I want to dye my hair...

[ooklah]

...but it is a rather dark brown. Is there anything that will work with that? I'm not very interested in bleaching it first to get to color it. I should think in the many many years since I've last tried to do this, there have been an advancement in hair coloring products. Any suggestions?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Red tends to work on dark hair, but be aware that the colour on the box is NOT what you'll see when you put it on - the dark hair makes it darker than it's supposed to be.

So you can't get titian. You can get reddish tints, or a dark red, though.

Failing that, you could go for dark blue (with a lighter blue dye, once more)...

[rabid_fox]

Stop fagging your hair, man up and be bald.

[ooklah]

That could be next, after the hair coloring :p And it's Halloween, something needs to happen.

While I hadn't settled on a color so much just yet, I was hoping someone knew the name of a band they know works well, since I don't know any of the brands at all or which ones would work better then the other.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

My wife also pointed out that you can lighten it up with lighter dyes, albeit, once more, not as light as the dye says.

Brands, you're probably wanting to look locally. Different brands work differently for different people, for very complex chemical reasons. So... someone in your family, maybe?

[Damaris]

Since your hair so so dark, for the first time out you might want to go with a professional, in order to see what they think can be done. If you're really set on doing it yourself, go with one of the semi-permanents, which wash out after about six weeks - then if there's a problem, it will be limited to a shorter time frame.

Once you have a handle on what you can do, colorwise, have some fun with different colors and brands. More vibrant colors will likely show up better (more vibrant reds, for example, over subtle auburns). Manic Panic is also a good temporary dye with fun colors - they wash out over a few weeks.

Keep in mind, though, that if you haven't had much processing done in your hair, it will hold onto color extraordinarily well, which could cause complications and unpredictable results.

Good luck!

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Keep in mind, though, that if you haven't had much processing done in your hair, it will hold onto color extraordinarily well, which could cause complications and unpredictable results.

Ooo. That sounds like it could be fun. Must try metallic blue or something, sometime. ;-]

[ooklah]

I hadn't even thought of a professional at all, though just the sound of it makes me think it would be out of my budget for this project. I will look into that. I was only thinking of the semi-permanent to begin with anyway. I was thinking of it wanting it washed out by Christmas time anyway.

What do you mean by processing?

I went and picked up one of those cheap comb in colors from Hot topic just to see how well anything would show up. (they also had manic panic, but I figured I'd wait till I ran a few tests here) I picked Royal Blue as it was bright enough I thought and tested a little bit. It shows up better on my hands then my hair so far.  ]

I may have to try to lighten it up like you say, llearch.

Well the weekend is over so anything happening will have to wait till Friday or Saturday now, but I'll need to look into this more for the rest of the week. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

I can relate with your dark brown woes.....

Me personally, I have been coloring/mostly bleaching my hair for over 12 years now. I've only had my hair professionally done 3 times, during that time. Sadly, most salons would refuse to fully dye my hair blond and kept pushing for color blocking (where only sections of you hair is colored with the dye, makes a two-tone kinda effect); which is not what I want........so I now have my mom do it for me, when I need it done. So if you do go, inquire first if they will do it. Depending on the color or what you want done, some salons will not do it, apparently.

If reference to processing, it means the color mixed with the right amount of peroxide developer. There are different peroxide values and depending on the value, will determine:

1.) the end result

2.) sometimes determine how long you have it sit in your hair before you wash it out

Now if you decide to do it at home because it's too expense for a professional; if their are any Sally's Beauty Salons at all where you live, they have everything you would need. Their prices are good and the people there are more than happy to answer any questions you may have, even offer suggestions. 

This is the place I go to whenever it's time to bleach my hair again.

Since you want to go semi-permanant, be advised that some semi-permanant kits might have the peroxide developer included, some don't; so make sure to read the directions to find out.

Hope some of this information helps at all!

[GabrielsThoughts]

...but it is a rather dark brown. Is there anything that will work with that? I'm not very interested in bleaching it first to get to color it. I should think in the many many years since I've last tried to do this, there have been an advancement in hair coloring products. Any suggestions?

There are a variety of spike gels that are colored, just be carful you don't use the kind that change colors dramatically in different light conditions, Ice blue for instance is one of them. unless you don't mind silver/purple hair, in which case go for it. Ice spiker brand works nicely BTW

[ooklah]

Thanks for the help and suggestions. Sally's Beauty Salon was very helpful. It turns out that there was one only a few blocks away. So I went with red as it didn't require bleaching first like blue would have. I wasn't sure if I was going to have any help, but then one my friends offered his help. So. Results.

I didn't flatten back out yet after dying, it's still bleeding color a bit. You'll notice that it's not all the hair, which is what I wanted. It wasn't a mistake. All red would have been crazy! And if it gets horrible, I can still get a regular hair cut without a buzz cut.