Do Stargazer or Directions hair dyes damage the hair?

[infinity_girl]

Ok, so I have been using henna on my hair for almost a year now and I am sick of it (I don't like the orangey tone I get left with, it never become nice and rich red on my hair which is darkish brown).

Anyway, I am thinking of using something like Stargazer to dye my hair a bit more of a vibrant colour (without bleach). What I want to know is whether dyes like Stargazer or Directions (here in the UK, I know there is Manic Panic in the US) are bad for the hair if not used with bleach? Can someone advise? I really want to colour my hair but I won't use anything that will damage it (that is why I was using Henna).

[SilverDoe]

They cause no damage at all, as there is no developer (peroxide) like with permanent dyes which would be used to strip your own color & allow the new one to penetrate.
These semi dyes only coat the strands & it's quite like using conditioner.

What kind of henna have you used & how did you use it?
I'd try one with a high lawesone content like Red Raj from hennasooq, or Yemeni from a reputable seller which is known for it's stable red color. Hennaboy uk still has 2011 Yemeni in stock.

[Rosalaun]

Yeah SilverDoe said it - I've used Directions and Manic Panic (you can get Manic Panic in some shops/online in the UK, and I much prefer it, it lasts longer and fades through nicer colours than Directions - blue turned to lilac instead of grey as it did with directions). I found that I could use the dyes as a conditioner after I'd bleached it, and they actually improved the state of my hair a lot, so they definitely shouldn't cause any damage at all.

[pink.sara]

They are like a conditioning treatment.
They contain no ammonia or peroxide so don't damage in any way.

[Rufflebutt]

If it's the exact same stuff as manic panic but a different brand, then no. It won't. I'm not sure about the ingredients in those brands, but I do know that most non-traditional colors are vegetable dyes. They don't have any harsh chemicals, so you could leave them on over night if you really felt like it. ;)

[elea]

direction has never dammaged my hair and i have been coloring it for... at least 10 years.
never seen/ herad of any dammages on friends or people i paint.

dammage can come when over/repetitive bleaching so, i only bleach the ruths (spelling?)

[RubySlippers]

What kind of henna have you used & how did you use it?
I'd try one with a high lawesone content like Red Raj from hennasooq, or Yemeni from a reputable seller which is known for it's stable red color. Hennaboy uk still has 2011 Yemeni in stock.

I'm actually about to use this exact stuff within the next week. I'll let you know where it sits on the red-orange scale.

[Amorice]

Vegetable dyes aren't really "dye", they're just pigments suspended in a creamy substance meant to stain your hair. Which is why they look brighter on lighter colored hair; there's nothing in there to lift your natural color first. They're not damaging at all!

I like to mix the darker colors 50/50 with conditioner (will lighten the color some) and let the whole mess sit on my head for 2-3 hours before rinsing!

[MonaMayfair]

They make your hair feel really nice. I used Crazy Color in Orange when I was using henna on my hair - I wanted the opposite of infinity_girl, a more orange red. It looked very natural and made the henna much brighter.

Now I'm using Adore, which is a similar dye that comes in more natural colors like blondes, browns and blacks (I'm using the brown ones) It washes out pretty quickly, but is helping to disguise the growing out henna.

Like SilverDoe said, it might also be worth trying a different henna if you want to stick with red hair.

[SilverDoe]

I want to add that henna on top of these semi permanent dyes can lock the dye in really well, and reduce the orange a bit.
It wasn't what I was going for, but the dark pinkness of Manic Panic Vampire red under the henna stayed for over 2½ months, no matter how much I tried to clarify it off. :p