For the last couple of months I've been a red head. A fake red head but none the less, very red. I went from a brown to blonde ombre to bright red in two steps.
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| Freshly dyed - super red hair |
First I bleached the lot with a home dye kit. Needless to say this did not bring out a gorgeous blonde bombshell, rather a yellow reminiscent of an egg yolk. So in a spur of the moment/mild panic, I bought a bright red to cover.
It was the brightest I'd ever been, but it looked fab. But although lush to look at once first dyed, it fades fast. Three weeks later I had a red/orange with a peachy ombre tip. Pretty, but not ideal. So I re-dyed in red again and its still looking rather good two weeks later.
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| About a week and a half after the first red dye |
So here's some hints and tips for maintaining dyed red hair.
- Wash your hair less - this will reduce the rate of the dye washing out. If you can leave it three days - do! And for those in between days, try some dry shampoo. Batiste even have a special formulation for red heads which will give your roots a colour boost.
- Wash with warm, not hot water. Hot water heats the pigments making them more likely to come away from your hair and wash away.
- Use a colour protection shampoo and condition. These, by definition, should help maintain your hair colour. I use L'oreal Elvive Colour Protect (bright red bottle) which lathers nicely and seems to be keeping my hair colour well.
- Wash a temporary red hair colour into your hair every few weeks to keep your hair bright. These are less intensive than permanent hair colourants but will give you a little boost for a couple of weeks.
Remember, red hair is one of the hardest colours to maintain in hair. It is likely to turn orange without lots of maintenance.
And a professional hair colour is going to last longer than a home dye kit.
Have you ever dyed your hair a bright colour?
What are your tips for keeping it looking fresh and new?
