A Reader’s Question about Hair Color
Gail left in a comment:
Christina, I need some hair coloring advice.
I’m 46, brunette with quite a bit of gray that I was fine with until recently. 5 weeks ago I used Clairol Natural Instincts (”Clove” medium ash brown-level 2-lasts 28 shampoos) on my virgin hair. At first I wasn’t thrilled, the color seemed so dark against my white face, and it seemed so one-dimensional (what I call “doll head”). After about 2 weeks (approx. 6 washings? I don’t shampoo every day), the color had faded some to where I liked it better, it looked more natural, not all-one-color doll-head. But now after 5 weeks, I see gray in the roots a bit along my part and hairline (not in the longs strands, though) and realize it’s time to do something. But what should I do?
Is it ever ok to only mix half of the solutions and save the rest unmixed for next time? Should I touch up my roots or just re-do my whole head? What if I want to change the shade of brown? What have I gotten myself into? Can you help?
I know JUST what you mean about dollhead - I hate that! I have a few thoughts and ideas for you, so let’s start at the top. First of all, Natural Instincts is semi permanent haircolor - what that really means for you is that it adds color, without really damaging your hair. It contains only enough peroxide to assist in opening up the cuticle of the hair so that the color can get in a little deeper. Semi Permanent color is GREAT if you are not looking to go lighter and it is ideal for what you are looking for in hair color. You “could” dilute the solution with water to dilute the color, but that is going to affect how long it lasts. What I would do is to go to the next shade lighter and try that one first (the shade is 14-Tweed-Light Ash Brown). If you go a little lighter than you think you might want, it will avoid the dollhead look, and your gray hair will pick up the color a little lighter and will give the effect of highlights and be a whole lot more natural looking.
Another option, if the lighter color just isn’t quite what you want, is to mix the two shades to get a shade in between, and that may be the best and longest lasting (and better looking from the start) option. Yes, it is ok to only mix half the solution and store the rest (unmixed) for the next time. This way, you aren’t wasting any, or paying double for your color. I would try mixing half and half of the Clove and the Tweed, and saving the rest for next month. Also, a lot of times the color doesn’t quite last as long as they say (depending on the harshness and frequency of your shampoos), so sometimes you have to find a happy medium, and maybe recolor every 4-5 weeks to be able to have the color you like from beginning to end.
Hope that made sense and helped Gail — if you have any more questions about this, or need some clarification, please feel free to leave a comment and let me know (I will watch for it this time…Ha!) Thanks so much for the question, and for reading!!
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POSTED IN: Hair Care, Hair Color
10 opinions for A Reader’s Question about Hair Color
Gail Ables
Jan 27, 2006 at 9:15 am
Thanks Christine, that was incredibly helpful.
I’m at the end of my 7th week with this “Clove” color, and it’s holding really well, fading very gradually. I’ve noticed my gray clumps are lighter brown than the rest (which is good), and of course my roots are sparkling with silver (not so good). I’m going to get the “Tweed” shade you recommended and re-do my whole head today. I hope it blends well. I’ll let you know how it turns out next week.
Thanks again for talking to me about this.
Gail
Christina Jones
Jan 27, 2006 at 11:19 am
You’re MORE than welcome, Gail, I appreciate you asking the question! One more thought though–when doing your next color, try putting the color on the root part of your hair first, for about half the required time, then putting the rest through your ends. That will prevent the color from “grabbing” on your ends and being darker than you would like it. When I do my roots, this is what I do: Brush through my hair really well (it should be dry…). Then take the bottle of color, and run it across my scalp while squeezing, essentially making little lines, about 1/2 - 3/4 inches between the lines. Then when I have lines all over, I take my fingers and work it through, making sure everything is covered. I then make another line of color all of the way around the hairline, just to be sure it is covered well, and work it in. Hope that helps a bit more!!
Gail Ables
Jan 27, 2006 at 12:50 pm
That makes sense to me! I’ll let you know how it goes.
Thanks!
Gail
Gail Ables
Jan 30, 2006 at 1:40 pm
Christine,
I love you! Who would have thought that hair coloring advice sight-unseen would be possible? The “Tweed” light ash brown shade you recommended was the perfect natural match for me. I followed your “root-first” directions exactly and it worked out great! No more doll-head! The only thing I did different is I only mixed half of the ‘potions’ because I am just that cheap…lol. So applying it to dry hair was a bit of a stretch. I think if my hair was wet, the color would have covered easier. I can see that underneath some gray is there, but that’s ok because it doesn’t show and if it does it looks natural. So all in all, I’m very pleased. Thank you sooo much! I wouldn’t have been able to make this decision without you!
Yours truly,
Gail
Christina Jones
Jan 30, 2006 at 1:49 pm
Aww Gail, you are too sweet! I am super glad it worked out well for you, and thanks so much for letting me know!
Rachel
Mar 2, 2006 at 5:28 pm
okay i have a problem and i need help! I just got my hair colored this week monday and i don’t like the color. I want to know if i can color it again. Also my hair is super light brown and i want to go dark brown. if i color my hair, will my hair turn a weird color?
Christina Jones
Mar 6, 2006 at 5:36 am
You can color it again, but I would probably either go see a hairdresser to have it done, or use one of the semi permanent colors, like the Clairol Natural Instincts I talk about above. You shouldn’t have a problem going darker. There is a real problem when wanting to lighten up hair that is colored too dark however. Good luck Rachel, let me know how it goes!
kim
Aug 2, 2006 at 2:08 pm
i had used this product for a while - using a color similar to my natural color (plum/brown) on the sections that were gray.
i found that after repeated use - i have to color about every two weeks to hide the gray (my hair grows very quickly) - the product was dyeing my hair a dark brown to black color.
i spoke with my local beauty store owner, and she told me that since the semi-permanent doesn’t contain peroxide, every layer of dye laid ontop of the previous - giving me a much darker effect.
any thoughts? i’ve moved on to permanent hair color and don’t see the same effect.
Kimberly
Aug 5, 2006 at 9:02 pm
Hi,
I recently made the leap from coloring my hair with a semi-permanent color to having my hair colored professionally at a Beauty Salon. The lady used a Permanent Color on my hair.
I told her I had well water at my house and she said not to use it because it will turn your hair red.
So, for the first couple of washings, I used a gallon of distilled water. Then my husband put a water filtration system in so I could wash my hair in the shower. I went ahead and washed my hair in the shower. But, unfortunately there was still some water in the hot water tank before the filtration system was installed and now my hair is brassy red (my natural color is light brown with red highlights). Plus it is dry and feels like straw even though I use the shampoo and conditioner that the salon sold me specifically for my color treated hair. If I wasn’t so self conscious I would shave my head and wait for my original uncolored hair to grow back. But, I am not that brave. I hate this brassy dry brittle hair. Oh, also I have gray around the temples and hair line. That is why I color my hair in the first place. How can I fix the hard water build up in my hair. Also, I would like to do my usual Clairol Natural Instincts semi-permanent color again.
Thank you,
Kim
mitzie
May 26, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Hello - I began turning gray at 5 years old, so I have a long history with the difficulties of gray hair. I was fortunate enough to have a professional hair colorist provide a formula of two shades and 30 weight peroxide, which worked well until recently. Now, it seems the roots won’t take the color. My professional colorist is no longer available and I can find no information on what would cause this change. Do you have any suggestions?
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