I got an email through today that inspired me to start up a new ‘column’ within Make to Make Out, which I have creatively titled ‘Dear Lina’. I do get quite a few emails from readers asking about certain things I use or buy or just general beauty/fashion advice, so I figured instead of responding to each and every one personally, I will simply answer it here! That way it will also help anyone else with the same queries.
So to kick start this new column, here’s the email I received today:
Hii..
I don’t know how is it possible but I’ve used the same red color on my hair (LIVE Luminance – Infra red) and then the same brown color (Clairol – light ash brown) on it as you.. After this it was like really dark brown with red reflections and I didn’t really like it so I’ve decided to go back to my natural light brown.. I dyed it twice(!!!) with really light brown so it was supposed to be much lighter but it’s still THE SAME!
I just can’t get rid of this color and I’m desperate because I don’t know how.. Could you help me somehow? Do you still have the same color? Thank you very much!!
I surprisingly get a lot of questions regarding my hair colour so I’m glad this is my first ‘Dear Lina’ post! Firstly, before I go into what products I used to create my hair colour, to solve this problem I would recommend washing your hair regularly with a strong shampoo that will help strip the colour out. Apparently, dandruff shampoos like Head & Shoulders are great for this. Maybe each time you wash your hair, lather and rinse three times with the shampoo to speed up the colour stripping process. I personally would stop adding any further colour for now and let the other dyes wash out a little.
If you really can’t wait for the colour to fade gradually… You can buy product that strip/remove colour out of hair in one application. I’ve never used a product like this but after a (very!) quick search via google found this one, ColourB4. Hair Colour remover by Scott Cornwall, which should give you an idea of what you’re looking for. A product like this will literally take all the hair colourant out, but unfortunately what you’re left with is not your natural colour if lightening has been involved. The end colour will probably be slightly orangey and brassy as the Schwarzkopf dye has a little bit of bleach within it (that’s how it lightens dark hair). However once you’ve stripped the colour out that way, you can then colour over it with your natural light brown colour.
FYI, FOR MY HAIR COLOUR..
I firstly used a Japanese brand hair dye called Palty, and the shade was Juicy Peach. You might be able to find these dyes in your local Asian supermarket but otherwise search eBay! This lightened my hair a great deal, but wasn’t as red as I had hoped for so I THEN went over it with this Schwarzkopf Live Luminance in Infrared (L42). This worked really well with my hair and I was very happy with the look I had created with the two dyes.
Schwarzkopf Live Luminance Infrared L42 (November-January 2010/11)
I was then offered to do a sponsored post for Clairol, where I used their new Nice ‘n Easy Colour Blend Foam in 6A Light Ash Brown. This covered my hair nicely, gave it a good blanket colour but you could still see a little of the red coming through..
Clairol Nice ‘n Easy Colour Blend Foam 6A Light Ash (January-June 2011)
THEN
I kept my hair like that for a while, and when I had about an inch worth of roots I decided to step up my hair dye quality to salon professional product. So I was using salon professional product at home. I DO NOT ADVISE YOU ALSO DO THIS. I had researched a lot about colouring hair at home, and discovered that in order to achieve the results I wanted, the off-the-shelf stuff just wasn’t going to cut it. So I swatted up on what was needed, what was safe to use, and ordered some L’Oreal Excel Hi-Color Red Hot and L’Oreal Oreor Cream 40 Developer. Following the instructions, I mixed and applied the correct amount of product to my hair to achieve this:
L’Oreal Excel Hi-Colour in Red Hot (June-November 2011)
The colour was quite dark to begin with, but faded beautifully. After about a month of having dyed it, my hair was a lovely copper-ish red. I loved the colour so much I was hesitant to use anything else over it, despite the roots showing through quite obviously. I genuinely believe it was the combination of all the products that resulted in the faded out colour I loved so much!
NOW
Very recently (like two weeks ago), I went to a salon and got a slight variation of Ombre hair done (which was actually for a guest feature for Grazia Daily).
And that is my hair now. 
Hope this clears it up somewhat.
If you would like your question/query answered in the next ‘Dear Lina’, simply drop me an email at lina@makeuptomakeout.co.uk, titled ‘Dear Lina’, and I’ll work on getting an answer for you!
Lx
DISCLAIMER: All products, except the Clairol, were purchased by self. Affiliate links have been used in this post.
Well, for those that were massively engrossed with my creeper brogue shoe dilemma (should I keep them? Should I send them back? Will I be able to stretch them out in time.. You’d be mad not be engrossed, no?), here’s what I did.
