Colorfix/Natural Instincts Confusion

Hi all -

I tried to find the answer to my problem by searching past posts, and found out a lot, but I was left with a little confusion -

My natural hair is a neutral light/med brown, however I've been dying it for years (no bleaching, mainly just perm neutral browns. Highlighted about a year ago, but not since). I also have no grays. Recently, I decided I needed more red in my life (it was a hormone thing . . .) I dyed my hair a light reddish brown with Loreal Excellence and it didn't look red at all. Of course, I couldn't just take that as a sign from the universe that I shouldn't be a redhead

Next stop, the drugstore again, this time for Natural Instincts "Spiced Tea," a light auburn color - I thought I'd just jazz it up a bit. Well, it turned my hair a very unflattering pinky-orange brown, especially at the roots. I re-did it with Natural Instincts Light Ash Brown (tweed) and it didn't do much. Again I tried a Nat Inst med golden brown, hoping the yellow would at least counter the pink, which it did a bit, but my hair is still QUITE reddish and I REALLY want my nutty brown back. Red looks just plain bad with my coloring. ick

So, my questions are:

1)  Will Colorfix remove the Natural Instincts? I've seen conflicting posts - some saying it will and some saying it won't. I'd hate to put my hair through that for nothing.

2) Should I put a filler on before re-coloring? If so, should I use a colored or neutral filler?

3) What should I use to re-color? I'm thinking of colorgems in a light ash brown to banish any remaining red. I want to end up a light or medium brown, no darker. What is the best brand at Sally's for rich, shiny color?

4) What kind of conditioning should I follow up with (protein, oil, etc)? My hair is fine and does break easily, especially around my hairline. It is in okay condition now, a little dry on the ends (it always is, even after trims). I'm due for another trim in a couple of weeks, so I can get them done.

Sorry this is long, I just wanted to give as much info as possible! Thank you all in advance for your replies!

Kate

If you feel it is too red, I'd go for a brown color with a green base (you can see the base on the stuff at Sally, not on the drug store stuff).  Definitely do a test strand before you do your whole head though... Starting at the roots and doing the ends for less time is a good idea, but you really need the test strand to see exactly how long to do each part and make sure this is going to be what you want before you do your whole head with more chemicals.  Good luck!

Edited to say:  I can't see your hair, but I suspect that since you've just been doing darker colors, you probably don't need one, or to do color removal since what you want is fairly close to what you have.  You may have to dye with a green base more than once to get all the red gone, but you'll have to test strand that to see.

Edited again to say:  I'm not a pro, I just do my own hair. 


Edited by Susan W