Hi, I'm planning to dye my dirty blonde/light brown hair darker. About a year ago I tried it and it turned out brown, but with a greyish shade, very dull and not very flattering. I've heard of other people having the same problem when dying their hair darker. Does anyone have any suggestions for having the color not result in the greyish-ashy shades it often results in? Please help!

Try using a golden brown color. I have to use a combination of the golden and ash brown colors. On me the ash has a grayish green tint to and the golden has a reddish orange tint to it, so I have found that combining the two works for me. If the ash has a dramatic greyish effect then you might want to try just a golden brown not a combination. If a golden brown produces a brassy (reddish orange) color on you then you may want to try a combination. You may have to experiment a little. Or you can always talk to a professional stylist. You don't have to actually have them color your hair just discuss it with them...it helps when they can see your hair.

If you want to tint your hair darker, be sure that you choose a shade that is just lighter than what you actully want as the result. Choose a shade that says NATURAL on the label - this type of color contains an equal amount of red/orange and green/violet. If the label says 'warm' it will contain red or red/orange as the main pigment. If it says 'ash', then it will contain green or violet/green as the main pigment. Green counteracts red and vise-versa. Choose a light NATURAL brown even if you want to go a shade or two darker. Also, since you just want to deposit color and not lighten, then deposit, also purchase a bottle of 10 volume peroxide. 20 Volume will lift for the first 20 minutes, then deposit for the last 10 minutes. 10 volume will just open the hair shaft and darken instead of lifting first. You would do better to purchase your color at a beauty supply house rather than a Drug Store. This way, you can choose the color and the peroxide separately, but the price for the products will be comparable.

PS: I AM a hairdresser and nail technician.

Hi, I'm planning to dye my dirty blonde/light brown hair darker. About a year ago I tried it and it turned out brown, but with a greyish shade, very dull and not very flattering. I've heard of other people having the same problem when dying their hair darker. Does anyone have any suggestions for having the color not result in the greyish-ashy shades it often results in? Please help!