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12 January 2009

I'm goth, but I don't really want to be. So, I was tired of the auburn shade I've been colouring my hair for the past few years, and besides, it didn't seem to stick to the grey at the roots near my face. (The middle and ends of my hair were always nice and dark, but then I had light reddish wash grey at the top, where it's most noticable.)

So I picked a darker shade, looking for a change. →[More:]

I'm used to leaving the old shade on for 45-50 minutes to cover the grey, so...

I left the new dark brown shade on for the same amount of time. (Did I do a mirror check to see what the goop looked like? No, of course not--I was too busy on the internet.)

And, yes, you guessed it. I've got black hair. I don't really want black hair. I keep getting surprised by myself in the mirror. People have told me it's not that bad, actually (I have pale skin and hazel eyes, so it's not too far from what could work with my colouring).

It's probably not a good idea to re-colour it, I know. I've read: wash with Prell (is that a shampoo or a dish soap?) and wash with dish soap.

I will probably try re-colouring in about four weeks.

Not leaving it on for 45 minutes this time, though.

Similar tales of woe? What would other bunnies do?

Also, at Costco, we got a large box of Annie's organic BUNNY SNACKS, and I've been having a BUNNY SNACK every day at work, which makes me a happy bunny. With unhappy goth hair.

post by: Savannah at: 23:44 | 11 comments

Prell is a shampoo. This past summer, I had gone to a new salon and asked for darker streaks to take my (colored) light-auburn hair back down to my natural dark-brown color. I ended up with jet-black skunk stripes. NIGHTMARE. I used the dishwashing soap tactic for a few days, and I think it really did help to take some of the dark color out, but it seriously dried out my hair.

Moral of the story: when I finally had a chance to get back to my regular stylist later on, she recommended that if I absolutely felt the need to try to color-correct at home, I try a product called Elimin8 from Rusk, which is a powder that you just mix into your regular shampoo. Basically, it strips oxidized color. You might want to try that. The best solution, though, would probably be to see a professional hair lady for color correction. (Disclaimer: I am not a stylist.) Anyway, other than that, the color will probably lift eventually--and very gradually--from regular washing. Hope this helps!

posted by sarabeth 12 January | 23:59

Does the box have a hotline number on it? That would be my recommendation; the Clairol hotline fixed me up when I was going for "auburn" and ended up with "pink."

posted by occhiblu 13 January | 00:07

I have had exactly the same problem in the past - my hair is incredibly porous, and when I leave a mid brown shade on my hair for the required time, it always goes much, much darker.

The only thing that I can do to prevent this is to use one of the L'Oreal Preference products. You have to look carefully, because not all products in the range have this, but some of them are 'Ultra Lightening'.

Here's the package for the Ultra Lightening Light Ash Brown.

And here's the one which isn't Ultra Lightening.

The Ultra Lightening range has a little gold decal in the top right-hand corner, just above where it says what shade it is.

So if I want my hair to be a mid- to dark- brown, I use the Ultra Lightening Light Ash Brown. It comes out a few shades darker than it shows on the model on the box. But if I were to use one where the model's hair is the actual colour that I want, it would always come out much darker than that in real life.

I have used the Ultra Lightening product a day after ending up with goth-dark hair without any problem. You should be okay using it - UNLESS you colour your hair with henna, in which case, you'll need to see a colour specialist at a salon.

posted by essexjan 13 January | 00:14

I'll admit that I've made a sort of mission out of living with bad hair (not sure how to explain that), but IMO it can be incredibly liberating going about your daily business with hair that others (may) scoff at. There's something really delicious about their being confronted with something they'd NEVER do -- but something that's really as non-threatening as it can get (i.e., unless one is Medusa, hair can only be frightening in a purely aesthetic sense).

posted by treepour 13 January | 01:00

This is what I've heard and helped me a few months ago when I mistakingly took the "copper red" instead of the "copper red blonde" box in the shop and ended up with mahogany brown hair (dying blond hair the perfect red is a nightmare). Reds on the other hand wash out fast, and black may be more stubborn.

When you've gone too dark, the best thing to do (for your hair) is to buy a nice luxury softness conditioner that you like the smell of (should NOT be special for dyed hair, can be for extra supple, dry hair or split ends) - wash hair three times with shampoo then wear the conditioner for 40 minutes with a towel around your head (to keep heat - if you want to protect towel from dye also wear plastic wrap). When you rinse this out lots of color will go with it.

Then wait the next 3-4 weeks before dying again.

posted by dabitch 13 January | 09:10

Hair colors have hotlines? Really?

Gosh they must get some stressed people calling up!

posted by danf 13 January | 10:32

Gosh they must get some stressed people calling up!

I'd bet the Butterball hotline is worse. :-)

posted by occhiblu 13 January | 11:23

I called the Clairol hotline one time because I had ingested a small quantity of hair color solution. (Some dripped into my, um, beverage.) She put me on hold then told me to call the poision control hotline. I didn't, and suffered no ill effects. But yeah, I was stressed. Well, drunk, really.

I also have had horrible luck with dark colors. Nevermore. Gotta stick close to nature.

posted by rainbaby 13 January | 11:37

Hot oil treatments strip color fast, in my experience. But I would just live with it until 4-6 weeks later when I felt comfortable coloring it again. If I really wanted to cry every time I saw it (which has never happened to me, regardless of what mess I've made of my color), I'd splurge on a professional correction job.

Meanwhile, I'd walk around, looking pale and tragic and drinking lots of exotic cocktails.

posted by crush-onastick 13 January | 11:44

So once you've mastered the suicide hotline job, you can move up to hair color and turkey emergencies?

posted by danf 13 January | 13:01

Thanks for all the tips!

After a couple of shampoos, it's not as bad as I thought it was. It's still more black than brown, but I've changed my face powder and am wearing darker lipstick--and I'm going with it for now! Wearing strong, jewel-toned colours seems to help (although that's not very goth-y) and I'm okay with the hair, I think.

Well, I wanted a change... :)

Thanks,
Belladonna
Raven
Shadow
Savannah

posted by Savannah 14 January | 22:34

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