Recommendation for red hair dye

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I'm considering dying my hair red. It's quite dark at the moment. Can anyone recommend a good red hair dye.

aliadds

My friend is quite dark, and dyes her hair red. She always uses Garnier Nutrisse as advertised by Davina McCall. They have a 'ravishing reds' collection of 7 different shades of red!
HTH:)

System

It depends on hair type sadly.
What works for me may not work 2 years later and also may not work for a friend. A friend of mine is constantly dyeing her hair to keep it red no matter what dye she uses where as I found that my hair kept the red dye for a good while, I guess because I'd dyed it red for fancy dress and wanted to go back to platinum blonde asap. It is generally the rule that you'll have to redye your hair frequently as red fades the fastest of all hair colours.

If you can then bleaching your hair will not only mean your hair will 'soak up the dye' and keep the colour longer but it'll also mean your hair is brighter (if that's what you're going for).

I use Wella Live and L'Oreal 100% colour (I dye my hair blue black) but find that the colour lasts variably from packet to packet.

jenniewb

L'Oreal Feria is the brightest if thats what your looking for, colour tends to stay around longer for me too but you must must must use a hair shampoo and conditioner for colour treated hair. Most brands do them at at all costs, I have heard though that pantenes versions don't work as well, John Freida's frizz ease leeches out colour (not sure about the coloured hair versions and would imagine they are fine as they are colour depositing which is infact better then designed for coloured hair). There are many many other brands to experiment with and see what works for you.

Also, make sure yur not using too many heated appliances which will also leech the colour. Cooler water, medium or low level (or no level!) hair dryer, try not to use the straighteners/tongs if possible and a deep conditioner once a week to retain the moisture.

Fuzzy_Duck

The best I've tried are Schwarzkopf Live Luminance, Feria, and Garnier Nutrisse. The first two are more intense whilst Garnier is more natural. I too have dark hair and whilst Live and Feria glowed red under the light it was otherwise not that noticable. I now use Garnier which simply intensifies the natural red highlights I already have.

You might also want to give henna a try but it's worth doing your research first as it is a commitment. I believe you can only use henna on your hair rather than packet dye until it's grown out- not entirely sure though as I have never tried it.

To be honest it does depend on how dark your hair is and how porous- I tend to find it's better to go for burgundies as they have a better chance of showing. If you want properly red hair I would suggest bleaching and using Special Effects- it's the best lasting hair dye. You can even mix some up and put it in your shampoo bottle to give it a boost of colour as it's just a paste you apply directly from the tube.

Zozo1985

I use Loreal Feria and find it lasts for quite a while longer than others I used, even the faded red colour stays a nice colour and doesn't go orangey. I used to use schwartzoff live, red passion but found that faded quite quick and went that orangey colour when fading. I wash y hair loads due to spending a lot of time at the gym training and having short hair so need a colour that lasts and Feria is defo the one for me.

I also find using the shampoo and other colour retention products helps keep the colour in longer too.

jenniewb

Fuzzy_Duck wrote: »

The best I've tried are Schwarzkopf Live Luminance, Feria, and Garnier Nutrisse. The first two are more intense whilst Garnier is more natural. I too have dark hair and whilst Live and Feria glowed red under the light it was otherwise not that noticable. I now use Garnier which simply intensifies the natural red highlights I already have.

You might also want to give henna a try but it's worth doing your research first as it is a commitment. I believe you can only use henna on your hair rather than packet dye until it's grown out- not entirely sure though as I have never tried it.

To be honest it does depend on how dark your hair is and how porous- I tend to find it's better to go for burgundies as they have a better chance of showing. If you want properly red hair I would suggest bleaching and using Special Effects- it's the best lasting hair dye. You can even mix some up and put it in your shampoo bottle to give it a boost of colour as it's just a paste you apply directly from the tube.

Be very careful with henna- once you use it, it will affect any colour you put on top of it (unless its a henna colour). The result is a sort of tidemark that will only ever grow out and cannot be dyed over.

Fuzzy_Duck

jenniewb wrote: »

Be very careful with henna- once you use it, it will affect any colour you put on top of it (unless its a henna colour). The result is a sort of tidemark that will only ever grow out and cannot be dyed over.

Thought this was the case. You have to be willing to grow it out if you don't like the colour- I know some people swear by henna but it's still a bit of a risk to take if you end up hating the result. I think hairdressers are a bit wary of it too so it's a struggle to fix yourself if you want to put another henna colour over it.

System

Henna: I tried this years ago and ended up hating it. I left the mixture on my head for HOURS and only ended up a horrible orangey colour. The mix is like camel poo and really stinks. It's also a nightmare to wash out.
I also tried some black henna (and then found out that people can have severe allergic reactions to it! :O ) and ruined a friends bathroom. I wasn't allowed back at her house.

Intergalactic_Floozie

Another one for Feria, I have just used "Spice Power" and it's the most intense red I've done yet. It's also the least messy! My hair is naturally dark brown

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Have used henna on my ahir in the past, however, it's only useful if you only want to stick with henna and not use chemical colorants.