| by Bel | 9.00am NZ time |
I have been dying my hair non-stop for over a decade now. My mousy blonde days are long behind as I successfully trick the world into believing I am a brunette, thanks to chemicals.
But at the start of this year, I had hairdresser disaster where my "warm chocolate brown" was interpreted as a sort of burgundy purple. The re-do appointment left me with very dark hair, which wasn't in very good condition.
And before long, this happened:
Regrowth. *shudder*
I was contemplating buying a home dye to just try and override everything. But then the box of Colour B4 (official website) caught my eye. It was more expensive than most supermarket box dyes, but online reviews were pretty positive.
I splashed out, figuring that things couldn't get any worse.
I bought the "Extra Strength" variety as this was recommended for removal of darker shades or when your hair has been dyed several times. Check and check. The result was a pleasingly distinct change in colour for much less cost than getting it stripped out by a professional.
My main warning with this product is that it stinks. Like, stinks. I've mostly used nice ammonia-free dyes lately but hadn't forgotten that hair dye usually has a weird toxic smell. However this stench was beyond anything ever before.
Rotting eggs is the best way to describe it.
And to boot, you have to leave the solution in for 45 minutes. Yes, nearly an hour of sitting around with a stinky rotten odour in close proximity to my nose.
I also felt self-conscious over the next week that when my hair was wet, the smell reemerged. I'm not sure if this was me being hyper sensitive or not! I would suggest following up the hair dye removal with a couple of days of deep conditioning treatments if you are equally paranoid.
The change was noticeable straight away, even while my hair was still wet. It was several shades lighter than before, no distinct regrowth - and the streak in my hair was a bleached white colour.
At first it seemed my hair had taken on a ginger look, but it soon settled down to a more natural light brown.
Here is a pic I took the next day to send to Lou:
I would recommend Colour B4 for remedying any hair dye disasters you might have, or for when you are took broke to get your roots down and just want a change.
Oh and as you can see, I didn't succumb to temptation and my hair is still long!
I'm sort of morbidly curious as to what my hair would look like if I used this. As the red hair dye always has a percentage of peroxide in it I assume I would be left with 2 inch long stripes around my hair progressing from dark at the roots to quite light at the ends.
PS Your hair looks so awesome in that last pic - the curl coming round is something people spend hours getting a hair dresser to create for them.
Thanks ;D
I must confess that I did also buy a box of my tried-and-true Garnier Cappuccino colour dye, just in case I needed to hide all evidence of tampering!!
Ooh, yes, you look fabulous in that last pic! I also followed the link and read Lou's guide to Lou's hair, and I have to say that although I am experimenting with how often I wash my hair (usually not by choice) with a fringe it starts to look pretty ratty after a day or two and I never experience the Day 3 of fabulous hair. What is your experience of fringe vs. rest of your hair, Bel?
(heehee, verification is 'hydeme')
Oh this could be a whole 'nother blog post!
Short version: fringes need regular washing, dang it. Whenever I try push my luck by lessening shampooing, I wind up having to pin back the lank stringy bits of hair hanging on my face. Boo!
Lotte! I keep meaning to mention a tip that was on PPP a while back - pin your fringe back at night so that it is not on your forehead when you sleep. Helps retain the freshness by separating it from directly skin-oil contact.
love