I want to dye my hair again

[AlabasterAlice]

But I don't want to kill it in the process. I have two options: A) I can go to a salon I love and had a great experience at when they did DH's hair. It will cost me a decent amount of money, but they use redken dye, which seemed to be better on my hair when I got it done a year ago.

Or B) I can dye it myself and use Clariol's color or something like that, and a 10 volume developer.

I've dyed my hair a good many times in the past, and I don't plan to ever let permanent dye touch my hair again, so no worries there. I just want to "liven up" my natural color with a rich dark brown/copper undertones. My goal is that when it fades/grows out, it won't look obvious against the virgin roots.

What would you do, LHC? I know not everyone goes for hair dye, but I happen to love the stuff. I have looked into henna, and it doesn't seem like it would be for me. My biggest two concerns being that it may disrupt my curl pattern, and that it may look different on my virgin hair, then on the hair that has been bleached and dyed in the past.

[Vanille_]

I'd save the money and have a friend do option B :)

[Roscata]

I would do an overnight coconut oil treatment then color it myself over the still oiled hair.

[|Xei]

Option B sounds good to me too. 10vol developer doesn't actually lift your hair, so the damage, if any, is very minimal.

[AlabasterAlice]

Getting some semi-perm dye and going for it then. :) I will clarify before hand and deep condition with a SMT afterwards. Coconut oil doesn't do much for me, especially compared to an SMT. Thank you for your replies ladies. :)

[Mairéad]

You wouldn't be using the coconut oil as a moisture treatment, you could use the SMT after the dye. Some people have observed that doing a coconut oil treatment the night before can reduce some of the chemical damage. It may have something to do with coconut oil being shown to prevent protein loss.

[ange1ito]

I wouldn't use a box dye again, are there any Sally's near you, then at least you could use a professional semi and know exactly which level developer you are using. I definitely see a difference in the texture from my roots to the ends which are permanent box dye.
I use 4% wella colour touch it seems much better than box dye i used before to cover grey, you still do get some damage.

[Roscata]

Getting some semi-perm dye and going for it then. :) I will clarify before hand and deep condition with a SMT afterwards. Coconut oil doesn't do much for me, especially compared to an SMT. Thank you for your replies ladies. :)


"Used as a pre-treatment, with a conventional dye or lightening solution applied over it, it can help lighten hair colour and increase dye uptake, while helping to prevent peroxide damage," (The uses of coconut oil (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=53786&highlight=coconut+oil))

[AlabasterAlice]

Oh I see! I will be using coconut oil then. I have gone to sally's. I used box dyes in the past but that was years ago. I've been using sally's to dye my hair for a while now. I only use 10 volume developer because it's all I need. I'm not doing a huge color change to my hair, just a little warm-up and even tone in color.

[Roscata]

Oh I see! I will be using coconut oil then. I have gone to sally's. I used box dyes in the past but that was years ago. I've been using sally's to dye my hair for a while now. I only use 10 volume developer because it's all I need. I'm not doing a huge color change to my hair, just a little warm-up and even tone in color.

That's awesome! I hope you update this thread with pics. I'd love to see how it turns out. :D

[AlabasterAlice]

I went darker then I intended to (please, something slap me next time I reach for a "3"; I never seem to learn). I clarified before hand, let it dry (can I just say that with only clarifying alone my hair was semi-soft when it dried! It's never been this nice on its own. :D ) and added some coconut oil to my hair. For dye I used Clairol's semi permanent color in 5n and 3g, with my usual 10 volume developer. Left it in for what ended up being closer to 40 mins then 30 (whoops), and rinsed, conditioned, rinsed, conditioned...until the water ran not-dark-brown.

I don't hate the color. It wasn't what I was going for (much darker, actually) but I don't hate it. It's actually the color I tried to get years ago but never did, and it isn't permanent dye (that has been my mantra to stay calm today). DH loves it, and DBF is looking forward to seeing it, so that has soothed my frustrations at not getting the color I tried for.

I'll upload a picture shortly. My hair is being super straight today, for whatever reason, so you ladies and gents will get to see the other side of my hair! It isn't always wurly, sometimes it gets fairly straight all on its own. I just can't control it.