[Continues from Part I]
After spending the best part of two days in hiding, I am now a fiery red-head and can answer the door to the postman without teaming a beanie hat with my dressing gown. It’s not quite the platinum blonde I was after, but at least I still have hair on my head. Given my experience, that in itself is an achievement.
I would like to thank “Herbal Essences Fearless Colour” in “Radiant Ruby” for my renewed appearance and happy grin. When it starts to fade/grow out, I’ll opt for a light brown close to my natural ash blonde and go from there.
I have written a bit of a “Hint and Tips” guide based on my trials and tribulations as a slave to home hair colouring (I refuse to pay salon prices).
Judging from the extensive Internet research I carried out whilst trying to salvage my poor, poor ravaged hair, many many people have made the same mistakes I did. I don’t claim to be an expert by any means, but I hope that people could learn from my experiences, at least.
Hair Colouring At Home: Hints & Tips
The following information is based on my own personal experience dying my hair a multitude of colours at home in my bathroom. Although these tips have worked for me, I provide no guarantee that they are the best solution/advice. ALWAYS contact a professional if possible. If what they advise contradicts what is written here, then go with what they say. They are the experts, not me.
When Home Colouring
If at all possible, DON’T home colour — get your hair done professionally — you’re much more likely to be pleased with the results and not have any disasters. At the end of the day, your hair is your crowning glory: its the first thing people notice about you, give it the priority it deserves.
If you MUST colour from home, make sure to do a strand test and allergy test, EVEN IF YOU HAVE USED THE PRODUCT BEFORE.
Time things precisely. Base your times on the result of your strand test and use a clock. DO NOT attempt to guess or estimate the time elapsed.
Accept that your new hair colour will not look identical to that of the model on the box. Everybody is different and your current hair colour will always effect how your new one will turn out. Use the shade guides on the sides of the box to gain a little idea as to what your resulting colour will look like.
Try not to colour your hair too regularly, try to leave it 3–8 weeks between dying sessions, or longer, if possible.
Take care of your hair in-between dying/bleaching sessions. Use intense conditioning masks to stop your hair from becoming over-processed and brittle.
Use products suitable for dyed/bleached/highlighted hair.
Before applying the dye, spread vaseline over all over your ears and around the hair line, it stops stray dye getting on your skin. — Thanks for the reminder Beki
If you do get dye on your skin, use baby/wet-wipes or if its a stubborn stain, a cotton-wool pad soaked in Acetone (nail polish remover) to get rid of it [But for the love of sanity, don’t get it ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR EYES!]
When Going Red
NEVER use anti-dandruff hair products. Anti-dandruff shampoos are the most harsh of shampoos on the market — they will strip the red colour from your hair.
When Going Black
Be VERY sure that you want to have black hair. Once you go black, its hard work going back, its a big commitment and not a good idea if you’re fickle about your hair colour.
The only way to rid yourself of dyed black hair, is to let it grow out or bleach it out (which isn’t advised).
When Going Blonde
DO NOT try to go blonde using a home kit if your hair is any darker than a light to mid brown. The processes used by professionals to change dark/very dark hair to blonde is referred to as “Colour Correction Treatment” and can be very expensive and time consuming. It requires a lot of expertise; most home colouring disasters occur when people with dark hair try to go blonde using home kits and end up going orange, white or even bald!
Kits containing simply bleach and peroxide are not enough to get a decent, natural looking blonde. Bleach and peroxide just strip your hair of its colour in stages. The longer you leave it on, the more stages it goes through (rust, orange, yellow and white). Kits that just contain bleach and peroxide will just leave you looking a brassy yellow. A toner or blonde dye are required in addition to bleach and peroxide to give a natural and desired blonde.
When Going Un-natural Colours
Bleach your hair as light/White as you can before applying unnatural coloured dye. Pink/green/blue/purple etc dyes will not take to hair any darker than ash blonde.
Freshly bleached hair will also absorb the dye more efficiently and make the colours last a little longer.
When trying to rid yourself of roots, you must re-bleach before reapplying the dye. Make sure you only re-bleach the roots, else your hair will start to break off.
When Things Go Wrong
I went out in the sun/in the swimming pool with my newly bleached/highlighted hair and now its gone green!
Wash you hair in tomato ketchup, it will neutralise the green.
I bleached my hair and now its bright yellow!
Use a pale violet toner — you might look like a granny with a blue rinse for a couple of days, but it will settle to a natural blonde after a couple of washes.
I bleached my hair and now its damaged and has patches of white and orange!
If you can, re-bleach the orange parts to a yellow and use a toner as described above. If your hair is too fragile to endure rebleaching, dye your hair red and then few weeks later, redye it a mid-brown. If you try to fix it with brown or black (instead of using red first), your hair may go green. If you want to attempt blonde again, visit a professional colourist.
I’ve dyed my hair red and I hate it, how do I get rid of it?
Wash your hair frequently with an anti-dandruff shampoo, it will strip the colour from your hair much quicker than other shampoos.
Why doesn’t my red colour last?
Red dyes have larger pigments than other coloured dyes and so wash out/fade sooner. Try to use products suited to coloured hair to maximise your colour.
What brands are best? The one I used left my hair like straw/fades really quick.
Based on my own personal experience, I find Clairol dyes (especially Herbal Essences) to be kindest to my hair. It comes with a very good, deep conditioner, that prevents hair becoming brittle and dry. Metallic dyes, such as Feria by L’Oreal fade rapidly. Also, you have to be careful when recolouring/bleaching after using metallic dyes as a lot of other brands and bleaches are incompatible with hair treated with them and can produce allergic reactions or unpredictable results.
A full-time wheelchair user since 1998, Claire lives in an adapted bungalow in England with her Partner of 10 years and their two dogs: 
great tips
I think your hair is gorgeous!
I’m sorry things didn’t initially go as planned — I’m too much of a chicken to dye my hair myself (with the exception of the couple of times I did blue highlights) so I applaud anybody who will try it. I have a friend who cuts her hair herself — I can’t even imagine.
Yay for redheads… which is what I am right now, I’ll have you know. I’m using a shampoo & conditioner for red hair, but I hate it. I can’t even remember what it is. Do you use any?
Anyways, yay for not having to hide your head. And double yay for your tips. I’m always spouting crap to people… now I can just send them here. LMAO!
Meggan:
Thank you — I’m just glad it turned out ok…eventually! Your friend cuts her own hair?! I’ve always wondered how people manage the back when they do that — even when just dying my hair, I have to get someone to help me at home.
Elyse: When I first went red a few years ago, I tried both shampoo for reds and then just shampoo for dyed/bleached hair. The latter worked better as the one for reds (that I used) assumed you were a natural red and did naff-all for preserving dye.
Now, I’m just using regular Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner for either dyed hair or dried/damaged hair and a weekly treatments of “Evershine Conditioning Gloss” by Herbal Essences’ “Fearless Colour” range to combat the fact that the ends of my hair are crunchy/crispy now from the over-processing of the bleach
I love your red hair! I threatened to go a similar shade a few years back and always, ALWAYS chickened out. I’ve decided to give my hair a rest for a couple of years so it has a chance to remember what it is naturally (I think a mousy brown/dishwater blond looking color).
Gah. Your hair is so lovely. I wish mines was better.
I’ve natural black hair. But I rarely bleach/dye it at all, now. I’ll remember your tips, though. My hair curls when I don’t want it to, I want straighter hair D:.
The red looks lovely!
I’ve recently been a very unnatural shade of purple/fuschia and luckily being a natural blonde (oooh get me!) find it takes quite well and lasts just under a week which is about the right time for my appalling short attention span.
Some very wise tips, I’d add this one if using unnatural colours: before applying the dye, spread vaseline over all over your ears and around the hair line — stops stray dye getting on your skin!
Thanks for that Beki, I’d forgotten that one — and you’ve also reminded me of other tips on how to remove stray dye if you do get it on the skin.
*Goes to edit post*
I remember when I dyed my hair purple/fuchsia once… I think I used Jerome Russell’s “B Magenta”…though I do think it lasted a little longer than a week… though I think by week 3 it has faded to dishwater
I’m worried about the fact that you can only remove dye from the skin with acetone or baby-wipes. What in the name of God are Western women smearing on their children’s bottoms?
I like the red.
My thoughts exactly. Thats why I steer clear of babywipes for everything other than stain removing purposes (getting ink from upholstery etc). Goodness knows why people rub them over their babies…
Wow, I’m glad I read your very last point about the Ferie dyes… I’ve used those the last couple of times, but had mostly decided on another brand for the next try. However, I think I’ve changed my mind yet again, and am trying to get back to my natural colour instead. But ah, the long wait…
Alright, so you’re making me nervous. I bought an Herbal Essences dye — because I heard that it’s better for my hair — but I DID uae a metallic dye last time I dyed (Preference by L’Oreal). So I’m kinda freaked. Aside from an alergic reaction, what unexpected results migt happen? Might I end up with green hair? Or might it all fall out? Please explain. Thanks so much.
I dyed my hair last night with an ash blonde dye and it looks blue!!! What can I do?
Marrianne: See your inbox
Kat: The best thing I suggest to do is contact a hairdresser.
Please everyone bear in mind: I am not a hairdresser. I am not an expert.
My blog post is based solely on my own experiences of home colouring. If something isn’t answered in the post, then it’s outside my very limited knowledge.
If you have ANY doubts whatsoever about the things I do mention, please contact a professional, as I can not be held responsible if what worked for me, does not work for somebody else.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
yesterday i home died my hair peroxide blonde it looks horrible i hate it. so i went to the hairdresses today and told them i want to go a brown colour. heard tht swimming and sun can make hair go green aspecially peroxide blonde hair, but when it is redyed will it still go green wen i go swimming n out in the sun as the peroxide is still going to be in my hair but underneath the brown?:o
Hi — great tips. I have a question though — could you help? I died my hair black about 2 ears ago and kept dying the roots and occasioanally ‘refreshing’ the hair with black dye (permanent). I had my hair stripped (bleach-cleansed) and then dyed with a kind-to hair– red colour. I like it but now, after a year of it,am thinking of returnng to my natural hair colour of goldy blonde / light brown. What I want is to have my hair bleach cleansed again, so it will go lighter (last time the body of the hair went rust, and the roots went orange and the natural hair went white) and then to have a ‘toner’ / another kind to hair dye in my natural shade PLUS have some lighter blonde highlights streaked through the hair (just a few). Does this sound possible??
Kat: It sounds reasonable to me, but a little complicated. To be on the safe side, I’d recommend considering getting a hairstylist for do the colouring as I think it would be too complex/risky to do it at home.
Best of luck with it!
hello i have home coloured my hair three times and now i want rid of it i have done it close to my natural colour but its still not right i was wondering if there was anyway you no of that i could strip my hair colour at home,one of my friends said that you can use soda water but is it true? please help
Hi! saw your website thing and i love your hair colour, i’ve got mine dyed the same colour.
anyways i just wondered if the hair dye will come out in the swimming pool?! I’m going on holiday in 2 days and i’ve just re-dyed my hair 2nite. I want to go swimming but i dont want the colour to turn the pool red or anything crazy like that!
a reply within the next 48 hours would be much appreciated. Please email me incase I dont have time to check back to see the reply! — helensunter@hellokitty.com
thanks guys
xxx
Actually, bleaching is not the only way to get black hair color out. There is a product called One ‘N Only Colorfix that you can get at Sally’s or online that removes permanent haircolor (but not natural haircolor) and I totally removed my black haircolor with it! It doesn’t go back to your natural haircolor of course but I am now a lovely shade of auburn and I love it! You just can’t re-dye permanent dye over it without using a protein filler because it makes your hair porous. You can use a semi-permanent color though.
hey i love your hair i had black hair and bleached it so that i could do my hair skyblue with renbow crazy color i bleached my hair 4 timesin a week but inbetween each bleach i used dark n lovely ultra cholesterol conditioning system to keep my hair in top condition anyway i have my desired hair color !!BLUE!!:Pand my hair is in really good condition and now i rebleach and dye every 3 weeks
what i wanted to know is is there any long term effects to excessive bleaching?