Red Raaaaaaaaaaaaage

[rebness]

Note to self: when a home hair dye says "dark red", what it really means is nuclear power plant red. Redder than a red herring covered in red paint in a "cherry" mini Cooper parked in Colorado. Hair looks funky and Fifth Element-vibrant, which is funny, but...

On the downside, this will not do in the Mediterranean sun. Now I have two options: dark, dark, dull brown which, coupled with my pale skin makes me look like a wannabe Goth, or black, which will make me look like Samara rising from the Ionian waves in three weeks' time.

Feck.

On the plus side, my aeroplane tickets arrived today. Huzzah hurrah! Chris, Mary and I have a meticulous schedule for arrival on Zakynthos island, which goes something like: throw cases in apartments, check in properly, head to beach, die from pleasure.

In the meantime... OMFG!!12 What to do with The Red? Would anyone suggesting risking the strawberry blonde? The black? If I do it a chestnut colour, then I'll have to dye it again, and it'll all snap off or feel like straw. Waahness.

[/self-indulgence]

Also, do any people with a climate marginally hotter than antartic Britain or who swim regularly have any suggestions for conditioner/good hair treatment? Usually, by the third day, my hair is like straw. I need some conditioning stuff that will be able to absorb chlorine and salt water. It's that or avoid photos for a fortnight.

Comments

[diana-molloy.livejournal.com]

Okay go to a hairdressers quick smart!
I had a fire truck affair with mine like a year ago and put more dye to cover a bad job, didn't work, put more and now my hair is so fucked that if I wasn't stubborn I would listen to the advice given and chop a whole load of it off. Those home dye affairs really mess with your hair.

I suggest a Redken Masque. I forget the proper name but it is wonderfulous. Costs a bomb but makes hair non straw like. Cheapo way is to use mayo... but not anywhere near the roots. And you'll need to shampoo three times to stop smelling like egg mayonaise.

I was so temepted to say go black so you could go all Samara like.

[wiebke.livejournal.com]

Hey, that the red *I* wanted. I got "Real Red" at Boots last summer but when I used it a few months ago, it wasn't real enough! I *wanted8 it to be nuclear power plant red. Damn those color people!

[mevinan.livejournal.com]

As a native of sunny Florida, I can tell you that the key to non-yucky hair is to wash it right after swimming in a chlorinated pool, preferably with a chlorine-removing shampoo if you can find one, and using some kind of conditioner for extra dry hair (the kind you leave on for 1-3 minutes, at least). A lot of pools around here have little stand up showers with really really cold water, where you can at least rinse out the chlorine, if not repair the damage right away. If you're in the sea, then washing it soon after swimming with regular shampoo and conditioner will work just fine. Also, some hot oil treatments or hair masks would not be out of line, maybe once a week.

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

Just take care of your hair -- wash it regularly, as someone else suggested. You might want to look for the shampoos specially formulated for after-swimming, and use an extra detangling or moisturising treatment.

Going swimming is such a hair commitment. No wonder I hardly ever do it. :(

[zhonghua2000.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... 3 weeks. Usually need 4-6 weeks before recoloring.

OK. From Miss "I must color my dark brown hair lighter brown and then double process it with blonde highlights and then it DOES feel like straw after washing even though I have it done professionally"?

1. If not running to the hair salon who will tell you tough anyway, leave the color in for a couple of weeks to see if it lightens, darkens, changes, all that.
2. Don't wash too much! I wash with shampoo ever 3rd day but in between I use conditioner twice a day and after a bit, oh maybe a week it doesn't do the straw thing anymore.
3. If you will recolor it, do it at the last possible moment and I would suggest your natural hair color.

Condition, condition, condition whether you're home or at the beach or wherever you are. I would use a product specifically for color treated hair though I don't have a preference and believe they are all the same. :D

[jadedscorpion.livejournal.com]

If the color hasn't been on for a day yet (the sooner the better), you could wash it with some dishwashing liquid to take off some of the dye off.
I did this for my last disaster, I washed it a couple of times and it actually looked pretty decent when I was done.

I too have had my share of disasters. I dyed my hair "romantic red" once--it turned out radioactive tomato red, but the roots turned florescent orange-yellow. It looked horrible.

Cover it with a dark dark auburn, I say. And get some hot oil treatments, extra strong conditioners, or something. I hope you can fix it. If not, there's always hats....

[fioredelmale.livejournal.com]

Nice to meet you! maababy directed me here...

when a home hair dye says "dark red", what it really means is nuclear power plant red. Redder than a red herring covered in red paint in a "cherry" mini Cooper parked in Colorado.

This always happen when you paint the walls, too :)

[verastar99.livejournal.com]

a good alternative hot oil treatment is to just slather your hair with standard conditioner, and then tie it up or braid it up and go out into the sun...its lovely.

there are really choice organic hair care lines that cater specifically the beach hair and the like.

after your trip, do a henna on your hair. alot of people dont realize its not just for coloring, its a lovely deep conditioning treatment as well. they sell it with no color specifically for that, and you dont get all the excess chemicals that your hair WILL NOT need.

i just recently dyed my hair to cover up the ancient red that seemed to linger forever...lol

[mothergoddamn.livejournal.com]

A petrol and match works a treat.