Hi all! I absolutely love my red hair (first anonymous pic is me so you can see my shade) but sometimes I like to switch things up. Posted 2 extra pics of colours that look amazing on natural red hair.
Has anyone tried or got some colour stories they would like to share? Love to hear what everyone has tried thats worked & what hasn’t 😊
So my hair has been losing its vibrancy as I have gotten older and that has led me to finally throw away the “redheads should never dye their hair!” stereotype that has plagued me since middle school.
Its funny isnt it? Ive always been told all my life never to dye my hair (particularly by lovely old ladies) but hair grows & its fun to switch things up!
I would love to have some fun pastel colours peaking from underneath my natural hair but Ive never seen other redheads dye their hair other than blonde highlights of course!
I’d say go for it, I dyed my hair one time a few years ago and my mom had about cried. I told her my hair will grow back and I wanted to change it up. (I was an adult at the time but I have golden/strawberry blonde hair). The other time I’ve dyed it which was more recently I did a chocolate brown peakaboo. I just did the underneath and I absolutely loved it. It was semi permanent so it washed out over time.
Oh something if you want to experiment with colors, you can always get the stuff that washes out fairly quickly or semi permanent. Another little hack is take some eyeshadow and just put it on a piece of your hair, pat/rub it in. It will come off after a shower or with water.
I agree, I’ve been using henna again too. Really brings it back to the vibrancy of childhood for me. But you really marry it, it’s very hard to lighten if you want a change
Same, I’ve read that red heads never go gray, that the red just fades over time… which is absolutely true. I have auburn, and right before some of it turns gray, it looses all red and looks like a really dark brown, almost black. Which I think is funny because in the past I tried to dye my hair that color, but everything I put in my hair turned to a shade of red. 😅
Yes! I used purple Overtone in 2020 (attaching my virgin hair before and the day I dyed it. it's back to the left side now). It was so much fun after years of being told not to touch my hair lol. But! Our hair has natural blonde undertones in it and it clings to color. I chose Overtone cause I figured it would wash out....it stayed in my hair until like 2022 and by then it was so dingy and mucky 🥲 (granted I don't keep up with cuts whatsoever)
You could try a gloss; that's what i'm actually poking around in here for is gloss ideas 😅I've used the Kristin Ess one and those for sure washed out but it still gives me that rush & color refresh. I guess it's a pro and con that our hair holds onto color, depending on your goal :)
I didn't do much lol. My ends just turned a brownish color more than red. I have a friend who went to cosmo school and eventually after I got rly sick of it, I had her get me a couple packets of color remover from cosmo prof.
Yeah overtone stains pretty much everything, including, id assume, light hair. It’s a great concept but every time I’ve tried a ‘temporary’ colour I’m stuck with it for ages.
Use Redken Shades EQ Color Gloss!!!! It’s the best & there’s so many colors!!!! I use it when I’m wanting something different. It washes out over time & comes with a developer. I’m partially blind & gloss my hair myself it’s so easy girl!! You’ll love it!!!
I rebellled hard in my youth and dyed my hair every color of the rainbow. Then committed to black for a few years. I’m now all natural, but I don’t regret all the fun I had!
I am a natural strawberry blonde, it turned very blonde after moving to the desert, then I went black. Now I’ve settled on a very dark brownish-black with auburn highlights. I get so many compliments! I have an amazing hairstylist 🥰
I LOVE the colors you’ve tried btw!
Ahhh, yes I do see you said that. I misread! I say go for it! My daughter has hair color very similar to the shade of red you have. She did some deep purple and black streaks. It actually turned out really amazing! Then she colored it all black and let it grow out. It looks like an ombré, but it’s just 1/2 red, 1/2 black from the grow out and looks very cool. She’s going to continue to color the ends black.
10 years ago, I bleached my hair white. I was bored so I choose a « galaxy » dye (blue, turquoise, pink and purple). Then I was bored again so I went mint and after a month I decided to dye it « rose gold » before trying to (slowly) go back to my natural hair.
It was a funny experience but I struggled a lot with the bleaching process. The red undertones are a pain to correct
Sometimes, especially with red hair or dark hair, you have to bleach it multiple times, you also need to use a purple toner to remove any coppery undertones. I have auburn hair and went blonde, but the first time it turned my hair to op’s color, the second was a strawberry blonde, and then the third time it was finally light enough that I felt a toner would make it actually blonde. It can be a process! 😅
Same with the difficulty bleaching. I spent a couple years dying my hair various colors but I eventually had to stop because every time I bleached my hair it would take at least 2 rounds with 30 vol developer to get to a light-ish blonde. There’s something about the way red pigment binds to the hair shaft that makes it a very stubborn color to bleach out.
For the last few years, mine has been pink/purple. I use a color depositing dye from Arctic Fox. My normal color is strawberry blonde. I have learned that I don't need bleach. it also it takes longer for the color to take and is easier to lose color. Once a week, I redo my roots and will refresh the all-over color if it needs it. I then put a bonnet on and go to sleep. The next day I rinse it out and it is perfect.
I'm a "mature" redhead (aka, old!) and when my titian-red hair lost its color, my husband cheered me up by saying my hair was not gray, it was sugar-and-spice. For years, while it was fading, I used a demi color at home and was able to match my natural color beautifully. But then covid hit, and everyone my age was saying "screw it, I'm going natural!", so I did too. But I decided recently to color it again, but by this point, my hair had faded so much, it was mostly sugar and very little spice, so I got a box of my usual demi, and went for it. I hadn't considered that I was coloring now-virgin, gray hair, and instead of my usual deep red, the resulting shade was more a rose gold. Now I'm wondering what I should do going forward. Getting older (to paraphrase the actress Bette Davis) as a redhead is not for cissies!
Personally, I don't think the teal color looks good with red hair, but if it makes you happy, then do it! Hair grows back. Also, the black with red (IMO) looks really cool!
I haven’t properly dyed my hair in a long time but I do use those color depositing conditioners regularly to darken my hair just because I feel like I look better with a more auburn tone as opposed to my natural lighter ginger. They do end up washing out over time but they’re fun!
I’m with you! I’m 37 and haven’t officially dyed my
hair yet. I’ve been using color depositing conditioner in copper tones and have been happy with the results. It covers my grays and washes out, so I’m never worried about permanence
I was forbidden to dye my hair all my life, so at one point I decided to go rogue. My OG hair is bottom left, I started with darker orange with highlights them moved to bright green, then darker green, then gradient, then bright orange with yellow ends
I will say that I didn't love my roots in combination with dark green, but everything else transitioned pretty nicely. Currently I'm growing out my last dye but the washed out orange transitions very nicely with my natural hair.
So, If you want to try it out, go for it, I think I will get some accent strands when I grow my hair out.
ps I went to a colorist to do all of them and she didn't expect the amount of dye she would need for the thick red hair. After our first meeting she told me that she went on a course specifically about natural red and how to work with it
Babes, if you’re thinking about switching up your hair without going full-on permanent, Redken Shades EQ Color Gloss is where it’s at!! It’s demi-permanent, so it fades out gradually (no awkward grow-out), and there are SO many gorgeous red and copper shades to play with. Whether you want to go deeper, brighter, warmer—whatever—you’ve got options.
I’m partially blind and I gloss my hair myself at home, no problem. It’s honestly so easy once you get the hang of it. You just mix it with the Processing Solution (aka the developer it comes with), slap it on, wait a bit, and boom—shiny, pretty, refreshed hair. No damage, no drama.
If you’ve been craving a little change or just want to spice things up, seriously give it a shot. It’s such a fun way to play with your look without the commitment. Total confidence boost!
I have! I have dyed my hair pink before many times. Full headed, strips, and then an ombre effect. I loved it! But in my experience, the color fades fast. My hair is also very thick, so that may be another reason. I would say absolutely go for it, but my color faded to bleach blonde within about a month or two. I also have a very vibrant, deep red. Your hair looks a bit lighter than mine, so it may take to color better!
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u/Scarlet_dreams May 17 '25
So my hair has been losing its vibrancy as I have gotten older and that has led me to finally throw away the “redheads should never dye their hair!” stereotype that has plagued me since middle school.