Considering dyeing my hair, but VERY skeptical. Opinions?

[Iron0Maiden]

I have not dyed my hair in two years. I dyed it brown and let's just say it didn't turn out to well :P Well, for a while now I have been thinking of dyeing it lighter blonde with red. Do you think I should go for it or skip? Considering I'm trying to grow my hair as long as I can get it, I'm leaning twards just not doing it to save damage but what do you guys think? Here is the color I was thinking of :

http://www.lorealparisusa.com/_us/_en/default.aspx#/?page=top{userdata//d+d//|diagnostic|main:pdp//objectid+HCo6_31//{pdp_tab:pdp_overview//objectid+HCo6_31//}|media:_blank|nav|overlay:_blank}

Also, do you think henna would help if I just wanted to redden my hair a little bit without damage? Details would be appreciated.

[Roseate]

If you're leaning towards no, go with no.

Hair dye can be great, but it's a big commitment with long hair: all those root touch-ups or years of two-tone hair as you grow it out. I wouldn't make the leap for a maybe.

[redwoman]

I would say don't do it. I don't like how dye made my hair feel (yours may be different) and the endless roots.......I wouldn't if I were you.

[DTsgirl]

Don't do it unless you are prepared to maintain. You will need to do your roots every 3 to 6 weeks, depending on growth, and whether you go pro or do it yourself, it's still time consuming. And yes, there will be damage.
An idea though; I've seen these rinses that last from one wash to the next. I think Wal - Mart / Wal - Greens carry a few shades, and Sally's would have more. Perhaps try that to see if you just madly fall in love with it before you commit.

[RancheroTheBee]

Well, henna can't make it lighter. It may look a little brighter, but it won't be lighter.

If the color change is more than a few shades, you're going to have to touch up the roots pretty often, assuming roots bother you. I'm not the type to worry about it, so I put it off for months at a time.

I can't see the picture, unfortunately. :p

[Fufu]

Follow ur heart, if ur not ready to dye your hair, don do it. I plan to dye my hair in early April and I'm used to coloring my hair twice a year, I do plan to color my hair only once a year next.

[spidermom]

I agree. If you're already leaning toward no, then go with "no". Get your hair out to goal length first.

[jaine]

If you do dye your hair you could ask your stylist to do ombre highlights (http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=ombre+highlights&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1146&bih=771) so that you won't have to keep doing root touch-ups. That is where your natural color is in the root area of the hair and it fades to a lighter color towards the ends. Dyeing once will be a lot less damaging than continuing to dye it over and over again. If you want to recolor it later you can but if you don't then you can just leave it alone.

[musicallberrii]

If you want it, go for it! You can dye your hair and grow it long as well, it just takes more care and effort. On a side note, I don't know how other people feel about that hair dye brand but personally I really didn't like it. The smell is strong, worse than others I have used, and it made my hair feel very crunchy and matted afterwards.. of course, if you have used it and liked it then go for it! Just my experience with it

[lunache]

You also mentioned henna - I've been using it for about a year to even out the multiple colors on my hair from years of dye and bleach. I want to grow it to Classic length and right now I don't want to cut off all the damage at once, so I have to work with what there is and do what improves its condition and appearance without adding to the damage. Henna has helped in both these aspects. One caveat, it's a lot of work the day of henna itself, but I don't get that severe demarcation between the hennaed hair and new growth.

[Isilme]

If you go with henna, ust please be aware that it is permanent, will not lift your haircolour and will have its own problems if you decide to use bleach later on (orange hair anyone?)

Still, if you want to use henna I would suggest a light gloss.

[ericthegreat]

Coloring is a big commitment. You have to remember to keep doing the roots everytime they grow out, and depending on the shade and tone of your chosen color, you may need to be careful to avoid certain kinds of herbal treatments or oils because they may darken the color or give it an unflattering tone. And over time, your color will eventually fade and wash out so unless you want to live with the faded out color, you will then have to redo your entire color all over again. Since it just doesn't sound like you are willing to commit to all of these routines, I would say its not a good idea for you to change your color.

Henna takes some commitment as well. For one thing, you have to leave it on for SEVERAL hours, much longer than if you were doing a chemical color. Is that something that you have time for? As with chemical color, you still need to remember to do the roots with henna as well. But most importantly, henna is permanent. If one day you end up hating the henna color, your only options are to either cut it off or use some strong chemicals to try to bleach it out.

[mellie89]

I have nearly the same hair color as you, and I wound up with crazy orange hair when I tried to get that strawberry blond color with box dye. I ended up bleaching it to get the orange out and then dying back to my natural color. Needless to say, my hair was trashed. That wonderful series of events is what prompted me to join LHC in the first place.

I'd give it some time. If you still want that kind of color in a few weeks (or months!), consider a henna gloss or a mixture of cassia and henna (with much more cassia than henna). Henna is VERY permanent, however, so definitely do a strand test to make sure you'll like the color.

You could also use LUSH henna in rouge to get a red color. Some people who reviewed that product on the LUSH website believe that it gives a less saturated red than regular BAQ henna, so your roots might not be too obvious if you decide to grow your natural color out.

Another option would be to use a semi-permanent hair color. Those are less damaging and fade fairly quickly.

If you're leaning towards no, I wouldn't do it. :)

[GRU]

Lightening without damage is almost impossible, and henna is *permanent*.

What about trying a couple small "highlights" of henna/cassia gloss? Glosses are more likely to fade (no guarantees, however!) and won't give such an extreme saturation as straight henna, and highlights will give you an idea of whether you like the color without giving you the commitment of having to keep up your roots, etc. And if you do like the color, you can gloss your whole head if you want to.

I do a blend of 80% cassia and 20% henna to cover my grays (I'm naturally a strawberry blonde), and since I'm not really changing my hair color all that much, I can get away with going 6-8 weeks between doing my roots.

I also prep large batches of cassia/henna and freeze them in individual application amounts, so all I have to do is thaw a bottle or baggie when I want to do my roots -- cuts down on prep time and cleanup considerably.

Since you're hesitant, I strongly recommend that if you do change your color, you start with small sections (like highlights but not actually lightened) in gloss form. A cassia/henna gloss isn't going to damage your hair, and it's not going to give you a huge color change, so it's much nicer for your hair and much easier to deal with if you don't want the root upkeep.

[Kathie]

I agree, a henna gloss might be a nice change. It does give your hair some color, you only need to leave it on for ~ an hour, and the demarcation line is very slight.

I’ve been using Lush henna, their brown one but they do have red. I use 2 squares mixed with water and conditioner and left on for an hour.

[Bianca]

I have used that color many times. It did fade a lot. But pretty color the first week or so. The fading and damage is not worth it IMO. I would look into a henna gloss instead. But you should do what you want. I would grow my hair to desired lenght first though :)