Color Over Color?

Lianne,Hello from one purple-headed victim to another. I was trying to grow out permanant red color and return to my naturally ash-brown color. I had been achieving this through semi-permanant coloring at a salon. One day my stylist insisted on adding "chestnut" to the mixture and I wound up with eggplant purple, Morticia Adams looking locks. Lovely with my Irish complexion (NOT).To make a long story short, after several feeble attempts to tone it down (making murkier versions of the same color) I eventually bit the bullet and went to someone who stripped the color and replaced it with a permanant brown hue. Trust me, it was WELL worth it. I now maintain the color with Clairol Natural Instincts while I'm growing out the permanant growth and you can't see the damage at all. My only mistake since then was to get highlights, which took differently on the stripped/colored portion than the new growth.

Thanks for the sympathy, Chrissie! And the suggestion.Meanwhile, I tried the Clairol hotline as someone here suggested (1-800-223-5800). The rep was very nice, also sympathetic and very helpful. Although I went to an expensive salon and a so-called "color expert," it turns out that the rumor was confirmed: putting a second demi-permanent color over the first does lock in that first color and make it permanent. That is, until it grows out.Sigh. I've tried the other often-made suggestion: using clarifying or dandruff shampoos (no moisturing shampoos) to encourage that color to fade and it's helped a little, but after 12 weeks, it's pretty clear I'm stuck with it unless I want to go back to a salon and have all color stripped and a permanent color put on. Yikes! I never want color on my hair again!So please, NEVER DO THIS TO YOUR HAIR! And don't let some stylist sales-talk you into this sort of nonsense. The stylist who (a) ignored my request the first time and colored my hair red anyway, and (b) put purple on my hair for a second coloring the same day, surely knew what she was doing. I don't know why she had it in for me, but apparently such things do happen. You know what they say about hindsight.I'll just have to enjoy all the styling suggestions here and try not to notice this awful color. I don't think I have the courage (or the looks!) to cut off all my long hair down to a couple of inches. So this is a painful lesson I won't soon forget!Lianne

Is the rumor true that putting a second semi-permanent color over the first makes the first one permanent?I had a first-time-color disaster even though I went to a salon. Here's the short version of the story: My hair is ash and my skin coloring matches (I'm a Winter, if you're into that). I just wanted to cover some gray (foolish me!) and I gave in to this "expert's" sales pitches. I insisted no red, but the stylist did what she wanted and I wound up brown with carrot highlights. I looked like I had measles. I looked like my mother. I looked awful. I cried, and my husband couldn't stand hearing that and sent me back the same day to complain. She plopped me in a chair and gave me dark color with purple/magenta highlights. I'm a 45-year-old business owner about to do some public speaking & teaching. I was shocked. I'd made the unfortunate remark, trying to explain about colors: "I'd rather have purple than orange!" so she got revenge and did this to me. I got a refund from management, but 11 weeks have passed. The second color has faded (the black/purple that made me look like a drug addict). But I still have a sharp red line an inch & a half from my scalp and red highlights throughout. Here's what I'm almost afraid to ask: Does this mean I have to wait 3 years before this color fades?Now I dearly love that silver poking up all over my scalp along with my beloved natural ash with golden highlights! I'll never color my hair again! Please tell me the truth, someone, but I'm hoping it's just taking longer for the initial reds to wash out . . . !!!!!!!Thanks,Lianne