Help needed for dyeing hair red [Archive] - The Long Hair Community Discussion Boards

Ulvashi

July 18th, 2010, 10:06 PM

little_cherry

July 19th, 2010, 12:51 AM

Hi :)
A friend of mine is Asian and has success with repeated henna applications (6 or so with Yemeni body art quality henna).. She has a lovely reddish glow in the sun...it
doesn't change her colour in the shade. She loves it because it's a special treat whenever she goes outside. If you'd like to lighten your hair naturally, perhaps honey lightening is for you? I'd give you a link, but i'm using an itouch! There are plenty of articles in regards to honey lightening- the repeated lightening should help the henna to show up more.

lastnite

July 19th, 2010, 12:52 AM

the last pic would take a very light color to achieve. the others, I'm not sure henna can give such a vibrant red, atleast not in all lights. after henna oxidizes it tends to go more reddish brown or burgundy. have you tried manic panic? or from what I've seen hennahut's colors give a vibrant red.

little_cherry

July 19th, 2010, 12:52 AM

Please remove...double post...(somehow...)

Ulvashi

July 19th, 2010, 01:50 AM

@little_cherry. Thnx. I have tried honey lightening twice once for 3 hours and second for 8-9 hours but it didnt really worked much. I used the new dilution ratio with grounded cinnamon and coconut oil. I thought maybe it works better with dyed hairs.

@lastnite. The last two pics are my most fav :(. I live in Pakistan and we dont have manic panic dyes available here. And as much as I want to buy hennahut's dye I am unable to cause first I dont have a credit card to purchase online and it will be very expensive for me as 1 dollar is almost of 86 rupees.

This is a image from hennahut. Shows the color result of pure henna on various shades of hairs

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/5868/colorchartpureezr.th.jpg (http://img638.imageshack.us/i/colorchartpureezr.jpg/)

I like the shade it gives on dark brown hairs. So should I lighten my hairs to that shade and then use pure henna that is available locally?

dropinthebucket

July 19th, 2010, 07:44 AM

Your hair is knee-length?! that's so fabulous - please, please, please don't put hydrogen peroxide on it! it sounds too long and fabulous to do that! please try henna! (notice the begging tone of my voice, not that it's any of my business, really, but ya know - knee-length, that's fab!) :)

OperaTeacherMom

July 19th, 2010, 10:42 AM

I have naturally dark brown hair, and my henna shade is not even close to that picture. Look at my profile picture, that is me after 3 full head henna applications. You would have to significantly lighten (and damage) your hair to achieve the color you want. It's totally up to you, but I know if I had knee length mostly healthy hair I wouldn't do anything that could ruin it!

little_cherry

July 19th, 2010, 02:37 PM

@little_cherry. Thnx. I have tried honey lightening twice once for 3 hours and second for 8-9 hours but it didnt really worked much. I used the new dilution ratio with grounded cinnamon and coconut oil. I thought maybe it works better with dyed hairs.
To my understanding, honey lightening needs to be done way more than two times to be affective. Try putting some cinnamon in your conditioner and treatments. I know someone has achieved significant accidental lightening over several months by adding cinnamon to their conditioner. And please. don't use peroxide, it will damage your hair.

Perhaps elumen (http://www.kpss-globe.com/index.php?PAGE_ID=17121&SITE_ID=1&LANG_ID=2) may be the answer?

Ulvashi

July 19th, 2010, 07:01 PM

@dropinthebucket. Thnx dear. but I must say that it isnt as fab as you think. I mean yeah they do look great when I let them loose but thats very rare as there is alot humidity over here and you know what it do. Buns are also impossible cause a) they rarely stay in place no matter how many pins I use b) I start having headaches in just half an hour because of the weight.

@OperaTeacherMom. Thnx for caring. I know what you mean thats why I have never been able to do anything with my hairs. I am always scared to damage them.

@little_cherry. Maybe you are right. I will try using cinnamon and yes I have read that thread. I was quite inspired :).

About the peroxide thing I was very much scared of its damages but I thought of doing hairball test just to see how much does it lighten and damage my hairs. So I took some hairs and left them dipped in hydrogen for a total of 14 hours ( I used to take them out after every 4-5 hours to check the shade) . The household use peroxide which I believe is either 3% or 6%. I m not sure as its not written on the bottle. It only says it is for small cuts etc. Also I diluted it with water.

So the color part it lightened my almost black hairs to medium brown. I couldnt detect any sort of damage. I examined the ball very closely in sunlight and the surface of hairs looked very smooth without any white spot or split I tried to break them but they were just as strong as my healthy hairs. They felt dry but not rough.I know its impossible that it caused no damage but it isnt obvious at least not yet.

After that I dipped them in instant henna just for 30 min and now the hair ball looks distinctively red a very dark red though.

So I m thinking of further lightening the leftover hairball and see the henna color it will take.I m also waiting for hennaed ball to oxidize.

And thnx for caring everyone.... at home all my family want is to chop them short :(

kwaniesiam

July 19th, 2010, 07:11 PM

Hey........I have a little question to ask related to hair coloring. So the thing is these days I m desperate for red hairs like the pics below but since I have very dark brown hairs which look almost black u know asian hairs. I dont want to go to a salon as I dont have enough money to get my almost knee length hairs dyed. I was wondering if I lighten them to light brown with 3% hydrogen peroxide and then use henna to dye them red? Will that work?

I have virgin hairs which are a little damaged around the tips and I planning to chop of 5-6 inches as well. I have read that peroxide on black or dark brown hairs is not suitable and turns them orangey. Will henna take out brassiness? I m quite clueless right know and some help will be majorly appreciated. Thanx

In short, no. You cannot use just peroxide like what is used to clean cuts and scrapes to lighten your hair effectively. You will need to bleach it to achieve that level of lift, with a powder lightener and 20 volume developer. You can get the red you want using henna after you get your hair to an orange-blonde color with the bleach. Lightening dark hair always goes brassy, it is a part of decolorizing the hair. You will not get light brown from bleaching naturally dark brown/black hair without applying another chemical color on top of it to neutralize the brassiness.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sXI8Dr0DFV0/RrqwuP7yJ9I/AAAAAAAACQw/-SgYFjbE3NQ/s400/10+degrees99.jpg

This chart shows the stages hair will go through when being lightened. Be prepared for quite a task if you plan to do this yourself. Make sure you work in small sections and apply the lightener evenly. It is far less damaging to do multiple applications of a lower volume developer rather than one of a higher.

You'll probably have to do multiple applications of henna to get the shade you want without it being orangey. Good luck, if you have any other questions shoot me a message and I'll answer the best I can.

ademtce

July 19th, 2010, 07:16 PM

do you have pictures of your current hair color?
from there i can probably advise you on how to get this color

Ulvashi

July 19th, 2010, 09:54 PM

1953Diygal

July 19th, 2010, 10:08 PM

See they are almost black around roots and fades a bit as they goes down.

PRAYING : Please Please God make my hairs red... pretty pleeeeeaaaaaaasee....

Ooh, I don't know. Your hair is pretty dark. Given the length, you run the risk of totally frying your beautiful hair to get it bright red.

The reason I'm able to get mine so bright is because my hair is naturally dark blonde. I use a toner called L'oreal Excellence Hi Color that's meant for dark hair only. I use it because it's the brightest permanent red that I'm able to get from a boxed permanent toner. Then I put a cocktail of various colors of Pravana Vivids (as mentioned in my signature).

I think henna is your best bet. Once you start using permanent haircolor, there's no going back. Do you really want to run the risk of damaging all of that length? ;)

lastnite

July 19th, 2010, 11:48 PM

@kwaniesiam. Thnx for such a detailed answer though it crushed almost all my hopes of getting the color without much damage :D.....I think I should change my expectations....maybe a more-dark-less-vibrant-yet-obvious-red-color?????......God I m so desperate.

@ademtce. I have a pic. Its taken at night inside a room with massive flash :)...
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/3788/dscn4402ggcropcrop.th.jpg (http://img836.imageshack.us/i/dscn4402ggcropcrop.jpg/)

See they are almost black around roots and fades a bit as they goes down.

PRAYING : Please Please God make my hairs red... pretty pleeeeeaaaaaaasee....

you have pretty hair... you know alot of people here wish they had your hair? I wouldn't risk damaging it with bleach or peroxide. I think many regular henna applications will give it a nice red/burgundy shine in the sun. Consider your self lucky you have such nice hair that can grow to knee length.

Ulvashi

July 20th, 2010, 02:15 AM

@1953Diygal. Your hairs make me want red hairs more :(. So unfair. Ok I got it now.... I cant get red hairs without massacring them first.
Crushing.... all my hopes.... done.....

@lastnite. I know I m being ungrateful.... Its mostly because I never really cared for them...they just grew this long all by themselves..... they werent a goal or something.....

PS: Can anyone tell me how to check hairs for damage right after lightening.....what exactly should I look for as signs of damage? Cuz I m unable to see any damage caused by my 18hours dipping of hair ball in diluted peroxide. And thnx for being soooooooo caring.

little_cherry

July 20th, 2010, 06:45 AM

Ulvashi, the friend I mentioned has dark (if not darker) hair just like yours and has such a beautiful red glow with Yemeni henna. I'll see if I can get her to take a pic; it's very noticeable in the sun!

In regards to your question about damage, usually the cuticle of the hair is raised, which makes the hair feel rough, splitting ends, and the strands won't stretch and break very easy. I hope that helps. :)

Ulvashi

July 20th, 2010, 07:12 AM

@little_cherry. Thnx for answering. My mamma have very dark hairs just like me and she uses henna regularly and I do love that red halo in sunlight......but I was wishing for a proper redhead....

About the damage thing...SO as I said that I have tried to lighten a hairball with household hydrogen....and used it for a total of 18 hours!....but when I checked the hairs today in sunlight there was literally no visible signs of damage....I stretched them, ran my hand allover them to check for roughness, split ends none nothing just a bit rough but that were only the parts that were badly tangled in the ball.......like seriously I couldnt see any damage....
And then I dipped it for 20 min in instant henna and the color is dark red.... And they hairs look and felt healthy normal too not like straws or something....

So instead of a vibrant red maybe a more auburnish red would be possible without damage.

PS: I m not planning to put it on my head for 18 hours straight.....I m thinking to split it in 3 hours session with first using heavy coconut oiling

PS again: If I didnt like how the color looks next to my skin can I go black by using indigo latter???:D......just making sure hehehe.....

little_cherry

July 20th, 2010, 08:19 AM

@little_cherry. Thnx for answering. My mamma have very dark hairs just like me and she uses henna regularly and I do love that red halo in sunlight......but I was wishing for a proper redhead....
You're very welcome :flower:
I see what you mean...your hair sounds so gorgeous though..I wouldn't want to risk using bleach to lighten. Sometimes damage appears later. I've been hennaing for nearly 3 years now. After the 4th or 5 month of not using chemical dyes, damage reared it ugly head!

About the damage thing...SO as I said that I have tried to lighten a hairball with household hydrogen....and used it for a total of 18 hours!....but when I checked the hairs today in sunlight there was literally no visible signs of damage....I stretched them, ran my hand allover them to check for roughness, split ends none nothing just a bit rough but that were only the parts that were badly tangled in the ball.......like seriously I couldnt see any damage....
And then I dipped it for 20 min in instant henna and the color is dark red.... And they hairs look and felt healthy normal too not like straws or something....Did the household peroxide actually lighten your hair? I'm really curious! Just be careful though...damage can appear much later...and with your beautiful long hair, I'd just hate for that to happen!

So instead of a vibrant red maybe a more auburnish red would be possible without damage. Quite possibly...with repeated hennas.

PS again: If I didnt like how the color looks next to my skin can I go black by using indigo latter???:D......just making sure hehehe.....Yes, you can add indigo..that should give you a lovely blue black if you decide the henna doesn't suit you. How does the henna look on your mothers' hair? Do you like it?

Ulvashi

July 20th, 2010, 08:38 AM

Yeah I was thinking abt the damage appearing latter. Another worry to my many worries list.

Yes it actually lightened my hairs alot. Not like bleach though. I diluted the peroxide as well. The lightening was more like what we get over time from sun....It lightened it significantly in 8 hours but then I kept lightening more for almost a total of 18 hours. In sunlight they look like transparent brown if you know what I mean...like light medium brown sort....

On my mother it took away the harsh look black hairs have and in sun light she had that red halo all around. But it just gave the red tones to it while inside it still look very very dark brown....And her hairs were very healthy they werent thick but each individual hairs was perfect....no damage..

klcqtee

July 20th, 2010, 11:16 AM

Try holding your test hairball up to your skin in different lightings to help get an idea of if it will flatter you. My hair is dark brown (from your post with the colours), and it'd be possible for you to lighten it to my colour. My signature pic is hennaed (ignore the random orange streak). My hair glows bright ruby-red in the sunlight, like the first picture you put up. My signature would give you an idea of it in indoor lighting, maybe a little bit darker, just to give you an idea. How light did the hair ball get (before hennaing)? Medium brown?

Ulvashi

July 20th, 2010, 09:19 PM

@klcqtee. I m not ignoring the "Random orange streak"......it looks so awesome did you bleached that part first...its look like a fire trail and then spread near the ends......the hair ball was light medium brown....can u tell me how long you left it on to get the color? and was it just henna and water?

klcqtee

July 21st, 2010, 10:09 AM

Well, the orange streak...I'd tried a red dye (with vol. 20 peroxide) on just a strip, to see if it'd give me the colour I wanted. Well, it washed out and faded to a gross coppery blonde that was dry and brittle. I hennaed over it to see if it would make the hair a little softer/less damaged feeling. My ends are brighter because of old dye that ended up lightening my hair.

I mixed my henna with just warm water, and left it on for 10 hours (I slept on it). If you sleep with it in, put an old towel over your pillow, because it might leak.

PS that orange streak is actually from the front of my hair, but brushed back. I didn't decide to just bleach one strip in the back of my head, hah.

spitfire511

July 21st, 2010, 10:41 AM

Just poking my nose in to say that I LOVE your natural hair color!! The grass is always greener (or the hair always redder/darker?) I suppose. I always wanted dark hair - in fact used to dye mine dark brown (and odd shades of red, and blond etc.) I do totally get you though on the whole "it just comes out of my head this color" feeling. I've always been that way about mine whether people love or hate my weird red color! :)

Good luck with whatever you decide - I can't wait to see finished results!

Bellatrix

July 21st, 2010, 07:12 PM

I have dark brown hair as well (near black) and I use Yemeni henna with thick, repeat applications to achieve a burgundy sheen. But it's never really VIBRANTLY burgundy unless I dye it.

You can also do a strand test, ie, henna part of your hair repeatedly and see what happens.

Katurday

July 21st, 2010, 07:23 PM

Considering its something you truly and honest to god LOVE...I'm not against you bleaching your hair to achieve the proper red. Of course, I am advocating low volume bleach and strand tests.
You might want to try bleaching with low volume bleach for the permitted time, looking at the results, then using henna over that.
I've used bleach before without butchering my hair, and if you baby it, you SHOULD have beautiful hair still.
But strand tests are very important, I mean if the tests are damaged and snapping, your hair will be 10 times worse.

Ulvashi

July 21st, 2010, 10:14 PM

Ohh...thnx everyone for the suggestion......I finally made up my mind....believing that I m not going to destroy them If I proceed gently and carefully.....so I have come up with a detailed plan.....Do suggest some improvement if you think of any.

PRE PLAN PREP:
For the past many months I have been neglecting my hairs alot...also due to many reason including an year of poor diet and some major stresses My hairs got many split ends now....So I want to first get rid of them and provide some pampering first...

This includes a 7-10 days period. In which I will
i) Get split end trimming (2 or 3 session)
ii) Hot oil treatment
iii) Protein treatment (Never done it before any homemade ideas??)

So once I removed the damaged parts and conditioned them a bit I will proceed to the actual plan

PLAN:
i) Apply coconut oil and leave for about an hour.
ii) Apply diluted peroxide (household HP. diluted with water. Ratio 1:1)
iii) Reapply after an hour. keep doing it for 4-5 hours.
iv) Wash and apply tons of conditioner.
v) Do it again after 3-4 days
vi) Do hot oil treatment before repeating it.

I m planning to lighten upto a dark blond...I have noticed my most fav hennaed hairs here intially had dark blonde hairs :D

Would probably have to repeat it for 5 times. I know its quite a lengthy procedure will complete in 3-4 weeks....But I dont want to mess it up :)....

Now some questions....sorry I ask a lot questions...I dont have anyone near me to help...
i) Any ideas for a easy and simple protein treatment?
ii) Will the brassiness I will get by lightening look hideous after applying henna?
iii) I have read about using a blowdryer to speed up the lightening. should I use it?

Thnx to everyone again...

lastnite

July 22nd, 2010, 02:01 AM

My first thought with your plan is if you'll be ok doing your roots with the time required to lighten. Do you have access to regular developer 20% or 30% peroxide? I think it maybe easier for you to lighten it all in one go.

I'm not sure if the damage is any less or more doing it over a period of time, maybe someone else here will know for sure.

Ulvashi

July 22nd, 2010, 02:25 AM

Hhahahaha....yeah I thought that too........hehehehe....but when it will be just roots I wouldnt be that careful.....I didnt have to do all those oil treatments as I have naturally oily skin.....those hairs will be already healthy so I wouldnt have to do all those protein treatments.....So I can do them in a week or so....

And no.....no access to developer or such stuff....So yeah thats it....

What I have noticed by my experimenting on a hairball is that there is no noticeable damage....unlike the horror stories of bleach where the hair immediately starts feeling like straws and snap off.....well nothing like that happen with this method....nothing even close....

Liesel

July 22nd, 2010, 03:09 AM

Wow, you sound EXACTLY like me, Ulvashi! I'm dying to have an awesome red hair that isn't real dark, but my hair has gotten VERY dark in the past year since I changed to a super healthy diet (malnutrition can make your hair lighter - but I don't recommend it, hahaha). I keep feeling like it's going to turn black, and I really miss the strawberry blonde I had as a kid. If only it were that color now, I could make it into what I want...

*Sorry, warning, I tend to write a lot and this is my first post here*

Basically, I decided the same thing as you - I'm going to try and lighten my hair as gently as possible, then henna it red (I thought of mixing my own, but Henna Hut's red looks great, I'll probably get that). I think honey and cinnamon would be too slow, and since it's the peroxide in them that lightens your hair anyway, I might as well just use the peroxide I have at home and deal with the damage in other ways.

I put on the first batch tonight, mixing together a variety of things from recipes I found online and not honestly knowing if it'll work right or not with my adjustments :D I read that the hydrogen peroxide alone will not lighten your hair properly because it needs an alkalizing agent, like lemon. So I made a mix of peroxide, water, lemon juice, lime juice (it's moisturizing and I had some that's almost outdated, why not?), olive oil, and some cinnamon (mostly to see how it felt on my hair). I would use honey too but I only have expensive raw honey I don't want to waste :p I got scared and only left it on for about an hour, since a strand test showed some SLIGHT lightening in 25 minutes, however I don't think I accomplished much with this. I won't be able to tell because after washing it out with apple cider vinegar (I have been off shampoo for a year and it made my hair awesome) I covered it with coconut oil. So it's still oily now & I can't see the color.

I'm going to do as many of these as it takes (maybe changing the recipe) & hope my hair can take it, I had horribly damaged hair my whole life and for once it's FINALLY healthy, I'll be sad if I ruin that. But I'll be sooooo happy if I can have pretty red hair ^_~ Good luck in your quest!

Ulvashi

July 22nd, 2010, 06:48 AM

Ohhh....I am sooo excited for u.....I hope at least u get your red hairs......I m again very confused as I "Recently" discovered I m a light olive toned person.....and olives should avoid warm colors......So I m again lost?:( :(.......
you dont know how sad I m feeling.....I dont want auburn or burgundy color I wanted red.....But according to various articles it wont look good on me....

But now if u get your color it will make me happy that at least our gentle and gradual plan worked....So do show me the pics when u get it.....okay?.....and also take pics of your current color as well.... GOOD LUCK TO U..I will pray that u get your color and they still remain super healthy

PS: Doesnt means I m giving up on red color yet :)

klcqtee

July 22nd, 2010, 09:30 AM

Okay, if you're not sure if Red is for you, I'd say look at your henna hair ball, and find a piece of fabric that is the same colour (check a fabric store?) and just hold it up to your skin, just to see how it looks. Bring an objective friend with you, and a little mirror. Olive toned people can pull of red, but I've usually seen it more burgundy red/purple. If red shirts look good on you, I think red hair would too, as a general rule.

An easy protein treatment is mayo and an egg. Henna also is a protein treatment, in itself. Protein is important after the bleaching. I'm not sure if it'd do much before.

It sounds like, you aren't very happy with your hair at its' current length. If it's damaged, and you're not happy, maybe consider cutting it back to a length you enjoy before bleaching? (I'm not sure if this is against your religious/cultural values or not) If you're at knee, maybe cut back to classic, or even tail bone? I mean, it's your hair, you might as well be happy with it. Plus if it's shorter you'll have to use less henna and peroxide. Just something to keep in mind.

kwaniesiam

July 22nd, 2010, 06:52 PM

I really recommend against putting household peroxide on your hair for that length of time and to try and achieve that level of lift. Order some real bleach and developer from Amazon or similar. It will take about 20-30 minutes with a 20 volume developer to get the lift you need for that shade of red. Your hair will thank you in the long run.

ademtce

July 22nd, 2010, 07:16 PM

I'd estimate you as level 2 or 3 so to get desired results you need a level 10 color with 40V Developer, that'll get you up to level 6 (Dark Blonde)
and then you can apple any red of your choice over that & be nice red.

Liesel

July 23rd, 2010, 11:00 AM

Ahhh! Thanks.. but now I'm starting to get worried about doing it again, hahaha... Though I think it would work with my skin color (and eyes.. Mine are green and green+red attracts eye attention :cool:) I keep worrying that I'm just going to end up having to damage it constantly to keep it up. The first lightening, despite working out on my test strand, didn't actually seem to do anything, and now I'm worrying that I just hurt the hair for no reason. (perhaps I shouldn't have added the citrus juices, why am I finding it so hard to find good info on home hair bleaching?)

I did, however, already make the commitment to henna and ordered some. The reason I'm so worried about damage though, is that I have trichotillomania (an impulse to pull out my own hair - a pretty depressing thing to have while reading "Long Hair" forums :p) which is worsened by having bad hair. I'm finally almost cured of it and feel the henna would make it even easier to resist pulling. I had my hair dyed as a teen and it looked so pretty that I didn't want to touch it as much, I'm hoping for the same sort of effect again to put a final end to my problem (if only I knew about henna back then, since I had no qualms about bleaching it). Sorry if that was weird for you guys to read, but I'm used to talking about it now.

For now, I put the honey lightening recipe in my hair even though I don't think it grants instant results and I want to dye my hair soon. I will include pics whether or not I go through with finishing the peroxide job, even though I don't think I'd get the right color without. My hair is lighter than yours, but my roots keep getting darker.

Liesel

July 25th, 2010, 08:01 AM

Just want to update that either the peroxide mix I made or the honey lightening REALLY lightened up my hair - unfortunately I checked out the before pics on my PC, and they don't look right at all! You can't really tell what color it was before. I think my hair is almost up to level 5 now... but every color chart I find appears different to me. Either way, I've made progress and I'm going to try more of the honey mix :) It makes my hair super soft, as I remember from doing it years ago, but I also feel it's a bit dry after. I'll have to look that up more.

I had a bad reaction to the cinnamon though it seems - not on my skin, but I felt feverish and experienced bad vertigo. Ginger tea helped me feel better.

Ulvashi

July 25th, 2010, 09:47 AM

Ulvashi

July 25th, 2010, 10:07 AM

Liesel what was your original level of hair color?...mine is 2 and fades to 3.....so I have to lighten alot....want to lighten to 6-7....thats what I am aiming for....but maybe I change my mind( If i become a little sissy) and only go to 5....

Liesel

July 25th, 2010, 12:18 PM

I'm not sure what color level, and there aren't many pictures of me in existence to show it, but I guess around 3 or a bit lighter.

klcqtee

July 26th, 2010, 03:42 PM

I havnt started lightening yet but just chopped of about 9 inches.....God they feel soo short now but I like this length more...about 2 inches below the bum( isnt that called tailbone length? not sure).......and have been doing some split end trimming

Actually, tailbone is just above your butt crack, 2 inches below your butt is just past classic. I'm glad you're happier with your hair now. That's teh important part.