half-ing commercial hair colour dye’s

So i've bought a commerical hair-dye and since I'm a guy with short hair and a rather spendthrift one, I was thinking of cutting the bottles mixture usage in half. 

One problem I was wondering that i may run into is that will it still work to hte same efficacy, as I've had some problems with the hair dye taking to my hair.  But I'm thinking it's just because my hair's a lot thicker than others and the fact htat i sucked at distributing the dye through ym hair evenly. 

Another reason why I think it woudl effect the dye is because I believe a certain amount of chemicals is required to get a certain reaction in the product.  And I think the companies designed the mixture to a specific amount as to allow it to be of the utmost effectiveness.  BUt that's just what I'm presuming.  Do hair-stylists use a certain amoutn of dye regardless fo the customers hair length to attain the certain colour because of hte chemicals reactants?  Or do they jsut do this b/c this is just the amount of mixture thats required to attain a cretain colour? 

Well, in essence my question is simply, will things work out the same if I were to mix in half of the required mixture rather than using it in full?  WIll it affect the way the colour takes to my hair noticably?


Edited by Scntillatedseed

Claude wrote: I only use professional products but typically permanent haircolor is a 1:1 mix ratio. For example if you measure our 40 mls or Developer you should mix in 40 mls of haircolor with that to give you 80mls a 1:1 ratio. G'luck

I'm going to have to partly disagree with that.  Though all hair dyes ask for a 1:1 ratio, it really depends on the brand.  For example, Majirel's (a professional hair dye from L'Oréal) ratio is a 1:1, however it's a 50 g tube for a 75 ml bottle of developer, that to them is a 1:1 ratio.  The same is true for Evolution of the Color (a professional hair dye from Alfaparf), where their 1:1 ratio is a 60 ml tube to a 90 ml bottle of developer. 

I don't think if you half your dye it'll cause any problems.  So long as you maintain the 1:1 ratio.  In example, a box of Lumia (from Garnier) contains a 45 g tube of dye and a 67,5 ml of developer.  I don't think the dye would be any less effective if you used half and half.  I should warn you though, if you don't have much experience with dyeing your hair, it's better to have more dye than miss spots of your hair.  I suggest you use the whole box at first, and then when you get the hang of it you can use less amounts of dye and still be able to perfectly cover your hair.  These commercial dyes usually say that 1 box is enough for shoulder length hair, however you also have to consider the amount of hair you have on your head and not only its length.  That said, if gray hair's what you're trying to cover, make sure you use a permanent hair dye, that's the only one that will give you full coverage.  Also, if your plan is to color your hair more than 2 shades lighter than your natural color, you should try those high lift colors, because otherwise you'll never get the desired effect.

Let's say your hair is a medium brown (a number 4) and you want to color it a dark blonde (a number 6).  If you use a number 6 color with a 20 vl. developer, you should get the desired result.  However, if you're looking to go from a number 4 to a number 7 (medium blonde), then you would need a 30 vl. developer to lift the color of your hair 3 times.  If that is your objetive you should look for a high lift hair dye, which should have a 30 vl. or 40 vl. developer.

That said, make sure you follow the instructions right, leaving the dye on for the amount of time instructed.  If you feel a bit insecure about applying it evenly, you should practice by using conditioner on your hair as if you were dying it.  Hope this helps.  Good luck. ^^

Edited by FunnyGirl

The volume of the developer indicates how many shades the hair dye will lighten your hair.  A 20 volume developer can only make your hair 2 shades lighter, a 30 volume developer can only make your hair up to 3 shades lighter, and so on. 

Color is categorized by numbers, 1 being the darkest and 10 the lightest (though it can go as light as 12). 

1 - black, 2 - darkest brown, 3 - dark brown, 4 - medium brown, 5 - light brown, 6 - dark blonde, 7 - medium blonde, 8 - light blonde, 9 - lightest blonde, 10 - platinum blonde (almost white)

You say the color you chose was B51, the 1 indicates that it's an ash color (brown is the color of your hair, and ash is the reflection your hair will have).  So in other words, 51 is a light ash brown.  The B is probably used to help consumers see that it's a high-lift dye.  Any number that comes after the first is simply indicating the reflection your hair will have (or at least should have).

1 - ash, 2 - silver, 3 - golden, 4 - copper, 5 - red violet, 6 - red

So, say you want a medium golden brown, you would opt for a 53.  Of course the end result also depends on your starting haircolor.  If your hair is black, it could be either a blue black or a red black.  If you want a golden tone to it and your hair is blue black, you should stick to golden tones, however, if you don't want a golden effect and your hair is red black, then you should stick with ash colors. 

You're on the right track, you picked a high-lift color to lighten your black hair.  Your hair being black, it's a 1 and you want it to be a number 5.  That means you would have to lift it 4 shades to get the desired result.  I don't know what developer they provided in a box, but in order for you to go from 1 to 5 you need a 40 volume developer.  Try using half the tube of the dye and all of the developer, you might be able to get a different result.  If that doesn't work, try the B61.  But you must remember, your hair will not lighten where it was previously colored, so you'll probably only see more results on the roots.  Also, do a strand test first to see if you like the result.  Hope this helps.  Good luck. ^^

 

Edited by FunnyGirl

black hair is very resistant if you want to dye it brown, but can easily be dyed red. this due to the pigments in the hair.

since you have and maintain short hair, why dont you bleached your hair then dyed it brown. i mean you dont have to bleached it till blonde, just till its orange and red. then use an ash brown shade to achieved a neutral brown color that can be seen.