Hair problem or questions

[prhoshay]

Check out these hair gadgets that I found on Oprah's website. I got a kick out of the hand-shaped diffuser. I just love gadgets!

5 Innovative Beauty Tools - Hair Irons, Dryers, and Brushes - Oprah.com

[Google]

 

[AJane]

Question: I use a drugstore (L'oreal Natural Match) hair colour and apparently I'm not supposed to use it more than once every 3 months. That's fine, but I can't quite recall the date I last coloured and I really want to re-colour my whole head next weekend as the gray hairs are rampant & the husband and I are going out of town to a 'do. I honestly can't remember if I coloured last in January or February. What's the worst that could happen if I colour and it's only been, say, two months? I use a dark brown shade, no peroxide.

[ClosetNerd]

Hmm. I color about every month and I've never had a problem

[Stargazer]

Originally Posted by AJane

Question: I use a drugstore (L'oreal Natural Match) hair colour and apparently I'm not supposed to use it more than once every 3 months. That's fine, but I can't quite recall the date I last coloured and I really want to re-colour my whole head next weekend as the gray hairs are rampant & the husband and I are going out of town to a 'do. I honestly can't remember if I coloured last in January or February. What's the worst that could happen if I colour and it's only been, say, two months? I use a dark brown shade, no peroxide.

I'm not a hairstylist, AJane, but I've been having my hair colored for over a decade in every color of the rainbow. I'm obsessive about having it done while keeping my hair really healthy, so I feel fairly confident that I know a few things about it, even if I don't do it myself. As long as its been at least a month, you're probably fine coloring it again. The worst case scenario with blond is pretty bad (falling out ) but the worst case scenario with brunette isn't so bad (really dry). So you might get stuck with dry hair for a week or two if you really are doing it too soon. I think you'll be fine, though. I have my hair highlighted every four weeks sometimes with no damage and I know that going lighter is almost always more damaging than going darker. I'm guessing that they recommend every three months just to make sure people aren't going overboard.

[prhoshay]

There should be a help line number on the box with professionals on the other end who can give you definite answers. I've used the number many times, in the past.

[Ellen]

AJane, I use the same brand. Because it has no ammonia, it's milder than most permanent haircoloring products. I think the "once every three months" caveat is for the "whole head" option -- where you keep the color on both the roots and ends for the full coloring time. You can do the "touch up" option every 4 - 6 weeks: apply color to roots/new growth, leave on for 20 minutes (30 if, like me, you have some stubborn grays). Then apply color to the rest of your hair, leave on for only 10 minutes (previously colored hair absorbs color faster than "virgin" hair), then rinse and condition.

My hair grows too fast, though, to wait four weeks, so my schedule is this:
• Touch-up option for full head (roots 30 min, rest of hair 10 min)
• Two weeks later -- touch up roots only
• Two weeks later -- touch up roots only again
• Two weeks later -- the full head thing with roots 30 min, rest of hair 10 min.

With the ammonia-free product, along with using the Trader Joe's less-than-four-bucks sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners (Nourish Spa or Tea Tree Tingle), I never have any problems with dry hair -- even with the coloring and with a job that has me outside in the sun for four hours a day.

[AJane]

Thanks, guys. Ellen, I considered doing just the roots touch-up but unfortunately the colour has faded quite badly so I wanted to do the whole head. I've used Natural Match several times and I find that's the biggest problem with it (quick fading). My big fear is hair falling out.

We don't have Trader Joe's here, unfortunately, but my hair doesn't get too dry as a rule. Like Star, I used to get highlights more often than 3 months apart with no problems. It sounds like I'll be safe colouring next week, anyway.

[Ellen]

L'Oreal now makes a sulfate-free line of shampoo, conditioner, etc. That should help with keeping your color from fading -- even a gentler one like Natural Match. My color used to fade, too -- especially the red tones -- before using sulfate-free products. Now, even with all the time I spend in the sun, surprisingly, the (Natural Match) color doesn't fade nor go brassy. (Geez, I sound like a commercial again.)

[buglover]

I used to have red hair for years and the upkeep was worse than when I was blonde. It really does fade so quickly. They make shampoos at the salon that are color depositing and for a while I was able to keep the red looking more vibrant.

[prhoshay]

I had heard that red was the hardest color to maintain. Interesting.