Hair Color Angst: To Dye or Not to Dye?

"I inherited some of the redhead traits - like freckles and a low threshold of pain at the dentist"

Oh really? I'm a natural redhead (at least I was born with read hair, now it has slightly changed its colour) and I have a really really really low threshold of pain! I feel pain where people don't feel anything! I've heard a lot of redheads are like that but I still feel sort of ashamed of myself. Do you think there's any way to overcome this, to become less sensitive to pain?.. :-/

That turned out great - good colour for you. :)

Laurie in Sri Lanka

Chilli & Chocolate ( http://food.laurieashton.com ) | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court ( http://srilanka.laurieashton.com ) | LMAshton on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/lmashton )

Love it - so rich and shiny!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59139543@N00/42293194...

Okay, you guys. I'm doing it. Right NOW actually, and the anticipation of how it's going to come out is KILLING MEEEEE! Thanks so much for all of your advice and thoughts, and whatever happens, I'll let you know! :)

I actually posted on my blog today about my henna experience, complete with before and after pictures of my white roots ( http://srilanka.laurieashton.com/2009/12/on-hair-c... ) in all of their unglory (before) / glory (after) if anyone wants to take a look. :) Henna has amazingly wonderful colour in my opinion. ;)

Laurie in Sri Lanka

Chilli & Chocolate ( http://food.laurieashton.com ) | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court ( http://srilanka.laurieashton.com ) | LMAshton on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/lmashton )

I might be crap in the kitchen, but hair color I KNOW -- mine has been every color (well, most, anyway), and I've had the DIY disasters, the pricey colorists, and the at-home successes.

In your position, I think a great option would be to go with a semipermanent color. That way, you get to see what the color looks like on you without committing to keeping it up FOREVER. I honestly had great luck with Natural Instincts -- I use it as a blonde to blend my roots between highlight appointments, and when my hair was in its natural state, I used it to create an auburn tone. Loved it. But, if you go with DIY route, err on the side of subtle (I know, a stretch for you, right?). I once chose "Cinnaberry" thinking I'd be slightly auburn, but I ended up looking more like Strawberry Shortcake.

Kristen

www.jeez-o-petes.com ( http://www.jeez-o-petes.com )

Yup, my health was a major consideration in switching to henna even though I've never knowingly had any reactions to the chemical dye. I was happy that I found a safe, healthy alternative.

Laurie in Sri Lanka

Chilli & Chocolate ( http://food.laurieashton.com ) | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court ( http://srilanka.laurieashton.com ) | LMAshton on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/lmashton )

Consider the chemicals you are exposing your scalp and body to when coloring your hair with chemical dyes. I use organic henna to color my hair. I add vinegar, ginger, and clove to the mix and it gives me some nice hilights. It does take a little longer than using the chemicals and I don't know of a salon in my area that does this. However, in the long run it is much  better for your health. If you need more background on this google the Cosmetic Database ( not exactly sure of the URL but try cosmeticsdatabase.com ).

Yeah, my experiences completely defy what everyone else is saying. :)

I've been coloring my hair since I was 15 - I blame my sister since she helped me the first time. I've done blonde, orange with black tips, Ronald McDonald red, purple, fluorescent pinks. Those outrageous colours were done by my hair person when I was in my teens. I trusted  her and she did a fantastic job.

Twenties until now, I've done the coloring myself. Box dye from the drugstore. Red/auburn/shades thereof. Colours always turned out great, but red hair is a great look for me. My sister can't do red - she's great in blonde. I can't do blonde well. Not everyone can carry off red. Not everyone can carry off blonde or black or...

As others have said, red fades, and it fades fast. Even if I used the exact same shade of red a month later (my hair also grows 1-2" a month), I'd have to colour all of it because there would be such a huge colour difference between the roots and the rest if I did only the roots.

Eventually, a couple years ago, I switched over to henna. Long story short, the choices of red hair colour in this country is severely limited and sometimes nonexistent - I couldn't reliably get my supply of hair dye. Only black and black-brown are available, hence switching to henna.

I also have a lot of white to cover up - as in, 100% at the temples. Henna does a great job. It covers perfectly. It gives me a great colour, and with the whites, it looks like I have highlights. Henna is also permanent with no fading. None. At all. :)

The thing about henna is, though, that it's permanent with no fading. If you love it, great! If you want to get rid of it, you'll have to grow it out. Personally, I love it. My hair is far healthier with henna as opposed to boxed dyes. It's not dry. It's healthy and very very shiny.

Laurie in Sri Lanka

Chilli & Chocolate ( http://food.laurieashton.com ) | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court ( http://srilanka.laurieashton.com ) | LMAshton on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/lmashton )

My father was a redhead and I inherited some of the redhead traits - like freckles and a low threshold of pain at the dentist. (That one? That one I could live without.) I firmly believe I *should* have been a redhead.

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

Julianne Moore is my hair idol. 

My hair color is sort of a blah brown but I've been coloring it red off and on for the past decade. I have some natural reddish-goldish highlights in the sun, and since I have ridiculously pale skin, red suits me, I think. 

If you're skittish about going red or can't afford an expensive colorist, you can always test drive a new hair color with a semi or demi-permanent (Natural Instincts, et al.). This is my hair ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/kperfetto/4039362353/ )with a temporary red color. See, it's not too scary bright, but if you're base color is fairly dark, a semi-perm can't give you a dramatic result.

Available Light ( http://kathy-p.blogspot.com ) & Five Dollar Radio ( http://fivedollarradio.blogspot.com/ )

This post totally cracked me up, reminding me (and this will reveal just how old I am) of my first haircolor experience when Sun In was all the rage.  It took months of precious middle school time to grow out that horrid brassy blonde from my otherwise dishwater (um, er, ash) blonde :) But I say, if you trust your your hair person, go for it.  Hair grows.  Do it while your skin is young and has color enough to pull it off without looking harsh. 

I agree about the freckles - that happens to me when I'm red too.

But after a platinum disaster (3 consecutive DAYS in the salon chair) that then went to auburn before limping back to natural brown, I'm done with dyeing FO' LIFE, myself.

Maybe.

research your colorists carefully. I'm lucky that as a queer I have a whole cohort of gay men many of them high end colorists who give me great advice and one right now is obsessessed with my hair and has been comping me highlights. I have natural brown black hair with caramel highlights and a gloss he adds in to hide my gray.

red fades quick so if you go that route be ready to commit to regular touchups every 4-6 weeks. Do not go to a stylist that is mostly a stylist not a colorist do not go to a school and find someone who will take the time to advise and explain.

And if you are in LA or NYC let me know, i gots recommendations but please note that in these two cities we're talking about 150 minimum not including tax and tip.

Religion is for those who fear going to hell, spirituality is for those who have already been there

I started getting a lot of gray at 18 as well!  Mine is at the top of my head and with my dark hair, it can tend to look like I have mold growing in my hair (it looks completely weird).  I try to stick to my natural color too. 

Red hair can be so pretty if it's done right, but I've seen it look terrible as well.  My aunt, for example, has very dark hair naturally, but once she divorced my uncle, she decided to get a big change and tried to go red.  She picked a very light red that came out orange.  I know that some red heads have orange-ish hair, bit her hair was Crayola Orange.  And with  butt-length hair, that Crayola Orange stood out far more than it ought to have.

Red hair can definitely be fun.  I've played with it a few times. 

Somer blogs at Merry Wife of Canon ( http://www.merrywifeofcanon.com ) as well as Smell My Plate ( http://www.smellmyplate.com ).

When I was a kid my hair was decidedly auburn. I started getting greys in my teens. By my 20s the red was mostly gone and I was a dull brown with grey dotted here and there. So I colour it. I'm merely going back to my *real* roots every time I go to the salon. lol

And it's the freckles. No one ever questions the red hair when you have freckles (especially if you grew up in the land of Anne of Green Gables).

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

I had no idea you weren't a natural redhead. You have no erased all of your Street Red Cred.

@FireMom ( http://twitter.com ) from Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com )

I have to dye. Now, when I say have to, I don't mean that it's life or death. I do mean that I am far too vain to have THIS MUCH GRAY at 28 years old. I mean, it's RIDICULOUS. It's also why I dyed my hair right after high school graduation. GRAY. AT EIGHTEEN. I am awesome.

I've had some hair dyeing mistakes over the years. Case in point: my hair is very dark brown. In pictures, it sometimes looks black. So I had this GRAND idea to dye my hair black. No. I ended up having to get a pixie cut to get rid of that mess. Oh, what a mess it was.

As for red, I did red one summer after my oldest son was born. My hair was long and, really, before it faded, it looked really lovely. But that's the problem with red dye on hair that is not naturally red: quick fading.

I now dye my hair its natural color. Boring? Yes. Covers the gray? Yes. Do I  look at all the other colors first and think, "Ooooh, that looks sexy/sophisticated/so much cooler than I really am? Yes. But I'd really much rather just look like me. :)

@FireMom ( http://twitter.com ) from Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com )

I love Julianne Moore's hair. She did look great on 30Rock.  Just bring in a good quality photo of her to a salon. If you don't have a hair stylist you go to already, do a little research. Good salons have websites with profiles of their stylists and gallaries of their work. The right stylist can do your hair justice, but someone without the skills can send you sobbing your way out of the salon. Also, consider a demi-permanent in case you're not thrilled with the color. The salon I worked in used Redken Shades, and it worked really well. 

If you decide to go red, please post a pic! 

Jaimes ( http://www.byjaimes.com ) blogs about motherhood, music, art, and beauty

Red hair can also be difficult, speaking as someone who gets their red from a salon. The right shade can be difficult to get - sometimes they look to brassy, sometimes too orange, other times to purple. All that can be usually be avoided with a good colourist. What can't be helped is this - red hair fades. I'll love it when I walk out of the salon but 6-8 weeks later I'll be back not only because I have roots but because my hair is looking dull (plus if I wait any longer those roots roots get as big as Texas that are a pain in the butt for my colourist to fix). Something I've found that helps is that I get brown lowlights put in. I generally don't go a "true red" but rather more auburny shades (closest to what my hair was when I was a kid). The brown lowlights help it look more natural and make the roots less noticable.

Red hair is fun though. I can't imagine, for me, going any other shade. I've tried. I always go back to red.

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).