I have a big problem with my haircolor fading dramatically.  I have dark ash-blonde hair that I like to color to a medium-dark neutral-warm brown.  It always looks great for a couple of weeks, then always quickly fades almost to my natural color within a couple of months.  This occurs even when I use a permanent color such as L'Oreal Preference.  It's been a little over 2 months since I last colored my hair, and on the instructions of permanent haircolors it always says to wait at least 3 months before coloring again.  Is this set in stone, or could I color before then?  I've had my hair colored in salons, and it doesn't fade much slower.  I know it doesn't help that I blow-dry and flat-iron my hair almost daily, maybe that's the primary cause of my color fading.  I live in Minnesota, so the sun isn't much of a factor.  I at least do use salon brands of shampoo and conditioner specially for color-treated hair.  If anyone has ANY advice, it would be very much appreciated!!

thanx,

Carrie 

Three months?  Are you using the highlift series?  Generally you color all the hair, then follow up every 6 to 8 weeks (or 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch regrowth) and fill in the roots.  Use a semi or a demi to tone and refresh the ends and mid-section when necessary.  Color fades no matter what you do, nothing is really permanent--except for the brassy color of one's undertones that are left once the dye fades.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Rebekah

It sounds like your  hair might be very porous which is why it won't hold the color well.  If it is too porous, then using a demi-permanent is probably the best option.  You could use a demi first in your target shade to "fill" in the porous hair, then do it again in the same shade. This will give the color a better chance to grab and stay on the hair. 

If you keep using permanent over all your hair, it continues to make it more porous and less able to hold color, so you're color fades faster.

That's a good point.  I'll start using demi from now on, and see how that works.  Thanks!

Would a demi-permanent be something like Natural Instincts, or ColorSpa?  When I look at the recommended shades for my haircolor, they're not enough of a difference for me - if I use my natural color of dark blonde as the basis, I can't go as dark as I would like using a demi permanent.  Or would it be okay to use a darker shade than recommended?