sew and sew

Yesterday I dyed my hair with a demi-permanent that called for it to be left in for 10 minutes. I was planning on letting it set for 5 extra minutes, because I'm putting red tones into hair that was dyed a dark brown (and is still retaining it, albeit in a dull way) 6 months ago.

Between the time I first applied dye and felt like I had thoroughly and evenly covered all my hair, 42 minutes had elapsed. So about 30 seconds after completing the application, I did the pre-rinse out lathering step (for about three minutes) and then hopped into the shower.

Looking at my hair (granted there was no lifting going on with the dye), it looks like I should have then let it set for 10 minutes, after that 42 minute phase.

Am I 'doing it wrong?'

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“It was only a sunny smile and little it cost in the giving but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Carpool Curly

I've wondered this too. To be safe, I usually start at the bottom, then do the top that will be the most visible and then finish with the middle and then start timing it. I've got resistant grays, so YMMV.

Anyone know the real answer?

CurliLocks

Most dyes are very active the first 15-20 minutes, then they stop working. I use Color by Robert Craig and it's best to get it on the head quickly for best color, and it stops working at 60 min.

My guess it that you took way too long to get the color on your hair, and it wasn't very active at that point. I start my timing when I've completed the whole thing (all the roots).

I think you need to try getting the color on your hair much faster, then leaving it for 10-15 min. Is there an SO or friend that can help out?

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CurliLocks

FYI: You should always apply color to roots and new growth first, then the length for the last few minutes only. This keeps the color even from roots to tips.

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sew and sew

42 minutes did strike me as an awfully long time to get it thoroughly throughout my hair. I've been faster before, but my hair was crimped at the time of application this time...and I wouldn't recommend that. Weird texture to spread hair dye on. I have had help in the past, but I've also done it well (and timlier, although still probably a little slow) before.

My hair looks like it took more dye than it struck me as having taken yesterday. Does that happen sometimes? I'm more used to a really vivid difference right after it's dyed.

Thanks for the insight CL!

__________________
“It was only a sunny smile and little it cost in the giving but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald

nynaeve77

Red fades pretty fast, so it's possible it looked really dark yesterday and then brighter today if you washed it or added water. I've never used a demi-permanent dye, though, so I could just be talking out of my butt.

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sew and sew

It looked like it barely made an impact on my hair yesterday, after I had finished drying and styling it after the dye process. Today (once I checked it out in the mirror) I could definitely see a difference in shade. It's almost as if the dye's effect was still settling in. First time I've experienced that.

__________________
“It was only a sunny smile and little it cost in the giving but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald

SusieSuze

When tinting regrowth, pulling colour through to the ends is the standard suggestion on the box. Yes, it works.. you get a nice even tone.

BUT!!! All those chemicals, although they are not as active as they were when you first mixed it all, are still alkaline and very damaging to your hair!

ESPECIALLY CURLY HAIR.

If you have short hair, well this doesn't matter, but if you have medium to long length hair, this is important.

What happens, especially for reds, is that the damage done by pulling through to the ends will make your hair so porous it will release the colour more and more so that your 'refreshed' hair colour will only last a few days and then look faded again.

Please please, when you want to even out the tone of hair, do your regrowth with permanent.. Only mix up 1/3 of the formula. Save the rest for next time!

Find a much healthier alternative for the ends. You can use a semi-permanent, or even a mousse colour. This can be applied right while the permanent colour is processing..

So if you need 30 minutes on roots, and 15 minutes for your semi or mousse, apply on ends after 15 minutes.

(This method was developed by the colour line I used to sell. If you are mixing different manufacturers, perhaps it would be prudent to do a test mixing the two product together first, with a hair swatch to see what happens. I really do not believe this approach would be a problem.)

Yes it is more work. And it will cost a bit more. But the damage will be minimized and your colour will look prettier a lot longer.

PS timing always starts from the time you are finished application.
Curlilocks had it right, colour does most of it's processing in the first 20-30 minutes.. it likely will not lift much after that, though it will deposit some. You need to move quickly!

SusieSuze

Wow, I just figured out I typed all that and you were using a demi.

information I posted was for permanent.

Sheesh.. sorry ladies

sew and sew

No worries! That was useful information to absorb for future reference.

__________________
“It was only a sunny smile and little it cost in the giving but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald