What can you do with hair that will not take colour?

[boyandgirl]

I have fine dark hair, and recently tried colouring it for the first time ever.

First it wouldn't bleach.
Then it wouldn't take the colour.

I didn't mind too much, as i was left with streaks of a rather lovely titian hue.

The hairdresser obtained an even stronger dye and I returned 6w later.

The previously bleached hair bleached a bit more, but not all the way, and the roots only reached the same stage as previously.  The dye was electric purple.  My hair didnt take it and came out purpley-pink.

I didn't mind too much, because it was still quite a nice colour, even though not the vibrant splash that I wanted.

Now, after one wash with baby shampoo, it has faded to an insipid orangey pink.

It's vile.

What can I do about it?

[bonzo77]

how much of your hair is this orange/ pink colour? All of it or just streaks? what colour is the rest of your hair? What colour would you like it to be?

[boyandgirl]

It was meant to be a bunch of streaks covering an area about 3" wide. I wanted a vivid splash of colour, nothing wishywashy!

Ideally, I'd like my vivid splash of colour. Preferably purple, but blue would do. Pink is actually quite nice, but I'm not sure that it's right for me: I blush too much for red or pink. If I can't get a rich and exciting colour, then I'd like to look a bit more natural again. My natural colour is dark brown with a sprinkling of grey (which I'm not bothered about).

[TheOneWithTheHair]

Hi boyandgirl. bumping for you.

[LauraIngallsPalmer]

Here's the first thing - if you're colouring over sometime (ie. filling in to cover the bleached-out purpley-pink bits) you DON'T want a 'stronger' dye. You actually want to use a colour with a lower volume of developer (such as a semi or demi permanent) because the stronger the dye the higher the level of developer. What the developer does is lift and then deposit. Well you've already lifted so at this stage you only want to deposit. Otherwise the colour won't 'stick' (which is what happened when you washed post-colouring.)

BTW, baby shampoo is one of the WORST things you can put on colour-treated hair. It is a deep cleansing shampoo and it will strip the colour - eventually turning even the richest, most beautiful shade into a brassy mess (or instantly into an insipid orangey pink!) Baby shampoo is too strong for colour-treated hair - it's the equivalent of washing your clothes with dishwashing liquid. You need to be using something specifically for colour-treated hair - Pantene makes a good, inexpensive one, as does L'Oreal.

[LauraIngallsPalmer]

*sometime in first line should read 'something'

[LauraIngallsPalmer]

Now. At this point if you want the streaks to be purple or blue the best thing to do is to purchase some Crazy Colour or Directions. I think the Directions tends to be a bit more strong (the Dark Tulip is gorgeous), but I've also had lovely success with Crazy Colour Peacock Blue. Bear in mind that you can leave it on much longer than the directions say and it will make the colour more intense/last longer.

The thing is, it will fade. That's just a fact of this sort of colour (especially as it's just sitting on top of previously bleached hair.) So be prepared to re-apply in 3-6 weeks, depending on how much you shampoo your hair.

And please, buy some appropriate shampoo for colour-treated hair!

[LauraIngallsPalmer]

The other consideration is good old-fashioned colour theory. If during the bleaching process your hair has ended up orangey, then you need to think about how that base colour will 'mix' with what you're putting on top.

Hope this helps!

[boyandgirl]

Oh thank you!

So if I used something like this, I might be able to get a better result?

I'm allergic to fragrances, so am very limited in the shampoos I can use (hence the baby shampoo), but I know that Simple do a colour care shampoo that I can use - I shall get some.

How would henna work on the bleached and coloured part of my hair?

[boyandgirl]

Cross-posted with yours of 12.55 etc.

[boyandgirl]

Crazy colour is what the hairdresser used, but she didn't warn me about the shampoo.

[LauraIngallsPalmer]

Grrrrr. Second long post that I lost...will write again.

[LauraIngallsPalmer]

I wouldn't recommend henna as it's not a product that you can control very much and as your hair has already been subjected to several chemical processes it well might have unpleasant results.

[LauraIngallsPalmer]

*might well

[Nagoo]

Yup, I was going to suggest directions. :)

if your hair is dry, you might get away with just washing it with conditioner to preserve the colour.

[LauraIngallsPalmer]

Jeez, my computer is playing stoopid tricks and deleting everything.

The other thing I was trying to add was a suggestion to use Directions this time - I do think it's a bit stronger than CC. Just make sure you don't condition your hair prior to applying the colour. In fact, I would recommend that you do a deep cleansing shampoo (here's where your baby stuff is golden!), blow dry without any styling products, and then apply the colour.

If you can also wear a plastic cap and use your hair dryer to create some moisture-based heat it will help open the hair cuticle a bit to allow for a deeper depositing of the colour. (You will look funny but it will help lengthen the fade-out time.)

[Nagoo]

I avoid henna as it reacts badly with other dyes, so I'm afraid of it.

When you try to dye it back brown, you need an 'ash' colour to take down the pinkyness.

[LauraIngallsPalmer]

One more thing - if you do the hair dryer heat thing be sure you let your hair cool down completely before rinsing the colour - you want the cuticle to close up around the colour molecules that have just been deposited.

It's the same reason why rinsing your hair with cold water makes it shiny - the cuticle closes and is able to reflect more light.

[LauraIngallsPalmer]

Yes Nagoo I think henna is evil! Admittedly companies have improved henna formulas over the years but overall it's got such limited results. And is ridiculously drying for the hair. Nowadays there are several other ways to go if you want a 'natural' product range.

[Hopefully]

I used to use crazy colour, and in order to keep it a vibrant red I had to re-dye about every 10 days (I'm a daily hair washer). It fades noticeably after one or two washes even on fairly bleached hair.

[boyandgirl]

Not sure what you mean about the plastic cap and moist heat - should I put a hotel shower cap on and blow dry into it? But if my hair is dry won't that make dry heat?

[LauraIngallsPalmer]

A hotel shower cap is perfect, then just blow the warm air on the outside of the cap (easier with a diffuser, if you have one). It won't be dry heat because you should be fully saturating your dry hair with the colour - there should be so much colour applied to your hair that it becomes damp. Apply the colour in thin sections so you coat everything evenly and thoroughly. The warm heat in conjunction with the plastic cap will create more moisture.

[georgesmummy11]

From what your describing it sound like you have a build up of ether metallic salts or a build up of silicone on your hair. The baby shampoo is probably a big factor, it's high in silicone and designed for baby hair that eventually sheds and is not designed for adult hair at all. I would highly recommend trying to find a more suitable shampoo and trying to get rid of the build up before you do any other colour process. The build up is blocking the cuticles and not allowing the colour to be absorbed. x

[boyandgirl]

The baby shampoo has no silicones in it.

Simple shampoo and conditioner, which I was using before, contain silicones. But since the first attempt at dying my hair i have been using silicone-free shampoo and conditioner. So I would have thought that the silicones would have been cleaned off by the second attempt at dying. Yet my hair responded in pretty much the same way both times - by not taking either bleach or dye.

[bonzo77]

Johnson's baby shampoo def takes the edge of colour. not sure if it contains silicones though.

silicones are hard to shift. you need a clarifying shampoo. You can get one in a small bottle called B4Ucolour.

I have also had problems getting colour to take in the past, but not recently. I've never had a problem with bleach though. What did you use? I use Jerome russell powder high lift + their cream. Wrap in clingfilm then sit by radiator. I find cling film better as it holds the hair against my head which is generating its own heat. In fact when I had some heavy duty colour and silicone build up (10+ years of very dark hairdye and heat styling with silicone products), bleach lightened it up very nicely.

[ooer]

Directions! I want to be the Blue Fairy! But I daren't [scaredy emoticon] as would bring about professional downfall.