Help going from Blue semi to Black Demi?

Ok, there's somethings to take into account before you go black. Often, there's no real thing as anything other than permanently stained hair from black. Especially when it's been bleached, bleached hair can be very grabby and take in black dye and not let it go. Also, black is just basically a very, very concentrated, highly pigmented mix of another colour which is what can lead to the staining, even on unbleached hair. So, just be sure it's what you want as there might be no coming back from it!

I also wouldn't use a demi permanent all over as demi's usually have peroxide in and it sounds like you need to avoid that. What I would actually do is use a permanent dye on ONLY the roots. You need to do something to roughen up the hair a little at the roots as the following dye you need to use won't stick well to virgin hair. Then use a dye like one of the Adore blacks over your entire head afterwards. They don't contain peroxide, like the artic fox, and so it'll be more kind to your already bleached hair and then you can top it up as you need to with no extra damage.

To answer your questions

1) Do I need to remove the remaining arctic fox color from my hair before I can dye it black with demi-permanent color?

No, black is the deepest colour so it covers fine. There's no point in trying to remove a colour and ending up damaging your hair for no reason! Most forced removal methods will damage the hair at least a little bit. Besides, I've heard Artic Fox blues are almost impossible to remove totally!

2) Can I apply the demi perm color over the remaining arctic fox? Or will I need to worry about some weird color stuff happening?

Yes. The only thing that might happen is a bad fade if you use a brown based black, but in all honesty it's more likely to make a brown based black look great as they can fade badly anyway!

Hi! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions! 🙂

Yes, I do want to go back to black *permanently* (prior to going blue & purple I was black for 10+ years). SO I am very certain about that. My biggest concern is that I go about it in the right way to cause as little additional damage to my hair as possible. Because, yea, it's been through a lot.

So, I just want to make sure that I got this right:
- I should use a permanent hair color --but only use that on my roots.
- I should apply a semi perm black over the rest of my hair to avoid further damage from the ammonia or peroxide or whatever is in the permanent hair dyes. (Artic fox is the easiest brand for me to get locally, and I want to get this done before an event I have to attend on feb 9th).

Is there a thread here on the forum for permanent black hair dyes? Are there any permanent ones that you recommend? (I don't mind going to Sally's and picking it up as long as the directions are pretty clear on what developer or whatever I need to pick up with it)...I had a look around but I must have missed it b/c I couldn't find it.  *gallery*

I used to use Clairol Natural Instincts Black (which was a demi), but if there's something better for my hair out there (or that gives richer color then I'm all for finding out about it!) especially in the realm of permanent hair color since I haven't ever gone that route.....

Thank you again for your help! I really am grateful! *1*
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Yes, use permanent dye on the roots only. It's not what I'd normally recommend, but it really is the best way for black.

Apply the other dye all over. It should blend anyway, but putting it over the roots as well helps. Arctic Fox is fine, though I've not used it so I can't really say if the black is a good one. I just know the Adore blacks are very good from others recommendations here.

I don't have any permanent dye recs and there's not a thread on it, that I can think of anyway. Most people are trying to get away from black when they come here! I'm from the UK living in New Zealand right now, so I don't fully know what dyes are available in the US (I assume it's the US, or Canada, as Arctic Fox isn't available in the EU as some of the colours have banned substances in them - that's not always as bad as it seems, some countries ban perfectly fine chemicals, it's misunderstandings etc sometimes). It's really much of a muchness when it comes to the dye as all you're really doing is using it to open up the cuticle on your roots and get the ball rolling on depositing some dye. The punch of the dye is going to come from the Arctic Fox. You could look for one without ammonia, but try and avoid ones with silicones, look up online to see which ones are the worst. There's some comprehensive lists out there. And don't use the conditioner that comes with the dye as they're loaded with silicones normally. Silicone isn't all bad, but it does block the dye from settling on your hair, and so it'll be a waste!

Yes, use permanent dye on the roots only. It's not what I'd normally recommend, but it really is the best way for black.

Thanks for all the help!
Can I do both (the permanent dye on the roots and then the semi-perm) the same day or do I need to wait some time between them?(I mean, as far as you know or guess anyway?) And when my roots grow out do I just repeat the process? (I probably do?)

Arctic Fox is fine, though I've not used it so I can't really say if the black is a good one. I just know the Adore blacks are very good from others recommendations here. You could look for one without ammonia, but try and avoid ones with silicones, look up online to see which ones are the worst. There's some comprehensive lists out there.

I'm sorry Arctic Fox isn't available to you--I've been loving it -- haven't had any bleeding of dye onto my clothes, skin or pillowcases 😉 I just apply it and then do a black tea rinse and the color just lasts and stays bright (Going back to black because even though I love the blue and purples my inside vision of me always has black hair so I'm going back to it...) 8)

And don't use the conditioner that comes with the dye as they're loaded with silicones normally. Silicone isn't all bad, but it does block the dye from settling on your hair, and so it'll be a waste!

Thanks for the reminder! I do cowashing and avoid sulfates and silicones (and all the cones lol) as much as I can but I didn't think about the stuff that comes with the permanent dye!

Can I do both (the permanent dye on the roots and then the semi-perm) the same day or do I need to wait some time between them?(I mean, as far as you know or guess anyway?) And when my roots grow out do I just repeat the process? (I probably do?)

Yep, you can do them both in the same day and yes, just repeat it when you want to do your roots. You can also use the direct dye (a more correct term for these kinds of dyes than semi) any time you want to top up the black if you get too much fade or the blue starts to show too much. You can even add a bit of the black to your conditioner to do a mini top up each time you wash to avoid needing to top up 🙂