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Original poster

Bright red hair.

56 replies

Alouiseg · 09/02/2011 18:50

I'm so tempted to have my brown hair dyed a bright unnatural red. More Aliona from strictly than Jane Goldman.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm too old, it'll do terrible things to my complexion and dh will hate it.

Anyone old done it?

OP posts:
penelopestitsdropped · 09/02/2011 18:54

it will make your facelook very pale.

you will look like you have borrowed ronald Macdonalds wig.

it will wash out after a week and go a nasty dull orangy colour.

everyone will assume you are trying desperatly to be young and hip and follwo the trend.

Original poster
Alouiseg · 09/02/2011 18:56

That told me.

Ronald Mcdonalds wig!!! :o

OP posts:
bethelbeth · 09/02/2011 18:56

I've done it a few times but the upkeep is horrendous. To keep it that bold red it needs dyed at least once a month... based on 3 hair washes a week.

Whether it'll suit you is quite dependent on your skin tone as well, if you have very pink skin or rosy cheeks you could end up looking like a clown. If you have a yellowish tinge to your skin it can make you look really ill.

IMHO it really suits very pale people or black people. Anyone in between I generally raise eyebrows at

Beamur · 09/02/2011 18:57

Its only hair, you can dye it back if you don't like it.
Go on!

TattyDevine · 09/02/2011 18:59

I think it looks good with a fairly warm but light tan, if that makes sense.

I've been through a bit of a red thing recently, am now over it and have gone back, so you could scratch the itch if you think it wont go away in time.

To get a very vibrant red you either have to be blonde or pre-lighten (i.e bleach) so its a bit of a risk to take if you dont like it.

Spidermama · 09/02/2011 18:59

Go Rhianna. Wink

Seriously I would if I were you, but be prepared to have to be more selective with clothes and make up to suit it.

My friend with bright red hair looks fab.

laosvher · 09/02/2011 18:59

Done it... a long time ago :o
Oh dear, was it really 15 years?
Yep, done it - make sure you get a proper shampoo and conditioner for red hair! It'll wash out quickly, if your hair is naturally blonde you'll go orangey. If it's darker then it won't be quite so bad :o
Do it anyway, if it's awful then a dark brown/black will cover it easily. Mostly

FellatioNelson · 09/02/2011 19:05

I think it would suit your skin tone fine, but it would fade really quickly so the upkeep would be problematic. Plus, if you want that very vibrant red, you will have to have your dark colour 'stripped' first, which is not good for the condition really. Why don't you try starting off with a really rich warm chestnut/cherry first, and see how you feel?

bristolcities · 09/02/2011 19:06

I think Jonathan Ross's wife looks amazing. She quite pale but looks great. I was considering doing this as well but worried about the bleaching first.

But you only live one and if it goes tits up you can redye it brown Smile

FellatioNelson · 09/02/2011 19:07

My son's GF had this and she was lucky - it faded beautifully through red to copper to strawberry blonde - but her natural colour was light brown to start with. Alouiseg's is pretty dark.

Original poster
Alouiseg · 09/02/2011 19:08

Oh gawd, I can't do it if it means bleaching it first.

Back to the mid life crisis drawing board.

OP posts:
FellatioNelson · 09/02/2011 19:10

Sorry to piss on your hair bonfire so early!

Original poster
Alouiseg · 09/02/2011 19:11

Ewww. Burnt hair and piss :o Nice!

OP posts:
FellatioNelson · 09/02/2011 19:12

I reckon you could stick a box of strong red semi-permanent on yours as it is, and it would give it a really nice deep red glow though, that would just fade down and leave the dark underneath.

TattyDevine · 09/02/2011 20:02

By the way I dabbled with Mahogany 550 (Cheryl Cole's colour) Blush and Schwartzkoft "Real Red" (which is quite orangy in undertone) and to be honest I liked the effect I got, my problem really was that I had a lot of colour build up from being chocolate brown with highlights and I ended up with a bit of root glow where my natural colour had grown through, so the effect was more vibrant on the virgin hair.

If the effect had been more uniform, I think I would have had it a while longer.

It does rinse out a bitch but you get roots quickly anyway, so you'd be wanting to redo it monthly so you could just run it through to bring up the rest.

This will all work much much better if you have your natural colour and haven't ever coloured before - at least then you can do a strand test and know what the outcome will be.

Anyway I've covered mine over now with a dark mahogany brown (so there's a bit of warmt to it but I'm basically back to brown) and I'm having highlights tomorrow to break it up as I'm feeling a little Italian-widow at the moment.

picmaestress · 09/02/2011 20:13

I had it this colour for about a year, I loved it. Seriously considering going back to it. The upkeep is easy if you do it yourself. I re-did it once a month-ish.

Schwarzkopf Live Color XXL 'Real Red'. It's a fiver, and it suited me, I've got mousy hair and quite pale skin. I'm mid-thirties, it didn't age me I don't think, but then I wear lots of makeup, you defo need black eyeliner with it.

Do it!

www.boots.com/en/Schwarzkopf-Live-Color-XXL_29223/

FellatioNelson · 09/02/2011 21:20

Tatty I feel like I've just read my own hair autobiography after your post!

I understand the 'Italian Widow' only too well. Shock

TattyDevine · 09/02/2011 21:23

Haha yes. Getting away with it just due to it being so wintery at the moment but really I do prefer a multi-tonal thing particularly with dark shades.

Done with my mid life crisis red phase though.

BluddyMoFo · 09/02/2011 21:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Alouiseg · 09/02/2011 21:25

"Italian Widow" otherwise known as Pauline Prescott.

OP posts:
FellatioNelson · 09/02/2011 21:28

Oh yes - we brunettes all need to watch the pale face and spider mascara as we approach 40. Wink

TattyDevine · 09/02/2011 22:44

Yes...yes. I'm thinking after this set of highlights, I'll have a full head in the summer, get her to really break it up to a chestnutty overall effect. I will then find something more of that kind of tone to do my roots with (I have recently moved over to doing my own roots because I like the freedom of being able to cover greys whenever I like but will continue to visit the hairdresser for occasional highlights and of course cuts)

Definitely think 2011 is about coming up a few shades for me...never quite meant to get this dark but to be fair it was only 8 months ago I was bitching because my highlights had built up and kind of all joined up and I realised I was practically golden blonde so it doesn't take much...

Original poster
Alouiseg · 10/02/2011 07:23

I have my roots tinted every 5 weeks to cover the grey :( then every ten weeks I have some low lift highlights put in. So far ive managed to avoid the joined up bleach effect and havnt got any dry or damaged bits.

OP posts:
TattyDevine · 10/02/2011 16:34

An update! I went and saw Stacey at Cinnamon Brown this morning (I am local to you Alouisreg so hopefully you know where I mean). She convinced me to have some red slices to break up my dark mahogany as she wasn't sure if she could lift it beyond orange so I agreed and now I have a lovely red "effect" in the slices, but not the whole head, if that makes sense, its a bit funky but not too mid-life-crisis and doesn't involve an entire wardrobe revamp.

So you could go see her if you are still wavering!

FellatioNelson · 10/02/2011 16:47

That sounds nice. Which one is Stacey?