Okay. I Have to Ask.....Blonde light brown permanent dye over black semi-permanent?

[daffodil7]

So I went to the store today all set to buy my blue black permanent hair color and realized that the whole reason I was going black in the first place was because I was afraid of using permanent color and wanted to do a semi to cover my grays.

Now the semi barely covered my grays for a few days (when they just looked like really shiny hair) then bam, gray again after 2 weeks.

So I realized that I have to use permanent color to color my grays, and I realize that this is what I wanted before I chose the black semi because I'm standing there in front of the display looking at Loreal UL61 thinking....since I have to use permanent anyway to cover my grays...could I....? I also still have the Colorsilk reddish color at home I had thought of using before. In my experience, red tends to fade to brown anyway, and you could boost it with color enhancers, but either way, I wanted lighter when I started out..

Okay so, there are still remnants of black semi-permanent in my naturally black-ish hair. I am African American also with a relaxer and have several gray hairs around the front of my hair.

So my question is, since I have to go permanent anyway, can I go with a lighter permanent over the black semi-permanent, or am I stuck only being able to use the blue black like I had planned to?

I know now that you can alternate between permanent and semi permanent if they are the same color, but can I use a lighter permanent color over a darker semi permanent color and just change the color? I will use coconut oil and do a strand test first to check for damage, but if it sounds just too damaging based on others experiences, I don't even want to risk the strand test.

It's amazing that I have to go permanent anyway now. I'm really hoping that I can dye over the semi safely.

[BeckyAH]

So I went to the store today all set to buy my blue black permanent hair color and realized that the whole reason I was going black in the first place was because I was afraid of using permanent color and wanted to do a semi to cover my grays.

Now the semi barely covered my grays for a few days (when they just looked like really shiny hair) then bam, gray again after 2 weeks.

So I realized that I have to use permanent color to color my grays, and I realize that this is what I wanted before I chose the black semi because I'm standing there in front of the display looking at Loreal UL61 thinking....since I have to use permanent anyway to cover my grays...could I....?

Okay so, there are still remnants of black semi-permanent in my naturally black-ish hair. I am African American also with a relaxer and have several gray hairs around the front of my hair.

So my question is, since I have to go permanent anyway, can I go with a lighter permanent over the black semi-permanent, or am I stuck only being able to use the blue black like I had planned to?

I know now that you can alternate between permanent and semi permanent if they are the same color, but can I use a lighter permanent color over a darker semi permanent color and just change the color? I will use coconut oil and do a strand test first to check for damage, but if it sounds just too damaging based on others experiences, I don't even want to risk the strand test.

It's amazing that I have to go permanent anyway now. I'm really hoping that I can dye over the semi safely.

You do not have to use black, if you don't want.

You do need to find a No Lift dye - if it says it will make hair lighter - run the other way. Deposit only won't hurt anything, but if it's a perm and it will lighten your hair, it will have bleaching as part of the all in one two step process. Especially if it's a perm. dye.

You might ask about toners, or fillers - but at this point I'd strongly advise asking someone.

And, honestly - you're probably going to have problems covering gray, no matter what you use. Dye just doesn't stick well to those things.

[daffodil7]

You do not have to use black, if you don't want.

You do need to find a No Lift dye - if it says it will make hair lighter - run the other way. Deposit only won't hurt anything, but if it's a perm and it will lighten your hair, it will have bleaching as part of the all in one two step process. Especially if it's a perm. dye.

You might ask about toners, or fillers - but at this point I'd strongly advise asking someone.

And, honestly - you're probably going to have problems covering gray, no matter what you use. Dye just doesn't stick well to those things.

Hmm. So you're saying I don't have to use black, but should only use a deposit only color, meaning I have to stay in the darker realm probably. All the colors I was interested in permanent wise were lighter than black. Dark blonde, pale brown and possibly reddish brown. Those would probably all have lighteners I would think, so it seems like you're saying to avoid these, huh?:(

[BeckyAH]

Hmm. So you're saying I don't have to use black, but should only use a deposit only color, meaning I have to stay in the darker realm probably. All the colors I was interested in permanent wise were lighter than black. Dark blonde, pale brown and possibly reddish brown. Those would probably all have lighteners I would think, so it seems like you're saying to avoid these, huh?:(

If you go to somewhere like Sallys, you can find the COLOR without the developer/bleach portion that would lift darker hair. That will stick (as much as anything will) to your gray, without bleaching out the rest of your hair. Just be very, very careful what you buy, and don't buy a boxed dye. Just dye. (The box stuff you mix? Has developer/bleach as part of the mix, rather than just color). You can then use blonde or red or - whatever you'd like.

[daffodil7]

If you go to somewhere like Sallys, you can find the COLOR without the developer/bleach portion that would lift darker hair. That will stick (as much as anything will) to your gray, without bleaching out the rest of your hair. Just be very, very careful what you buy, and don't buy a boxed dye. Just dye. (The box stuff you mix? Has developer/bleach as part of the mix, rather than just color). You can then use blonde or red or - whatever you'd like.

I never heard of this. If I use the color by itself and not the developer/peroxide/bleach portion:

-it will actually lighten my hair in addition to covering my greys?

or

-will it just cover my greys because it is permanent, and the rest will stay black?

[BeckyAH]

I never heard of this. If I use the color by itself and not the developer/peroxide/bleach portion:

-it will actually lighten my hair in addition to covering my greys?

or

-will it just cover my greys because it is permanent, and the rest will stay black?

It wil just cover the grays. If you try to go lighter, you are bleaching, which is not great for most hair. So wait for the black to fade and proceed with caution if you do that.

[daffodil7]

It wil just cover the grays. If you try to go lighter, you are bleaching, which is not great for most hair. So wait for the black to fade and proceed with caution if you do that.

Hmm. Okay. I understand. Thank you.