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View Full Version : In desperate need of coloring advice...



hairport
January 15th, 2009, 08:47 AM
Hello
This is the first time I come to ask you for help but you guys seem to know quite a bit about hair so maybe someone of you knows how to save my hair.
I have long, layered hair, natural color is ashblonde level 6-7, it lightens extremely fast in summer and I always used to have highlights.
Last fall though I wanted to change it because the tips where much lighter than the roots (because of the sun and highlights) so I used a semi permanent brown level 6 (no ash). It turned out really dark! ...between level 4 and 5 I would say. I think it is beacause my hair is really fine (but I have lots of them). As it washed out it was quite okay but when it became dull I did the same color again and didn't leave it on that long. I actually liket it then.
I had it for about 3 months. When the color was completely washed out I was left with the permanent pigments from the coloration which were only red! So my hair only a little darker than natural but reddish brown.
Now red looks horrible on me and makes me look very pale so I followed a friends advice and put a ashblonde permanent color/dye on it that was also supposed to bleach them a bit.
It turned out copper! worse before! My friend felt bad and wanted to help by making me highlights that came out light copper!
Desperately I went to my hairdresser who I thought I could trust (especially regarding their prices!) I told him to do whatever but give me back my natural color! He told me that he would have to go a little darker than that (6 he said) so that it covered all the red. To my surprise he did not use permanent color or anything with peroxide in it. When I was worried that after it washes out I would be back to the copper he said no but could not explain why (...is that even true?)
I don't know what colors he actually mixed together (he said something ashy) all I know is that he left it on forever and it turned out almost black!!!!!!! It is a level 3 now! It made me cry, I look like one of those heavy metal freaks! seriously, even the copper looked way better then what I have now.
All my hairdresser had to say was that it was going to wash out and if he had went lighter it would not have covered the red (to me this would mean that the red will come back anyways but he disagreed again!)

Okay now I am willing to do or pay whatever I just REALLY want my normal hair color back!
Can anyone please tell me where I need to go to do that and what exactly I have to tell them so that there wont be anymore surprises...

Thank you so much!

Nera
January 15th, 2009, 08:54 AM
Hi hairport! I feel sorry for the way it turned out, and how you feel about it. unfornulately, I can't help you, I don;t know much about haircoloring.
But what I do know, is that dye turns out different on every hairtype, and if you have already dyed your hair, it will come out a lot different... I hope you'll get your normal haircolor back!

Ranee
January 15th, 2009, 10:03 AM
I think for now it's important to give your hair a rest. Being dyed over and over with chemical dye is defenitely not good for your hair. Take a deep breath, give your hair a nice deep treatment and then reconcider what you really want for your hair. Going from almost black to blond is going to take a lot of peroxide which can really dry out your hair. I'm sorry this happened to you!

skydancer7
January 15th, 2009, 11:45 AM
Hello, welcome to LHC!
Gosh, your story sounds a lot like mine. I tried to get rid of black, though, and was left with reddish tints AGAIN. Black is extremely difficult to get rid of out of ash blonde hair (I have it too.) I ended up BADLY damaging my hair and had to cut it very, very short.
I don't know what to tell you as far as what you should do. I really hope that someone here can help.
In the meantime, go easy on us heavy metal freaks ;) we aren't so bad. But I can completely understand not wanting to look like one if that isn't your thing.

Demetrue
January 15th, 2009, 11:52 AM
He said it was going to wash out, correct? I would wash it with a clarifying shampoo and conditioner, then try oiling with olive oil in between washings to help pull out the color. It may take several weeks of clarifying and oiling to remove the darker pigment. I would also try honey lightening before turning to something more drastic like Color Oops - I was able to remove brown dye with Color Oops, but it leaves your hair extremely dry and damaged. I wouldn't go that route unless I had tried shampooing and oiling for 3 or 4 weeks first.

Isilme
January 15th, 2009, 11:58 AM
Your hair turned red because when hair is dyed over and over again there is nothing of your natural haircolour left, just a brassy red/copper. The more you dye your hair the more porous it gets and absorbs colour much more, as well as lets it go. If you are unhappy with the darkness of your hair, do a deep trreatment or a deep oiling for some hours, that will probably pull out some of it. Then you could try a wash out colour (remember, you don't want anything with ammonia or the evil peroxide) in a nice shade. Then grow out your natural haircolour and let your hair rest.
Take my advise and just let your hair get a rest (like, some years, not a few weeks) that's what I would say, and I'm one of those heavy metal "freaks";) (without the black hair)

HairyCarrie
January 15th, 2009, 12:00 PM
When I use to color and if it was intense, I too did a strong shampoo (a dandruff one is good) and let it stay in my hair for several minutes before washing it out. I heard that takes the color out faster and it seemed so to me, although it took many daily washings to tone things down.

wintersun99
January 15th, 2009, 12:04 PM
.............

~GypsyCurls~
January 15th, 2009, 12:10 PM
..........

Elainehali
January 15th, 2009, 12:13 PM
It sounds like most the color that's in your hair right now was the non-permanent type. This kinda has peroxide and does make a permanent change to the hair. It cases hair to become more reddish.

From your discription of what the stylist did it sounds like he tinted your hair. (basically gave you a wash of greenish-blue color to counter the red).

Tints (or the ones I've come across) can be almost completely removed with shampoo and a tbsp of baking soda. mixed together. (the mix should be smooth).

remember to condition after this ^ The baking soda works by changing the pH of your hair. It will cause the scales of the hair to raise up releasing the color. It's important to condition after because contitioner helps the hairs scales lay flat and smooth again.

If you dont condition afterwards it will be hard to detangle.

I have had great luck with this method, and wish you the same.

Kirin
January 15th, 2009, 12:21 PM
I've been down this road, listen to a chemical merry-go-round color sister in arms.

First.... desire as you want, feel the urge, but don't do ANY more to your hair. At least, not right at the moment, and I would say for at least three weeks. Great advice right? But here's what you do.

This color your hairdresser said would wash out.. hasten this process two ways. One, use baby shampoo, it will indeed help strip color out of your hair. Two, condition, condition alot.

hairport
January 15th, 2009, 12:53 PM
Wow! Thank you guy so much for caring. I am delighted!
My brother just commented my "new" look by saying I'd look like angelina jolie ...it made me feel a little better but did not change my opinion of the black hair.

I am definitely going to try washing it out faster but the thing I am afraid of is that I will be back to the reddish shades. Since it is not pich black I see some colors shining through when the light is a certain way. Only the colors I see are no brown or ash tones. They are mostly red...
I just talked to someone in the family with the same hair like me and she said she's been from orange to green and blue with her hair (she likes to change from very dark to very light occasionally).
She advised me to go to a professional colorist with my hair and said they would most likely have to "decolorate" (I think it is called stripping) my hair. She said it was very damaging but they will give you special treatments to recover. Any experience with that?
I am not very sure if I want to do this to my hair but then again if I think about the red and the black... if it is the only way to get rid of it. letting the hair grow out that would take 4 or 5 years and then I would have to live with a level 3 to level 7 contrast line! ...as much as I wish I could there is no way my ego could handle that.

lynnala
January 15th, 2009, 01:08 PM
Before you resort to that drastic measure, consult with ktani on the honey thread:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=148&highlight=honey+thread
The very first post there has lots of info about lightening hair with honey, and ktani is very knowledgeable and helpful with giving advice.

neon-dream
January 15th, 2009, 01:09 PM
I would try and forget about the colour for now and try and work on the health of your hair, but as a few people have also suggested, honey lightening treatments and olive oil will help to lighten the colour without the use of peroxide or chemicals.
Good luck, and I'm sorry this happened to you! :(
:blossom:

Kirin
January 15th, 2009, 01:26 PM
I know you feel this urgent desperate need to "fix" your hair, but I can tell you from experience, further attempts at the moment will not only fail...... but probably make you worse off.

First things first, get rid of the "black". As I stated earlier, washing with baby shampoo known to remove chemical colors over several days, with moisturizing well in between is the first step.

Second, know no matter what anyone tells you, once hair is damaged, its damaged. Hair cannot "heal" or be "repaired". Period. Its not alive, has no blood flow, and no feelings, and nothing you put on top of fried hair is going to restore it. Stop now before you go over the line.

Your hair has been through a LOT in a short period of time. While you are trying to get the black out with washing out/fading, do several protein packs. One thing to try is adding a protein filler to your protein pack which can be gotten at sally's. No, this wont "heal" your hair, but the protein will fill in the holes in your hair the chemical colors have created.

I have learned in hair color wrecks, patience is a virtue. If i could only go back in time and not have had panic attacks with a screwy color, my hair would be to the floor by now. You can color again, but you have to give it a rest.

What if it fades out red? It won't kill you....... really it wont even if you hate the color. The last thing you want to do right now is a stripper which is likely going to screw with the meddled mess of colors applied to your hair, and fry it to boot. Wash out as much as you can and THEN go to the pro colorist. The most you can get out on your own in two to three weeks will be LESS time chemicals have to be on your hair to fix it.

lora410
January 15th, 2009, 02:00 PM
Have your tried color opps yet? When I went black this brought me back up to med brown and then I lightened it naturally with honey treatments. Hopefully someone has the link to that. I think to get your hair back to natural color will involve color stripping and lots of bleach. Once that is done you will have mega damage and probably breakage.

ktani
January 15th, 2009, 07:29 PM
Before you resort to that drastic measure, consult with ktani on the honey thread:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=148&highlight=honey+thread
The very first post there has lots of info about lightening hair with honey, and ktani is very knowledgeable and helpful with giving advice.

Thank you lynnala but I agree with the others on this one, at least for now.

I think baby shampoo, perhaps with some honey added to it can help remove colour, and has according to some reports.

That, plus the fact that the colour should wash out on its own, means to me, that honey lightening can wait, right now, IMO.

Janka
January 16th, 2009, 12:58 AM
I'm really sorry it all went so bad...
The others here already gave you lots of advice about the color... I also think you should now give your hair a rest from coloring/decoloring treatments. Remember to take good care of it with moisture and/or protein treatements.
If the color disturbs you so much, try to wear your hair up often: 1. it will help your hair anyway because it's protective and 2. the "out of sight, out of mind"-method might help you think less of it and be less stressed (both you and your hair). When you wear your hair down, you see it almost all the time, which makes you think of it all the time. If you wear it up, it's out of your sight, so you won't think permanently about the color. Maybe you can buy a nice bandana to "hide" the color... And try to make the best of the situation now: you can learn new updo styles and thus hopefully start enjoying your hair despite of the color. The color should fade away anyway, so good luck with that.
(Personally, I find your brother's compliment about you looking like Angelina Jolie now VERY supportive. She really is a beatiful woman. And as far as I know, brothers are not very good at compliments for their sisters ;))

Katze
January 16th, 2009, 01:56 AM
I've been down this road, listen to a chemical merry-go-round color sister in arms.

First.... desire as you want, feel the urge, but don't do ANY more to your hair. At least, not right at the moment, and I would say for at least three weeks. Great advice right? But here's what you do.

This color your hairdresser said would wash out.. hasten this process two ways. One, use baby shampoo, it will indeed help strip color out of your hair. Two, condition, condition alot.

Ditto this. I've done similar things to my hair, and the best advice is what Kirin says - STOP WITH THE DYE.

You say you have fine hair. Fine hair gets damaged more easily than medium or coarse hair. So your hair is already pretty damaged.

Also, given all that you have done with it, you are most likely not going to get the color you want unless you start over. Believe me, I know. I have had my hair every color imaginable, and finally just had to stop dyeing because long hair is more important to me than being platinum blonde.

If you want long hair, you are going to have to stop or at least seriously cut back on the amount of processing you do to it. That is just a fact. If the processing is more important to you, then you need to choose that over healthy hair.

Most people on this site are here to grow healthy long hair so we will be giving you that kind of advice. Deep moisture treatments (SMT), misting, leave-in conditioners, stopping using heat, and gradual trims of the damage have slowly rescued my hair, but it has been a long, hard road. If you want to have healthy hair, you need to be willing to make that commitment.

just two cents from a former bleach and dye addict,

Katze