ok to go red?

Going with permanent color DOES NOT mean that your color will last longer.

If all you want to do is refresh your color....DO NOT use permanent.

If on the other hand you need to lighten your base...roots...then and only then would you need the lightening and depositing that a permanent color would give you. And only on the hair that needs to be lightened, NOT the PREVIOUSLY LIGHTENED HAIR.

FACT...ALL color fades, especially reds and most especially pink reds.
MYTH...Permanent color will last longer. NOT.

If the pink or red color you are using is truly a semi permanent, and all you want to do is maintain and or refresh your current color...Keep using it. You can apply this color anytime you feel your color needs refreshing...every week if necessary. IF the color you are using is truly a SEMI-PERMANENT.

Try not to shampoo every day. Make sure you are using the proper shampoo and conditioner in your everyday maintenance.
Stay out of chlorine pools and the sun.

And a color shampoo would even be helpful.
Cheers

Hal wrote: MYTH...Permanent color will last longer. NOT. then why is it called "permanent" and if its not, what is the different between the two?

Who knows why it's called permanent...maybe because when you use it it will permanently change your natural hair. By this I mean, the ammonia and peroxide combination will shift your natural color/open the cuticle more/ and once this occurs the hair is permanently changed.

semi-permanent color -- This product adds color without changing natural color dramatically. The hair color contains tiny color molecules that enter the hair's cuticle, or outer layer of the hair. They don't chemically interact with your natural pigments. And since the molecules are small, they eventually exit the hair shaft after several shampoos, leaving the hair as it was before treatment. This level generally lasts for 6 to 12 shampoos, covers up to 50 percent gray, enhances your natural color and leaves no roots. This hair coloring won't lighten your hair color because it contains no ammonia or peroxide.

demi-permanent color -- This product level lasts longer, through 24 to 26 shampoos. In this process, pre-color molecules penetrate the cuticle and enter the cortex where they then partner to create medium-sized color molecules. Their larger size means they take longer to wash out. These products do not contain ammonia so the natural pigment can't be lightened. However, it contains a small amount of peroxide, which allows for a subtle, but noticeable, color enhancement. It also blends and covers gray. NOTE*** (Both semi- and demi-permanent colors can become permanent on permed or already-colored hair!)


permanent color -- This is what you need for a more significant color change (Note; to go from black or dk brown to blond, you'll still need to go with a process called double process blonding and it'd be wise to get this done professionally). Please note; My opinion is that pretty much all hair color should be done professionally.

In permanent color, both ammonia and peroxide are used. Tiny molecules enter all the way into the cortex, where they react and expand to a size that is harder to wash out. Your hair actually has to grow out over time. This product acts to lighten the hair's natural pigment to form a new base and then to add a new color molecules. The end result is a combination of your natural hair pigment and the new shade you chose. That means the color may appear different on you than on someone else using the same color. (That's why the "strand test" is so important). Regular touch-ups of 4 to 6 weeks are generally needed to eliminate roots -- hair with your natural color growing at half an inch per month from your scalp.
Cheers.

Wow, thank you for all the info! :)