black hair turns red?? someone help me understand!
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free skin care · Thu Oct 13, 2005 9:43 pm

Okay..my hair is dyed black. I generally use a blue base with my hair dye...My hair is naturally a light blonde/red/brown..lots of colors but mostly brown. Anyway, Lately in different lighting i've noticed intense red highlighting beneath the black in my hair. Not sure its some kind of chemical reaction between the bases and my hair..I do know that my family tends have intense red undertones in our hair, particularly its brought out when putting ash in the hair. But i don't understand why I see these vibrant reds..very odd! Can someone explain this?

Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:09 pm

Sorry, I have no idea but it sounds lovely!

free skin care · Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:30 pm

do you get the red some weeks after you have dyed your hair?

because something similar used to happen to me. i too have naturally lightish brown hair with a dash o' red. i dyed my hair blue black for years (am in the process of going natural - it is a saga), and at the start it would have that very satisfying blue look, but after a few weeks it would look red in the light. i think it is just the base of the dye coming through (even though it is meant to be blue)

last time i dyed it, the hairdresser convinced me to try green black. wasn't as good as it sounds.

free skin care · Sun Oct 16, 2005 9:27 pm

I havent dyed my hair in about a month and a half...its only where the black is that the red is visable. Somehow the base must have some reaction to the red undertones in my hair..who knows really

free skin care · Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:04 am

i'm told that the impact on hair when you dye it black is similar to the impact of bleaching it blonde. that is why they are hard to maintain.

i use artec shampoo, which is a three step thing where you wash first with a kiwi shampoo, followed by a thick black pigment, then conditioner. it is meant to put colour back into your hair after washing. i'm still using the shampoo while growing out the black to minimise the contrast between my natural colour and the dyed bits. then, when it has grown out, i stop using the pigment, and the colour fades out naturally. the re-growth part of my hair isn't black, just darker brown. we'll see how it goes. it is very difficult to let go of the black, though.

free skin care · Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:54 am

I think red is hard to colour, I dye mine black using henna & indigo, it also seems that red is one of the tones that turn grey first (on me) my hair used to be a rich auburn, now when I let the colour grow out it just looks flat. Confused

free skin care · Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:56 am

Everyones hair is made up of lots of different tones (including black, green (yes really!)and red!) You will have more of one than the other - it sounds like you have a lot of red undertones in your natural colour (some blondes have a lot of green!). Red is the hardest colour to get in or out! Its the last colour to lift when you bleach it which is why if you take the bleach off too early your hair looks orange! Black on the other hand lifts out first when you bleach it. (although red dye fades its notoriously hard to remove totally - ask any blonde whos tried a reddish tint on their hair thats supposed to wash out!!)
On the colour wheel green and blue neutralise red and vice versa but as the natural red in your hair is stronger once the black colour begins to lift, the red will still be there as you've masked/neutralised it rather than taken it away (rather like green makeup only maskes redness of the skin until its cleansed off).

The best way of keeping that blue black colour is to keep the blue/black topped up. Two excellent products for this are Aveda colour shampoo and conditioner - try either Blue Malva (it says for grey of ash blonde but thats because it counteracts the red/brassy tones) or Black Malva which is specifically for black hair to keep it blue black (there are other brands but Aveda has NO synthetic dyes that may mess about with the chemical colour when it gets re-coloured). It is temporary and cumalative - so it will gradually wash out or the colour intensity will build the more you use it.

Hope that helps (hairdresser/Beauty Therapist in my previous'life'! Very Happy

)

free skin care · Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:52 am

I can vouch for the blue malva. I've used it when I haven't had time to do a proper dye job. Wink

free skin care · Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:39 am

Yeah, it must be my undertones. I used to use eliminade then bleach my roots and dye them fuschia pink..eliminade (sp?) is good for lifting black out of hair without ruining it...and my roots would turn vibrant strawberry blonde. My brothers girlfriend at the time was very shocked because she was so used to the dark hair on me. Apparently something as strong as black still can't hide certain colors. One of you mentioned black being similar to dying blonde...but i would probably differ in opinion as going lighter would seem to ruin the hair more than going dark? I feel like my hair is healthier right after I dye it.

free skin care · Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:46 pm

It could simply be the black is fading, and for some reason the brand you use has added red to the mix. As the black fades, the red in the dye shows through.
It has hapenned to me when I used L'Oreal's black dyes (Feria, Preference, Excellence)but it stopped when a cosmetician talked me into Clairol.
Even if your black is a salon colour, there is no way of knowing how much (if any) red is added to their black shade-it is the colour technicians' style, taste, and what they think will make the perfect shade of black.
Hope that helps!

free skin care · Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:58 pm

Funny you mention l'oreal...thats the brand ive used (color onyx sheen)..I bought some wella black dye so i dont think ill have to deal with this again

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