Needs advice

jordan0326,

You deserve a prize for having the sense to run a test strand.  So many problems that come across this forum could have been avoided had the person run a test strand.

I've used box dyes for years and have not run into any problems.  But I also follow certain rules:

- I only color within the range that suits me.  My hair is dark blond, so I will stick to colors around that range.  I currently prefer dark golden blond, but will do okay with anything up to the medium blonds and similar red-range colors, like red-blond.  I don't have any problems with color fading.

If you want to try a darker brown fine - just avoid fooling with true black.  Dying one's hair black can be very harsh.  Besides most black dye jobs look too artificial.   Had a friend who home-dyed her long, dark red-brown mane to black  - the job was botched and she came out with a flat black - flat black like a car primer.  It was weird looking.  She eventually had to go to her hair stylist to get it corrected, but even after sitting several hours with bleach on her hair, the black could not be removed.  She ended up cutting all her hair off. 

- I stick to one brand of hair color.  Sometimes switching brands can damage hair with pre-existing color jobs.  It might not occur, but there is a chance if you start leap-frogging wildly from one product line to another.

The problem with permaent color is that it stays like that until it grows out and a lot of naturally lighter haired pple who want to go darker almost always want to get back to light hair after some period of time so they have to resort to harsh chemicals by bleaching or color stripping. Therefore, its always best to opt for a semi permanent and beware that anytime it says dark brown on the box, it will turn black most likely. Make sure u know u'll like being dark before u color ur whole head.

Edited by Veronica F