Please share your embarrassing home dye stories

[Thenightcircus]

So I just purchased Clairol Dark Blonde level 7 semi permanent hair dye

Left it on for 20 mins as instructed.

Result? Black at worst. Darkest ash brown at best.

Level 7!! I'm in such shock I don't actually know what to do or say.

I have a job interview tomorrow and they're going to think I'm Morticia Addams for Halloween ffs. 🤣😂

head and shoulders has done nothing!

Wanted a strawberry blonde, forgot I had been using 'sun in' spray bleach through the summer. (It was a few years ago) it turned dayglo orange. Wore a scarf to local hairdresser who could do nothing except cut it REALLY short. The only time in my life I've had a crop! Never used home dye again!

Go into the interview with confidence- they don't know it isn't deliberate unless you tell them. Or they're on MN 😂

@inthemiddlepiggyinthemiddle omg 😂

I just keep looking in the mirror like WTF!! I look like Nessa from Gavin and Stacey

I had bleached hair that I dyed a different semi permanant colour every few months for my later teenage years. I think I had every unnatural colour and weird combination going- including red and black 'racoon tails' that were very cool for about 3 months.
I dyed it all a normal brown with permanent dye when I got a proper job and it covered well and blended in with my natural hair.

Until I got bored of the brown and tried to lighten it again, it went bad, probably because of how fried it had been for the last 5 years.
My roots were very white and all my mids and ends were a crispy ginger. It was dry and static and would not hold any dye that I tried to cover it with. Wore it in crunchy orange french plaits for a bit and then gave up and buzzed it short.
I did not learn my lesson though- I dyed it blue about a month later.

I once tried to touch up my roots (naturally blonde dyed a mahogany red) and ended up with an inch of orange roots. I had a centre parting. It was bad.

I did a black hair dye once with a purple tinge. Bastard stuff died my scalp a treat but not my hair - took bloody weeks to wash out as well. I looked like a medical experiment gone wrong.

In later life, I learned the vitamin c method - crush some vitamin c tablets up and mix with head and shoulders. Works a treat. If you google it, I think it may work with just normal shampoo too?

I bought some hair dye off eBay in lockdown. It was supposed to be cherry red but turned out the brightest red/orange. It was absolutely hideous. I was so embarrassed I wore a hat until I could go and buy a brown to cover it up. I’ve almost grown the worst out now. I had fiery red glowing through for ages.

funnily enough recently I bought a dark brown home job and it was so dark. Only just getting it to fade now a month later. I’m leaving well alone now!

Tried to go blonde with a box dye, didn't work and went flourescent orange instead. Went to the hairdressers who said they wouldn't touch it for two weeks as it risked breaking the hair at the roots.

So I had two weeks of working on a till looking like a highlighter with every customer commenting on it (mostly sympathetically at least...)

Many moons ago when I was in my early 20s. Used to have my hair bleached blonde, though it would never go a nice blonde due to the pigments in my hair. My natural colour was a darkish brown. Got fed up with keep having to get the roots done so decided to get a home dye and go back to my natural colour. Was supposed to leave it on for 20 mins but I had a panic after 2 and washed it off. My hair was so porous it had gone virtually black. So blonde to black in one go. It was horrendous.

I did a blue black over light brown hair with blonde highlights. It looked brilliant for a few weeks, then the electric blue streaks went a muddy green - not a good look!

Not a dye story as such but I got a perm (in 2002, wtf was I thinking) on my highlighted hair. My hair turned green, bright streaky green. It couldn't be fixed and I ended up with a pixie cut that took years to grow out.

When I was about 18, I’d arranged to stay round my mates house for a pamper night. I persuaded her to highlight my hair and bought of of those old fashioned kits with a cap and crochet hook.
I hadn’t realised that I needed two boxes for the length of my hair, so by the time my friend had highlighted the centre section of my hair, we’d run out of dye and there was none left to do the sides with. Couldn’t nip out and buy another set as I’d had too many glasses of wine to drive.
I had to go to work the next day (in a busy shop, in a massive shopping centre on a Saturday) looking like a badger.

Ive had LOTS of mistakes, the one that sticks in my mind was when I let my DH talk me into buying a high-lift blonde box dye against my better judgement. I had dark brown hair, I knew it wouldn't work, for some reason I did it anyway.
I ended up with white blonde hot roots, and bright orange frazzled lengths. I dyed over it but my hair was all crinkly like when it's singed. Took ages to grow it out.

@Thenightcircus yes in my early 20's after having blonde highlights for a while I decided I wanted to go a 'rich chocolate brown' shade the night before attending a wedding...

I bought a box dye, applied it at midnight and read the instructions which said it had to be left on for 20 minutes so I thought this was as ideal time to lie down for a nap, I put a bin bag over my pillow to protect it... Of course I fell into a deep sleep and woke up a few hours later to hair like wire with dried in hair dye all over my face! Also, my pillow, duvet and crushed velvet headboard were completely destroyed with hair dye as I always twist and turn in my sleep. I rushed to the shower to rinse off and to top it all off the dye wasn't applied evenly so I looked like a skunk with almost black hair with a whitish stripe down the middlish😂 and a very stained forehead! Time pushed on with frantic washing to no avail so I had to start getting ready for the wedding... I ended up wearing my straw like hair in a tight matronly bun with loads of wet look gel and extra thick concealer around my hairline and forehead! I'm sure it looked like I was covering up scars from a recent facelift 🤣

Suffice to say I don't use box dyes anymore and always recommend going to a hairdresser!

😂😂 these stories are cheering me up so much!

I've just tried the vitamin c trick and some dye washed out but the colour is still very dark.

I can't lighten it because my hair is bleached underneath and quite dry.

Maybe it's time to embrace this colour and give my hair a rest for the winter 😂