Elumen?

[iris]

It occurred to me that my natural color is actually exactly the color in your avatar, so I CAN show you a pic that you can compare with something. Look only at the roots, the first eight inches or so of growth. (The length has been through henna, peroxide, and whatnot). My natural roots are about the color in your avatar.

This is what I get with a mixture of 1 part AB@6, 3 parts AB@9, and 1/2 part BR@6:


I explained the color codes a few posts above.

You can see well in this picture that the natural color variation is maintained. I had serious sun highlights here, and the elumen left them lighter than the rest. I like that a lot.

This is with a similar mix, but less BR@6, and one drop of PK@all, in lamp light. This lamp makes it look quite coppery, in most lightings the reddish component is really a cooler tone, but for some reason that will not show up in pictures. (It is pretty subtle anyway).


If you click on the pic, you can see my whites (the crazy coarse wirey hairs that crinkle around). You can see that they sort of blend in a bit. They're really very bright white without the elumen.

Same, in daylight, with damp hair. (Looks dark because it's damp and because 'daylight' this time of year is not exactly light here).


ETA: My goal (for the new growth) is just to blend in the whites a little, and to add a touch of pinkish red. I try to keep it very subtle because I don't want to be a slave to doing my roots. I was a slave to my roots with henna and I don't ever want to be a slave to my roots again . But of course you can do all sorts of things with elumen. You can go extremely bold and dramatic with it, too. It comes in lots of colors, and you can mix them to make exactly what you want.

I'm a big fan of the ashy colors in particular, because, as nellen already said above, they don't look blue or green or purple, just really quite naturally ashy.

[maryva]

Hi Iris! Thanks so much for posting your pics -- your hair looks beautiful and so shiny, and I don't see your greys at all! I think with my complexion I would like to achieve a color with slightly less warmth than yours. I emailed the ebay seller who suggested color NV@6, which apparently is an ash brown. Does this sound right to you? Also, she suggested I purchase the "lock" product -- are you familiar with this, and if so what do you think of it? Are you using any of the shampoos or conditioners sold to go with this line of color? Thank you again for all your help -- I'm very thankful for your input.

[iris]

NV@6 doesn't exist AFAIK? Are you sure that's what she said?

ETA: These are all the colors I know of - scroll down to see them.

About the lock, I haven't tried it. According to what nellen wrote above, it's just an alcohol solution that washes excess color out (which would wash out in a few washes anyway). So I didn't bother.

I think you could get a color like your natural color by using a mix of AB@6 and AB@9. (Another thing nellen gave more very good info about above - reread her posts in this thread, everything she said checked out for me).

I'm not using the elumen shampoo or conditioner. I may try the shampoo at some point to see if it helps prevent the root fadage, but at 10 euros for a bottle of shampoo, it's sort of like a last resort for me.

[ktani]

Here are the Elumen colours in English.
http://www.elumenhaircolor.com/elume...des/shades.php

Colour codes
http://www.elumenhaircolor.com/elume...color_code.php

Clear
http://www.elumenhaircolor.com/elume...ades/clear.php

Products
http://www.elumenhaircolor.com/elume...s/products.php

[ktani]

iris

Have you seen this? Elumen pink.

http://www.goldwellusa.com/products/...%202.14.06.pdf

[iris]

iris

Have you seen this? Elumen pink.

http://www.goldwellusa.com/products/...%202.14.06.pdf

Yes, I have it, and I use it. The bottle is going to last me decade or two, it really is as strong as they say it is. One drop is enough.

[ktani]

Yes, I have it, and I use it. The bottle is going to last me decade or two, it really is as strong as they say it is. One drop is enough.

Sorry, I am behind on reading blogs. I usually do read yours.

[maryva]

Hmm, perhaps she meant AB@6? Would she have been suggesting a violet shade for some reason? And you're right, I don't see NV@6 listed anywhere. Iris, your hair looks pretty dark considering you are using the highest percentage of AB@9, so do you feel like the color does appear a lot darker than what the color looks like? I wonder if AB@9 alone would blend my grays to start with? Then I could experiment with adding AB@6 if it doesn't get too dark. Any thoughts?

I'm also curious what differences in condition of your hair you have noticed since you've stopped using henna? I've read where many say their hair is in better condition and thicker after using henna. Have you noticed any difference in thickness or condition since you've stopped using henna? Thank you so much for sharing with me what you have learned and experienced!

[Isilme]

how does roots only work with Elumen? Does it blends as nicely as henna? Does it build up to a darker shade every time you add a new layer like henna also does? I think it would be awesome to blend some Elumen with henna. As much as I like henna it would be nice to be able to do an easy root touchup every now and then. I also find that adding a nice deposit only colour like Stargazer gives me red hair indoors too instead of brown which henna mutates to when hit by some artificial light. It would be good if Elumen could give that effect permanently I have to ask my hairdresser about this brand when I see her next week

[iris]

Yeah, she may have meant AB@6. AB@6 is much darker than you'd think (thankfully I had been warned about that). You would definitely not want to use it straight. My pics are a little darker than it really is, because there's no decent daylight here now, but yes I do get a darker color than my natural color with only 1/3 AB@6. It is dark.

Yes, you could start with AB@9 and go from there. AB@9 and AB@6 are really not that different, the 6 is more concentrated but they're both the same basic tone, - gray, basically. (Which is what ash-colored hair is, if you look at it as just a color).

I think the reason she suggested a violet shade may be that she may be thinking you are bleaching and want to combat brassiness from that? I don't know, it's a little hard to interpret advice for a color that doesn't seem to exist ;-).

I know that the AB shades are also used as toners to take brassiness out (that's how I use it on my length, to combat the brassiness from the henna-peroxide remnants there), so even if she were thinking you need a toner AB would still have been enough.

There's a BV@6, she could have meant that (b and v being next to each other on the keyboard), but that one looks awfully purple to me. It's in the 'bright' color family, and my understanding of the bright family is that they are meant to give sort of brownish naturalish shade with a twist. So, I think the idea behind that group is that they don't give you bright pink or blue or red hair, but brown with a clear pink or blue or red shade. I have the BR@6, and I really find the red part of that pretty darn red. I use only a little bit of it on my hair, but I've tried it pure on white wool and it is brown with red, but a LOT of red. I wouldn't say it's very subtle on the red. So, I imagine the violet part of the BV@6 being pretty darn violet, too. I really don't think that is what you want. The ABs seem like a better idea to me.

There are two things I'm not sure about re the ABs: one is that they may still turn out a bit more ashy than you really want, on your grays. I've read somewhere that a rule of coloring whites/grays is that you should always put a little bit of warmth in because it looks strange otherwise. The ABs may already have that tiny little bit of warmth formulated in them though, I can't really say. You could try. The ABs do tend to wash out a bit so you probably won't be stuck with it forever if you hate it. (I'd do a strand test first in any case though).

The other thing is that you have such nice light streaks that you probably don't want to darken. You may want to tread carefully around those. If you can isolate your grays and dye only those, I'd start with trying that. (I would if I could but my whites are scattered all over, not in nice orderly streaks).

Condition-wise, elumen is exactly the same to me as henna. It dries your hair out a bit right after doing it, just like henna. Then you just put some oil in (I mist with distilled water with a little bit of jojoba oil in it). After the oil, hair returns to normal and feels a bit thicker. Elumen makes it stronger and glossier, like henna does, and after awhile the shine goes away, just like with henna, and the body goes away too. I find them to be exactly the same, really. Surprisingly little difference.

Of course I've only been elumening for four months, so I can't really compare it with henna in the really long term (I used henna for four or five years).

If you're looking for ashy shades, you definitely want to avoid henna like the plague though, even if it would be The Very Best conditioning treatment in the world. You can't get ashy shades with henna. You can for awhile, mixing it with indigo. Then the indigo washes out and you're left with the henna which does not come out. Ever. Seriously, don't go there. If you want less warmth then I get with my elumen mix, don't even think about henna, you'll hate it.