the mumsnet HOME HAIR DYE review thread...,

[lucykate]

there seem to be so many people asking about home hair dye thought this might be a useful thing to start. post here with your normal hair colour, brand and shade you are using and also with the result good or bad. i will have multiple posts coming as have used so many different ones in the search for my ideal shade, but will start with...,

L'OREAL EXCELL 10, shade 7.13 dark frosted blonde

normal hair colour - dark blond with a smattering of grey

outcome - bit on the light side and also a bit too red for me, was disappointed, won't use again.

[ThatVikRinA22]

Just used a Garnier Nutrisse in deep Redish Brown.

natural hair is dull dark brown. result is lovely - dark glossy red, left it on for 25 mins as last time i left it on longer and it went too dark and dried out alot.

this time left it for 25 mins - perfect colour, lovely condition and all grey covered!

will do it again. cant go wrong for the few pounds it cost.

[kittya]

When I initially got rid of my highlights I went to the hairdressers and it was him that told me to do it myself from then on. Its saved me loads of money. I agree Nutrisse is the best one in chocolate brown or chestnut.

[MummyTo2MonkeysAnd1Bug]

Hi all, i just introduced myself over on the thread by Disenchanted, and LucyKate told me about this one!

Im new to MumsNet but im a fully qualified colour technician, just currently on maternity leave, so any hair related questions fire away and if i can help i will!!
Iv had many a hair disaster in my teens when i was a trainee so nothing will shock me!

xx

[lucykate]

thank you mummyto2monkeys, that's very kind of you! there's a bit of a split on mn over home hair dye, some see it as the work of the devil but for others, it's an economical alternative.

[isthatporridgeinyourzone]

Lucykate - you should really change the name of this thread to "Lucykate's hair clinic"!

Mummyto - fantastic to have some expert advice. Can I ask a question? I am dark blonde but with grey so currently dye using a light ash brown (Belle colour). I wanted some highlights in there for summer and was just going to use an ash blonde to do that on top of the light brown.

Can I ask;

1. Is that feasible?
2. If hair is quite light do you need to prelighten?
3. Do you leave the dye on for the normal timings? I'll probably strand test first.

Any other hints?

Thankyou!

[scotgirl]

Not sure if this has been covered (not had time to read all the thread.) What do you do if you have blonde highlights already?
Mine blonde ones are grown out about 1.5inches and I am a natural mouse colour. Have tried home highlights before (too difficult) and was thinking of doing an all over ash blonde colour. I don't want a "line" across my head though!!

[Lulumaam]

hi mummytomonkeys...

thanks for popping over to this thread

2 questions -

how do i restore the condition of the slightly frazzled part of my hair ? ( damn you straighteners!)

and why is the front part of my hair not growing back? before i had my DD, what would have been a fringe was the same lenght as the rest of my hair, which was shoulder lenght or so... now it won't seem to grow past my cheekbones

DD is almost 5, so i would have thought my hair would have recovered

thanks xxx

[NorbertDentressangle]

oooh Mummyto...can I ask a question too please?

My hair is naturally very, very dark brown but as I get older (over 40) I'm getting more and more white/grey hair.

I find that a lot of permanent colours don't seem to cover it very well - after a week or so you can clearly see the grey hairs as they're already lighter.

Also, how do I go about choosing a colour that doesn't give that orangey/red glow when it starts to fade?

Thank you and welcome to mumsnet

[dustycups]

mippy i dont find you need a whole weekend if using directions!
once i have bleached whatever part of my hair i want (normally have a strip through middle of my short spikey hair)
i can just throw directions on whenever it needs doing.
i have loads of different colour pots in the cupboard and it only take 15 minutes!!

sometimes i can manage it before school run!!!

[MummyTo2MonkeysAnd1Bug]

Hi ladies sorry for the delay in replying DD had a little accident at school yesterday afternoon which required a trip to a&e but one glued head and plenty of ice cream later and she is fine now!!

Right then -

Isthatporridgeinyourzone -

Personally i would recommend that you keep on with the ash brown and have some fine highlights around the crown and front of your face just to perk it up for the summer - If you want to do this at home then one of the multilight kits available now would do this - but DO strand test first to check for development time - every 5-10 minutes rinse the strand and reapply if its not the desired colour yet - when you have got your development time knock 3-5 mins off to allow for the natural heat from your body as this can overprocess colours.

If you go to a salon then they can do practically the same for you but the upside is they can tone the highlights to the shade you desire. HTH

Lulumaam -

Been there done that!!!! By far the best thing you can use is Modern Organic Products Extreme Protein treatment.
It doesnt smell great, and its green with black flecks is rather offputting but it is amazing for restoring strength to your hair!! Twice a week after shampooing blot out as much water as you possibly can and smother this on, wrap your head in cling film and leave for a good 2-4 hrs or all day if you can, and within 2-3 weeks you will notice a difference.
Now this product isnt a conditioner so you will need to condition afterwards - Tresemme Thermal Recovery Treatment is fab ( I use it all the time) for 15 mins after your protein treatment and it will do wonders.

With regards to the front of your hair is this the most damaged part of your hair? We tend to concentrate on the front of our hair more with straighteners so im suspecting that for every 0.5inch or so that your hair grows in a month,its breaking off during washing, combing etc due to the damage. Keep getting good trims and try to lay off the straighteners when you can and it should correct itself!

Also if you dont already then start using a good heat protection spray!!! On the high street the best ones are tresemme and Doves new one is pretty good too, but if you can afford it then Kerastase Nectar Thermique is by far the best.

Norbertdentressangle -

Grey hair is notoriously hard to cover due to the cuticle being rougher than normal hair which still contains pigment, so its difficult for dyes to penetrate into the inner layer of the hair shaft.
The best thing to do is make sure you are using a Neutral toned haircolour - as grey hair has no pigment you need a dye wich contanins all theree of the primary base colours to ensure that you get a good even coverage that lasts. Im suspecting you use a golden toned dye?? That will cause the orange just as ash tones can cause grey hair to fade blue etc.

Id recommend a natural dark brown shade (excellence creme by loreal is good for grey coverage) and apply all over, then wrap your head in cling film and allow to develop for the recommended time - it may look VERY dark for a few days but you need to make sure that your hair really soaks up that pigment and this is the best way to do it. HTH

Hope this helps ladies any more Q's then im always happy to help!!

[MummyTo2MonkeysAnd1Bug]

Norbertdentressangle -

Also make sure you are using enough colour to really saturate the entire lengths, use 2 boxes if necessary xx

[Lulumaam]

sorry about your DD! hope she is on the mend

thank you for your detailed answer.. really appreciate it. will invest in the protein stuff and am reducing how much i straighten the front of my hair.. am twisting it and clipping it back instead..

that's really helpful, thank you x

[NorbertDentressangle]

Thanks for the advice Mummyto.

Just out of interest does cling-film help in some way eg. help the colour take?

Hope your DD is OK now and didn't give you too much of a fright. Those phonecalls after your DC has an accident are horrible aren't they? I had 2 in a few months a little while ago and was sick of the sight of the local hospital after all the follow-up appts.

[lucykate]

wow, mummyto2monkeys, great advice there!, if you get chance, can you pop over here?

disenchanted has had a reaction to the hair dye

[isthatporridgeinyourzone]

Many thanks Mummyto. Hope icecream has had medicinal effect!

[Lulumaam]

just to update...

I used the copper red again and it has really, really intensified the red colour.. much deeper and redder and shinier

so will see how long it lasts for now!

also, i wet my hair a bit this time and the dye was much, much easier to get through the hair and went further

[lucykate]

i've still been having issues with the last dye i used (the schwartzkopf pallette dark blonde). it was so dark and after just a couple of washes had gone really red. tried a l'oreal ash blonde a week later to see if that would help, but it seemed to not take at all.

tried some shampoo instead, john frieda colour renew for blondes, it's purple!, weird putting purple shampoo on your hair, but it's really helped. it seems to have stripped out the excess red, and lightened the colour to a more respectable dark ash blonde shade. would def recommend the shampoo for any blondes who have home dyeing disasters.

[piratecat]

just did my grey roots with Boots botanics permanent, bitter choc.

fantastic, good natural result and soooo cheap/

[WilfShelf]

Ooooh a real life colour expert...

Could I ask a question please? Once in my life, I really REALLY want to try being blonde. Stupid and vain perhaps but I do! I have pretty dark hair though and most hairdressers go 'hmmm we'll just put a few highlights in to make it sunkissed shall we?' and I end up with the same, orange highlights.

I love the new 'blondette' shades, sort of blending from light brown to honey coloured.

But. Is this ever possible on dark hair?

And if it isn't, how is it that lots of Very Rich people seem to be able to have their hair whatever colour they like but us ordinary mortals can't?

[mathanxiety]

Garnier Nutrisse chestnut or some such medium golden brown -- nice results, though I don't have much grey, just a bit at my temples. I started out with dark auburn naturally, but it has darkened a good bit since the first greys started appearing.

I've never had it done at a salon, and cut it myself too. Works out because it's curly and I'm broke.

If you're thinking of going blonde, watch out for any pinkish tone to your face. Try on blonde wigs first in a variety of light conditions.

[squirrel42]

After student years filled with bleach and every colour under the sun (green, blue, pink, purple, rainbow stripes!) I now have to keep my hair normal for work. I use the Lush hennas too - caca rogue and caca marron. Both make my hair lovely and shiny rather than all frizzled and dry, plus the colours are nice.

[NobleFrangipani]

I use a mix of caca rouge and marron too - varying the proportions according to my mood. people seem v surprised when I tell them it's not natural. Colour is lovely, it's nice and shiny and lasts really well

Downside - messy, takes a long time, stains towels even after washing, though a couple of good washes sorts it out.

[WilfShelf]

What are the shades of henna you're talking about please? From Lush? Are you willing/able to post a photo of your hair so we can see? I thought you could only get henna in carrot red and 'black' (that when I tried it as a teenager, was actually green...)

[said]

And does henna cover grey? Or does it turn it orange?

[MayorNaze]

right - i have threatened to do this before but now i really really want to...i'm going to dye over henna

i really am

BUT it is only one patch about an inch long on one side. the rest has grown out. obv i will dye me whole hairdo, not just that bit. i look all skewbald and uneven so it is GOING