Natural Instincts colors questions

I've only used that brand once, but the result was so unnaturally bright I wouldn't use it again. I don't remember the name of the shade, but it was supposed to be kind of a coppery brown. Unfortunately, on my hair it showed up bright carrot-orange. I don't know if that's just a peculiarity of my hair or if other people have similar warning stories, though.

Hi Guy's....aeryn....unless you WANT to lighten your natural color...and I might add, end up with roots in 5 or 6 weeks or even some cuticle lifting....don't use permanent color. This is a BIG mistake people make...even many hair stylists...choosing a permanent color over semi-permanent.

Natural Instincts is a semi-permanent color and its a great choice to richin up your dark color.

Go to a store where they have the swatches of hair, look at the colors find one with a pretty chocoate brown look to it....and if you think that it may be too dark or even if you think it is perfect choose one shade lighter.

This is a great rule when your trying to get that perfect color. Don't be afraid to go with a little bit of red on dark hair it will look richer. If your hair is darker than Kuroneko's the red will not show up as much. I don't know about Roasted Chestnut....sounds great tho....But I have corrected Cinnimon Stick....IT IS BRIGHT! But there again, if your hair is really dark to begin with the red will not stand out as much.

I seem to remmber a color called Pecan....med to light brn shade pretty safe......Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway if the first color you choose is too light, you can go back to the store and choose one shade darker and apply it the very same day.....It's not like permanent color .....you can apply this color regularly. So take it slow, find the right one for you.

In the salon this is exactly why we do so much blending of two or three colors to get the right tone and depth and shade.

Good luck...there are some people on this site that are really familar with NI...so hopefully they will weigh in. Let us know what how it goes and what you choose. CHEERS

I've used Natural Instincts for a very long time with great results.

Don't use expresso unless you want your hair to look VERY dark, almost black.

My hair is dark brown with lots of reddish undertones and I want to play up those undertones while blending away my grey. I mix Medium Brown (Hazelnut, I think) with Cinnamon Stick (50-50) and get a terrific result: not TOO dark, with the brown looking very highlight-y and the grey looking reddish brown.

You cannot lighten your hair with Natural Instincts. As long as you don't use a very dark color, you really can't go wrong because it washes out rather quickly. I highly recommend this product.

Elissa

I haven't seen it yet, but be careful, because it sounds very dark. The regular expresso is quite dark, almost black (I used to use that). Double expresso can only be darker, I would think.

I've used nutmeg too and have had great results!

I found out about 'Double Espresso' and it's a Dark Bronze Brown in case anyone wants to know.

Thanks to everyone else who responded about the dangers of using perm. and semi-perm. colors. Well, I don't think I'll be changing my colors anytime soon and I agree about using semi's to change colors frequently or to go lighter.

Do anyone know an equivalent of bluish black semi-perm. color as Natural Instincts Indigo since they're discontinuing it besides 'Midnight'? I heard about Lumia's Black Iris. Any good results with it? I don't expect to go any lighter in the near future and I want a very bluish black.

Lumia is permanent, but it's meant to give a more natural look with less noticeable roots. I don't know if it's more gentle than other permanent dyes or not. I've used that brand a couple of times, but it was a reddish-plum sort of shade rather than black. I've seen some very nice blue-black swatches (especially Garnier) and been tempted, though.
Yup, despite being really late, I'm sure I have the right brand in mind this time :-) .

The only semi-perms I know are Natural Instincts and Casting. Maybe beauty supply stores have better selections? I dunno.
Casting, I've only ever used once. I was pretty happy with the result, but I never saw the same shade again, so I haven't used it in ages. I did like how easy it was to put the applicator together and all, though.

That's probably why I can never find the same shade again-- if they remade the entire line, they might've changed the shade name, or stopped making it entirely :-P . Maybe I should try something that looks similar to the one I used the once, and see what its results are, then.