Getting the red out of brown

Can you post a picture? 

I have the exact same problem, everything I put on my hair turns out reddish, the only difference is that I don't have any gray hairs yet (I'm 20).  Basically, your best bet is to use ash colors, but if you're anything like me, it won't work either (unless of course you bleach then tone, but that's another story).  I died my hair yesterday, I used a 6.1 color (dark ash blonde) to my brown hair (a number 4) and added about 10 ml of an ash intensifier and I'm sad to report that it did not work.  In certain lightings my hair does look just brown, but when you see the reflex, you see orange, and like you, my skin is olive/yellow/pinkish, so it so does not look right.  My hair looks pretty much like yours except it's a bit more orange.  There's this trick a color technician tought me, which I intend to try in a few days.  It goes as follows:  Get a platinum color (usually a 12.1 or 12.11) or an ash intensifier.  Wet your hair and massage (about a dime size, but if you feel you need more you can add) only the color from the tube (do not mix with the oxidizer), the excess of red should wash off as you massage your hair, but if you feel you still want to tone it down further you can leave it on your hair for 5-10 minutes.  This also works to rid of excess green, orange and yellow.  I really don't know if it works yet, but like I said, I'm trying it in a few days and I'll let everyone know if it works.  Of course, if it doesn't that means I'm going to start with my strand tests again until I find a nice color that'll tone down the orange.  I'm thinking a 5 (which is a light neutral brown) or a 5.1 (light ash brown), with a 10 volume oxidizer, since I don't think I'll need to lift color. 

Good luck, and let me know how it turns out, I'll let you guys knows if the trick worked in a few days.  

Oh!  I forgot to add, sometimes lighter hair color (in your case gray, but it could be for blondes trying to go darker as well), needs a base color first so that the color will fix in the hair better, and also last longer.  Say you want a light ash brown (6.1) on your hair, you would want to mix a light neutral brown (6) in a 1:1 ratio.  So if you use one tube of dye for your hair, use half of each color.

Edited by FunnyGirl

I really think that the base color you have looks pretty cool to me.

Let me just say that L'Oreal makes warm hair warmer!  I don't know why but it does.  You might want to try using a Miss Clairol color next time. 

http://www.clairolpro.com/dispensary/swatches/mc_swatches.ht ml

Try a combination of 57D and 32D, half and half with 20 vol. STRAND TEST because I don't know what this will look like on your hair.  Don't use the Chestnut because I hear it has a lot of RED in it. 

Good luck!

I also have the same problem.  I have been using hair dyes (both permanent and nonpermanent) for about 15 years now and I have never gotten away from the red.  Now determined, (because of so much gray hair) I am trying different formulas to find the right one.  This morning I used Colorfix to lighten the dark hair and I am once again a dark orange/red color (I just used the partial remover technique with shampoo).  Tomorrow, I will try to remove some parts and get some highlights and see if I can tone those to an dark ash blonde. 

I am a natural 4 ash but I want to be a 6N.  I have been applying color for so long that my hair is very dark.  I have had some success with bleached highlilghts and tone to a 7 ash (med ash blonde) using Redken Semi permanent, which is a wonderful product.  Then, I can get a light brown color but I do not want to bleach my whole head.  I was told that color cannot lighten color, so I think that bleach is the only way to go.  I will keep an eye on your post to see if someone posts an answer to our redhead problem...

Good luck and keep posting...

Thanks so MUCH for this advice. Since I last posted I've used ColorFix three times to lift out the dark color. It's much better, although now I'm more of a light reddish brown. The gray retains some of this color, and some of the gray is pure grey (actually white). There's a lot more grey than when I first began coloring 3 years ago , and I'm toying with whether I like it. If I want to tone or diminish the reddish color I currently have, without darkening or altering my color too much, will your formula or shampoo work? Especially on the colored gray and uncolored gray?

I'm so disappointed to realize that the Craig colors have no true cool base, even though their names imply otherwise. I loved how gentle the formula is, and it covered my grey really well.

I ended up going to a professional colorist, with the desire to correct back to my natural color and kind of start over. Her first reaction to that request was "your natural color is too dark and harsh for your skin tone," and she convinced me to let her try something with a tad more gold. Although she did not bleach my hair, the resulting color was very pretty and somehow lighter than my natural dark ash brown. A medium golden brown, and she toned the gray to a caramel color. She used a semi-perm Goldwell formula -- I remember something about the number 6 combined with something else. Anyway, unfortunately, within two weeks my dark roots and grey were real obvious, and I don't want to have to go to the colorist every two weeks. So I went back to her and asked if we could try again, this time a shade closer to my natural color. She used the Goldwell 5a (I think), with the 10 level on the gray and 20 level elsewhere. It came out almost black!! And she used permanent color, not semi-perm!!  I assumed we were still using the semi. So now I am stuck with this harsh almost black color. I did run home after the appointment and wash it with Prell, and two weeks later the color intensity has lifted somewhat. I resisted all temptation to use ColorFix and decided to just wait a bit. I'm waiting to see how close this color is to my natural roots, and then I'll try to go forward with either Robert Craig or something from the drug store or Sally's to color the gray roots.

Someone told me that RC always pulls red -- that they do not do ash shades well -- and I hesitate to put anything from RC on my hair again.

I think the solution for me may be to keep applying the dark ash brown, to help hide the dark root growout every two weeks, but to soften the effect with highlights in the front. I've never done them before, but I know I'll have to tone them.

Another option would be to use a bleach/shampoo/conditioner formula in tiny sections around the front, which would lighten this dark brown.

But as I say, for now I'm taking a break. I don't want to fall into the trap of jumping from one thing to the other.

Please do let me now what you decide to do. What is your understanding about the Herbatint, in terms of ash colors?

Sorry, I forgot to address the ballet issue.  Yes, I was once a dancer. Too old and arthritic to continue once I reached my 40s. I danced in a couple small-town ballet companies (voluntarily, you know how that goes) and once I was a lowly extra in a crowd scene with Nureyev!! Didn't dance, just stood there with my mouth open. How about you?

I think your plan is a good one. I don't mind gray hair, I just wish I had more of it and that it looked better against my natural dark brown. I have it on my crown only, so as soon as it grows it's immediately visible. My plan was to keep using semi-perm color so that I could gradually and less obviously return to my gray. But now I've got this very dark perm color on and that forces me down a certain path.

Please do post about your Herbatint experience.

There's a new formula coming on the market, one of the drugstore brands, that promises to try to match the numbering system for color. I'm anxious to hear what others will think of it. I don't know if it's permanent or something else.

Thanks for posting!