Hairdressers!! Colour advice needed...

[ScottishStottie]

Booked my appointment for next week, and am looking forward to it!

Going to a new hairdressers, was planning on changing just before lockdown, so had no real idea of pricing etc.

Been wanting a specific colour for a while, never really achieved it at my old place so excited to get it done hopefuly.

Just totted up what theyve advised is needed and its going to be over £200.... !!

The bulk of the cost is lightening and toning (i have long thick dark hair), is this a one of cost or something thats going to need to get done everytime i get the colour done...? I can afford it as a one off or at least very infrequently, but not if its going to be every single visit...!

Im annoyed at myself for not checking the price before booking and paying a deposit. I can afford it but its more than i would have liked to spend.

Is this a normal cost would you say to go from dark dark brown to a cherry red colour?

I did exactly this and after the first lift and dye I didn't need it again until I changed shades - I went a purple colour for a few months. After that I went gray quite quickly so no further lift.
However, red is the most unstable colour you can have. My hair holds the colour well with minimal fading or colour loss but I was having roots retouched every 6 weeks max.
I love my red hair but it is the biggest beauty commitment I have!

I think I paid around £120 initially and now pay £50-60 a visit.

Well, it sound a little bit too much, but I'm not sure. You see, the only time I came to the hairdresser with the request to recolor my hair, I came with my natural light-brown color and asked for a ginger that I decided to try on after checking how it would look like in photodiva. So I never asked for a help with the color choice, neither for a bleaching.

Guess I paid about £40-50

So the lightening is £90, the colour is £60 and the cut is £50. Its all a bit more expensive as i have long hair, although not sure why that should make a cut more expensive..

But going forward i usually get my hair done every 2 months, but wouldn't need it cut that often, colour regrowth costs £40 so is doable if i dont need to get the lightening every time then?

Would colour regrowth be enough to stop the red fading or would it need to be redone completely?

Also any tips on how i can prevent fading myself?

That's not a normal cost! I'd ask them to break the price down - unless they put their prices up after lockdown

Use cold water to wash it, wash less frequently and buy a temporary red - Directions is good and available at Amazon. Add a bit to your shampoo when you wash it.

I miss my red hair!

I'm blonde and I get

Full head colour
Highlights ontop of the colour (for brightness)
A toner
Wellaplex treatment
Cut and blow dry

£70 every four weeks and it's a well established wella salon

I'm up north east so don't know if prices are different other areas x

Im in the north east too, but have been struggling to find a salon that can competently do the red that i want. Tried a few that can produce beautiful blonde balayage, but seem to struggle to do anything else. Had a year of one salon putting red dye onto my dark hair and then being surprised that it wasnt very bright so i got fed up and found a better one for creative colour. But apparently the good reputation comes with a price tag...

Bright cherry red will fade after 2/3 weeks. It might last longer if you use good quality colour protect shampoo. It wont fade out to the point of no colour left at all, but it will fade to what level they manage to lighten your hair to. Red is really hard upkeep, I used to watch my red shower water rinse down the drain and be surprised how my hair was still red after. Only lasted 4 weeks then I went to dark brown again. I wash my hair twice a week. I had blonde ends before the red. If you dont want to spend much money, dont go bright red. Unless you're prepared to put in some semi permanents yourself to refresh the red every few weeks.

I think that sounds reasonable given that your hair is currently darker (assuming the dark brown current colour is dyed). I paid similar - the one off expensive bit (which I think some PPs aren’t factoring in as they haven’t had it done) is having the old colour stripped out (may be called a colour cleanse or similar by your hairdresser).

Red is quite difficult to maintain. I loved my hair being red but I was having to get it coloured around every 4-5 weeks to keep it looking good. It’s also quite tricky to remove if you want rid of it.

What colour is your natural hair? And is it’s current colour dyed?

Hair is naturally dark brown, currently has a red over is it that was done by my last salon at the start of march. To get the vibrancy of the red that i want, they have to lighten it before the red they said, especially as i have natural roots but dyed hair, they said the red wouldnt go on evenly.

I do trust that they will be good, but was taken aback by the price!

I dyed my dd's brunette hair bright red and it lasted really well. It's black now but it didn't fade at all. Box dye, from Superdrug..

I understand prices going up as they are trying to recoup losses but they were paid by the government so the losses wouldn't have been 100% and if they are greedy they might get a lot of income in these initial weeks but then people will feel pissed off at perceived greediness and vote with their wallets.

Also, I was dyeing over the top of another dye. I feel they are making it seem more complicated to justify the ridiculous price.

So the lightening is £90, the colour is £60 and the cut is £50. Its all a bit more expensive as i have long hair, although not sure why that should make a cut more expensive..

Sounds completely normal to me. You are aware that colour and cuts are usually charged separately? Perhaps ask for a more junior stylist to cut your hair instead to save a bit of money.

Does the salon have any new client offers?

I pay like £140 for a full head of highlights with the most senior colourist. I don’t think £150 for a full head bleach and colour is a bad price at all, especially as your hair is naturally dark/long/thick so difficult to lighten & more time consuming. The colour you want requires your hair to be lightened first. If you go for a darker red you might be able to skip bleach.

Perhaps the extra charge for a long hair cut is for a blow dry & style? That can take more time with long/thick hair.

I went this shade of red using a £5.95 box dye www.livecolour.com/our-products/colour-lift/l75-deep-red that has bleach and colour in one.

Can't guarantee the shade or the health of your hair but I love it and my hair certainly feels healthy, soft and shiny.

I paid £32 for bleach highlights and inc cut and blow dry, my hair length is past shoulders. That was in January. Don't know what it will cost now, as I am trying to grow the highlights out, and trimming my own hair.

Stupid question, but if they do the lightening as a one off, what do yhey do with the hair that grows...? Will that need lightening once it grows?

If you're hair is naturally dark then yes you'll need the roots bleaching for each top up to gpcover the growth

What sort of cost should i expect for that? Colour regrowth is listed at £40, woukd that include the bleaching do you think or would it likely be another charge on top of that?

I pay £70 every three months for highlights and cut. My stylist just French plaits my hair for me so I don’t have to sit for another 30 minutes having a blow dry.

Based on their other prices, I don’t think the £40 colour regrowth includes bleach. I think it would be just the tint alone.

My salon charges £50 for a root tint and £80 for a regrowth bleach with colour (with the most junior person)

It can be a pricey undertaking but it's the only way to get a bright red with very dark hair!
I wear a hat in bright sun, don't wash my hair every day and use a red shampoo but I'm lucky as my hair does keep the colour quite well.

If you’re worried about upkeep, maybe try a balayage instead (but bring the colour up as high as possible and in the cherry red you want?) As it grows out, you won’t have to worry about a root mismatch.

Or alternatively go completely cherry red now, and when you’re due to get your roots done just get a tint (without bleach). As your regrowth is virgin hair next to your scalp, it will lift quickly. Lifting your natural colour with tint won’t match the cherry red, but will lift it more than you might think and you may end up with an end result that you like? It will definitely blend and look more cohesive

My god that it a huge amount of money... My hairdresser literally last week charged me 50 and she stripped my hair from many dark box dyes, put copper on it with a few subtle blonde highlights in parts, used opalex treatment, cut it and straightened it..