hair dye and teenager

[OneWaySystemBlues]

My daughter wants to dye her hair in the summer holiday. I've got no experience of using hair dyes so I'm looking for ideas. She has dark brownish hair and wants to go black. I'd like to avoid harsh chemicals if possible as she has sensitive skin. Is henna any good and could we get a successful black out of it on her brown hair? Help please!

To go truly black she'll need a chemical dye. Henna will only enchance her natural colour. Warn her though if its black she won't be able to lighten it without absolutely trashing her hair- it will have to grow out.

Henna is a blighter to shift ( I used to use red henna- loved it but it had to grow out/ be cut out)

Black can look good (I used to have jet black cropped hair) but it can make you look at best goth~ey, or without make-up ill, or it can be dull and witchy,

And all the older ladies who try to recapture their earlier years colour and over-dye it- it looks dull and 'sooty'

I used henna as a teen. It lasts forever. You have to grow it out. The roots were dreadful. I wouldn't recommend it. A semi permanent is her best bet.

Agree with the above, henna does not shift! I also found it irritated my scalp too. I'd go for a semi permanent too, that way it's not too much of a disaster if she hates it!!
If she's got sensitive skin, please make sure you do a patch test.

make sure you do a patch test both behind her ear and the inside of the elbow! not sure if the box recommends 24 or 48 hrs before dying your hair but can I suggest waiting 48hrs?( -speaking from experience as someone with an allergy to some hair dyes).

Thanks everyone, will look at semi permanent ones tomorrow. And will def do a patch test too when we decide what to do. Any more tips?

avoid black henna as it contains harsh chemical additives (ok I know everything is a chemical but yu know what I mean)

Permanent black is a bugger to get rid of. I was lucky to win a makeover and was offered lightening but it took ages and apparently would have cost me several hundred pounds in a salon!

Not so bad with short hair as I guess it could be grown out more easily, but for long hair it could take years to grow it out.

Never tried a semi permanent one, but I agree that henna isn't necessarily a better option. There are warnings on permanent hair dyes about being more likely to suffer an allergic reaction to them if you have ever used black henna before.

Indigo for black, but it is like henna in that it doesn't wash out.

Yiu can try the Superdrug own brand wash in wash out (little grey tub). These do dye well and do wash out gradually with 4-6 weeks of washing. Dd used a different make of black on on her light brown hair and it was still black at the start of year 10. She got a notw home, but black is a natural colour, so not that terrible. This summer she is going for some blue!

Another thing you could consider is dip dye/ bleach which looks lovely on mid brown hair. Or how about dip dyeing the ends black? (Then your dd could get her hair cut if she or the school don't like it in September.)

*i use the Superdrug dye myself. The advantage is it can take as little as 5-10 minutes to work, so i put it on in shoqer and leave it on while shaving my legs (sorry, tmi) and so no need for gloves, dye on furnishings or towels etc.

Do have a couple of old towels to wrap hair in and dry off after. Also, if you use semi-permanent, some wipes to get any drips or splashes of dye.

I would def urge your dd to go to a salon and have it done professionally and for advice esp as it's the first time.

They are not allowed to dye young teens' hair in a salon anymore. Against the law now, apparently. Teenagers can't even bye the dye themselves, have to be over 18.

How odd. My teen dds hair was dyed only last weekend in a salon (I was with her too)

Hmmm...must admit, haven't done extensive research on the salons (was told this by 2 larger local salons). Boots wouldn't sell dye to my 14 or 15 yo DDs.

Black generally looks awful in my opinion. It's very harsh and ageing. Can you persuade her to go very dark brown instead, if not, what about dip dyeing or streaks.

Use casting creme gloss. It's a semi. How old is she?

How long is her hair? Will it have grown out before she's back at school - if not is dyed hair allowed? DS's school has strict hair dye rules. Agree semipermanent would be better than permanent. Black henna can cause allergic reactions on skin.

I haven't found Lush henna to be permanent; it tends to last 8 weeks of so on my hair. You could try the dark one?

Dont let her go black, it always looks shit. It's glossy for about 2 minutes, then its a dull, colour draining pita.
If her hair is long, do as suggested, and dip the ends black .

She is 15, 16 in November, with long, dark brown hair.