Suicide Blonde: Dyed by her own hand, or WHAT did you do to your hair?

[politicat]

I dye it. Have to. Between the chlorine in the water, the sun, and the absolute lack of fade resistance that red hair naturally has, if I don't "freshen up" my color every six weeks or so, I have pink hair.

And not some cute, Gwen Stefani, bubble-gum pink hair, either. A faded, washed out, nasty pink that no one in their right mind would want.

I really do have naturally red hair - and have photographic and other evidence to prove it - but it doesn't behave.

So it's a monthly treatment with the Jazz, vanity or no vanity. If it ever decides to go white, I'll let it, but until then, this is the life.

So, how's the color front where you're sitting?

[NashVegas]

1. My Grey Is Coming

And I'm too curious to see how it's going to look to dye over it just yet.

But if I don't like it, there's a brown ponytail in my desk drawer for color matching.

[Longhorn]

2. I go in every five weeks

to keep my hair blonde. I was born a blonde and started coloring it myself (Nice 'N Easy Ash Blonde) when I was in high school as it darkened. Then I spent several years as a brunette but it was such a dull, boring color. So in 1999, I started out with highlights and realized that I really wanted to go all the way. I've been a blonde ever since and I really like it. I have blue eyes and the coloring for it -- it was meant to be! ;)

I sometimes wonder when I'll stop and go natural but I can say for sure, it ain't anytime soon, unless I can't afford it any more.

[Hello_Kitty]

3. I'm a "natural" redhead

I was strawberry blonde as a child and then it turned dark brown. Which was ok, until I got my first gray in my late teens! I did blond for a while then switched to auburn (Loreal Preference - always do my own, I'm a pro at it). I get so many compliments on it and even my hairdresser thought it was natural! I have no idea how much gray I've got now, at 36. I touch up the roots every 3 weeks. Dark roots look ok on blondes but not on reds, IMO.

[Pool Hall Ace]

4. natural dark brown, but the greys are beginning to pop in

I'm wondering what to do about it, and whether to do it myself or go to a stylist. I'd like to save money, but I'd like to avert disaster, too!

[Hello_Kitty]

5. If you stick to your natural color

You can do it yourself. Don't let the hairdressers scare you; dye jobs are huge profit for them. Pick a color that's really close to yours, maybe a bit lighter and do the test strand. The first time you do it, dye your entire hair. If it's long you may need 2 packages. Follow the directions to the letter. If it says leave it in 40 minutes, do that. For touch-ups, just do the roots and then lather it onto the rest of your hair for the last 5 minutes.

[Pool Hall Ace]

6. Thanks for the tip!....................n/t

[XanaDUer]

7. Ditto that

I went in two weeks ago to have my hair colored professionally (I usually use L'Oreal at home) and almost fell over when the bill came to almost $100. She thinks I am coming in once a month for that-I am going back to L'Oreal at home.

[Beaverhausen]

8. I use Feria by L'Oreal to help with my grays

I've colored my hair forever. I don't even know how gray I am but I only have to redo it about every 2 months so the gray isn't bad.

If only the red didn't fade so fast. Feria is the best for home use but still...it fades too fast.

[politicat]

9. Every six months, I do a Feria

At the end of winter, after swimming in the over-chlorinated pool all winter, and at the end of summer, after all the sun. I use the Jazz between times.

I can't use the Feria all the time because it's too harsh on this mop. The Jazz (pink bottle) keeps the color fresh without further damage.

Red is always going to fade fastest; the molecular structure of red anything is the weakest of the colors.

[Beaverhausen]

13. Ok- on your recommendation I bought a bottle of Jazzing yesterday

I bought Black Cherry.

So...do you do it on clean, still wet hair? (Some colors work better on dirty hair)

How long do you leave it in?
Do you use heat?
Do you just rinse it out or shampoo it?

I need to know so I make sure I do it right!

:hi:

[politicat]

14. Sorry I didn't get back to you right away on this....

I kinda took the weekend off.

I do it on 1 day dirty hair - so I'll have my shower in the morning on Friday, and then do the color on Saturday morning. I dampen with a spray bottle. However, my sister - who is a platinum blonde naturally and uses the more exotic colors when she's feeling.... frisky.... - uses it all on freshly clean, wet hair. So I don't think it matters.

I usually leave it on about 30 minutes, with a plastic cap over, and a towel around it to keep in the warmth, but nothing else. The one time as a teenager I bleached my hair out and decided to go fully punk (instead of only partly), I did use a bag-type hair dryer, but I don't see the point for this application.

I rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, shampoo. Basically, I rinse until it's gotten very, very light in the water, then shampoo gently to get the last of the color out, and condition with a color-safe conditioner.

Use a heavy lotion or cream around your hairline - especially ears! - and if you get color on your skin, hydrogen peroxide will clean that up. Also, try to avoid getting it on your scalp or under your nails, unless you like to look like you've been in a Kool-aid war. With this stuff, gloves are a must.

[Beaverhausen]

15. Thanks for the tips

:hi:

I'm going to do it next weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I think I had used it years ago and it didn't do anything on my hair but I'm figuring that since I color mine it is "Processed" so the color should take a little better.

[politicat]

17. Expect a filter, not a complete change.

Does that make sense? Unless you are a bleached or platinum blonde, it's going to cast and filter.

[Beaverhausen]

21. I tried Jazzing on Saturday. It was great

Just the thing for between colorings. Not a drastic change but enough so I'm not hating my hair getting too light before I have to color it again.

and it was easy.

thanks again for the tip!!!

[Pithlet]

16. What is Jazz?

I'm thinking of starting to dye my own hair, since the almost monthly salon visit is getting expensive.

[politicat]

18. Sorry, it's Jazzing, and it's a semi-permanent.

It's less toxic than the peroxide based ones, but it's also less permanent. (My bad on the names; I don't carry the bottle around with me and I tend to go to other places during the day to work than home.)

It is basically highly concentrated food-grade dye that coats the outer shaft of the hair rather than penetrating it the way that peroxide and ammonia based ones do. Thus, it's a lot easier on damaged or fine hair, but it's not a permanent solution.

here's a site that sells it and has a picture, but their data is inaccurate. I can run about 4-5 weeks with a semi-permanent, versus 2 months to 10 weeks with a permanent, and I shampoo daily when we have two bathrooms.

http://www.texasbeautysupplies.com/clairprofjaz.html

[Pithlet]

19. Thanks

Probably won't work for me. I don't have a lot of gray, but what I have is extremely stubborn. Even the stylist didn't get it all on the first try. I might give it a go, though. I hate permanent dye.

[politicat]

20. Can't hurt; worst case you're out $5.

EOM

[XanaDUer]

11. I use Preference

The other L'Oreal ( the brown box) makes my eyes water.

[Kat45]

10. I was fortunate to find a small, local salon that is really good.

It's a small, "family business." They're from Italy. They just raised their prices for the first time in a number of years, and color and cut costs a total of $60. That's not bad. And the man I see is excellent at cutting/styling. I used to live down the street, but even though I moved about 20 minutes away, I continue going. Actually, a friend recommended him to me after another friend had given her the recommendation. (She still goes to him, as does her current boyfriend now.)

[NMDemDist2]

12. when I bother (tomorrow I will) i use a rinse

it needs to be redone every 6 weeks or so

i'm so grey now but the smell of "permanant" color makes me ill so I can't do it at home. so I use Natural Instincts (usually Hazelnut, but tomorrow I'm going with Clove)

[Beaverhausen]

22. I tried Nutratint from Whole Foods- no ammonia haircolor

and didn't have the huge clumps of hair coming out of my head when I washed it out. So far so good.

The color is nice too...same as the Feria color I used to use. We will see how long it lasts.

The only thing is it was expensive - $14.99!

But my hair feels better and isn't dried out like when I use ammonia hair colors.

[BamaGirl]

23. Mine is naturally dark auburn

I've been coloring silver for years, but I give up. It's just getting too long to be bothered with dye. It seems like silver only holds dye for a few days anyway. If I really can't stand it in a few months, I'll try henna. Has anyone tried it?

[fudge stripe cookays]

24. Mine's kind of chestnut/auburn

with scattered grays all through. I usually use Hydrience, and stay pretty close to my natural color, with maybe a bit more auburn.

I'm getting a pretty impressive Cruella de Ville gray blaze up in my crown though. I won't be 40 until next year! :cry:

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