Hair Dye Not Working

PH06 · Newbie Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 12

My mum has been trying to dye her hair, but it's not been working. Her natural hair colour is black and she wants to dye it brown. She's tried many different products - different types of brown and from different companies too.

Any suggestions please?

agent10ve · Supporter Joined: 27 May 2007 Posts: 571

It's really hard to dye dark hair a color that is lighter. Some people find that bleaching their hair first and then dying it works better. I do have a friend that has black hair though and dyed it brown but she just had to put LOTS of dye in it and dye it twice. Try that?

PH06 · Newbie Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 12

Thank you for the tip. I shall tell my mum.

Any other suggestions will be appreciated too.

helperinit · Newbie Joined: 23 Dec 2007 Posts: 21

bleach her hair first and then dying it works

my2cents · Site Admin Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 171

Bleaching your hair first, then coloring it WILL cause lots of damage to your hair. The number of shades that you can 'lift' the color from your hair depends mainly on the developer used. It comes in 10, 20, 30, and 40 volume, with 10 being the weakest, to 40 being the strongest, and therefore the most lifting. Timing also plays a big role in this whole process. You must do strand tests at certain time intervals, like every 10 minutes or so. Its usually indicated on the instruction sheet for your particular product. But if it has not reached the shade of color, then leave it on longer. It is not uncommon to go for 45 minutes or longer. Heat also plays a role in the color's effectiveness. After applying the solution, always wrap your hair in the supplied cap to retain heat. This helps to activate the chemicals in the hair color. Better yet is to sit under a hair dryer - the full head, salon types of hair dryers. But not many people have those.
Professional products work the best, but if you cannot get those, then always buy the best available quality home coloring kits that you can.
All else fails, seek out a qualified, certified hair colorist. It may be pricey, but its worth it.

PH06 · Newbie Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 12

Thank you very much. I'll let her know. xxx

jlawman2 · Newbie Joined: 29 Dec 2007 Posts: 70

Have you ever tried Heena on your hair. Its actually a herb or plants leave.

"Henna or Lawsonia inermis is a kind of private bush that grows abundantly in eastern countries. It has a natural, vibrant color that coats hair to add lots of shine.

Hennas have been used since 3400 BC and are well documented safe methods for dying hair (and skin). A henna can be modified with other ingredients like chamomile, rhubarb, coffee, and indigo.

Henna quality depends on which country it is grown in. For instance, Egyptian and Pakistan henna gives a weak orange. Iranian henna is very fine quality and it gives a vibrant red color. Obtaining Iranian henna is not simple, but UK gals can get it from Lush."

Gettingoldersucks45 · Newbie Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 8

There are two ways. One way as mentioned earlier is to bleach the hair first then put the shade of brown she wants. Yes this is very drying to the hair. It is not safe to bleach at home. There is a certain way of doing it. Like keeping the bleach away from the scalp when applying then going through it all later and lifting up the roots.

The second and most healthy for the hair would be to talk your mom into settling for a reddish brown. Her black can be lifted to this with a high volume peroxide and lighter shade of a golden brown. Again, this should be applied at a salon by a professional. You can't just throw the color all over the head. It has to be parted and applied in thin sections and according the the porisity on the ends and what not indicates when or what you put on the ends. Also again, the heat from your head makes the color applied next to the scalp lift faster and lighter than all the rest of your hair, so you want a pro to apply the color to your moms hair appropriately, which would be an 8th of an inch to a half inch from the scalp then out. You go back later and apply it to the root area closest to the scalp and it lifts up like in 10 minutes. I would NOT put a bag on your head and stick you under a dryer! The conditioners and oil in the color will melt and your roots end up really lighter than the rest of your hair! I only put people under the dryer for highlights in foil or condition treatments, celephanes, shades, coatings etc. My advice would be to give lovely mom a gift certificate to a nice salon and let her get a professional job done to her hair. Treat mom, she most likely deserves it and will appreciate your kindness. Good luck, let me know what happens!

Hair Dye Not Working

LIFEFORM SOCIAL COMMUNITY NETWORK