Drug store dye, 1 - Brassy head, 0 (long post)

[trillcat]

Well after posting several threads about my hair and staying brown but getting rid of red, deciding to go back to blonde, blah blah, boring members with my constand kvetching and back and forth lamenting about my hair color, etc, I finally got my butt to the store and got me some hair color. Garnier Nutrisse, Ginger Ale. It is a level 9 ash blonde. Read reviews about it till my eyes were bleeding and all in all it got good reviews for use on my level of hair (about a 6, maybe a light 5 brown). I was leery of the 3-4 shade difference, and the box even said not reccomended for my color, but they have to, it's not a good idea to try go lighter than 2 shades without geting orange. I am a long time bleaching vetran, I know what shade will do what to my hair, and I was willing to see if the ash would cover the inevatable orange that would occur on already brassy hair.
I'm not trying to go ultra blonde, just a few shades lighter and remove the brass.
So I got home and like a mad scientist mixed up some of the color and plopped in a test strand (I have a bunch of hair from a recent 3 inch bang trimming) and waited merrily as I watched the solution turn to a purple/ green/grey, a good sign! That's got to be cutting the brass out!
After 25 minutes I checked the strand, no change.
35 min, no change.
An hour, nope.
Hour and a half, nada.
*sigh*
I tried again, heavy hearted, with another strand, just in case I mixed it wrong. (the instructions say use a ratio of 1 part color to 1 1/2 dev.)
Same nothing.
It did fry both test strands to a nice crisp though.
I don't mean this thread as a slam against Garnier, it was the first time I used the product, but after reading so many good reviews (makeup alley) I did expect at least SOMETHING to happen.
Back to the drawing board.
Curse you box hair color gods!!!

ETA: I should add, in the past I have used a number of different blonde hair colors (bleaches, that is what it is) and they all leave me brassed out, the ones that did not of course changed formulas and well, Pfffft! That is why I tried something different, based on good reviews.

[Ravenne]

At least you did a strand test before putting it on your head! Smart move! :D

Sucks that it didn't work out for you though. :( Maybe the next product will give you what you want.

[trillcat]

At least you did a strand test before putting it on your head! Smart move! :D

Sucks that it didn't work out for you though. :( Maybe the next product will give you what you want.
Whenever I color or bleach my hair I always do a strand test, and a skin test. Every time!
Even when I bleached on a regular basis with the same product, I always did this, You just never know with chemicals. Skin allergies can develop without warning, and who knows what happens with the mixing at the factory. I only trust my own quality control!
Of course, I have been known to look at a really orange test strand and still put it on my entire head thinking, "Well, maybe it will look different..." And you can guess the end to that sentence, lol.
I am thinking of trying Revlon Cornsilk next. Not because it is cheap, but because I have read good reviews about this also, and they dont test on animals, a big plus in my book. I have also used their hair color before, a long time ago, and it didn't hurt my hair too much. I don't remember the color results though. Some amount of drying is to be expected when going lighter, it's the nature of the beast.

[Oskimosa]

L'oreal products have always worked well for me; it's my understanding that Garnier is kindof like their low-end line. I liked Feria best, it seemed to be the most powerful. Have you tried a more professional product from Sally's, perhaps? Something with a higher volume that you can combine with whatever color you want?