does anyone dye thier own hair? how hard is it?

[lizandlulu]

i am thinking of dying my hair. i have no idea what to use but want something that will last a few weeks, just to see if i like the colour. i want to go dark chestnut brown ish. something glossy like you see on the tv.

anyone got any recomendations?

i am medium brown with a few blondish highlights at the front from the sun so i think going darker will be no problem.

just need pointing in the right direction

The actual process of dying is easy enough, I find the difficulty is finding exactly the right colour to use. I started dying mine a few years ago to hide greys, and I have tried many, many dark browns over the years. My favourite was Boots Botanics Semi Permanent in Bitter Chocolate. It is a true dark brown, with no auburn bits, iykwim. As it's semi-perminent, it'll wash out after about 10 washes, so you can try something else if you don't like it.

I agreee with macharie
I went purple last week
lovely vibrant purple

if you've never dyed your hair before, then try a wash in/wash out which last about 5 or 6 washes. the main hing is to make sure its even and not patchy.

i dyed mine black a couple of weeks ago, and am just getting used to it, but dh says it would look nice with a red tint to it, so am eying up new colours already for when my roots show.

I'm using the wella xxl ones at the mo but they are permanent. They are really lovely bright colours. I mean bright as in glossy. Tho,i just used their bitter chocolate and tis v v v dark - almost black. Was on top of a purple/black tho. I get dh to do mine to ensure even coverage and he does a fab job. Even the headb sylist at local toni and guy was impressed!

Definately go for a semi-permenant to start with. That way you can experiment as much as you like and it'll still wash out.
I'm sporting a lovely reddy-purple at the moment.
Invest in a decent tinting brush for your roots too. The Body Shop do a good one.

it is easy but avoid the harsh colourants like the swarzopf live ones as although they give fab colour (purple being my pave of choice) they do dry your hair.

Purple is lovely isn't it! Was using the wella mystic violet but i find it fades too much in the sun. Not that we've had much sun. Might put it back over this blackie colour. My 14 yr old sis called me a emo!

Ah,actuctually it's the schwarzkopf i'm using. Not found it drying tho - been doing it every 6 - 8 wks for a year now.

I'm using the LIVE one too. A good colour shampoo and conditioner usually combats the dryness.
I'm a Mystic Violet woman, me!! Although I find it fades to a mid red on me. Don't care though. I like having red hair too!!

i like the live ones, but didnt use them this time.

i also lkike the ones from kastaways, stargazers i think. works brilliantly over lightened hair for a really bright colour.

Thats why i've done a dark base colour - hoping it will stick better.

I hate the faff of pre-lightening my hair. I'm such a lazy moo!

Stevenage indoor market do some great ones for a temp colour. The paint pot type ones.
I've lost count how many different colours I have done.

i like to use them when my highlights are washing out. creates a good two tone effect. theres an old pic on profile from last summer.

I think thats the key then-not doing it too often-I was doing it every 4 weeks as I couldnt stand fading.
I striped it and bleached it once i started trying again tho as I dont dye whilst pregnant.

highlights washing out? i mean growing out lol.

the one macherie has sounds good.
i want something to last for a few washes before it goes. dont want auburn either. my mum says not to go too dark as i have fair skin and very ruddy cheeks.

would one of you have a look at my hair on my profile and see if you think i can go dark brown please?

acutally i have just had a look at my pic and you can really see much of my hair
you can see how ruddy i am though!

i've been doing my own hair for years. it's fairly easy to do at home, but the main problem is finding decent colours. i am naturally dark blonde, but dye it light/mid brown as i can't be doing with the re-growth showing up so fast, and i always stick to ash/cool colours. if you want to go for a warm/reddish colour, i'd have it done professionally tbh. with home colours, you tend to find any red pigment in the dye is the strongest shade, so as it fades, all it does is go redder and redder. i've often picked what i thought was a nice dark blonde shade, only to find it's got too much red in it, and after a couple of weeks, i look strawberry blond! hth

yes , i dont want any red. i think it is going to be harder than i thought.

i did have it coloured at my hairdressers once, i took a pic of what i wanted. dark underneath with blonder streaks in it. nothing too in your face.

no one even noticed apart from me who was £58 lighter

only £58?

blinkin 'eck. I pay twice that!

i am a low maintenance kinda gal and if i had to pay that very couple of months i would cry! would rather spend the money on a new bag and look ropey