![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1236-100x100.png\")
I use Perfect 10. I find it doesn't really last more than a month, but it's so friggin fast, I don't mind it.
I use Perfect 10. I find it doesn't really last more than a month, but it's so friggin fast, I don't mind it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-408030-100x100.png\")
The only stuff I've ever really liked doesn't seem to be made anymore. :/
Then again, the stuff I liked wasn't even permanent. It was just some colour mousse sold by L'oreal, I think.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-14643-100x100.png\")
I always liked Clairol Nice & Easy (going from blonde to light brown or red).
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-917643-100x100.png\")
I grow my own hair dyes in my backyard.... I mean, I go to Sally Beauty Supply and buy my own developer and colors to go with it. I have more control over the peroxide content than with commercial kits, and there's an entire aisle of different colors available.
The disadvantage to this method is that I had to buy my own gloves (by the box of 100) and bottle at the beginning. But it works out cheaper in the end still, especially since my hair is short enough that one color gel lasts me through two colorings.
My color, if you're curious, is L'Oreal Mega Browns, in Truffle.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-505944-100x100.png\")
@Laura Northrup: I was a Wella girl for years, and then we moved and I couldn't find a Sally Beauty so I switched to the 'natural' brand available at the co-op where I worked. Unfortunately, they only come in permanent formulas and the combo of my hair being naturally blonde and growing ridiculously fast means I have to touch it up constantly. I quit colouring it about a month ago and am hoping to get back to my natural colour before long. . .so I can return to my semi-permanent Wella. Brown hair, here I come!
![\"user-pic\"](\"/css/images/default.gif\")
@Laura Northrup: I use Ion brand from Sally. Much cheaper and the product are closer to salon dyes. Regular store box color was frying my hair so I started going to the salon to have it done. They raised prices last year significantly. Between gas, time and extra cost it just was not worth it. I started using dye and developer from Sally and get equally good result compared to salon dye.
They do have reusable gloves too.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-580579-100x100.png\")
@bohemian: I used Ion too when I was dyeing my hair cherry red. Unfortunately, it's such a difficult color to retain that I was doing my hair constantly. I went back to black and use L'Oreal Color Gems in Blue Black with a little bit of blue booster. I think it works out to $5-7 a month all things considered.
I reuse my gloves too. I can generally get 3-4 uses out of them before they develop a hole and my hands look like Smurf hands.
@h3llc4t: My g/f uses Special Effects for her crazy red color. I believe she's been using Blood Red, but is going to go for a mix of that and Cherry Bomb, which is another super bright red but adds in blacklight glow-a-bility to the mix. She then tends to do highlights with a store box black color that work almost like lowlights, adding a lot of depth.
Everyone I know who do the more wild colors swear by Special Effects. My g/f's fades after about 3 weeks, but since her hair doesn't grow too fast she can get away with almost 6 weeks, and then usually goes a couple more with roots showing unless we have something else going on. After 3 weeks it goes to a darker pink color.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-389492-100x100.png\")
@Laura Northrup: definite agreement on having more control over the mixing process. my preference is using the wella creams from sally's. i tend to like in between colors and will mix from different tubes.
plus, a bottle of developer lasts for ages and it ends up being a LOT less expensive in the long run
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-488475-100x100.png\")
I've been using Nice and Easy 110, the Auburn. I haven't tried the Perfect 10. But red fades the fastest of all the colors, even though I wait a couple of days after coloring to wash my hair and don't wash it every day anyway. It still fades some before my roots come in.
But I have enough gray that it looks dull if I don't color it. I got a Lily Munster thing going on in my bangs!
@HogwartsAlum: red has always faded fastest for me too. but i find i can get a few more weeks out of it if i rinse with white vinegar after dyeing. the acidity closes the scales of the hair and seals the dye in a little longer.
@catastrophegirl: I remember learning in biology that red fades the fastest because the molecules are the largest, making it harder for the hair to hold onto it. Black is the smallest, and so it last the longest, then brown, then blonde. I always thought that was cool. (I also had years of dying my hair red, but I have platinum blonde hair naturally, so it always held out a couple of months for me at least).
@parapluie101: ooh, that is neat to know. i wonder if slate will ever do a test with different colors? or maybe... consumer reports?
Which one is least likely to cause skin or allergic reactions? Need a medium to dark brown.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-386042-100x100.png\")
@Shoelace: my mom uses perfect 10. she's got hyper-sensitive skin and rosacea but it doesn't seem to irritate too much. and she puts vaseline on her face along her hairline so even if it does irritate slightly, you don't see it since it's only on her scalp, but it also prevents the dark brown from staining her skin too.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-466847-100x100.png\")
I've tried every brand of permanent and semi-permanent dye in the aisle. I too have had the best luck with Revlon Colorsilk. I usually pick it up at Walgreens when it's on sale for $1.99. I mix together light brown and medium brown to get the color I want.
Perfect 10 worked very fast to color my muddy brown hair golden brown. The contrast between it and the bright, shiny greys the dye didn't touch wasn't the look I was after, though. They did, however, cheerfully refund my money like the box said they would. The lady said Perfect 10 doesn't work very well on greys even though it is advertised as being just the ticket.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-111058-100x100.png\")
@vorpal_hamster: Yeah I don't get that either. Perfect 10 is utterly useless on greys... it's like you didn't even dye them. Yet the box says it'll work. I wish I'd noticed the guarantee.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-98962-100x100.png\")
My hair does not dye easily. I have to bleach it, a lot, and then put a color to it. So because of that I can't dye it too often or my hair starts falling out.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-410130-100x100.png\")
I just did the Loreal Feria color for the first time this week, and I am really impressed with all the \"highlights.\" My hair isn't monotone like you get sometimes with the cheaper dyes.
My only problem is that every time I dye my hair it fades incredibly fast. I'm trying a new color-treated hair shampoo this time around.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-547028-100x100.png\")
@suzy-q: I too LOVE the color I get from Feria, but find that it lasts 2 weeks at BEST no matter what I reasonably do. Too much PITA.
@suzy-q: You can also try washing your hair in lukewarm water and conditioning after (I use Alberto V05, the cheap stuff, and just ladle it on) to help smooth down the hair shaft. Both things helped keep my red brighter for longer.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-498964-100x100.png\")
I would like to try haircolor on my hair. I have no idea what would look good on me and I've put off even trying it because I think I would be bad about the upkeep. I base this on the fact that it doesn't seem to matter how cute and or sassy my hair looks when I get it cut, I tend to put off getting it cut again for months at a time. It's been about 4 months since my last haircut. *sigh*
It's a financial guilt issue about spending money on myself. Logically I know that it's silly, but I can't seem to change it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-537475-100x100.png\")
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: If you have dark hair, going completely opposite is generally a bad idea. You probably want to hit a hue that is close to what you have, but different enough that it makes you stand out and makes it obvious that you've had some changes.
Dark hair doesn't dye as easily as blonde hair. For your first time, you may want to consult a professional because you want advice on which hues work better. Watch the stylist as he or she is doing your hair, and ask how you could keep the color vibrant, and how you can replicate it at home. Good stylists would never tell you that you shouldn't try it at home.
@pecan 3.14159265: I have what I would guess is like a medium brown hair color.. and I would not want to be blonde. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.)
When I ask a hairstylist about haircolor for my hair they mostly always suggest highlights.. Which I think I could be into.. I just worry about the upkeep.
If I were to change my haircolor all together.. I think I would want to go a little bit darker.. or maybe more towards red.. More than likely I would go more of a darker brown though.
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: The most I've ever done as far as upkeep is wash my hair with a shampoo for color treated hair, and it can be as cheap or as expensive as you want. I used to have highlights and loved them. I highly recommend settling on a hair style you like first, though. It costs more to dye long hair, so if you actually want to cut your hair shorter, I'd do that before going in for highlights. Book two appointments, if necessary.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-262506-100x100.png\")
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: Try a semi-permanent, which will (mostly) wash out, rather than grow out. You can fiddle around with colors that way until you find a look you like, then switch over to a permanent color.
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: your comment made me question when the last time i got a trim was...how did a year go by and i didn't even notice?!
dying my hair would be a huge mistake.
@fjordtjie: Yeah, it's easy to go much longer between trims when you have longer hair. At the beginning of April I got that short in the back, longer in the front Victoria Beckham look and almost 5 months is really just too long to go. My hair doesn't look horrible or anything, but I really want it off of my neck again. It's so darn hot!
It doesn't help me any that my hair grows about an inch a month.
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: next time you get a haircut, keep some pieces to compare to the pictures on hair dye boxes. rubberband a lock of hair and go to the store during the day. take the box you think you want to the window and compare it to your current haircolor in regular daylight. it'll give you a better idea of just how different it will be.
@catastrophegirl: Can an inept person dye her own hair the first time ever and not end up with a huge mistake? Or stained ears? Lol
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: i dunno. i started dyeing my hair when i was 11 and i can't imagine it wasn't an inept job.
just remember... dye it when you have two days off in a row. you can let it dry and then check for patches that didn't quite take and you have time to fix them. more than once.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-131723-100x100.png\")
I remember being happy with using Clairol Natural Instincts Cinnaberry a few years ago, it gave me a nice subtle red color that would have looked natural, if I didn't have the dark eyebrows going on.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Mine are a deep brown, almost black.
Of course, to dye my hair red today, I'd also have to dye the goatee (shaving is not an option ;-) ) so it wouldn't look out of place
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-648033-100x100.png\")
How fortunate for this article--I need some hair advice!
My dark brown hair (only a shade or so lighter than black) has been turning red these last few months. The ends are officially auburn--only hair near my scalp is the normal color.
I can't figure out why it's turning--it never has before. I'm not exposing it to extra sunlight, and though I have hard water, there's a well-stocked water softening system in place. I don't think it's any hair care products I'm using, but I'm not sure what to look for there (ingredients wise).
I tried using the brilliant brunette shampoo/conditioner to cover it, but it's not helping. So I'm thinking of trying hair dye (it's been years since I swore it off.)
I'd like just my natural color (probably brown-black) but I want to make sure the red is permanently covered. I definitely can't afford any mistakes (or salon treatment), and I don't want to lose my natural highlights (need something that won't result in a flat color). My hair is dry, but otherwise good for coloring, I think.
Any suggestions on brand/color/other advice for losing the red?
@starrytrekchic: If I were you, I would get a trim (as hair looks lighter if the ends are split) and switch to a sodium laureth sulfate-free shampoo. Give it a month or two, and if you're still unhappy with the color then use a semi- or demi-permanent dye.
@Jetgirly: Unforunately, it's not just the ends. Only the first two inches or so are normal, after that it turns redder and redder (and my hair is well past my shoulders.) So a trim wouldn't work, unless I cut it all off.
Thanks for the tip about the sodium laureth sulfate--I'll check for that.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-118453-100x100.png\")
@starrytrekchic: try a semi-permanent dye first, so it will wear off if it doesn't have the effect you want, and get one close to your natural color but with a \"cool\" or \"ash\" tone. Sounds counterintuitive, but it neutralizes the red tones. My hair has a tendency to go brassy as the color fades and this trick fixes it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-6173-100x100.png\")
I dyed my hair once in college for fun and it made me look consumptive. Clearly, I was not meant to be brunette.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-436259-100x100.png\")
Ok now I am probably going to get \"you are an idiot/retard/dork/jerk\" looks for this, but it is an honest question:
Why exactly do girls in their 20s need to dye their hair (except if they work in IT, and all their hair are white already)?
@MostlyHarmless: Both of my parents were totally grey by twenty-five. I believe that my super-healthy, vegetarian diet has kept me from following in their footsteps, but I still do have some greys growing in at the top of my scalp (none along my hairline yet). I like to cover them.
I like looking for men in their twenties or early thirtiese who are already really grey, and then imagine how grey our children would be!
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1269564-100x100.png\")
@MostlyHarmless: I'm nineteen, but some of my hair's turning white already. That, combined with the rest of my black hair, is going to make me look like a skunk soon unless I bite the bullet and start dying it.
@MostlyHarmless: Well, I have naturally mouse brown hair. My Mom is a perfect sandy beach blonde, and my Dad (even at 83) has jet-black hair. I have something closer to my Mom's haircolor, but I have my Dad's complexion.
This month I am a very light blonde. Until March 2009 I was a dark brunette. Last fall I did red for awhile. I am normally some shade of blonde in the summer.
I never dye to \"accent\" my haircolor, I dye because I am ADDICTED to completely and utterly changing my look every 6 months or so.
@MostlyHarmless: Can't speak for anyone else, but I pulled the lucky genetic card and started going gray at 19. Hair dye is so ubiquitous now that we've developed a totally skewed idea of how late in life we expect to see gray hair; a lot of people would be gray well before middle age without these products around.
@picardia: Same with me - and with my green eyes and very pale skin, reddish tones work better than dark brown. I've recently started using the \"perfect 10\" and I really like it - it gets great coverage.
@picardia: How do you get rid of your gray? I was told that gray hair runs early in my family, and I'm freaking out.
@MostlyHarmless: I haven't dyed my hair in about 5 years. I used to have a dark red/purple back in junior high, and I loved it. I had a dark red one time that started to fade to a dark pumpkin orange color, and people gave me a ton of compliments on it. I did it because it was cool to do, and my mom let me, and I wore school uniforms until 10th grade, so my hair was one of the only ways to stand out.
@MostlyHarmless: Because, like my mother, my hair started turning gray in my late teens, and now at 22 I already have too many to just yank out.
@MostlyHarmless: Because my hair is naturally mousy brown and it just looks boring on my face. It ultimately comes down to one's self-image.
@MostlyHarmless: As a girl, I do not know. I did it once in college because everyone else was doing it (peer pressure! awesome!) and did not like it.
I've got nothing against other people doing it, I like admiring other people's style/color/cut changes. But I don't get the appeal personally.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-665956-100x100.png\")
@MostlyHarmless:
I used to dye my hair in wild colors. I had a rather long purple phase in my early 20s. Now I just have my hairdresser to my highlights. She also does something that gets the (increasing) gray out.
The first time I died my hair myself I used red. I remember my bathroom looked like a crime scene.
@MostlyHarmless: Because their natural colour combined with their skin tone makes them look recently exhumed? That's why I started at 17; I'm a natural blonde with dark brown eyes and skin a few tones darker than paper, and I got tired of people asking me if I was sick. With brown-auburn hair, my eyes aren't the only dark thing on my head and I don't get the 'Sweetie, do you feel all right?' comments any more.
I'm 32 now, and the last time I went for a haircut the stylist complimented the condition of my hair. She was surprised to find out I've been colouring it for more than a decade!
@MostlyHarmless: Fun. I think I went through every color in my 20s.
I liked red the best, but all of my clothes looked awful with it.
I'm surprised the Naturatint didn't do so well. I've been using it for a few years now, and it's always come out well and stayed decently. Too decently, now that I'm trying to get it out!
My victim-age of a bad dye job was trying to dye my hair blonde and ending up with red hair. Hey...it's cool, I have Scottish heritage. Ronald McDonald would be proud!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-946901-100x100.png\")
My natural hair color is a terrible mishmash of colors. If I let it go, the roots are medium brown/auburn, and the rest of it goes from light brown/auburn to dark blonde/auburn at the ends. It looked like I had a horrible dye job that I let grow out, so I just started dying it red. I pick up the components at Sally Beauty (color, developer, conditioner, etc.)
FYI - I use Clairol Hi-Color in Red Fire.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-417754-100x100.png\")
My girl uses the Clairol product, and she is smokin hot and happy. As I am and I let my hair gray like the Big Guy intended.
BTW, nothing better (brownie points) for your mate than knowing what color they use (I taped the label inside the medicine cabinet door Nice n Easy 103) and hanging out with them when they are putting it on. Sack up guys, we love our women.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-70147-100x100.png\")
I use the ($10) L'Oreal Feria \"Power Reds.\" Easy to use but be careful of the extra red bottle. Starts out bright, brassy, and pretty fake looking, but then fades to a much more natural looking red. I've been doing it the same color for years and I love it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-385800-100x100.png\")
The worst color I ever tried was Garnier Nutrisse. I wanted gray coverage so I made sure to thoroughly do my roots, but not neglecting the rest of my hair. So what did I end up with? Two inches of orange hair at the roots and no difference anywhere else. It was an abrupt line too, so much so that I don't think one could have done it on purpose if one tried.
An emergency trip to CVS and it was all fixed.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-17616-100x100.png\")
*Gives MostlyHarmless an \"you are an idiot/retard/dork/jerk\" look.*
In all seriousness, my ex uses it to do highlights.
I happily pay for my stylist of 27 years to highlight my hair. I could never get the subtle results she achieves. Because it's done as highlights, I only have to pay for it twice or, at most, three times a year. My natural hair color right now? - A weird mix of dark blonde, brown, and gray. What people see? Blonde, and not brassy or platinum or orange. Streaky-natural blonde. Not bragging, just saying that sometimes paying a really good stylist is worth the $$$. (OTOH, I do my husband's hair with \"Touch of Gray\" hair color; it works great and was actually recommended for men by my stylist who said, Don't waste your money on a salon color job.)
@ElizabethD: Oh, I would never attempt highlights on myself. My colorist is a genius (genius, I tell you!) and is absolutely worth every penny I give her. The issue is that now I have far fewer pennies than I used to. :(
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-550329-100x100.png\")
I have to question any haircolor test that compares a henna dye to chemical dyes. Apples and oranges.
I have very stubborn gray and for years had gone to salons, thinking home products wouldn't work for me, although my hair is so short now that I really resented paying that kind of dough for a few inches of hair. Then I tried Preference -- VERY good at taking hold of the gray hair. The color looks sort of flat the first couple of days but evens out nicely thereafter.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1223918-100x100.png\")
I'm in love with Bigen's Xpressive hair coloring. It's a powder color that you just add water to and it not as harsh to your hair as regular coloring. My hair's pretty dark and it usually takes about two applications to get it to the point where I am happy with the lift and the color that results.
It's just that it's now kinda hard to find (Sally's to the rescue). I'm a little scared that it might be discontinued XD But at least there's a lot of hair coloring suggestions here right now.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-350988-100x100.png\")
@MostlyHarmless: For the fun of changing the color? I'm not a natural red-head, sadly, however, I'm pale enough that it looks natural on me. Through my life I've had nearly every color, black, brown, blonde, etc.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-211131-100x100.png\")
I started experimenting with hair color in college. My natural color was a kind of lightish brown, and I wanted to try going reddish brown. I don't do a lot of \"girly\" things (hardly ever wear makeup, for instance), but I like playing with hair dye once in a while. At a friend's suggestion a couple years ago, I stopped with the red and started going dark brown. I don't do it often - two or three times a year, maybe - but when I do, I kind of like Herbal Essences haircolor, although I'm afraid that may be getting phased out.
I always feel out of the ordinary because I prefer not to dye my hair. I did it a few times as a kid, but I haven't since I was 18 or 19. I rather like my natural hair color. That and it stays healthier.
Well, and I'm lazy. There's that, too.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-483565-100x100.png\")
@pattiesmart: I'm lazy, cheap, and chicken. Plus I kind of like bucking the trend to let the grey show.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-770835-100x100.png\")
Preference Creme for the win! I have been using them for about 12 years (all different colors!) without any problems : )
I was in the dollar store yesterday and there were 2 women in black, salon smocks filling up their carts with boxes of hair dye. :/ I should have asked them where they worked! I color my hair with stuff from sally's. It's relatively inexpensive and does a good job. I have resistant grays too and have to do it every 3/4 weeks.
The best dye for me- $3 Revlon Colorsilk. Works great, minimal stench, comes with an awesome conditioner, and anyone can afford it.
@kabuk1: I use to use that on a regular basis until they stopped making my color :(. I've searched like 20 stores here and not one of them carries my color anymore. It made me very sad. And it really never washed out. Every 6 weeks I'd have to re-dye not because it was washing out but because my hair grows really fast and my roots show after like a week.
@kabuk1: Agreed. Revlon \"natural back\" (as in totally unnatural black) for us cheap rock and roll hipsters. Good price, lasts a month and had not poisoned me (that I am aware of) going on 15 years.
@kabuk1: Agreed. I've been dying my dark brown hair with the Strawberry Blonde Colorsilk for months now and it comes out gorgeous every time. Only the initial brassiness fades after a few weeks before I need to touch up the roots anyway.
@kabuk1: i agree completely. revlon colorsilk always leaves my hair in awesome condition.
@kabuk1: I used to use Preference at $10 a pop. When I had longer hair, I had to use two kits at once, for $20. I tried Colorsilk on a lark, on sale for $3, and I had plenty in just the one kit. Seemed to work and last about the same, too. Colorsilk also seemed to be less smelly, as I didn't even need to use the bathroom fan to avoid passing out from the fumes.
@kabuk1: Yeah, and even if it starts coming out in 2 weeks.. it was still $3!