Going from bright red to caramel brown..

Beetlebum

Hi Guys,

I have my hair dyed fire engine red at the moment and I love it. It looks fantastic for about a week an dI even get bar men and strangers in the street complimenting it!.

The trouble is that it's just too much damn work. It needs to be dyed every 2 weeks and sometimes it actually starts fading after just a few days. I use redken colour extend and do treatments etc but nothing works. Red fades quickly, simple as and I just don't have the time or money to keep it up:(

So, I am gonna go back to good ole faithful brown but I want a nice brown colour, dark but with some caramel going through it. My natural colour is dark brown.

Is this possible in one salon visit? Is this possible at all? I have heard red takes forever to leave your hair and will shine through any other colour you get. Nightmare!

Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks

Novella

Oh, I've had red hair before. Loved it, but as you said, it's impossible to keep. So I always end up going back to being a brunette. It is possible in one salon visit, but after a while you kinda end up with a red-ish tinge from your hair.

I never noticed it myself! I always thought my hair was brown 'til I saw a picture of myself with brunette friends and I noticed my hair had a kind of red shine off it. I guess it's hard to kill the red off, no matter what colour you put over it.

Beetlebum

Novella wrote: »

Oh, I've had red hair before. Loved it, but as you said, it's impossible to keep. So I always end up going back to being a brunette. It is possible in one salon visit, but after a while you kinda end up with a red-ish tinge from your hair.

I never noticed it myself! I always thought my hair was brown 'til I saw a picture of myself with brunette friends and I noticed my hair had a kind of red shine off it. I guess it's hard to kill the red off, no matter what colour you put over it.

That sounds kinda nice actually! Is it a nice reddish tinge (that word tinge is so ugly hah!) or is it just weird? I guess it depends on your proginal colour, the strength of red etc..

Aw, sad to say goodbye to red but it's just too much work. Novella, did teh hairdresser have to strip your hair or do you know how they did it? Was your hair okay afterwards?

That's another thing i noticed about having ir red, it goes kinda dull very quickly too. I'm just hoping my hiar doesn't get destroyed from all this messing about!

Novella

Beetlebum wrote: »

That sounds kinda nice actually! Is it a nice reddish tinge (that word tinge is so ugly hah!) or is it just weird? I guess it depends on your proginal colour, the strength of red etc..

Aw, sad to say goodbye to red but it's just too much work. Novella, did teh hairdresser have to strip your hair or do you know how they did it? Was your hair okay afterwards?

That's another thing i noticed about having ir red, it goes kinda dull very quickly too. I'm just hoping my hiar doesn't get destroyed from all this messing about!

It's not weird but I wouldn't be mad about it! When "tinge" happens, I usually head to the hairdressers to be dyed again! It just kinda looks like faded brown, I dunno, hard to explain! It's not ugly! It's been a few months since I went back to brown now though and it's grand

No, she didn't strip my hair at all. I'd washed it so many times since the last time I'd had it dyed red, there was no need for it. My hair wasn't vibrant red anymore, it just had that, 'My hair used to be red, now it is wishy washy orange' kinda thing goin' on!

I have had my hair stripped though! To go from black to blonde. It was alright after that too, had a conditioning treatment that day. My hair doesn't seem to take much of a beating though, it's still nice and soft and shiny, guess I'm lucky!

I love red hair, I'm honestly mad about it but I felt like my hair just didn't look as healthy that colour, didn't have a great shine.

Your hair should be fine though! Just try some conditioning treatments if you feel it's becoming dry or damaged etc.

Beetlebum

Novella wrote: »

It's not weird but I wouldn't be mad about it! When "tinge" happens, I usually head to the hairdressers to be dyed again! It just kinda looks like faded brown, I dunno, hard to explain! It's not ugly! It's been a few months since I went back to brown now though and it's grand

No, she didn't strip my hair at all. I'd washed it so many times since the last time I'd had it dyed red, there was no need for it. My hair wasn't vibrant red anymore, it just had that, 'My hair used to be red, now it is wishy washy orange' kinda thing goin' on!

I have had my hair stripped though! To go from black to blonde. It was alright after that too, had a conditioning treatment that day. My hair doesn't seem to take much of a beating though, it's still nice and soft and shiny, guess I'm lucky!

I love red hair, I'm honestly mad about it but I felt like my hair just didn't look as healthy that colour, didn't have a great shine.

Your hair should be fine though! Just try some conditioning treatments if you feel it's becoming dry or damaged etc.

Ha ha...I know that 'My hair used to be red but now it's wishy washy orange' kinda thing all too well!!

I adore my red hair too but I've noticed the lack of shine and it doesn't feel as silky anymore despite doing treatments.

Thanks for your help. I thought I'd have to go back a few times to the salon and get it stripped so that's good news that I won't have to.

Cheers

Shelga

Wow this thread is a coincidence, I've been faced with the same dilemma recently! I'm the same as you OP, my hair is naturally dark brown but I've had it dyed red for about a year now and I love it. It is so much effort though!

I dye mine every 3-4 weeks with Schwarzkopf Red Passion and I find that pretty good. I definitely don't think mine fades as much as you describe yours as doing. However I have recently considered going back to brunette as well but my friends have talked me out of it! So I'll stick with it a bit longer.

But out of interest, does anyone know what would happen if you bought brown hair dye from a shop and just tried to dye over the red yourself?? A crazy orange mess no doubt but I have briefly toyed with the idea as I am but a poor student!

OP if you really love the red maybe you could give the Schwarzkopf stuff a go? I also find that the longer I dye my hair, the more easily it 'takes' to the red for want of a better word, e.g. is vibrant for longer etc.

Anyway let us know how you get on, I'm sure the caramel/brown will look great too!

Beetlebum

Shelga wrote: »

Wow this thread is a coincidence, I've been faced with the same dilemma recently! I'm the same as you OP, my hair is naturally dark brown but I've had it dyed red for about a year now and I love it. It is so much effort though!

I dye mine every 3-4 weeks with Schwarzkopf Red Passion and I find that pretty good. I definitely don't think mine fades as much as you describe yours as doing. However I have recently considered going back to brunette as well but my friends have talked me out of it! So I'll stick with it a bit longer.

But out of interest, does anyone know what would happen if you bought brown hair dye from a shop and just tried to dye over the red yourself?? A crazy orange mess no doubt but I have briefly toyed with the idea as I am but a poor student!

OP if you really love the red maybe you could give the Schwarzkopf stuff a go? I also find that the longer I dye my hair, the more easily it 'takes' to the red for want of a better word, e.g. is vibrant for longer etc.

Anyway let us know how you get on, I'm sure the caramel/brown will look great too!

I use Deep red or Chilli red by Jeans colour but will defo give Schwarzkopf a try next time. Out of interest what shampoo and conditioner do you use? Also is your hair in good nick?

I'm changing my mind again now and might just keep the red. I love it so much!

Thanks:)

Shelga

I generally just use any shampoos and conditioners that are aimed at coloured hair, and a heat defense spray when I'm blowdrying/straightening/curling it (which is a lot!) Surprisingly enough I'd say my hair is in pretty much the same condition as it was before I dyed it. Then again, maybe there's lots of damage underneath the surface and I'm in denial??

The schwartzkopf red passion makes it come out this colour:



Maybe a bit redder/more vibrant, but basically the colour of the model on the box's hair! That mightn't be "pillarbox-y" enough for you but I'm sure there's lots of other brands out there that might also have better sticking power. Good luck!