Removing hair dye?

[sherigayle]

I used Loreal Healthy Look semi-perm hair color last month to cover my gray. I've been using Manic Panic and Punky Color for the last year with great results and it washes out very quickly. This Loreal color is not washing out well and I have over an inch of visible gray roots. Yuck! I've been growing out my gray and had it mostly grown out and blended well with the dyed ends. I've done 2 honey lightenings and they have pulled out a little of the color. But probably not much more than washing with a regular shampoo would have done.
Does anyone know of other ways to get this color to fade quicker?

Do the hair dye remover kits remove only the chemical dye? Or do they remove natural color too? I don't want to bleach out my natural hairs.

If I can't find anything that can fade the dye better, and the color remover kit seems the best way to go, I will probably go to a salon. What should I ask for?

Thank everyone!

[amaiaisabella]

I tried once combining Head&Shoulders with baking soda, but it was quite drying and I don't recommend it unless you are particularly desperate. I've tried the Color Oops but it didn't pull much for me, though I've heard good things about it. The best for me was doing a heavy oiling with olive oil and then washing with H&S.

[Tiina]

I've heard that mixing 1 part lemon juice with 2 parts of conditioner can have the same results as commercial colour removers. I haven't tried it myself but it is on my to-do list. If anything, it doesn't seem like it can hurt. I've had horrible results using colour-b4 in the past.

[Cimorene]

A cautionary tale:

I tried using Colorfix once to get rid of some permanent black hair dye. Not only did it not get rid of the dye at all, it also turned my natural (brown) roots light yellow when I accidentally got some on them. In the end, the top of my head was spotted white/yellow/orange, and my length was still black. :wail: Two dye jobs later, and the roots almost blended back in with the rest of my hair.

The only reliable way I've ever been able to get rid of old hair dye is to grow it out, which is a long, frustrating, embarrassing process. :-( But it sure beats the risk of doing further damage to your hair, or, as in my case, ending up looking like a mutant leopard crawled onto your head and died. :silly:

Since you used semi-permanent color, maybe you just need to give it more time to fade with regular washing. I've read that using a clarifying shampoo (http://womenshair.about.com/od/healthyhairmaintenance/a/clarifyshampoo.htm) can cause hair color to fade quicker.

If you do decide to use a color remover, I would definitely recommend going to a salon and letting them do it. :o

[triumphator!]

This thread has an LHC-er with a positive color fix experience. It might be worth reading for you:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51558&highlight=colorfix

[sherigayle]

I may try the lemon juice. I think I've read that it can add shine too, so that would be nice.
I've been using Suave Clarifying shampoo, and it normally fades the other colors, but this box chemical stuff is tougher.
My ends have been dry lately and I don't want to do anything to make them worse. I could probably use a deep conditioning too.

[KittyLost]

Clarifying shampoo I swear by. When I dyed my hair it always came out darker than intended and I just used clarifying shampoo until it was a colour I liked then started on the normal shampoo to keep it that way.

Failing that I've heard head and shoulders or dove shampoo is good for fading, especially if it is close to when you dyed it. Or maybe a conditioning treatment with honey?

[dropinthebucket]

What ManicPanic have you been using? i'm curious because your hair looks brown in your avatar, and i'm looking for brown!! :) i only seem to be able to find neon, non-human colours in MP - maybe if i order online? do they make a brown?

[sherigayle]

I've used MP in purple and red, but this brown is from a semi-perm boxed dye. I wish MP had a brown dye. I would have used that in a heartbeat! I want to get rid of this brown so I can go back to the fun colors on my gray hairs.

I'm going to try honey with head & shoulders conditioner and then a clarifying shampoo again. All the conditioning should be good for it.

[TiltedHal0]

I have been a hairdresser for 18 years and what I use in the salon to fade/remove color without bleaching is;

1) You can use plain baking soda mixed with water to form a runny paste and leave on your hair for 15 minutes...

2) Something called Uncolor. It is in a blue bottle and you can find it at Sally's Beauty Supply store. It works like a peroxide to remove/fade color. I have used this right after coloring if the hair takes too much color and is darker than wanted. You use it on dry hair and just squirt it in and use a shampoo motion to lather it in. Leave in, then rinse out.

With both of these, your hair will feel a bit dry afterwards, so make sure that you have a great conditioner handy. It is better than bleach though...hope this helps...

[Anje]

Do the hair dye remover kits remove only the chemical dye? Or do they remove natural color too? I don't want to bleach out my natural hairs.
Hair dye removers don't remove natural color from hair, but oddly enough, many hair dyes do. I'm looking at the ingredients for the Healthy Look hair color (Cool Chestnut Brown Iced Chocolate 4AR, though I doubt color makes a difference), and the ingredients on the developer start with: water, hydrogen peroxide .... The peroxide in the developer will probably have lightened your hair, though without using a color stripper, it's difficult to say how drastically.