Hair dye dilemma

[Konstifik]

Last year I decided to grow out my henna I've had in my hair for the last 5-6 years. It was time to go natural!

Or so I thought. Turns out my natural haircolour is more dull and ugly than I expected. It just doesn't suit me at all. It has no depth, no shine and I can't really tell if it's still blonde or now brown. It's right now ashy dishwater-like in shade. In short, I hate it! I wish I had my beloved golden blonde I had as a kid.

So now I'm very indecisive on what to do. Achieving lighter blonde means I'd have to go bleaching and box-dye, since neither honey lightning or cassia makes any difference whatsoever. And I have no experience about peroxiding my hair, or the money to let a professional do it. To make things even worse, I have a very thin and sensitive hair. >.<

Second option is to return to henna. It gave me great shine and depth, but I did not really like the colour. And as a very colour-oriented person, it is important for me to have a colour I'm happy with.

But are there any third option I've missed?

[alabaster]

Have you completely grown out the henna? If not it might just seem like your natural hair is boring in comparison with the henna right beside it. You should also think about what the lengths will look like once they are a little longer. If your hair is currently dark blond/light brown as it gets longer the ends will lighten from the sun and you may end up with the colour you are after....

[Kathie]

Have you seen this thread? It may be helpful...
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=24075

I'm also growing out hair dye (bleach highlights) I know its not fun.

I agree with alabaster, your hair will develop natural highlights as it grows more... and the comparison of natural hair next to henna can be a bit of a shock.

[emmabovary]

Is all of your hair back to your original color by now? I mean, are you sure it isn't just the henna making it look drained?

Oops, someone posted the same question, sorry :o

[Belisarius]

Have you tried using a henna cassia blend on just the roots?

[ravenreed]

I grew my hair out after dyeing it since the age of 16. I got it all grown out, stared at it a few months, realized I hated it and why I was dyeing it all that time. I ended up going back to dyeing. So I understand how you feel about your natural hair color.

There are ways to lighten your hair with honey, but you might need to search the forum to find out how people did it. It is not something I have tried.

[Konstifik]

Thanks alabaster and Kathie!

Not all henna is gone, but most of it is highly faded as well, and the new virgin length is getting quite long. I can very soon put up a pony tail with only virgin hair left on the head and the hennaed in the tail. :)

My hair has never been much for highlights, and none is peeking through yet. Still, I absolutely hate the colour, highlights or not.

As previously written, honey or cassia have no visible effect at all, even after several tries, both as treatments and used in weekly washes. My hair is simply not susceptible to weaker ways of lightening. ;P

[Linnykinz]

I've got the same problem right now, except I'm growing out years and years of dye and bleach..my roots are shocking next to the dyed color. What I'm doing is using a non-permanent henna-ish dye? Not sure exactly what its considered, but my hair loves it. It covers and disguises the roots well enough to take away the shock and it doesn't stay in my hair forever...it mostly coats the shaft, and comes out in about 8 or 10 shampoos (which is very rare, for me). I plan to use it until my roots are long enough to accept, or to chop off the dyed parts.

http://www.suryabrasil.com/en/index.php IS what I use, I get it from my local Whole Foods store. It is something to look into as it like I said, it's not permanent.

Also, there are many many ways to lighten your hair besides honey. You might want to look at this thread:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=19317

Hope I helped a bit, and good luck with the dilemma!

[Amraann]

It is important that you are happy with your hair.

I have used home kits for many years with little damage.
Just read all of the instructions first.
I usually do not wash my hair for a couple of days first. I leave conditioner in it for 24 hours after and then only rinse that out and do not wash for several more days.

[dropinthebucket]

I have about two inches of ash-brown/ash-blonde roots right now, the rest hendigo. My own hair colour looks almost lavendar growing out! very ashy/silvery. My plan is to use something gentle (going to try Elumen, Herbatint, and/or Naturtint - will do strand tests!) and dye the virgin growth a neutral, medium brown once I get a fairish bit of it (maybe five inches). Then I'll let the virgin grow for a bit again and see what I think. At least this way, the demarcation line will not be as severe - reddish/brown, neutral brown, ash brown/blonde - and I can see what my own colour looks like without the henna beside it. I kinda like the slightly darker colour than my own, I dunno - adds more depth than the blonde I was dying my hair for the last 10 years. Think the blonde blended too much with my fair complexion, and "washed me out" a bit. If I like the medium, neutral brown, I'll just keep doing it! :)

[morecowbell]

Have you thought about just plain household hydrogen peroxide? My hair is a very ashy light brown (it looks almost green in pictures!) and I was able to achieve this color
http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z191/shroomynadia/?action=view&current=CRIM0179.jpg
with just one application (you can see I have about one inch of roots in the pic)

[growing2shine]

About six months ago I just got tired of dyeing and bleeching my hair (A few years ago a dear friend talked me into dyeing my hair all black) and now i'm just doing a cold turkey. My virgin growth just looks very cold and dull compared to the dyed, but I know that I still have the same collour and that I just have to wait. :)

[KittyLost]

Wait a little while longer before dying, comparing your roots to dyed hair can be quite a shock, I know mine is! But you shouldn't be too quick to judge the colour of your hair on your roots if they are only a few inches as they may get lighter or darker themself as they grow and are affected by the einvironment around them.

I have a friend who dyes her hair all different shades of blonde and her roots come back all different shades of colours, sometimes matching the dye and other times becoming almost black. And I know that my hair is currently growing back darker than I remember it being naturally. I have no idea how this happens so I couldn't really be more help sorry.

Just try to wait it out and while and see if you can get used to it.

[UltraBella]

Me too ! Me too ! My naturall color is very ashy and BLAH. It's awful. Some people say mother nature knows best and your natural hair color is what is best for you, but they are soooooo mistaken !! It's just not pretty.
I had been dying my hair red and when I stopped the roots were driving me crazy. I went to a stylist and had her weave a Demi-color through my entire head of hair that was the same color level as my natural color, but a warm tone. Demi-color has no ammonia and no peroxide, it just deposits color, so it wont do the damage traditional dye will. At the same time I had her weave in some lighter highlights. Even though that involves bleach, my hair did just fine. So now I have my natural color with a warmer tone and a lighter tone weaved in. It's beautiful ! And my roots still blend in so I can touch up the two other colors if I would like, but I don't have to. It looks very natural, and it's pretty :)
I don't think I could handle my natural color on it's own, EVER.

[teela1978]

My haircolor is quite ashy at the roots, and compared to my old color it really looked dull. Once it grew out though, it really took on a whole new life :shrug:

I love my ashy light brown hair. I see nothing wrong with it. Its gorgeous, not blah at all :)

[missfortune9335]

are you cutting the dyed portion off anytime soon? If you are I might wait to see how you feel about your natural color without the other color next to it. Then you could always use a glaze to add more shine (if you're not totally opposed to chemical processing) or have a few highlights foiled in just around your face to brighten it up a bit, that way *most* of your hair could remain unprocessed.

[UltraBella]

My haircolor is quite ashy at the roots, and compared to my old color it really looked dull. Once it grew out though, it really took on a whole new life :shrug:

I love my ashy light brown hair. I see nothing wrong with it. Its gorgeous, not blah at all :)

From your pictures I wouldn't categorize your hair as ashy. It beautiful, and besides your greys I think your hair looks like a lovely neutral brown. I have truly ashy hair, it's a green/grayish undertone. And compared to my pink complexion, it's just so unflattering :(

[teela1978]

From your pictures I wouldn't categorize your hair as ashy. It beautiful, and besides your greys I think your hair looks like a lovely neutral brown. I have truly ashy hair, it's a green/grayish undertone. And compared to my pink complexion, it's just so unflattering :(
ahh, but that's after its grown out and gotten bleached/highlighted by the sun. The roots, especially in comparison to my older dye are quite ashy.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e117/lchamber78/hair5-3-06roots.jpg

[UltraBella]

Yes, but I think that is because you are comparing them to the red/warm color since they are side by side. On a true color chart, without the reddish color next to it, I still think you are a neutral, or somewhere in between a neutral and an ash. I don't think you are full on ashy under-toned, and I still think it is lovely. Mine is fully green under-toned ashy and it's YUCK.

[ll]

You might try a shampoo with chamomile in it -- I've done this in the past, and it's added a bit of warmth and shine without having to use hair dye. The other thing you might consider would be a color-depositing shampoo and/or conditioner...

[FrannyG]

I'm going to start off by saying that I am not encouraging you to colour your hair, but in case you are, here are some thoughts.

If your hair was blonde before the henna, then your natural hair is likely still a dark blonde colour, not brown. If you really want to go light or medium blonde, you wouldn't need to use bleach. I was always able to go light blonde with regular light blonde hair colour when my hair was all still dark blonde (it's now mostly silver under the dye).

Having said that, you really can't do too much home dying with that henna still in your hair. You have no idea what might happen.

If you are really unhappy with your colour, maybe consider going to a professional for a colour or some highlights. You would want to make sure that the colourist very good.

I don't think that going back to henna is a very good option if the colour really doesn't suit you. It won't be long until you just want to grow it out again, and you've already come so far.

If you're really against using dye, then I suggest more experimenting with honey lightening and chamomile tea soaks.

Good luck with whatever you decide. :blossom:

[LoveMyMutt]

My hair is nowhere near ashy -- it's a dark golden blond naturally -- but my roots looked gray/green against henna red. Henna is just such a vivid orange-red that normal hair colors look really strange next to it.

I lacked the patience to deal with the two-toned thing, so I lightened my hair with peroxide and then dyed over it with a dark ash blond demi-permanent. The ash toned dye plus the orange/red hennaed hair came out somewhere in the vicinity of my natural color. Not perfect but close enough so my 2" of roots don't look bizarre. It fades out gradually over 4-6 weeks, so there isn't a harsh demarcation line.

I wasn't overly happy to go back to chemical dyes. But, I really grew to hate that glowing henna red on me. It was just too freaky looking in direct sun. Plus the henna upkeep was too much work. I can handle 15 minutes with a chemical dye once a month; but three or four hours of stinky mud on my head every two weeks was more than I could deal with.

The demi-permanent dyes have low-volume developers and aren't terribly damaging. You can only go your same color or darker, as they don't lift your natural color at all.

[Tabitha]

After I was on LHC for a while I decided to stop having lowlights and grow out my natural colour, as so many people on here do. But I also realised I wasn't keen on my rather drab naturaly ashy cool brown - and I did go back to salon lowlights, once I'd also decided I wasn't aiming for super lengths and cut back from below waist to mid-back.

Sorry I know you said you don't have the money to get a professional to colour your hair. But I just wanted to empathise.

I am happily maintaining at mid back and so I'm not hugely worried about damaging my hair, though it still seems to be in good condition, when I have a trim at the salon she never finds any splits. It doesn't cost me that much to have foil lowlights done every 4-6 months at an unpretentious local salon, and it really makes me happier with my hair.

There are kits where you can do your own hi/lowlights, but I don't feel confident at trying that on my own.

[dropinthebucket]

Wow, morecowbell - you got that goldeny-blondie-brown colour from peroxide on henna? (the deep henna in your avatar?) I was worried peroxide would turn my deep henna to a light orange, so i did the buxus/indigo thing instead. Hmn, maybe peroxide could still work - and lighten to a nice, browny shade. What did you use, for how long, and how many apps? TIA :)

[jel]

I also have a feeling that it's the comparison of your virgin hair with henna that bothers you. At least, it happens to me - whenever I decide I'd like to see my virgin colour again, after an inch or two I think it's super boring!

This is what I've decided to do next time I get the urge to grow out henna: I will use temporary dyes (like Manic Panic) to brighten up my colour all over. These dyes do not damage hair, and some even claim to impart better condition. Then, after I have a good (jaw length at least) virgin growth under the temp dye, I'll let it wash out and evaluate my progress.

You can mix shades of temp dyes (as long as they're the same brand) to get your perfect colour - though, as they rinse out a bit every time you wash, it won't be permanent perfection! ;)

So, yes, I'd say this is a third way for you to give yourself (and your virgin hair) a bit more time before you decide whether to leave it, bleach, or go back to henna.

[GRU]

What about an amla/henna mix for a browner color instead of just the red?

Or a henna gloss instead, for a little "color boost" but not a complete dye effect?

[Treecrown]

just one more vote for the "it's probably the contrast between the henna and your natural color that's the problem" --at least, I have a very similar situation, and whenever I focus on my reddish, golden ends, I still wish all of my hair could be that color. But it really didn't match my skin tones, pretty as it was. I tried to convince myself that it did --my mother is a red head and my hair is naturally a bit reddish, but the cooler, ashy tones of my natural color, even with its grey, blah, drab, and all, just look SO much better with my skin and eye colors. It's strange...but since you said you are very color-oriented, I bet the mismatch between any artificial color and your skin tones will always bother you.

That said, salon highlights every once and a while probably won't damage your hair much and will definitely make you feel happier about the color! Just ask them not to highlight the hair right by your face.

[MsBubbles]

Yes, but I think that is because you are comparing them to the red/warm color since they are side by side. On a true color chart, without the reddish color next to it,

I think Teela succeeded in making that point!

I would NOT recommend ordinary household peroxide. It turned my dark blond brassy.

[May]

Try honey and chamomile rinses...both are said to enhance blond hair :)

[Konstifik]

Me too ! Me too ! My naturall color is very ashy and BLAH. It's awful. Some people say mother nature knows best and your natural hair color is what is best for you, but they are soooooo mistaken !! It's just not pretty.
I had been dying my hair red and when I stopped the roots were driving me crazy. I went to a stylist and had her weave a Demi-color through my entire head of hair that was the same color level as my natural color, but a warm tone. Demi-color has no ammonia and no peroxide, it just deposits color, so it wont do the damage traditional dye will. At the same time I had her weave in some lighter highlights. Even though that involves bleach, my hair did just fine. So now I have my natural color with a warmer tone and a lighter tone weaved in. It's beautiful ! And my roots still blend in so I can touch up the two other colors if I would like, but I don't have to. It looks very natural, and it's pretty :)
I don't think I could handle my natural color on it's own, EVER.

You are so right! Mother nature definitely makes mistakes in designing some of us. :D
Could demi-colours make hair a slightly lighter shade?