I've been having my naturally med/dark brown hair bleached to a (now) light blonde shade.  When my hairdresser does it, she does a heavy weave and I've gone in 3 times to have it done.  So at this point, all my hair is varying shades of blonde.  I really like it and everything but I do miss my brown, especially now that it's Fall.

 

I've been wanting to have it dyed back for awhile now but everytime I tried, I came up short on cash.  Same thing happened this time.. I actually scheduled the appointment and it's for next Wednesday but I don't think I'll be able to afford it.  I'm thinking of just doing it at home because I could really use the extra money and it seems like a relatively sort of easy thing to do. 

 

My questions are:

 

1.  I've read that before dyeing hair brown, you must dye it red first.  Does this have to be a straight red color or can it be a red/brown or auburn?  After dyeing it red, do I dye it brown RIGHT after? 

 

2.  I don't want to go AS dark as my natural color, but pretty close to it.  So what shade would I even want to use?  My hair is med/dark brown.  I'd want to be just maybe one shade lighter than that, so considering how porous my hair has to be from all the bleachings, would I want to use like a dark blonde shade?  Or a light brown?  I don't even mind if it turns out as dark as my natural color but I sure don't want black hair!

 

3.  Are there any specific bases I should avoid?  (Gold, red, etc.)

 

4.  Would I apply both dyes to roots (natural color) first or last?  How much time would I leave on roots and on ends? 

 

I think that's it for my questions... I would sure appreciate any help!!

 

You may be able to get away with just using a reddish brown if your hair isnt extremely blonde,like the INSIDE of a banana.If it has some goldish tones,you may not need to add the red back in.

However,the color may fade quite fast if you dont use the red.

 

The first time I did it,I used a color called LIGHT REDDISH BROWN.

It looked VERY dark,but within a week,it faded so much a lot of the blonde was peeking back through.

 

 

The second time,I decided maybe I should get some help.So I went to Clairol's website and had a live chat session with a color specialist.

This is what they told me to do:

 

Pick out two haircolors. A light red or auburn color.A light brown color.

 

2)   Apply ONLY the toner of the red (dont mix the developer in) to slightly damp hair for 15-20 minutes.If you have long hair you may need two boxes.

 

3) Without rinsing out the red (very important!)

Then apply the light brown color overtop.This time using the developer,

and mixing in a very tiny bit of shampoo (not sure why this step was needed,but I think it had something to do with porous hair grabbing the color too much and this prevented it)

Leave on 15 -20 minutes.

 

4) rinse well.

 

 

 

Someone else on here said you dont need to add in the red,that you can use GOLD too if you dont like red undertones. Personally,I love red undertones,as most people have slight red tones in sunlight.

 

WHATEVER YOU DO,DO NOT USE AN ASH COLOR AT THIS TIME!!!

Any dye with the words ASH in it,will cause a GREEN effect. More so when going from blonde to brown.

 

 

Also,it has been mentioned a lot on this forum that using semis or demis sometimes works better when going darker because it does not lighten at all,only adds color.Incase you dont know what that is~ a semi is a non permante color that washes out after so many washes. On porous hair,or hair lighter then the dye,it WILL NOT WASH OUT. Example,for me I used permante the first time.After I have been using Natural Instincts (a non perm. color) just to boost my color every now and then.

 

 

 I think that's everything. If you would like to consult with clairol like I did,I'd be happy to leave the link. They will most likely tell you to use Nice and Easy though.

 

 

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