my hairdresser delivered my semi-permanent colour 5 hours ago

[ImsorryWilson]

...I forgot to get it from my front gate.

can I still use it? will it put any colour on? will it pull my hair out?

all help from hairdressers appreciated....

35 mins correct myself typo x

@Vthirtyone would you say there is a 'best' box dye to use? I'm pretty desperate haha but don't want to mess my hair up?

This is v helpful.
“If go for the box option op, don't risk the premixed” - so you buy a combo and mix yourself?

Re root spray coming off in hands - I guess there is the potential to ruin nice clothes.... it wouldn’t wash out of light clothes?

@ImsorryWilson
No premixed with no mixing will be a true semi if u mixing then that will be permanent to some extent even if it says it isn’t !
I’m gunna be honest here so don’t be offended please step away from colouring it yourself I don’t really think you should just grin and bare it a little longer get a wide headband or clips ect and try and go with it x x

I've never found the root spray coming off in my hands or on clothes.

And I used a box semi perm in the first lockdown and it was totally fine. I have my hair low lighted in a T section and a toner put over usually, so just used a semi perm box dye. I'd say go for lighter than you think you want.

I've had it done at the hairdresser twice since and she didn't think the box dye was a problem and it certainly seems to look fine. Luckily I had it done early Dec so can hopefully manage through this lockdown.

I wonder if hairdressers have lost a few clients over the past year? People embracing the grey or realising a family member is actually quite handy with a pair of scissors. Or they actually quite like the box dyes after all.

I'm actually pretty happy with my Clairol root touch up.
So tempted to use it in future to eek out expensive salon trips.

@MiJulee
Sorry, no experience of home colours, so can't really say, but stick to semi permanent ( as that is what you have been using already) and don't overlap on the previously coloured hair.
If my clients can bear to use the touch up spray at the moment then they become my favourites

I got my colour done at a salon a year ago and have box dyed since. It hasn’t ‘interacted’ and I’m not bald, in fact when I could see people they complimented the colour.

@Vthirtyone

I'm a hairdresser, it's absolutely true that box colour is unnecessarily strong as someone said previously. However, I don't mind my clients using it once or twice in lockdown, providing they a)tell me what they used before I colour their hair b)don't balls it up and expect me to rectify it without booking and paying for my extra time. And never use henna and then get professional colour, the combination can literally melt your hair off!

Why should you mind, it's their hair!

Nothing worse than going to the hairdresser and being tutted at for dying your own hair.

There's a thread on Style and Beauty right now on this topic!

@ImsorryWilson

This is v helpful. “If go for the box option op, don't risk the premixed” - so you buy a combo and mix yourself?

Re root spray coming off in hands - I guess there is the potential to ruin nice clothes.... it wouldn’t wash out of light clothes?

Weirdly it never stained clothes, and I had to wear a white uniform blouse. I must be a fidgety person who fiddles with her hair, but it got under my nails and looked horrible. Roots looked good though!

Just phone her and tell her you got held up on a work call, she would rather remix and drop off a colour than have you stressing over whether to box dye or not box dye.

My hairdresser has contacted all her clients during all lockdowns and said if we need roots doing she will drop a colour kit round for us, the peroxide, colour, mixing bowl, gloves and application brush. Obviously it's good business sense to do this, but will also save her having to correct colours when she reopens, which actually probably costs her money as she does charge extra for colour correction work.

A proper salon brand Semi permanent hair colour should not be mixed with peroxide anyway, so you can apply it straight from the tube. It’s used to cover a small percentage of grey hair and will fade fairly quickly.

If the product has been mixed with peroxide, then it’s either a Demi (Quasi) or a Permanent colour. That will stop working after about an hour.

The reason you’re advised not to use a box dye or Henna is that some brands contain metallic salts and if you apply a salon brand colour afterwards, it can react with the metal within the hair and cause an exothermique reaction, potentially leading to scalp burns and hair breakage.

FFS. I typed exothermic and the stupid spell checker changed it.

With a semi, it doesn’t matter if you overlap your colour.

@PADH

On a serious note, I used esalon during the last lockdown and sent them photos and brief description of what I was aiming for so they could send a colour that matched, rather than guessing the outcome from boxes. Everything needed included with clear instructions. Arrived quickly. Yoir first order is discounted so works out the same price as boxed dye. Would highly recommend. I've had some terrible disasters with box dye which were expensive and time consuming to fix.

I second esalon. My first one was a bit darker than I wanted so I sent a photo and they rejigged it for the next one.