Tide to remove hair dye?? - Beauty & Cosmetics Message Board

AliasJaneDoe · 08-10-2004, 01:56 AM

A little while back I dyed my hair (trying to cover sun and swimming blonde areas in my natural medium-deep brunette color) and it came out a very unnatural dark auburn (like a cherry red auburn when the sun hits it - perhaps a bit maroon). I came on here and cried for help, some of you might remember that. Anyway, I ended up just trying to dye it again to get it back to chocolate brown. The second dye hardly changed the color at all, but I thought I could live with it.

Well, now I'm already starting to show roots (noticable because they don't shine that same intense red). So I want the red out and my normal brunette back. And apparently dark red is impossible to just dye over. Somebody on here (forgot who) suggested washing my hair using Tide with bleach. Anybody tried this? I do not want to ruin my hair, or end up a blonde.

Will the Tide thing only remove the dye and leave my hair still some form of brown? Or at least make it a color that I can cover with another attempt at dying brown? And is there just one type of Tide with bleach? How much do you use, how long do you leave it in or whatever?

Please help. I don't have the money to get a professional to do it.

NineLives · 08-10-2004, 06:22 AM

I'm a cosmetologist and you absolutely do not want to use Tide with bleach on your hair. The only thing it could possibly do is make it redder and dry it out. You cannot lighten hair that has been dyed dark by using a lighter dye over it. You can tone down red by using an ash shade in the same tone or darker than your hair color now. If you won't go to a professional I would go with a gentler hair color that washes out after so many washes. It sounds like you've already put alot of stress on your hair. There is not going to be a quick fix.

sarahandcole · 08-10-2004, 06:53 AM

I just had to read this post because of the crazy idea about Tide! Sounds insane! I'd been going to a relative's salong for almost 20 years (I started when I was in college to save money) and now (I'm 40) I've been coloring to cover gray for about 5 years. It has always come out red, no matter what he did to it and I always hated it - but since it was a relative, I felt awkward leaving or being more demading about it. Well, we moved and now I live almost an hour away - a perfect solution! Sooooo - I started coloring myself and the other poster's suggestion about ash tones is right. I bought about 4 different colors and tested strands till I liked what I saw. I ended up with a "light ash brown" - which is perfect. It is natural (I think) and the red is gone! Good luck.

producttramp · 08-10-2004, 08:09 AM

No matter what Strand test before you re do this color. If you strand test ahead of time you wont have a problem with odd colors b/c you will know how it will affect your hair. Try a semi or demi permanent color --I think that Loreal Castings is one. If you look at a color wheel ash (green) will neutralize red etc.

desertgirl · 08-10-2004, 11:31 AM

Boy do I feel your pain! About two years ago, I tried to dye my (fake) blond hair back to my natural brown and my hair was so damaged from the blonde that it turned a really funky shade of red when the hair dresser dyed it. Then, when I went back to the salon to have the red taken out, they dyed it an ashy tone and my hair picked up all the green! It was such a disaster and soooo ugly.

Here's what I did to take matters into my own hands... it did hurt my hair a little, but the color looked better. I got a really dark brown hair dye... I think it was Superior Preference in Medium Brown... not golden brown or ash brown. The Medium brown has a nice balance of golds and ashes. After I dyed my hair, it still had quite a bit of red in it, so I used Head and Shoulders shampoo for two days and the red faded quite a bit. I guess Head and Shoulders is a really deep cleansing shampoo and will help the red fade quicker. It didn't look perfect, that took time, but it looked a heck of a lot better than maroon hair or green hair!

Make sure to condition you hair a ton though. If you can stand it, sleep with conditioner on your hair, that's what I did because dying your hair is sooo hard on it. If you can't do that, put on conditioner and blow dry your hair with it on. Then you can rinse it or leave it on over night. I haven't dyed it since because I had such a bad experience. When this is all over, I would totally suggest just using a wash out dye, like Natural Instincts or Casting Color. I use those when I want to brighten my hair and they don't change the base color so I have roots, it just adds some (natural) reddish tones and highlights.

Lastly, I know you said you can't afford to go to a salon, but if you check in the better salons in your aread, you can sometimes find training nights where the salons have new stylists dye or cut your hair under the supervision of head stylists for a much, much cheaper price. One time I got my hair dyed at an Aveda training night for only $20. It looked really good, too.