I'm trying to get from my current bright 'Rhinanna red' to my natural dark brown - help needed!

Hi,

Having had dyed black hair for many years I made the age related decision to have it lightened to something a little more natural and closer to my natural colour (mid/dark brown). Beforehand though I decided I would like to have a little fun with it and so had my hair stripped and lightened at a colour specialist salon and dyed red.

Over the six months that followed I took the colour up with a Hi-lift product to what people describe as 'Rhinanna red'. I loved it for a while but soon got bored of the high maintenance and weirdo’s speaking to me on trains. So by this point I had regrowth where the hi-lift was used of about four inches, and then from there to the ends was the really porous part where the bleach had really killed it.

I had quite a lot of breakage and my hair was a lot shorter as a result of this but I had expected this so no big deal. Anyway, to darken I used a crazy colour aubergine but although the colour was lovely after only one wash the ends would go fluro purple, again fun for a while but not practical. So last week I decided to go a dark chocolate brown, 24 wash box colour, which turned out lovely except after one wash the previously bleached ends (which are about 6 inches) went seaweed green!!

I realised my mistake was to not add a red filler beforehand so to resurrect I have put a red toner through it and it has come out a lovely rich dark red. Here brings me to my question: In order to prevent the ends going green again should I continue using a red depositing conditioner mix or can I successfully use another dark brown dye over this to get it to the dark brown shade I really want, If so do I still have to use a red toner now and then to stop the green - at least until my hair is long enough to cut the bleached bits out? Also, I assume it is correct to continue using semi permanents for the time being even though the colour does vary, being different on the over processed areas than the regrowth 'healthy' parts?

Thank you so much for any time given to this question! Once those bleached bits have grown out I will never be touching the strong peroxide again!!

Laura, London

Hi Laura,

If you have already pigmented your hair with a red tone there will be no need to use another red toner. Using a regular brunette colour will be fine for now, however I do advise that you visit a salon to get the ends refreshed to even out the colour professionally. It is fine to use a semi-permanent tint and this is a lot better than using a permanent as the level of developer is lower there for softer on your hair.

Hope this helps!

Joseph Koniak, Artistic Director of Joseph Koniak and Eleven Hair, London

Crazy colours have so many different pigments in them that they often can create interesting and sometimes unwanted results. The purple shades especially have lots of blue in them and this can often fade to green or turquoise if the hair is porous like yours.

If you want to maintain a dark brown shade, then I would carry on using your semi-permanent shade every time you need to colour your roots.

As regard to pre-pigmenting the hair, that is a good idea but it is quite tricky to get the shade right for the colour you need so I recommend you go and speak to a colour specialist face to face and they will be able to advise you on what is the best plan of action.

Remember that whilst being a colour chameleon is fun always ensure your hair is well nourished and taken care of.

John Clark, Head of Colour at Brooks+Brooks, London