wanting to get close to root color

[mommy2one05]

so I have colored my hair several times before last time was in February , but my roots are showing and i am debating on coloring again or not but is there a way to remove my old color so it would go back to root color naturally

[wintersun99]

..........

[Emme76]

Well, I think many will advice you not to color your hair cause it is damaging. But that I am sure you already know :)!
I also had the same thing as you a while back. Maybe ColorOops will help?! Have you tried it?

Well, I used goldwells tint (not the permenent color) and it worked well for me to get my roots the same color as the rest of my hair. It didn´t damage my hair at all!
I live in Sweden so I am not sure if you can get it where you are!! It doesn´t last more than 2 months but once your hair has grown more and you got rid of your "old" color - then you can just stop the tint and it will fade.

This is what I did - but I am sure others have a lot better advice to give you. :)! Some think it is cool with 2 colors...but I can understand what you are thinking...

Hope you find something that will work for you.
/Emme

[lora410]

keep in mind color opps works only if you didn't bleach your hair (aka a blonde color) It only works on non-bleach colors.

[Anje]

I don't know how well it works on older color, but Nightshade recommends using baby shampoo and honey to remove fresher hair color, if your color is bad. Seems like it might be milder than ColorOops or ColorFix, so you might give it a try.

Be aware that, if you colored your hair at home in the past, that many of the permanent box dyes contain ammonia and/or peroxide. (They do this to make sure you get approximately the same results no matter what your starting color is.) So the hair underneath the dye may be significantly lighter than it was before it was dyed.

[lora410]

I don't know how well it works on older color, but Nightshade recommends using baby shampoo and honey to remove fresher hair color, if your color is bad. Seems like it might be milder than ColorOops or ColorFix, so you might give it a try.

Be aware that, if you colored your hair at home in the past, that many of the permanent box dyes contain ammonia and/or peroxide. (They do this to make sure you get approximately the same results no matter what your starting color is.) So the hair underneath the dye may be significantly lighter than it was before it was dyed.

The honey and baby shampoo works well but it doesn't take all the color out (I used it) and it made my hair soooo dry

[Anje]

The honey and baby shampoo works well but it doesn't take all the color out (I used it) and it made my hair soooo dry

I'd believe it. The baby shampoo is considerably more alkaline than hair, so it'll make a lot of folk's hair feel nasty afterward. I think any dye-removal treatment is best followed up by a deep moisture treatment, and the honey+shampoo method might be best followed with an acidic rinse.

[Ohio Sky]

Correct me if Im wrong, but it looks like the length of your hair has been lightened, and the roots are darker. If this is the case, honey, ColorFix, and all the previous suggestions are not going to change the color, really. The lighten darker colors. If you use something like Colorfix, it will technically remove the dye, but cannot replace the color that was removed when you lightened it, so its not going to change the color, or if it does, it will lighten it more.

What you can do if you are indeed trying to go just a tad darker on the length is use a 50/50 mix of henna and indigo if you have the energy for this exhausting process. After mixing, with the minimal amount of darkening you actually need, you shouldnt have to leave it on for more than 2 hours. But henna is always unpredictable.

If you dont want to mess with that, you could just dye it. Dying it once to match the roots will not have a terrible effect on your hair, especially if you find a non PPD, amonia and peroxide free dye. You can find these online at several sites, and there may be a store near you that carries something like that.

I hope that helps. :flower:

[missy60]

[QUOTE=Ohio Sky;67917]Correct me if Im wrong, but it looks like the length of your hair has been lightened, and the roots are darker. If this is the case, honey, ColorFix, and all the previous suggestions are not going to change the color, really. The lighten darker colors. If you use something like Colorfix, it will technically remove the dye, but cannot replace the color that was removed when you lightened it, so its not going to change the color, or if it does, it will lighten it more.

I totally agree with this once you lighten you cant go back to your natural color. If it was me I would go to Sally's and get a demi color to match your roots. You have to be very careful though because color can go dark thats why I would go to Sally's and get a second opinion. I know alot of the workers at Sally's really dont know alot about the products but it cant hurt to get someone elses advice when trying to match color. It very important to do a strand test and check it every 5 mins to see how long you have to leave the color on. The reason for going to Sally's is after doing a strand test you can always go back and adjust the color and only have to buy another tube of color it saves some money. If its a little to dark mix it with half the lighter shade or darker how ever you need to adjust it. When selecting a color I would also go at least one shade lighter if not two to keep from going to dark.

I also just want to give a word of caution after seeing your other thread about perms if it was me I would only go with one chemical process. I would decide if I wanted to color or perm and just go from there. I would be very scared to do both processes on my hair if it was as long as yours unless I was prepared to cut if it was to get to damaged.

[Ohio Sky]

I also just want to give a word of caution after seeing your other thread about perms if it was me I would only go with one chemical process. I would decide if I wanted to color or perm and just go from there. I would be very scared to do both processes on my hair if it was as long as yours unless I was prepared to cut if it was to get to damaged.

Exactly, thats why I recommend trying a PPD free dye. Havent done it myself yet so I cant recommend one brand over another, but I think I am going to order from Sante (http://sante.de/) next time I do my hair. they carry all natural dyes from Logona, which is a very reputable brand that carries a lot of vegan products. They say its safe to use on hair that has been henna'ed, dyed, permed, whatever, but like Missy said, they do caution about getting too dark color, so definitely strand test.

[mommy2one05]

thank you Ohio Sky and Missy60
yes my roots are dark and the rest is a lighter tone...I went to a local well known salon in our area back in february and wanted them to color my hair to match my roots so hopefully I wouldn't have to keep getting my hair colored, but either my hair didn't take good or they did something wrong and it seems lighter and no where close to my roots. Yes i am thinking very carefully about whether to perm or color because since I am finally starting to get longer I do NOT want to damage it since it is fairly healthy. My grandma used to color my hair when I was younger since I could not do it myself so I may have her color it for me if I go that way. But how do I pick out a color that is gonna be close to my roots color?

[missy60]

If it was me I would go to Sally's (they have the hair swatches) pick a color close to your roots and then go one shade lighter. I would get a neutral tone one shade lighter then the color that matches your roots. In my opinion darker colors blend better with roots then if you went to light and you will get a little fade. Here is the important part do a strand test and check it every 5 mins you dont want it to get to dark. If the color is to light go back to Sally's and get the next darker color and mix it 1\2 and 1\2 with the color you strand test with. Then do another strand test and watch the time. You may not need to leave it on the whole time recommended on the bottle. Matching color up with your roots will just have to be trial and error thats why strand testing is very important.

[Ohio Sky]

Like Missy said, go a shade or two lighter and strand test, strand test, strand test!!

I just ordered a dye from Sante. I love that they are certified organic and list all of the ingredients, but turns out they have a $20 minimum order and shipping is a bit much. The $20 wasnt a problem because Ive been eyeing several of their products for a while, but I still only spent $21 and shipping was $9. :bigeyes:

I wouldnt have paid that much for shipping exept I couldnt find a color I was totally happy with on any websites that readily exposed the ingredients, and thats an instant red flag for me.

Many natural dyes are powder form, so if you order one, you could mix up just a little and test on some hairs out of your brush or an inconspicuous spot on your head.

I have also geard of people using walnut husk or amla for a nice brown. mightbe more of a PITA if its anything like henna, and I am not brown so I cant direct you here but its another option.

Good luck. :)

ETA: Im a DIY gal and havent been to a salon since I was 14 and went to get a "trim" and ended up losing about 8 in of hair. IMHO, if my hairs going to get screwed up, its going to be ME that does it! lol The choice is yours, obviously, I just wanted to point out why I was going a different direction than Missy :)

[missy60]

I dont go to the salon either I just go to Sally's because I find for me its a little cheaper. I can just buy the developer and it last a long time. I just have to buy the bottles of dye when I need them. Its also easier to adjust the color because you already have the developer all you need to do is get another bottle of dye. So if you need to adjust your color you arent spending as much.

Mommy2one05 Im really not sure of your hair color is it brown (which it looks like in this pic)? You pic on your profile page looks red. I know monitors can make hair color look different so I was just wondering. I wish I could go the natural route but red just doesnt look good on me so if it is red henna might be a good option for you. I cant give any advice on anything but hair dye because that the only process I am familiar with. I would love to go natural but I am just really scared of messing around with stuff I really know nothing about. I also have gray hair and I really dont think the rinses would be a permanent solution for me, but I could be wrong.

Ohiosky let us know how you like the brand you are trying it might be something I would be interested in.

[mommy2one05]

ohiosky - let me know how those products work
missy60 - how do you find a local sally's...i have never seen one where i live

[missy60]

Oh I hope you have one where you live they are really great to shop at. Well for a product junkie they are any way. Here a store locator http://stores.sallybeauty.com/ actually the closest one to me is about 1 1\2 hours away, but I still go there to get my hair color.

I really am curious what color is your hair?