Hair Dye Gone Awry

[NightAngel]

Tales of woe and misery over hair dye here.

Monday I decided to put some intense red highlights on my hair. I've done this before and it's always looked good, I've liked it, etc. This time though... I don't know, I just hated it. I generally only use the dry hair/brush in type highlight/dye stuff because I am EXTREMELY allergic to all types of hair dye...
*flashback*
While dying my hair 10+ years ago my ex-hubby helped- when he did he rubbed the dye into my scalp causing a hideous reaction that I'd never had to hair dye before. I got chemicle burns, a horrible rash and my head swelled up! Yes, my whole head- I looked a great deal like Frankenstein's monster. It was terribly painful I have scarring on the back of my ears from the chemicle burns still. Not bad or disfiguring or anything. The skin, apparently, just looks a bit weird.
*/flashback*
... it cannot touch my skin. My hair is so thick that when it's dry it keeps the dye from soaking down to my scalp.

Anyhoo~ by Wednesday the stuff had already faded to the point it looked like I had dipped my head in Strawberry Kool-Aid. It was awful. Strangely, I was getting compliments on it everywhere I went... :confused:

I resigned myself to having to get a box of actual, full on hair dye (terror! yes, really- allergic remember?) and fix it. I chose a nice medium brown and went home to face my fate.

During the dying process I enlisted my hubby to help me go over the back. He VERY CAREFULLY brushed some of it on and said, "You want to fix the red... so you bought purple?"
Me: "No, it's medium brown."
Him: "You sure?"
Me: "Yes."
Him: "It looks purple."
I took the bottle and scrutinized it and by golly! It was purple... Dark Purple.
I showed him the box and I said, "Well... see? It's says medium brown... too late now anyway."

After about 15 minutes I rinsed- praying that somehow in the hair dye industry Dark Purple=Medium Brown. I dried my hair and realized the the dye had not only NOT covered the red it had rinsed out completely! It looked like I hadn't done anything.

It took three applications before it finally took. It never did cover the highlights but it looks much better in the end- thankfully. The dark brown (yes, dark brown- medium is a relative term I guess) makes the red blend in more smoothly. It's actually quite lovely. :)

The rash on the sides of my neck- not so lovely, and quite itchy!

[blas]

I give you props for being able to use those at home highlight kits NightAngel, they aren't as easy as they look lol. One of my friends ended up with some really bag zig zag blonde highlights from those brush highlight kits.

When I do highlights I usually use the old fashioned tin foil method.

I've been trying to settle on a hair dye for years now, but I'm still experimenting. All I am going to say is the Heather Locklear hairdye had me running out of my bathroom gasping for air, it was sure some podent stuff!!!!

Once I thought I'd look just stunning with jet black hair. But being as pale as a ghost, I ended up looking like snow white. I had to wait months for my hair to recover before I could bleach it back. And it took two bleaching applications to get my blonde back. People were calling me Snow White and Elvira.

[NightAngel]

It's best to look for hair dyes that do not contain ammonia. They stink- obviously, and they are extremely hard on your hair- again obvious. I've never thought the color lasted any longer with them so what would be the point?

As for highlighting blond I recommend Sun In or peroxide type stuff. I can use peroxide without allergic reaction- so maybe I'm biased? Now I just use the tropical sun for that anyway. ;)

I've been dying and highlighting my hair since I was 12. I'm 34 now so I've had plenty of screw-ups but it's also why I can use the brush in kits pretty easily. Just takes time I suppose. One of my fondest hair dyes was when I dyed it black with blond highlights, it actually looked pretty nifty. :D I used one of those caps you can pull the hair through for the highlights. Okay, so my best friend helped... alright, she did it all! Fine, I admit it. :lol:

[Phoenix79]

I'm a brunette - one time my hubby decided he wanted to see me as a blonde. Sooo, he bought a couple of boxes of permanent light blonde. We used both boxes, waited the appropriate time . . . . and nothin!!!! My hair looked exactly the same as it did before. I've dyed my hair red before, and that apparently is the only color that my hair will take.

I don't dye mine anymore since my friend mentioned that my regular hair color isn't really just brown - I have natural streaks of red, blonde, black, and brown!! I haven't dyed my hair in six years or so - but I've always wanted to try red highlights.

Thankfully, I'm not allergic. My best friend, however, has the same reaction as you do, NightAngel. If it touches her scalp, her head swells and she gets burns - but she still does it! Her hairdresser spends 6 hours dying my friend's hair - I guess it takes 4 or 5 applications to get the red dye to stick on my friend's blonde hair without her looking like a circus clown. :eek:

Phoenix

[NightAngel]

Dying light over dark usually doesn't work. You would need to 'strip' your hair first with bleach. Not something to do without help or maybe leave it to a pro.

My natural hair color is very unique. It's a mix of brown, blond, gold and copper. When my hair is all natural no one believes it is. But, alas- I get bored with it.

[CaroPhoenix]

As for highlighting blond I recommend Sun In or peroxide type stuff.

I tried Sun In once. Just once. After I tried it, saw the results, I called my best friend and said, "Mary, I dyed my hair." She said she'd be over in 10 minutes, she was there in 5. :lol:

I have dark brown hair. Lovely brown hair, when I am out in the sun, my hair turns a loverly shade of flame red. (All those highlights just jump out).

Anyways, after the Sun In, my hair was strawberry blonde at the roots, lighting up to a Bozo-the-Clown orange at the tips. We had to take a medium brown non-permanent dye to tone it down.

Funny how I escaped out of photographs until my roots were long enough that I could cut out all the lovely color.

[Banrion]

http://www.curevents.com/vb/images/smilies/worth.gif

No one else has said it so I had to.

I am lucky I suppose. My hair is all kinds of weird. Naturally my hair color can best be described as muddy laundry water, but different parts of my hair take dye differently, so when I do an all over dye I get nice highlights and lowlights included free. I was a blonde in middle school, but have been a redhead since I was about 14 or so. The only major mishap I have had was when Feria came out with a line called Outrageous Reds or something like that. I tried the deep auburn, and it turned my hair Bozo the Clown red. That was the only time I have ever dyed my hair twice in one day.

[Rapscallion]

I have to agree with the pics being needed.

As a side note, a girl in the bakery near our shop dyed her hair twice within three days. She ended up bright orange. I was in the minority of people who thought it looked rather fetching, and I meant it.

Rapscallion

[KuzcoLlama]

Anyways, after the Sun In, my hair was strawberry blonde at the roots, lighting up to a Bozo-the-Clown orange at the tips. We had to take a medium brown non-permanent dye to tone it down.

Ah memories...my friend in middle school did the same thing. It's because brunettes have red undertones and when you throw yellow on it, BOOM ORANGE.

My hair is thick. Insanely thick and strong. It takes hair colour beatings like no other. And has now been through a couple of chemical straightenings. Still freakishly thick. The only thing that miiight kill it is if I strip the colour and bleach it. Twice.

Right now I dye my hair dark because the ends lighten from the sun, making me look like I dye my hair a lighter shade.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, my avatar is the closest you'll see my hair.

[blas]

I don't have any recent pics, but my CS photo album pic is close, because my hair is always the same bleach blonde color.

I have kind of the same problem, except my hair doesn't take dark color well, except black obviously lol. But black is such a strong color, it grabs on and doesn't let go lol.

I was born with white blonde hair, when I was about 11 or 12 it started turning like Leo DiCaprio's hair in Titanic, that dishwater blonde color. I've been bleaching it ever since. On a good note, I only have to re-do my roots 3 or 4 times a year because there isn't a dramatic difference in my natural hair vs the bleach blonde.

I've dyed my hair brown and red, and it didn't last. I've dyed my hair the color of milk chocolate.....and 3 days later, it was light brown. After weeks, it was very very light brown, almost dark blonde. I tried red (but I already know that red is a very hard color to keep if you don't have any natural red to you), and the same thing happened, except it ended up strawberry blonde weeks later.

I gave up on having darker hair, it just doesn't last on me :(. My hair will soak up blonde (and black lol) like no tomorrow, but hates brown and red and just fades it right out.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I've done red, usually did it myself with the temporary kits. The first time I used the kind that only lasts a week or so. Then I've done it with the 24 washes type. I've only done it once with permanent color and I had that done professionally (my then-bf took me for a makeover for my birthday). It was red with caramelly highlights, which I really liked. Two trims later the girl touched up my highlights for free, but they came out really really blonde around my face. I have never ever wanted blonde hair. It took more than 2 years before I finally cut off the last of the blonde streaks.

I really like the red; I'm a natural brunette and when I was little I was red for a while but it didn't last. My grandmother was a redhead and I have red/copper highlights that really come out in the sun. Unfortunately I also have really fair skin so I try to not spend too much time in the sun, since it alse tends to really bring out the red/pink "highlights" in my skin ;).

Now I'm thinking of doing it again...we'll see....

[badgegirl007]

Oh goody, here's a topic I feel qualified to answer :lol:

(I'm a licensed hair stylist)

The reason why the dye didnt cover the first time is because you only left it on 15 minutes. I'm assuming your hair is in fairly good condition, right? Unless your hair is totally fried from bleach or heat damage, you should leave color on the recommended amount of time, which is normally 25-40 minutes. If you don't use chemicals on it too often then I would recommend leaving the color on at least 35 minutes.

Also, don't ever freak out if the color in the bottle turns purple or green or some other odd color while you are applying it, most of them do. When you mix the tube of color with the activating agent it begins to oxidize and look funky. But the color on the box is what it will turn out.*

Unless your hair has been heavily bleached beforehand. If it has, you should NOT try coloring it yourself at home. You will either turn it muddy green (if you are trying to dye it brown) or pink (if you are going red). That is not a time to skimp on the money...see a professional.

[Crazyredhead]

I was born with reddish brown hair, also it was long and very thick. When I hit high school I wanted to be blond. So I found me some Sun In and sprayed it on and got light brown hair with copper highlights. That wasn't enough and not understanding how hair color works, I figured that since there is peroxcide in blond haircoloring, I would increase the peroxcide and get blonder hair. So what did I do....I poured straight peroxcide on my hair. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d186/LuvlyLass/Smileys/36_2_39.gif Needless to say, I was practically bald on top the next day. All of my beautiful thick hair, down the drain, literally. :cry: I then went and got a box of Miss Clairol Champainge blond. :hairpull:

My hair has never recovered. I continued to dye it for the next couple of years, but never got the thickness back. I finally got tired of the blond and decided to go Auburn, It looked better and thicker. Then one day I got the perverbial wild hair up my ass and decided to go bluish black. I'm Irish and have naturally pale skin and blue eyes, I looked like something out of a vampire movie!:jawdrop: I even scared my father when he came to visit. He thought that he had the wrong apt when I answered the door. When my lighter roots started to grow in, I looked like a skunk.

I then went back to reddish brown. I was that color until about a year ago. I decided that I wanted to try blond out again. But the effects of the bleaching and the dying would of killed my hair. My hairdresser refused to do blond but recommended a very dark brown and red called Chocolate Cherry. It is so dark it is almost black and with strong red undertones and highlights. It is a conditioning rinse and my hair looks so much better afterwards. I haven't had it done in a while but it is still there. I had three different colors to my hair and it evened it out really nice. I also use Skinny serum to smooth it out and keep the fly aways away. My husband likes it better this way.

So yes, I have been to every extreme of the color spectrum when it comes to hair dye, and I look better with what I was born with. It still isn't as thick as it used to be, it is baby fine now. I am currently growing it, it has finally made it past my bra strap but I don't think that it will get much longer.

[Becks]

He VERY CAREFULLY brushed some of it on and said, "You want to fix the red... so you bought purple?"
Me: "No, it's medium brown."
Him: "You sure?"
Me: "Yes."
Him: "It looks purple."
I took the bottle and scrutinized it and by golly! It was purple... Dark Purple.
I showed him the box and I said, "Well... see? It's says medium brown... too late now anyway."

I know that the hair dyes I use say "color of dye does not necessarily match the color your hair will be" or words to that effect.


I have natural streaks of red, blonde, black, and brown!!

I was born a blonde, but darkened to brunette, more or less. I still have a blonde streak in my hair (back of my head, bottom layer of hair), but my hair is usually brown with red and blonde highlights, with strands of black and gray. Oh, and silver...


My hairdresser refused to do blond but recommended a very dark brown and red called Chocolate Cherry.


For my latest dye job, I used Garnier's Chocolate Cherry shade. I like it. I usually either go burgundy or intense dark red.

I want to dye my hair black, but everyone says that I'm much too pale for it. :cry:

[iradney]

The best colours I ever did was when I dyed my hair black as midnight without a moon. Then I got bright red streaks all over my head, and an electric blue streak at my crown. Pair that with the fact that I only wore black (not coz I was gothy, but coz it made getting dressed in the morning easier :lol:) and it was quite an interesting experience.
I'd love to do it again, but the blue washes out so easily. If I did do it again, I'd get the fake blue hair glued to my hair. Saves frying it.
My natural colour is boring brown. It takes red quite well, and I'm too chicken to try blonde. Mostly coz I'm pale with dark eyes and dark eyebrows.

[Barefootgirl]

I use that stuff with the highlighting kit included (l'Oreal Couleur Experte, its called) it covers all my grey bits very nicely thank you, and the highlights come out nicely reddish. I get TONS of compliments on my hair colour when i use this stuff, its most amusing.

[NightAngel]

The reason why the dye didnt cover the first time is because you only left it on 15 minutes.

Unless the instructions specifically state 10 minutes. Which it did- and I thought was really odd as I was expecting 20+ minutes. I went back and reread it like 5 times just to make sure.

I have to agree with the pics being needed.

Attack of the hair!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Nokomys/hair4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Nokomys/hair2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Nokomys/hair1.jpg

The lighting in my kitchen makes it look pretty light and kind of yellow? eh? Weird.

Hope you didn't expect me to oh, brush my hair or anything first...

[hawkchick11]

I've always been blonde. My hair was almost white as a child, then around 13-14 it started to turn a dirty blonde color. Scratch that, it looked almost grey. So I've dyed my hair ever since. I've always just done it myself, I've even used the same color all of these years.

But Monday, it will all change. I'm getting my hair professionally highlighted/lowlighted. Mostly because they don't make the color of hair dye I've always used anymore and the other color I tried, I hated. But I'm not just going to be light blonde anymore... She's throwing in some dark blonde lowlights. The color almost looks brown.

No one (family/friends) knows I'm doing this... they're probably going to flip because I've always been a light blonde.

[BookstoreEscapee]

My natural colour is boring brown. It takes red quite well, and I'm too chicken to try blonde. Mostly coz I'm pale with dark eyes and dark eyebrows.

Are you my twin? When I go red I don't worry too much about my eyebrows cuz they're naturally noticeably darker than my hair anyway. (And really thick. Thanks, mom :rolleyes:.) I don't have any gray yet but judging from my mom it's just a matter of time (I think I have a few years, though.) My brother is 2 years older and starting to go gray. He had the white blonde hair as a baby, which darkened to dark blondish-brown now at (almost) 34. He gets it from my dad, whose hair got to dark brown before he went gray. I got my mom's hair, born dark brown (almost black), lightened to reddish brown, then just brown by the time I was 3, with highlights in the right light. Overall, I like my hair. I've been using Pantene Ice Shine shampoo and it really makes it shiny. Though I might try Sunsilk Anti-Flat cuz it smells good (like apples, I think). But today it's raining so flat is unavoidable (I don't even bother to dry my hair when it rains like it was when I left the house).

[iradney]

Are you my twin?

My Clone! At last, now my world domination plan can be implemented! MWAHAHAHAHA

</evilgenius>
I'm going silver - Thanks Mom! It's not noticable, one or two silver hairs aren't that much to worry about. No, what I'm worrying about are the blonde hairs I'm discovering! There's no blondes in the family! :eek:

[Cia]

I was born a very light blonde but by the time I got out of elementary school my hair had darkened to a medium/dark brown. My hair has alot of red in it - I glow red in the sunlight - but the ends of my hair would sunbleach blonde.

I tried the non-permanent dye in Auburn once. It made my hair bright red/brown and I didn't like it - way to red for me. So I tried Medium Golden Brown - wow - I thought it would bring out blonde highlights but instead it brought out the red highlights. I like it much better - brown w/ red highlights instead of red w/ brown highlights.

I do miss my blonde ends but since I've started going grey - ick - I just have to dye my hair every 6 weeks or so.

[AFpheonix]

My greys are still few enough that I can yank 'em :)


I will end up with a skunk stripe at some point though....sigh...

[Broomjockey]

I've only ever dyed my hair using the permanent at home stuff. Being natural brown, I looked pretty bad with black, and blonde didn't work well, just made me light brown.

However, I hit my stride with red. The first time I did it, people who I hadn't seen in a while thought my hair had actually changed on its own. The only thing is I need to leave it in forever, even the stuff that says 15 minutes. Usually, about an hour will do it. I'd love to be able to get it done professionally at some point, especially as it's been a while since I've done my hair, though it'll be a while...

Also, Nightangel, your hair rocks, combed or not!

[BookstoreEscapee]

My Clone! At last, now my world domination plan can be implemented! MWAHAHAHAHA

</evilgenius>


All right! From SA to NJ .. the world is ours! (Wait, can I ask how old you are? I'm 31... Who cloned who?):devil:

[Der Cute]

Man, I dont like doing my hair that way.

To me, it's too expensive; having to touchup or redo whole head every 6 weeks due to roots.

One time I did my hair w/ a 28 day temp-washout color, and it really turned out good.

I've got thick brown hair, which will withstand nuclear bombs imo. It has gold & red and browns in it, so if I wear green, I look red; if I wear yellows (I dont) I'd look golden-er. (new word?)

I just dont have the patience to do it, if a man likes me, he's gonna like my hair as is.

By the way: I use Biolage Naturalizing Shampoo & detangler solution. Kicks ass.

Cutenoob

[iradney]

All right! From SA to NJ .. the world is ours! (Wait, can I ask how old you are? I'm 31... Who cloned who?):devil:

Aaaah, I'm your clone. I'm 26 :D
Back when I was coloring my hair quite often, it got quite...strawlike. Something that actually helped alot was a leav-in serum type thingumy by Redken called Extrem Anti-Split. Makes your hair super shiny, soft and Pantene ad smooth.

[XCashier]

Ah memories...my friend in middle school did the same thing. It's because brunettes have red undertones and when you throw yellow on it, BOOM ORANGE.
Happened to me, too. New hairstylist, wanted to give me a dark golden blonde color (my natural color, before it went half grey, was sort of borderline between blonde and brunette). After it was finished, my hair was PUMPKIN ORANGE. :eek: I had to go back the next day to have it put back to something resembling a natural human color. From now on, neutral light brown tones.