Any tips on how to fade hair color?

[VitaR86]

Okay, a little back story...

I graduated beauty school to become a nail tech not long ago. I have an interview scheduled on this coming up Tuesday at this really nice spa. I really, really want to work there. Its everything I've been looking for in a salon/spa.

So... on to the main topic of this thread. The spa emailed me a copy of the dress code so that i can dress appropriately. And low and behold... "Hair color should be subtle and in a natural hue (no un-natural or drastic colors)."

Like I said, I really want this job. So, unfortunately I need to change my hair. No more bright red and purple hair. :(

I need to fade out the red and purple so I can dye it brown. And I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to help fade it out fast. I've heard washing with dish soap works, but I imagine that would be extremely drying. Also if anyone can recommend a nice shade of brown, I'd appreciate it.

And just FYI, in case anyone was wondering, The red was not bleached. I used a dye made for dark hair. The bangs and tips were of course bleached.

Here are a few pics of my hair now, to give you an idea.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q164/Vita86/Hair/391920_10150581695621337_533436336_10579093_172509 4775_n.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q164/Vita86/Hair/304438_10150368074601337_2401796_n.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q164/Vita86/Hair/296319_10150362981306337_533436336_9509511_3840279 _n.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q164/Vita86/Hair/164386_10150133770451337_533436336_7556435_272093_ n.jpg

And here is an old pic of my hair with its natural color. Please forgive the lame myspace pose. :rolleyes:

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q164/Vita86/Hair/19767_254085151336_533436336_4180064_1343270_n.jpg

R.I.P. Bright Red hair, I'll miss you. :(


Uh... I did resize the photos, so IDK why they look huge.

[woolyleprechaun]

None of your pics look too bright anyway:D.....What kind of beauty spa is that fussy about hair?! I bet they have bleached-white-blonde girls there:rolleyes:. Mabe you could try just putting a temp brown over it just to take the edge off? Red fades very fast of its own accord.:)

[Neneka]

I would get myself a wig.

You could also try green and yellow (deposit only) colours to make your hair brown. Green+red=brown... If you decide to try it I would recommend careful strand tests first. I doubt that it would be as simple as it sound like..

[pink.sara]

If you're using a demi-permanent brown a tiny bit darker than your natural shade it will cover the colours you have pretty effectively without needing to fade them.
But if you wanted your hair crazy coloured again after you'd probably have to use a colour remover like colour oops to take the brown out.

And I've never personally found dish soap to be any more effective than a coconut oil soak and multiple shampoos for fading colour. Just more damaging.

I usually just mix a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda into shampoo and repeat to fade colour. It's my clarifying recipe also.

[hototogisu]

I don't have any personal experience with it, but I know a lot of people have used Color Oops with great success in the past - http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod620020

[natural_shine]

don't risk.

go out there and just tell the truth : "If I get the job I will dye my hair in a soft natural colour! "

big deal... put yourself in the shous of the employer... if you're too desperate to get the job, it will show... changing your hair for an interview alone is a big mistake-my opinion!

[natural_shine]

lol, wait. That is IF they really mean what they say there about the hair colour. In most places, this kind of details are not respected at all.

See, the hair issue might not even be a problem.

Wait till you get there and talk the the employer face to face.

[MonaMayfair]

I kind of agree with Natural Shine. Also, I don't know what it's like where you live, but "Unnatural" red hair as in your photos is a lot more common/mainstream than other unnatural colors (like blue or green etc)

I hope you do get the job, but if not you'd be annoyed you lost your current hair color for nothing (and possibly damaged your hair depending on what removal method you tried)
If it were me, I'd say that I would be fully prepared to dye my hair back to brown if I got the job.

[hototogisu]

Respectfully, I have to disagree with Natural Shine.

In this job market you need to go the extra mile. Interviews count. First impressions really count. Your want prospective employers to be able to easily imagine you fitting in and working well in their business.

VitaR86 is clearly passionate about what she does and understands both her own motivations for wanting to work there AND what the employer wants, which is awesome. I think it's a good move to tone down the hair before the interview.

But that's just my 2c.

[Grillz]

I agree with hototogisu. If you want this job, you cover all your bases to be as desirable for their business as possible, and then maybe later (after you're hired) you could go back to a less subtle/natural color, once you get a feel for the place.

I think brown dye would cover your red as it is (and maybe you'd have some nice red undertones!). Back when I dyed regularly, I always found that clarifying shampoo and baby shampoo faded my hair color the most. Good luck!!

[jojo]

Well theres bicabinate of soda in shampoo and leave on hair for 30 minutes
Vitamin C tablets crushed and added to shampoo, leave on again for 30 minutes please do condition well after these 2 treatments. Or theres color oops!

[jojo]

lol, wait. That is IF they really mean what they say there about the hair colour. In most places, this kind of details are not respected at all.

See, the hair issue might not even be a problem.

Wait till you get there and talk the the employer face to face.

Sorry no disrespect but I totally disagree with this. jobs are hard to come by and if you walk into an interview and totally dismiss what the job description informs you, you risk not getting any further than the interview. It makes the interviewee look unprofessional and on who has no respect for company policies.

If you want this job, you have to abide with there policies.

[jojo]

Respectfully, I have to disagree with Natural Shine.

In this job market you need to go the extra mile. Interviews count. First impressions really count. Your want prospective employers to be able to easily imagine you fitting in and working well in their business.

VitaR86 is clearly passionate about what she does and understands both her own motivations for wanting to work there AND what the employer wants, which is awesome. I think it's a good move to tone down the hair before the interview.

But that's just my 2c.

just read this after my reply, couldn't agree more! rules are rules!

[VitaR86]

Thank you everyone for the input.

For those wondering. This spa is in the "rich" part of town. They have a very clean and professional image. Not only does the dress code say no un natural hair colors, but it needs to be pulled back. Makeup needs to be light and natural looking. (I don't wear makeup, so that's no prob) No visible piercings, besides the ears. And no visible tattoos. (which I have none.)

If this was a salon in the "hip" part of town, my hair wouldn't be a problem. lol, by the way... if the red wasn't a problem... the purple would be! :D

I was told that I was going to be emailed the dress code so that I could "show up" dressed properly. There fore, me disregarding it and well pretty much saying "I'm waiting to see if you hire me first" would not be the best. I have been playing with the idea of changing my hair anyways. So, all this means is I'm going to be changing it sooner than I thought. I am going to miss my bright red and purple hair, but I'd rather have a job. I this spa is a place I can see myself working. So this is only a small sacrifice.

[natural_shine]

\
In this job market you need to go the extra mile. Interviews count. First impressions really count. Your want prospective employers to be able to easily imagine you fitting in and working well in their business.

.


Employers are not robots. They are able to make an evaluation of the person standing in front of them. When you go to a job interview, you talk to a person, a real person, you don't have to match 100% the requirements, to the smallest details, like matching exact answers for a computer test.
If you are qualified for the job and you think you have a chance, or if you think you can learn fast, a good description of your skills and a reasonable PERSON TO PERSON talk would be enough.

a puppy to master talk won't do! If the "requirements" are to roll over and balance a biscuit on your nose, will you do it for the job?...

geez... relax. This corporate mentality is poisonous...

[natural_shine]

Thank you everyone for the input.

For those wondering. This spa is in the "rich" part of town. They have a very clean and professional image. Not only does the dress code say no un natural hair colors, but it needs to be pulled back. Makeup needs to be light and natural looking. (I don't wear makeup, so that's no prob) No visible piercings, besides the ears. And no visible tattoos. (which I have none.)

If this was a salon in the "hip" part of town, my hair wouldn't be a problem. lol, by the way... if the red wasn't a problem... the purple would be! :D

I was told that I was going to be emailed the dress code so that I could "show up" dressed properly. There fore, me disregarding it and well pretty much saying "I'm waiting to see if you hire me first" would not be the best. I have been playing with the idea of changing my hair anyways. So, all this means is I'm going to be changing it sooner than I thought. I am going to miss my bright red and purple hair, but I'd rather have a job. I this spa is a place I can see myself working. So this is only a small sacrifice.

Well... good luck. Maybe I'm not the best to give advice here, cause I very much dislike anything remotely close to fancy

[Mountaingrrl]

I like the idea of wearing a wig in your natural color to the interview. Then if you get the job you can color your hair.

[hototogisu]

You look great with both the really bold, bright red and your cooler natural colour. Maybe you could try one of the colour fading tips (I've used Pink Sara's baking soda in shampoo tip) and then go over it with a semi in warm brunette or auburn, something that's a bit more neutral?

And GOOD LUCK!! You'll come back and let us know how it goes, yes?

[sarah061]

Pert shampoo has always been good at stripping away dye; or at least it was several years ago, I see they've given it a makeover now. You'll need a good conditioner to follow up with though!

http://www.drugstore.com/pert-plus-moisturizing-deep-conditioning-shampoo/qxp45965

Edit: I see it now says "gentle enough for color treated hair," so maybe not! I remember like 10 years ago buying it in a clear bottle; the shampoo was a green gel and it would strip away anything! haha

[sumidha]

I'm sorry this isn't helpful, but that color is amazing and you didn't even have to bleach all of it? Awesome. What brand of dye did you use?

[VitaR86]

I'm sorry this isn't helpful, but that color is amazing and you didn't even have to bleach all of it? Awesome. What brand of dye did you use?

L'Oreal Hi Color Highlights in Red with a 20 vol developer. ;)

[VitaR86]

Results!

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q164/Vita86/IMAG0592-1.jpg

So I tried my best to fade out the color. The purple faded to a grayish blue color. The red didn't fade at all. I washed my hair 6 times with sulfate filled shampoos. And used as hot of water I could stand. And yet my hair was still as bright red as if I had just dyed it.

lol, that dye really really works. So if any other chemical heads here wanna have their hair bright red with out bleach, L'Oreal Hi Color Highlights is def the way to go.

As far as what dye I used, I used Ion Medium Ash Brown. Its green based to counter the red. And the swatch at Sally's looked like my natural color. Well... After washing it out, its more of a reddish brown. I do like the way it turned out though, so no complaints. ;)

[Anje]

That looks pretty good to me! Close enough to natural, in any case, since you'll probably be pulling it back for the interview.