Coloring my hair for the first time

Yep, upkeep.

I wonder if dadpad objects to painted toenails. That's not "natural," either, but they look SO much better. (Note to self: schedule pedicure ASAP.)

Well, you all inspired me to go out and buy a couple of boxes of


and glop it on my head tonight.

I've been doing some kind of bold hair colour stuff for the last mmmmm decades , decided to take it down a notch for a month or so. I'm wearing my hair in a long french braid these days, so there's no need for triple-colour process right now. We'll see.

I may have a reaction against the possibly natural look, and then all bets will be off.


... and I need to do a quick pedicure as well

I guess I put my hair elf into earrings. Just found, in a concerted search for my second pair of glasses, the earrings I bought at the Art Institute in Chicago. Love them the more, now.

Oh yeah. I love the jewery we've purchased, hubby and I, from museums. We chose my wedding ring from the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art branch here in Atlanta. I've never seen another like it anywhere else.

I love this thread. And to hell with what dadpad thinks about it. :wink:

If it hasn't already been said, just make sure the carpet matches the drapes.

I use the Revlon colorstay polish on then, which lasts several weeks :-)

Ok...I read to page 5 or 6 and skipped the rest...lol, so If I repeat someone forgive me...

Montana, you don't have to wait a month to recolor your hair...your hair is tougher than what you think and can handle another application. Sometimes it takes making a soap cap with the hair color after your time limit or longer and allowing that to sit.

You do not follow directions on the box.....time limits anyways. Apply the color and allow it to set till you have achieved the right color. Again..sometimes it may take 2 applications to get your hair to take. Some hair...virgin hair will not take color....you have to get the cuticle to open up to absorb the hair color, or it won't take it. *Take my hair for instance, I bleach, so its a 40 volume developer mixed with a powdered bleach..applied at the roots, once that has developed which usually takes anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes...depending on whether I apply heat....I rinse, wash, condition..and since my hair is porous from the bleaching, I leave it wet while toning it...then its a 20 volume bleach with a toner...a level 8 toner, Flaxen blonde (ash base) so If I'm not careful...with the toner, my hair will pull ash at the ends, which is green..so I watch the color turn, use a wet wash clothe to strip that piece of hair and look at it..to see if its the right color..if so, I rinse. The bottle says 20-25 minutes..it usually doesn't take about 8..and I'm done.

Try going to a beauty supply shop that is open to the public, ask those ladies in there what color your hair is...there are different levels. 1-10, the lower the number, the darker the color. Anything above a 10 is a man made color, therefore un-natural..even though I used to wear a level 12 ash blonde...it was still an un-natural color. Watch your base colors....there is Ash, Violet, Blue-Violet, Red, Natural...Orange..and so on. If you color your hair and it turns green...because of the base color in the hair, then you want to go back with the same level hair color, but a red base to take the green out...or so on...

All hair products bought off the shelf from stores such as Wal-mart or so on, have metallic hair dyes in them..therefore..bad for the hair. I don't mind them so much if your going a shade darker, but if your lightening your hair..than I don't recommend it, you'll just end up with a red or orange tint.

Some of you have mentioned loss of shine hair...simply add some baking soda to your shampoo and it will strip the build up off the hair...therefore it will be shiny and full of life again...same thing as a stripping shampoo, but cheaper.

Also...its not the dryness of the hair, its the porosity of the hair that causes the soaking of hair color into the ends. The more porous your hair...the more color it soaks up. Actually on virgin hair, you start on the ends....letting it work the color before you add it to your roots...the reason is the your body heat will cause the color to take quicker at the scalp than the ends..and people panic and take it out to quick. If your bleaching your hair...you can do the same thing for the first time, but afterwards, you want to start at the roots, because your hair is now more porous than it was to start with, so you don't want the ends soaking up the hair color and your roots being darker, or even orange...

And....any color in a box off the shelf has a 20 volume developer in it...so it lifts the hair two shades of color....something has to open the cuticle up to soak up the color...and its the developer. In a beauty salon you can buy 10, which I use as a toner, and it just deposit hair color...but there are 20's, 30's, 40...and even 100 to dilute. (Thats not for sale to the public)

Now...if you have been coloring your hair (Lighter shades)..and its not its natural shade, and you decide to go back to your natural shade, choose a color that is two shades lighter than your natural, because it will soak up the color and be too dark...so remember...2 shades lighter.

And one more thing...if your lightening your hair..and its taking a long time to lift, put a plastic grocery sack on your head...clip the ends, apply a blow dryer to it....the heat will open up the cuticle to strip the color quicker....

And If I forgot anything...lol, just ask.......

Wow shivers....you are a goddess.

Great education.

The greys are beginning to take over my head, so it's time to color my hair

My hair is a light to med brown and I'm looking to go just a bit lighter, so I bought a box of Loreal golden blond.

Before I do this later today, I wanted to talk to you guys first to get your thoughts and suggestions.

I'm scared