if it's possible I'd have my hair dyed slightly darker.

My biggest concern isn't that the color, but rather the color's lifespan. If permanent hair dye washes out 1-2 week after, then I don't see the point in even trying. My question is, if it is possible to gradually fill back my hair with pigments over multiple sessions so it won't wash out.

[Shorty89]

I'm not sure about traditional filler or colour but something like cassia could add blonde shine and strengthen your hair. It's similar to henna but not as permanent.

[Glitch]

Thanks for the replies.
I've tried henna before and it was one of the worst mistakes in my life, took me 4 years just to get rid of it. I admit it, my hair was very smooth and shiny but the color was just hideous on my skin tone. Even though I have very pale, cool toned skin, reddish tones are just not for me (and unfortunately I've only learned this the hard way, after using henna)
Using red filler then dyeing my hair brown was exactly what they did in salon #2. I might as well just redyed my hair with henna because the result was the same color.

For now I'm fine with blonde hair, and I'm ok with growing it out, however if it's possible I'd have my hair dyed slightly darker.

My biggest concern isn't that the color, but rather the color's lifespan. If permanent hair dye washes out 1-2 week after, then I don't see the point in even trying. My question is, if it is possible to gradually fill back my hair with pigments over multiple sessions so it won't wash out.

If you're only looking for slightly darker hair, then it's not worth more damage and trials imo. I'd just grow out the color as is and do protein treatments in the meantime to strengthen the hair.

[Sparkles122]

If I were you, I would go back to the salon, have them refill your hair with the red pigments. However depending on the tone of the blonde (golden), you might not need to fill it. Then have them use a demi permanent color in a neutral brown level 5 and 6 mixed together. You dont want a warm brown, it will pull too red. And you dont want an ash brown, I find that ash colors tend to have a purply color when applied over bleached hair with filler. A demi permanent is usually used with a 10 volume peroxide sometimes even a 9 (which I like better) so you will have less lift than with a permanent. If you use a permanent color it is going to be with a higher volume peroxide and in that case will open the cuticle even more, which eventually will fade even faster. After you get your hair re dyed, order some Adore hair dye on Amazon. Its a no damage semi permanent. You can get it in all type of brown shades. Use this when you see your hair starting to fade, eventually as your natural hair grows out, you will have less and less fade. You may have to mix some of the colors together to get the tone you like.

Ive done this twice in my lifetime and this is what has worked for me

[Arciela]

This happened to me before! Twice, actually, before I learned my lesson the hard way haha. From my experience, I suggest just try to dye it to a color you like and then leave it be, and if you want all virgin hair, you can either trim off half growth each month and go for slow growth, or do big chops in intervals (That's what I did)

The more I tried to dye it to match my real hair, the more the color changed, so I just gave up and cut if off as fast as possible :flower:

[Everdeen97]

So something very interesting happened.
After the dye faded out and my hair went back to bleached blonde I've used fanola no yellow shampoo.
The thing is, the part which was bleached 2x has turned ashy (almost purple) blond, however the grown-out part which was bleached 1x has remained red (???).
Of course I also have 1 month of roots too, so my hair is 3 colored.... I haven't got the slightest clue what the hell I'm supposed to do with this. From far it's not noticable, from close it's really gross.
I'm thinking I'll stop using purple shampoo, maybe the purpley-ashy blonde ends will turn back to yellow, so the difference won't be too extreme.
Or maybe I'll just shave it all and buy a wig.

[Everdeen97]

Thanks for everyone who replied, I've finally decided on how to proceed.
I'm going to aim for length and conditioning, instead of trying to achieve the perfect color. There isn't much of a difference in level between the roots and the top of the grown out, bleached part (it actually kinda looks like an ombre) so I'm thinking I can just grow it out gracefully.

[Bri-Chan]

Hi, my hair is very damaged by bleach and I've tried several times to dye it a color close to my roots. I failed and I gave up. But just recently I tried deposit only dyes and they work. Much more than regular dyes. Obviously it fades, but you'll not be back to the starting point after two washes (yep if I know that feeling!). So I think they're worth a try.

[lapushka]

Thanks for everyone who replied, I've finally decided on how to proceed.
I'm going to aim for length and conditioning, instead of trying to achieve the perfect color. There isn't much of a difference in level between the roots and the top of the grown out, bleached part (it actually kinda looks like an ombre) so I'm thinking I can just grow it out gracefully.

Always, always the most smart move you can make! :D