I have finally, afters years of trying, solved the problem of 'brassiness' in dyed brown hair...

[macherie]

I have been colouring my hair for about 5 years to cover those pesky greys. My natural colour is dark brown, and I have tried every brown on the market, but I could never find one that made my hair BROWN. There was always a cast of auburn which I hated.

But, I have finally solved the problem, I am so delighted I thought I would post here as I can't be the only woman on MN who wants her brown hair to be brown

The miricle cure is Aveda Black Malva Conditioner

It's dark purple, I leave it on for about 20 minutes once a week, and it neutralises the orange and makes me so, so, so happy!

I know w hat you mean Macherie!
Will look out for it.

Hi Macherie me too...I have the oompa loompa look to my hair. what dye do you find best, I cant seem to settle on one colour and i think it's b/c pregnancy changed my hairs reaction to the dye!

Message withdrawn

The best I have found is Nice&Easy Medium Brown 118. On the side of the box it grades the shade on a scale between cool(least orange) and warm, and it is the 'coolest' shade of brown. It still has hints of orange on me, but the Aveda really tones that down.

Finding that conditioner has changed my life!

Agree with Aimsmum. I use Boots own and my hair is brown.

I've used boots browns too, but still had orange coming through after one or two washes, maybe it's just my hair!

Its £16.64 a bottle!

I have this (increasing)problem too. Thanks for the tip. Can you get it in Boots/ Superdrug?
I've not seen it.

It is expensive but the tube is huge, about twice the size of your average conditioner.

I got mine in House of Fraser.

You can buy sachets of toner out of superdrug for 97p. I get it in lighest ash blonde and it kills the brassiness, although my hair is bleached highlights, it would probably work on brown as well, is also purple.

Is it a dye?

I use the Nice 'n' Easy Cool Brown too; definitely the least orangey of the mainstream home dyes isn't it?

I think it depends on how firm you are with them hairressers always want to use a red brown on my hair I always end up having to argue my case! Although the last few times its turned out really well. Does anyone else get build up from using home hair dye? I always end up having to wash my hair with head and shoulders to get the stuff out!

This is good news. I am the same, natural darkish brown hair but need to colour to get rid of the greys that pop up along the parting!!! Looking particularly awful at the moment. I don't even know what colour i use....i use a different one each time in the hope that i will not end up orange.
Would like to try the Aveda conditioner but it is abit expensive.
Do you think the toners for dark hair would have the same effect???

Blossom, the nice&easy 118 medium brown is by far the least orange I've tried. Then try lilaclaire's toner from superdrug, as it sounds like it does the same job as the aveda, neutralising the orange.

There is a root touch up kit you can buy - can't remember who from (Clairol?) which is good - does seem to just naturally merge with the rest of your hair. It's just a generic "brown".

I find I get a lot of build up if I do my whole head every time. I use a pack that is only for your roots and comes with a little brush. I've just scoured the Boots website for it but can't find it, hope they haven't discontinued it. It normally sits with all the other dyes and I think it is in a purple box.

Those of you who use Boots own brand, have you any views on which is the best colour?

I also like Daniel Field www.danielfieldmailorder.co.uk/

No brassiness at all there, am off to buy some Aveda though.

macherie, thanks for that I usually give my hair colour to a friend who is a hairdresser and she applies it for me and cuts it at the same time. So will make sure i try the colour you suggest and buy the toner at the same time
I have also used one of those root touch up kits and they worked very well.

You are all so brave to DIY hair colour. I have had one too many bad results. But good to know about Black Malva; I used it years ago when I went dark. Although I would assume that you wouldn't want to use it if you have highlights, as the lighter bits might go a bit dark. Thoughts?

My salon-done colour is a mix of high and low-lights (basically a medium brown) but I still sometimes get a hint of red. My stylist says you have to have some red in the brown colour or it will look green. Not good. Generally he tones my hair after colouring it to make sure it doesn't go brassy and that seems to solve the problem.

Ruby, my hair is really thick too, so doing the roots can be tricky.

I have to use permanent, as semi just doesn't colour my grey. I used to just do all over recolouring but my hair was almost black - goth is not a good look for me In the end I cut it short, and started again!

Now, when I'm doing my roots I use a wide flat artist's paintbrush, and divide my hair into sections and clip them back until each section is done. It's fiddly and takes a while but the end result is much better.

Jfly I'd guess that using the black malva would darken your highlights alright. Maybe the toner fron Superdrug that lila suggested might work for you. Better ask your hairdresser before you ruin your expensive colour!

Always look for 'ash' colours when dying your hair, ie ash brown, these don't have any red in them.