Hair dye used forever suddenly fails?
Printed From: HairBoutique.com
Category: Hair Talk
Forum Name: Hair Color
Forum Description: The tricks and tribulations of changing your hair color
URL: https://talk.hairboutique.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=58592
Printed Date: October 03 2025 at 1:34am
Topic: Hair dye used forever suddenly fails?
Posted By: sharkhark
Subject: Hair dye used forever suddenly fails?
Date Posted: January 02 2008 at 3:14pm
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I am a guy who grew up with blonde hair and in my twenties slowly went darker brown and greying. I finally relented to a girlfriend and used a feria product to try and go blonde again. It worked. No red hues, no green, no orange etc. It worked. Out of the blue after years of same exact company, brand, color choice etc all being the exact same I was shocked to discover a orangey red hued hair. I was further suprised when I went to a professional salon who assured me of their ability to do what home products can't and after an hr in the seat, I had orangey, red hued hair. They put me thru two additional sessions to correct it (all in the same nite) and it did not substantially improve. Worse yet her aggressive time in seat caused burning to my scalp and I have been left with a sensitivity to hair products (this was almost a yr ago). I have been coloring my hair dark brown with success for the past yr but desire a lighter blonde or sandy blonde hair. a. did I have a poorly talented salon girl and try another? b. why did my product suddenly stop working for me? c. is there another self coloring step or steps I can try? Being a 40 yr old guy with fairly short hair I am not crazy about the salon option as my hair grows extremely fast and it costs about $40 plus tip a month, too much vs a $8 bottle of home care. Appreciate help, i tried searching but found similar questions but not exactly my situation. |
Replies:
Posted By: PerfectBrunette
Date Posted: January 02 2008 at 6:19pm
| Hmm... You say that you have been dyeing your hair dark brown. I suspect that you tried to use the Feria over hair that had already been colored dark brown the second time but the first time you used it on virgin (non-colored) hair. If this is so, the reason it didn't "take" the second time is that you cannot lighten over permanent haircolor without using a color remover first or bleach. Is this what happened? Sorry about your bad experience in the salon. Perhaps she didn't know that your hair was colored and tried to do a single process using developer only and no bleach? This is my best guess but need more information to know what went wrong. |
Posted By: Ally<3
Date Posted: January 02 2008 at 8:15pm
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Let your natural greying hair grow through. It's ruggered and sophisticated.
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Posted By: sharkhark
Date Posted: January 04 2008 at 3:22pm
Uh no, I think you misread my quote. I said I had been coloring my hair blonde for years with no problems. From age 24 until 37. Same exact product and color. I said it suddenly one day after coloring came out with results that were orangey reddish blonde. Not after dark coloring, just over same hair for 13 years. I said I have been dyeing it brown for last yr and want a change, I prefer blonde. By that I am just saying that I gave up a couple years ago on blonde and found brown works. I want blonde though, don't like brown its just that it covers the grey. Re the person that suggested the grey? I understand and will someday give up, but the reality is that I just turned 41. My last girlfriend was 23. I am mistaken all the time for someone much younger than my edge. Eventually that will catch up with me, but for now I enjoy being mistaken for younger 30's vs my dads side of family I just saw at a reunion and all look like me except all (including women) are grey and look 10 years older than their age.  |
PerfectBrunette wrote:Posted By: PerfectBrunette
Date Posted: January 04 2008 at 3:35pm
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You say you have been dyeing your hair brown for the past year. Did you try dyeing it blond over the brown hair dye? Or are you saying the last time you used blond over a year ago, it came out orange? And you want to dye your hair blond again but are afraid it will come out orange? Either way, you will have to use a color stripper product like Color Oops to get out the brown color before you try going blonde again. Alternatively, you can use bleach to remove the color but it is more damaging. Have you been using Just for Men by any chance? I hear that product has metallic dyes which is another story altogether. |
Posted By: Ally<3
Date Posted: January 04 2008 at 7:47pm
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Being grey at 41 is not terribly unusual. A dye job (which on men, are usually quite obvious - from experience) doesn't make you look younger. Don't let your self esteem rest on your hair colour.
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Posted By: sharkhark
Date Posted: January 06 2008 at 6:49pm
Hi there, yes to the first thing you said. I started going grey in early twenties and used a feria (womans product as more choice than men) and used the same exact brand, same exact color for years until I was about 37 or so, in all about 13 years. One month just like usual I colored my hair and after coming out of the shower was shocked that my hair was orangey reddish. After a couple years with natural brown (grew up with blonde) and grey I started coloring brown and it worked on covering the grey but I just personally find it bland and miss blondish hair. Doesn't have to be brigt blonde, but even a lightish brown/sandy would have a little more of what I like and am asking right now for advice on trying to do so myself. Haven't heard of color oops, might try that, before coloring. still looking for more advice.
No you are right being grey at 41 is not abnormal but as I mentioned earlier i started in early twenties. Had people thinking I was 30 when I was 23. Started coloring my hair on a girlfriends advice with success for years and years. No I do not base my self esteem on hair color, I am a pretty confident guy. But there is no denying that I am constantly mistaken for someone younger than I am and most people meeting my friends think I am the young one, rather than the truth of older. I do not want grey hair otherwise I wouldn't be here. Thanks for the positive comments though. |
Posted By: Ally<3
Date Posted: January 06 2008 at 9:49pm
Whatever makes you happy, my friend. I think it's just because guys dying their hair (15 or 50) just erks me a bit. I always imagine them at home with a towel around their shoulders, dye in their hair, reading the instructions on how long to leave it on for. 
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Posted By: sharkhark
Date Posted: January 07 2008 at 10:34am
You know what erks me. Logging onto a forum for hair color seeing a reply to my valid question and seeing someone who doesn't actually provide an answer to my question, or some help. Why are you on this forum? To simply reply to each persons request for help on coloring with "Hey bud, color erks me, leave it grey". Geez, I have never been more frustrated trying to get some help. Anyone with an actual response of help for my question? |
Posted By: PerfectBrunette
Date Posted: January 07 2008 at 1:45pm
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Hi Sharkhawk. If I were you, I'd let Ally<3's comments brush off. It sounds like a personal preference of hers and I'm sure there are many on this forum, including me, who think its just fine for men to dye their hair. As for your problem, I would recommend a color remover. The type of color remover you use will depend on the type of dye. If you used Feria, you will need to use Metalex, a color remover that is specially formulated for removing metallic dyes. You may need more than one application. That removes the metallic dyes found uniquely in this product and a few others (Nice N Easy and Just for Men are other products I've heard contain metallic dyes). Then you will need to have your hair bleached. I suspect the bleaching did not work at the salon because you were using Feria. Bleach, or any ammonia based hair color products will react with the metallic dyes in Feria. There is a recent post on here you should read about getting Feria out for more information. Once the direct dyes are removed, bleaching should be okay. If you did not use Feria or any hair dyes containing metallics, then you can use Color Oops and will not need to bleach. Color Oops removes oxidative dyes. If you use Color Oops on hair dyed with Feria, I believe the best case scenario is that it won't work. The worst case may mean singed and damaged hair. Since your hair is short, the absolute easiest way to go for you would be to grow out any hair that is dyed. Wait until it is all previously dyed hair is cut off. Then you can use your normal blond color that you like. I would suggest finding it in a brand other than Feria though, due to the difficulty of color removal. Good luck to you! |
Posted By: laughsinterror
Date Posted: January 07 2008 at 2:05pm
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The first issue is Feria. If I recall correctly, it's a metallic dye and is a monster to work with. It also explains why the stylist couldn't deal with it. Metallic dyes work differently than other dyes and are almost impossible to remove. Most of the time, you just have to wait until the hair colored with it grows out, which is what I'd recommend for you, as you keep your hair very short. If you can handle the grey for a few weeks, I'd recommend it. Otherwise, a demi permanent dye might be a good option to cover the grey (I think they're referred to as "Level 2" in most store kits.) I just wouldn't recommend trying to lighten Feria, especially when it'll be gone so soon anyway. It's very hard to work with and often doesn't end well. As to why the dye stopped working properly, it could be a whole lot of things. It can be from changes in diet, stress, medications. Everything you put (or don't put) into your body eventually makes it into your hair. Also, I've heard of people getting bad batches of dye. Maybe the developer was old or the color wasn't sealed properly and it oxidized. Loreal could have changed the formula. It could be a lot of things. I don't put much faith is store kits anymore, unless it's my only option. It's hard to know what you're getting until it's too late. Imagine my surprise when I put what was supposed to be light red into my hair and... it came out dark ashy brown. Yeah, wrong tube of color in the box.
If you're feeling adventurous, you can always try the beauty supply store and get a better idea of exactly what you're buying. It's also less expensive than color kits. I'm not sure how dark your hair is naturally, but I'm naturally a medium to dark brunette and was successfully blonde for a while. A lot of the advice that I could give really depends on how dark your hair is naturally and how light you want it to be. You may be able to get away with using a high lift color... you may have to bleach and tone. Unfortunately, I can't really tell from the photo you posted.
You mentioned sensitivity to hair products. This is a workable thing. Rather than using a bottle and gloves, you can get a bowl and a tint brush and use that to apply the color. You have a lot more control over where the color goes and how much you put on at a time. With a little practice, you can apply the color without getting it on your scalp and it'll cut down on the sensitivity issue. You can always practice first with some gel or conditioner, to get the hang of it.
Hope this helps. Let us know about your natural and target colors and hopefully you can get some more specific advice.
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Posted By: sharkhark
Date Posted: January 08 2008 at 1:19pm
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Thank you very much to the two last posters laughs and perfect b, very thorough and helpful. Yes if I remember I had colored my hair with feria not long before that bad session a couple years ago, with the salon girl and it sounds like it might have been the reaction. The only other product I tried was nice and easy which was also mentioned to be metallic. I think the easiest would be to let it grow out as suggested and start from there. My hair is pretty short (although a touch longer than ususal currently) and i can take a little grey for awhile. I apologize for pouncing on the one previous poster. Her comments came just after a posting I did on a mustang site. I asked for the best snow tires as I cannot afford two cars and want to drive it in the mild winters of toronto here. I got three replies from people saying things like, sell it if you drive in winter. Never drive it in winter buy a second car. You are crazy, don't drive it. I go from those helpful replies (insert sarcasm) to asking her about blonde hair and told not to bother and go grey. Not much point of a hair forum if each inquiry will result in being told not to bother coloring. The two of you are very insightful and helpful. A virtual 'toast' to you both. |
Posted By: Ally<3
Date Posted: January 08 2008 at 4:37pm
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Oh please your a grown man, don't let it get to you.
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Posted By: sharkhark
Date Posted: January 09 2008 at 8:07pm
...ah..helpful as always. Let me see you joined a hair forum for coloring hair to tell people....not to color their hair...? what else do you do in your spare time coach the wheelchair team and yell at them to stand up? are you single, you are quite a catch.... |
Posted By: Ally<3
Date Posted: January 09 2008 at 8:28pm
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Not funny either. What do you have going on for you?
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Posted By: michellelee
Date Posted: January 09 2008 at 8:54pm
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Geez the guy simply came on here looking for some advise like all of us do . What happened?????????????????????? ------------- Be the person your dog thinks you are |
Posted By: PerfectBrunette
Date Posted: January 11 2008 at 12:14am
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Hey Sharkhawk, Sorry about your bad experiences on here. I hope you will feel comfortable enough to come back if you have any hair color dilemmas in the future. Cheers! |