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View Full Version : How to fix my two-toned hair..



Hanamizu
June 8th, 2010, 04:28 PM
Hi there. I've decided to stop using henna as I'm starting to feel it doesn't really suit my skin tone. I want to achieve a dark brunette. And I need some serious help. T_T
Here's what I'm dealing with..
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8193/img1197v.jpg
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/5309/img1192u.jpg
The hennaed portion of my hair was first bleached, so I have some major two-tone going on now that my virgin hair is growing out. I don't know what I can do now to blend them together..
Would some use of buxus/amla help?
Or maybe I could use some kind of box-dye (one that won't damage my hair) to deposit a darker color and hopefully even it out?
How would hendigo work out? What would happen if I did that as my hair is now? Is it true that the indigo usually fades?

Suggestions? :confused:

UltraBella
June 8th, 2010, 04:34 PM
Strand test !!! Whatever you do, strand test ! Because of the bleach and then the henna, you just never know what you are going to get. You can try a neutral shade close to your natural color and apply it to your entire head in the hopes of blending the two, but you have to be careful.

Hanamizu
June 8th, 2010, 04:49 PM
I even considered just redying my hair with SFX (devilish) til it grows out since at least this shade of red/pink worked with my skin tone.. Is it bad for the hair to use this dye often?

UltraBella
June 8th, 2010, 05:12 PM
SFX is just a temporary dye so there is no ammonia or peroxide, so no damage. However, on bleached hair the color can stain the hair and never wash out. If you want to achieve a dark brunette I really wouldn't put any more extreme colors on your hair.

Blueglass
June 8th, 2010, 07:03 PM
Your brown looks like an ashy brown, if you want to match it what about some elumen in Ultra marine blue over the henna. I'm thinking it would block out red orange.

UltraBella
June 8th, 2010, 09:45 PM
Your brown looks like an ashy brown, if you want to match it what about some elumen in Ultra marine blue over the henna. I'm thinking it would block out red orange.

I would be really worried what color she would end up with considering her lengths were bleached, then henna over that. Bleach and ash tones, or blue, can end in disaster.

xoxophelia
June 9th, 2010, 01:18 AM
I think what would be easiest to maintain and to fix if there did happen to be a problem would be to get a neutral or cool toned brunette semipermanent hair color. I used natural instincts and I think it worked pretty well. And, over time it does rinse out somewhat if you wanted it to go lighter.

You definitely need to strand test though and when you pick out the color, remember that the color you end up with will most likely be darker than the the color on the box.

It might do some damage but I did it many times and never started getting splits so you should be OK.

Hanamizu
June 9th, 2010, 05:23 AM
Thanks for the input.. Will using amla or buxus straight over the henna be of any help?
Also I hear heat can turn henna brown (does that include in the sunlight?) I'd be willing to try, my bleached hair is so damaged already anyway..

dropinthebucket
June 9th, 2010, 07:35 AM
Hanamizu, I'm doing the same thing right now - covering henna. Several of us over on H4H are experimenting with covering our henna and trying to get back to an ashy brown shade - the hardest shade to get with natural dyes (did I say "hard"? silly me, I meant impossible! :) ).

From your pictures, I would definitely say you are a cool - I can't tell which season from the pictures, but yes, a warm red may not be your best colour. You *could* rock a bright, cool red - hard to get from henna, unless you want the upkeep of ManicPanic or similar on top of it. But some people do use Pillarbox Red Manic Panic over their henna with fab results - a vivid, bright, cool red. Or, maybe the cool burgundy of repeated henna applications.

If you want to get back to your ashy brown, well .... let's just say, it'll take a bit. Manderley has a very good and detailed post on covering her henna with commercial dye. The Elumen thread is also very detailed and some of the posters were using it to cover henna. Commercial dye does not usually stick well over henna because of the way the lawsone molecules smooth down the cuticle, making it difficult for the conventional dye to grab hold. Some people did have decent results, though (Manderley, I think, was one of them, and she had some tips on this). Others had good results with the Elumen, and found it had better staying power over henna than the commercial dyes. It may depend on your hair type, as well - you probl'y will want to do some serious strand testing.

I've been going the buxus and amla and indigo route - for some people, indigo is great, sticks really well, pretty much permanent, and they like the warm brown shade they get. For others, the indigo just keeps fading and fading, and you NEVER - repeat, NEVER - can get rid of that henna red glint in the sun - believe me, that just does not go away! :) Also, you cannot dye over or bleach once you've got indigo in there. Buxus gives a lovely colour over henna - however, it fades quickly, and you will be re-doing it every two - three weeks.

Now, the problem of roots: how to cover the henna, but get a proper colour on the new roots growing in? If you use a blue/green base (like buxus, or even the blue of indigo), the new roots might take up some of the dye and be, well, green or turquoise. An ash-toned brown might give you better overall results if you're looking at dying over, rather than a natural plant dye - I think one poster in the Elumen thread found the ash-toned brown did a nice job of toning the henna. Sorry not to post links - I still can't get the Search function to work for me, dunno why! But I hope this helps. There are a few of us going through the same thing - hang in there! :)

Bluebell
June 9th, 2010, 08:41 AM
I couldn't beat the henna so I went with it. It takes longer to grow it all out but what I did was grow it out gradually.
I did hennaglosses a few times during growing out. To blend in the natural colour with the old growing out henna.
It makes the difference between the very red on the length and natural colour higher up less obvious.
Good luck!

Hanamizu
June 9th, 2010, 08:54 AM
Henna-glosses would probably help if I had hennaed over my natural color.. But I didn't, it was bleached first so there's really a big difference. Even if I just hennaed my roots, it will still be much darker compared to the bleached portion.

Am looking into the Elumen thread right now. :)

indigonight
June 9th, 2010, 09:06 AM
If i were you, obviously post strand testing, I would do indigo for just 6 minutes literally, indigo can darken henna very fast. You'd be surprised at the results. I think that would get you closer to your natural colour.
I think you need to realise that no matter what you use there will probably be a slight discrepancy between your natural colour and the hennaed part however with some good quality indigo I think you could achieve a much more wholistic look.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Hanamizu
June 9th, 2010, 10:33 AM
If i were you, obviously post strand testing, I would do indigo for just 6 minutes literally, indigo can darken henna very fast. You'd be surprised at the results. I think that would get you closer to your natural colour.
I think you need to realise that no matter what you use there will probably be a slight discrepancy between your natural colour and the hennaed part however with some good quality indigo I think you could achieve a much more wholistic look.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

How long will that last?
What would happen if I got it on my roots?
Wouldn't it end up making the length *darker* than my roots?

dropinthebucket
June 9th, 2010, 02:32 PM
There's no way to tell if indigo will work well for you until and unless you strand test. For some people, the indigo is quite permanent on the very first application. For most, it is reasonably permanent after two or three applications. For some (fewer of us, mostly those with damaged, porous hair), the indigo grabs darker to start, then fades off really fast, and won't stick permanently over the henna very well at all.

Since you are wanting to match your roots to grow out your virgin colour, rather than maintaining a hendigo colour, the depth of the brown might matter, too. If your virgin colour is a medium neutral or warm brown, I'd say hendigo could really be the way to go. At least, it will be a reasonable match while your own grows out, even if it's not a perfect match. If your virgin colour is light brown or very ashy, hendigo might be darker than you want, and it will not be ash - it will have a reddish glint in the sun.

Hanamizu
June 9th, 2010, 03:35 PM
Well.. Thinking about it, I don't see how it would work practically to leave the indigo on for only 6 minutes when it takes me at least 40 min or so to do my whole head. :(

Hanamizu
June 12th, 2010, 06:13 AM
Ok.. So I decided to just dye it with my last bottle of SFX: Devilish.. Since I had it lying around anyway.. After it fades, I'll probably try a box dye or Elumen.. (btw anyone that could answer how to do indigo for only 6min??)

So here's the results.. Still slightly two-toned, but at least it blends together better, and I don't get any orange in the light..
http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/6080/img1241l.jpg
http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/1209/img1242s.jpg
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/1876/img1248p.jpg

dropinthebucket
June 12th, 2010, 09:50 AM
Indigo for 6 minutes would mean an indigo gloss. H4H has detailed instructions on how to do this. (Basically, you mix up the indigo, then put it into a half cup of conditioner, then slather that all over your hair, cover it, and leave it for a bit, longer if you want darker, less time if you want lighter - have a look at the detailed instructions for glossing if you decide to go this route).

thisischristine
August 10th, 2011, 02:53 AM
It looks stunning! That 'cool' red really suits you. I would probably keep doing that until you've grown it all out if you want natural, and then stop when you've cut the bleached parts out. But my honest opinion is that I WANT THAT HAIR! It is fabulous!

Hotrox
August 10th, 2011, 03:03 AM
It looks great, that colour really suits you :-)