Red/Auburn hair dye that lasts?

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I've been dying my hair auburn for quite a while now, using that perfect 10 Clairol stuff. It's ok, nice colour but sadly fades quite quickly. I've tried a few other brands and they all seem to be the same.

I know red hair dye by it's nature is a pain, but are there any dyes that last better than others?

I've tried a couple of colour protect shampoos as well and they seemed to help a tiny bit, but still not much. Unless anyone knows of any miracle products?

Thank you!

Henna and that sort herbal dye is worth looking into but it is permanent. It's not just that 70s hippy colour that it can do. We have a resident expert, Valliumredhead IIRC.

I've looked at henna and it terrifies me as it's so permanent! I might have to just bite the bullet and get on with it..

It is tricky. I was ginge for a while, am sort of honey blonde now, but I found it did fade. I was using professional dye as well with 20 volume peroxide so it is the nature of the beast, I think the copper and red molecules are smaller so wash out first or summat.

Henna is quite permanent I think. If you are a dye hard (haha) ginge, you might look into it if you are never planning to change, but do a strand test I reckon.

I've just hennaed my hair with the Lush Brun - so it's red but not BRIGHT red. How is henna any more permanent than a permanent hair dye?

I used to henna my hair eons ago and found regrowth issues were minimised (compared to hair dye) as it does fade a little.

Lush henna is the biz. I use 2 cubes of marron and 1 cube of noir and it turns out dark red/brown. Covers my grey up brilliantly and doesn't fade either.

I used to use hair dyes and found that reds faded after a couple of weeks, and the grey coverage wasn't great.

Ooh I hadn't thought of mixing up the hennas! Nice idea

BeCool - it took me a few months to find the combination that was just right, but I'm really pleased with the result I get now.

I used to henna my hair 20 years ago - with a powder. Just used the Lush stuff once a few weeks ago & it is a vast improvement to use, and the colour is great. I did have to use my kitchen cake beaters to blend it all up though - is that what you do? Mixing it with a fork just wouldn't have worked?

I just wanted to cover grey and not be tooooo red so I used the brun one, which is very nice. I can see next winter mixing 1 black & 2 brun together might really work.

The first couple of times I used it I grated it as they tell you too, but now I just cut the blocks into small pieces and add almost boiling water, then mix it with a wooden spoon. I tend to mix it for a few seconds then leave it to soften a bit more for 5 minutes or so, then repeat it. I don't worry about a few small lumps in it either .

oh I didn't see the 'grate it' bit!!! I thought it said break up blocks & cover with water. must read instructions properly!!

If you're after Karen Gillan type Auburn hair try Feria in Intense Mango, it's a lush bright (not orange though) auburn colour. I had it last year, two different hairdressers, along with many other people complimented on the colour. It seemed to last as well, using the conditioner included once a week.

I find the Loreal Elvive Caring Shampoo & Conditioner for coloured hair is lovely too.