Color your hair? What is the best brand?

T

toastythemosty

Cathlete
I use Loreal Preference, but I really don't like the light red brassy tones it leaves after a week or so.
Is there anything out there over the counter that won't make your hair brassy? What is the best stuff?

Charlotte~~
 
I like temporary color myself. It's much less damaging to the hair. Natural Instincts is my favorite. I used it 2 months after I spent $70+ at the salon for a temp color & it looked exactly the same.
 
I have never been able to get the color results from anywhere else except Natural Instincts. I've had my hair dyed so many times at a salon, but only Natural Instincts has the exact color I like. Although it does fade faster because it's temporary it's easy to reapply and is relatively gentle on my hair.

Katie
 
I like Nice & Easy because it doesn't leave my hair this one, baring, solid color. It does seem to add a few tones and highlights. Not as much as a pro job but dirt cheap! Especially since there is a 2.00 off coupon in every box!
 
Robert Craig. The best! http://www.robertcraig.com/

At $10 / box it's inexpensive (I only use half a bottle to touch up the roots every other month--but I could use 1/3 of a bottle and get away with it).

If you aren't sure which color to get, you can send a picture to Ask Karin and she writes back with suggestions.

I've been very happy with the results.
 
I'm curious about using part of the bottle at one sitting and then the rest of the bottle a few weeks later. I would love to be able to do touch ups and save the rest of the bottle for another time -- most commercial dyes tell you to throw away any unused dye. So, I waste a lot. Is Robert Craig different? Or, can you do this with all dyes, the directions notwithstanding?
 
I use L'Oreal Excellence. I used to use Feria, but it's not as good for grey hair. Maybe it's just the shade you're using. Or maybe your shampoo? Are you using a shampoo for color treated hair?
 
Donna- maybe that is the problem. I just use any shampoo I get my hands on. DH brings home all kinds. What is a good shampoo for color treated hair? There seems to be so many varieties. I get so confused when I go to the salon as there are a million to choose from.

Charlotte~~
 
I like Nutrisse by Garnier. It doesn't dry out my hair as much as the other brands. And their tones look exactly like the one on the box. I also like Garnier 100% Color Permanent Intense Gel-Cream. The color is indeed intense, but it's a bit drying.

As for conditioner, I stick to Pantene. This lady who cuts my hair says Pantene is the best drugstore brand conditioner in the market. But when my hair is really dry, she tells me to go to Sally's and get this product called Ion, also a conditioner. It's good for reconditioning fried hair, and it's reasonably priced, too, but I like Pantene better.

I already spend so much on fitness stuff -- DVD's, equipment, clothes, that I stick to drugstore brands for cosmetic products. Anyway, technology has advanced to a degree where the cheaper stuff can almost equal the gazillion-dollar brand.:)

Pinky
 
I switch between Garnier 100% Color Permanent or Feria. I like using Biolage haircare products for my hair. It doesn't fade out the color and it smells great!!

Aila
 
Hi Charlotte,

Brassy tones are usually due to the color choice as opposed to the brand itself. Do you happen to know the name of the color you've been using? Hair colors are usually divided into 3 categories- Cool or Ash, Neutral, and Warm or Gold/Red. To be sure that you don't end up with brassiness, you'd choose a shade in the Cool/Ash family. These dyes are mostly blue or purple based (although your hair won;t end up that way lol) while most others are red based.
 
Like Gina said, but I have more to add. I actually went out and bought AND READ 2 books written for cosmetology students all about how to color hair. Corrective color, bleaching, toner, peroxide- everything was explained.

One thing that surprised me greatly was that temporary, "semi" permanent, or by other names, color damages your hair more than permanent color with ammonia and peroxide developer. The reason involves the cuticle, color molecules, and timing.

Like Gina said, choose a cooler tone, even a neutral tone if you chose a gold/warm/red one before. Red fades quickly, but that orange look is very difficult to live with.

HTH
Connie

Edited to add:
I use Loreal Excellence because it is a gel rather than a liquid. I use it only on my roots, and it doesn't run all over like a liquid does. Liquids are all right for the initial color, but not for roots only.

The gel (cream) stays put. Then my hair is less damaged due to minimum exposure to the color.

-C.
 
I would just get a high quality shampoo specifically for color treated hair. Some of the shampoos I really like are Paul Mitchell, and Back to Basics. You definitely don't want to be using Suave.
 
Thanks for all the great information everyone! WOW!
Anyhow, I get the medium ash brown in Loreal Preference so it really isn't suppose to leave behind brassiness, but it does. LOL. My hair has some natural auburn tones to it which I just hate!!! My hair is naturally a dark brown, but if I try to dye it a dark brown I end up looking like Joan Jett in the good ole' days before she dyed her hair blonde. LOL. And dear hubby starts calling me "Elvis". x(
Summertime I really have a problem with the hair color as I am always in the sun and it seems to fade so much more quickly. I wouldn't dye my hair in the first place if I didn't have the chunk of gray hair right in the middle of my head so Natural Instincts for example just isn't strong enough to cover that, and I do worry about harming my health from all the dyes.

Charlotte~~
 
Charlotte,

I know exactly how you feel about brown shades turning brassy, even the cool shades. Do you have access to a Sally Beauty Supply or another beauty supply store? Sally sells salon brands that the drug stores don't sell. Try Loreal Excellence HiColor brand, for dark hair. It's designed to lift brown-to-black hair 3 to 4 levels without brassiness, and then deposit a true-to-tone color, all in one step. (I sound like a commercial!) But I've used this several times and it doesn't turn brassy, even after a few months.

The only problem is that it doesn't come in one package, with the developer. But I just buy a separate bottle (Oreor Creme Developer is recommended with this brand), and then mix it in a plastic bowl. Then I apply with gloved hands. The cost is really about the same as drug store brands.

Elaine
 
I have some red undertones in my hair, so even when I use the ash shades I end up with some brassiness eventually. I second what Elaine said. Go to Sally Beauty. You do have to buy the bottles and developer separately, but they aren't too expensive, and it's not difficult to mix it all yourself. If you don't go with the Excellence HiColor, they also have bottles of Clairol dye. If you ask a sales associate to help you, she can find one with a blue/purple base. Good luck!
 
I've been doing this with my hair color the last couple times I did it too. It's actually a little less expensive that way because the Oreor Developer lasts for a few colorings and you can keep the gloves and applicator bottle.

I haven't tried the Excellence HiColor. I've been using regular Excellence and I get medium golden blonde. It doesn't make me look blonde, more like light golden brown (I have naturally medium to dark brown hair. I think. I can't remember, it's been so long since I've seen it in its natural state.)
 
I use Aloxxi Chrome, which is the brand my professional hair cutter/colorist uses. I just go to Sally's Beauty Supply and buy a tube. I mix it with peroxide and conditioner in equal parts and use it to touch up my roots every 10 days or so, around my face and the part of my hair, and then every 6 weeks I go in and get the whole head of roots done professionally. My hair looks fantastic. No brassiness, no fakiness. It's colored dark brown, but the white hairs fade to auburn and make the whole thing look soooooo real and good.

My hair is the "oldest" thing about me, so I really feel I need to color it. Over half the hairs in my temples and front are white, and 20-25% of the rest of my hair. And my natural color is dark brown. It's one huge PITA, but I tremble in fear at how hag-like I would look if I let it go natural. Especially since my body is so Cathe-ized and my olive skin looks quite good for my 47 years.
 
I just want to throw out a comment on shampoo for color-treated hair...

From a chemical perspective, it is harsh surfactants that cause problems with color-treated hair. Surfactants are the chemicals in shampoo that allow water to bind with oils and dirt in your hair, allowing the oils and dirt to be washed away. The harshest surfactant used in commercially available shampoos is sodium lauryl sulfate. You'll find this listed as one of the first couple of ingredients on MANY shampoos - because it's cheap and it produces a really nice lather. There is nothing wrong with sodium lauryl sulfate (there have been lies circulating around on the web that it causes cancer and all other sorts of diseases, but it's not true), but it WILL cause your color to fade more rapidly. If you look at the ingredients on shampoo for color-treated hair, you usually won't find sodium lauryl sulfate in it. However, you can find "regular" shampoos that don't contain it either and you'd be fine using any of them. Oh, and just FYI, you will often see sodium laureth sulfate, which SOUNDS similar, but is much much gentler for your hair and is a great choice for color-treated hair. You don't have to buy a salon brand shampoo to get away from sodium lauryl sulfate (and many salon brands still use sodium lauryl sulfate anyway) - my favorite drugstore brands are Garnier Fructisse, and Dove. I think some, if not all Loreal shampoos are also sodium lauryl sulfate-free.

Just thought I'd throw this info out there. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top