Hello, everyone! *lovestars*
My name is Mel. I will be 48 on my birthday next month (can't believe it). I was hoping for some help on taking my hair color quite dark without damage.
I have been using henna and indigo but the trouble is that in order to get it to a very dark dark brown rather than unnatural shades of ruby (not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not for me), it tends to jump very suddenly from "not dark enough and not a natural dark brown" to "Halloween wig black" (again, nothing wrong with that, LOL, but harsh against my face). And at that point it is VERY permanent and I am growing out two years worth of hair growth while trying to get the roots where I want them...usually unsuccessfully. (Nothing gets the hendigo out, trust me...until I get to bleaching, which I tried just once, got a dark ashy blue-gray and mushy hair.)
So I wanted to see whether I could use semis on my roots as I grow out the current "too-black" color. My hair is very, very, very fragile even when 100% unprocessed, which is why I was using hendigo in the first place rather than an oxidizing color.
The trouble is, semis just don't seem to have an impact on my hair. My most recent venture was Clairol Nice 'n Easy (the semi one, no developer) on virgin roots...there seriously was the lightest possible color change, to about, hmm...a 6 or maaaaaaaaybe a 4 or so? And that was only for two shampooings. After that...just gone. I've tried several Sally-available colors, including Clairol Beautiful, and some supposedly "holy grail" colors like Elumen. Same thing. They just never really get dark in the first place, and then any darkening I get just washes out after a couple of shampoos/COs. It's really frustrating.
I was considering buckling and going to a 10v developer with a perm dark color but am afraid it won't stay, at which time I'll need to re-color over it and as I said, my hair is fragile. After a couple shots over the same spots even with 10v I'm pretty afraid of serious damage.
If anybody could help I will absolutely love you. *cheers*
Oh, I should add:
1. Sorry I didn't put this in the Semi forum but my question includes the possibility of using a perm instead.
2. Greys: I have hardly any. I have found two or three at each temple and that's it. So coloring grays isn't the issue. Just a FYI I forgot to mention.
Thanks!
(Moderator combined posts. Please use the modify button rather than double posting)
Topic starter
Posted : July 19, 2015 6:17 am
Using a permanent once with a low peroxide and then using semis to top up if it fades is likely the way to go. That way you can just do the roots with the permanent colour. This then roughs up the cuticle a little allowing semis to stick better.
Or just bite the bullet and live with the growing out stage and call it a reverse ombré 😉
Posted : July 19, 2015 9:35 am
Nice & Easy semis tend to not stick well even to bleached hair, they just aren't very good.
Other brands stick better to virgin hair, but they only come in unnatural colours. Adore, who make a huge array of natural shades is known for not taking to unprocessed hair
So you can either try mixing a natural shade from several unnatural colours (can definitely be done) or find ways to get Adore to stay on your hair. The two main methods are lifting the cuticle with a combination of heat, shampoo and bicarb, or pre softening with peroxide. (You apply plain peroxide, let it sit for 10 mins then wash out)
Adding heat while the dye is taking and leaving to set for a long time (minimum 4 hours) can also help.
There are other brands of direct dye that come in natural shades (Nirvel, Wella Colour Fresh etc) but I have no experience using them on unprocessed hair. I know the Nirvel dyes can also be mixed with peroxide (which is unusual for a direct dye) so you could try without and if it doesn't take try with peroxide without having to purchase another product. I think it would be gentler on the hair than an oxidative dye too.
Posted : July 19, 2015 5:51 pm
Thanks to both of you. *waves*
Either way it looks like peroxide is going to be involved...so I guess I'll just fall back to roots with color and developer, then refreshing the rest as it grows out with a deposit-only since that part will have already been exposed to peroxide.
At least this will mean not re-peroxide-ing (is that a word?) the length as it grows out.
I do want to keep the color dark, I'm not actually trying to grow out my natural color, which I'm not fond of. I just want to do it with something that's not hendigo, and with as little damage as possible.
Topic starter
Posted : July 19, 2015 7:32 pm
Peroxide on its own is less damaging than peroxide mixed with an oxidative dye. It just lifts the cuticle, there is next to no chemical reaction involved.
Shampoo/bicarb does the same thing, but i personally find it more drying than peroxide.
Posted : July 19, 2015 7:56 pm
Peroxide on its own is less damaging than peroxide mixed with an oxidative dye. It just lifts the cuticle, there is next to no chemical reaction involved.
Shampoo/bicarb does the same thing, but i personally find it more drying than peroxide.
This is confusing to me - the dye is the part that's damaging in the oxidative dye process? I thought it was the peroxide. Isn't dye just dye...?
Topic starter
Posted : July 20, 2015 9:43 am
Both parts are damaging. Together they are more damaging.
Posted : July 20, 2015 11:48 am
The peroxide is the catalyst that causes the chemical reaction in hair dye or bleach. (Oxidation, the peroxide is the oxidant) It is this chemical reaction that removes/destroys the natural pigments in your hair, which is what causes the damage.
Posted : July 20, 2015 11:57 am
If your hair is fragile, there a couple of professional lines of color that are oil based and contain little or no ammonia. Loreal And matrix both have a line.
Posted : July 20, 2015 8:56 pm
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