Can I mix hair dye shades? Help please!

[youvegottobekidding]

I really dislike my hair at the moment. I don’t like the colour, the texture (poss pre-menopausal). I’ve been a warm light coppery colour for most of the year, having been dark brown previously. Most people say I suit it darker, despite being naturally auburn.

I’m fed up with it now, I was using some colour shampoos which we’re adding some warmth to it but I’ve decided I just want to get rid of the reddish copper colour now & return to a light /med ash brown, but not too dark or as dark as before.

I’m reluctant to use a permanent hair dye. So I’m confident in using a semi & the only semi dyes I know that say ash on them is the clairol 24 wash ones. I was thinking if I get medium ash blonde or dark ash blonde & a light ash brown & mix them, would that get rid of the copper/red tones in my hair without darkening it too much? I don’t want it to end up dark red hair!

My logic is is the that med/dark ash blonde may not be dark enough to show & the light ash brown maybe too dark on its own but mixed together it may work as my hair isn’t one block colour, it has a mix of lightness & darkness.

Nooooo,go to a hairdresser!

I certainly wouldn't mix box dyes, that's very risky.

I mix a 6.0 with a 7.73 ( one bottle of each , I need two bottles for good coverage)

6.0 on it's own is too dark, and I don't want burgandy .

It's a Semi-P so if it was a disaster I could remove it .
But strand test is vital.

Can’t really afford a hair dresser. A few months ago I did try just the ‘light brown’ in the clairol 24 wash & it went too much like a dark reddish colour, I wouldn’t have minded the level of darkness just the redness to it. Maybe I’d be better off getting just a dark ash blonde.

Please don't do this! At worst it could go wrong, at best it will look a strange unnatural shade.
Go to a hairdresser, they will work with you to find a perfect look.

I mixed mocha brown with bright red ,came out really nice
Just google it x i have brown hair with bright red highlights now
Definitely do it again

I don’t think it would give you an ash tone at all, if it was that easy to get rid of red/copper tones then no one would bother going to a salon! You need bleach to truly remove the warmth. In fact I’m guessing that your hair was lightened from the dark brown, hence why it’s so warm now as it wasn’t bleached to the right level to remove the warmth previously.

I predict that your hair will come out too dark at first, but as you wash it and it becomes lighter the red/copper undertones will become very apparent again

I mixed a Clairol Nice'N'Easy semi permanent 75 light ash brown and 77 medium ash brown, as test strands showed the 75 was too light on its own and the 77 was too dark on its own. I mixed them and I did get a mix, but the 75 (I think) lightened my hair so it was a very warm mid brown It definitely was not ash.

The next time I used the 77 on its own but I didn't leave it on for the recommended 15 minutes - I left it on for 7 minutes so it wasn't as intense an effect. I found it did darken my hair, it's definitely ash, (but not a "dead" colour which would look unnatural) and it covered my few greys just as well as leaving it on for 15 minutes. I would say 77 is dark brown rather than medium.

Another option would be to try blue shampoo which helps to reduce red tones (in much the same way as violet shampoo reduces warm tones in blonde hair). But purple shampoo would do the same thing but to a lesser effect. Worth a try maybe, for a few washes until you take the plunge.

I would do some strand tests and see how they turn out of the semi permanents, and if you can't be sure you like the result then I'd go to the hairdresser and let them do it. Having said that I struggle to knock out reddish tones in my hair and most hairdressers do too, as anything lighter than my own hair colour leaves it with a coppery cast instead of its natural dark ash blonde cast (I have medium brown hair with glints of dark ash blonde naturally, so in the sun it looks dark blonde instead of red IYSWIM but hair colourants always seem to give it a red glint in the sun instead. Annoying, as I don't suit red tones at all).

TLDR: Proceed with caution!

^PS not saying you should try 77 or 75 by the way!!! Clearly you need a lighter shade, which I haven't tried. I'm just discussing my experience of mixing semi permanent hair colours!

Also, I found the Clairol semi perm easy to use and so far it's been good to my hair, and doesn't smell. I like the fact it isn't as harsh as a permanent hair colour and fades gently, and now I've got used to leaving it on for half the time I'm pretty happy with it overall. Good price too, and there's often a deal on buying two together in my local supermarket.

Don't mix box dyes, it's never a good idea. But if you've got time and tinfoil just do sections?

If you can’t afford a hairdresser google local hairdresser training schools - you can usually get a colour done for a fraction of the price & they are overseen by a hairdresser to make sure it doesn’t go wrong!

I would get some colour b4. I dyed my hair red and didn't like it, used this and it took my hair back to it's original colour (medium ash brown) which I stick with, or if you want you can dye it again. It stinks though!

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply.

Well I was just so inpatient yesterday afternoon & whilst I was at the local chemist I grabbed the last two semi’s, a light ash brown & med ash blonde (both clairol nice & easy). So I mixed them & slapped them on. The result is better than what my hair was before, it has turned the warmth down & even DH noticed & describes my hair more of a brown than ‘ginger’ or ‘reddy colour’!

It’s still warm though not entirely cool toned and I know that within a few washes it will wash up even warmer!

I will have a look at some of the blue shampoos next time I am out, see what I can find, I’ve have a look online, the cheaper end is the Fudge one. I know L’Oréal Elvive have do a purple shampoo, aimed to take out brassy tones in blonde & brunette hair & it’s not too costly so I wonder if that’s worth trying first. Then I might try just a light ash brown semi in a few weeks, as I know it will appear a bit darker at first but gradually wash up and hopefully knock some more warmth out.

I really recommend matrix brass off, it’s blue shampoo so MUCH better suited to warm brunette hair vs warm blonde hair (where purple is better). It’s affordable, I’m sure many websites have it on offer currently

Also recommend the matrix brass off mask, you can get a sachet for £5 (maybe cheaper on offer) and it will be enough product for 2 applications. It’s a blue toning mask (stronger than shampoo) that also conditions it

Charles worthington fo a blue shampoo for removing warmth in brown hair, it's good!

Sorry for all the posts!

Mask for £3.75 (free delivery). They have the shampoo for £8.15.

Amazon has it cheaper

If you carnt go to a salon try mobile , box dyes are never the colour they say they are and the strength proxide used in them causes unnessarry damage to your hair, you could also try local collages and be a model for training students x

So I’ve washed my hair today & as suspected it has washed up a bit (I do use a colour safe shampoo & conditioner). If I stand in the sunshine my hair looks like glowing auburn, still a very warm colour!

I’m hesitant to use a permanent colour as I know it’ll be just my luck to for my hair to come out black or dark red & i’ll be stuck with it.

I do like the clairol no ammonia 24 washes (although they really don’t last that long) they leave my hair in good condition, I just wish the ashy were more ashy! If I do get just a light ash brown & NOT mix it with any ash blonde, do we think it will knock out the red/golden/warm tones a bit more? I’m ok with the level of darkness & would be ok with a level or 2 darker. Just not dark red!