Looking for a nice medium brown...

TLC1994

I'm trying to decide which medium brown to use. I've used Medium brown in Natural Match and last time I used Naturtint. The color was ok for a while, nothing special and faded quickly and the grays showed after a week with both.

So, now I thought I'd try either Preference or Excellence by L'Oreal. I'm having a hard time deciding which brand, first of all, then which color. I saw that Excellence has a shade called 5AR - Medium Maple Brown. Of course it looks beautiful on the box!! Has anyone used this color? I don't want it too dark - definitely want more brown than black.

My natural color is a dark brown (my approx. 1 in. roots are that color) and the rest of my hair is kind of a brassy medium brown. Plus it's a little dry right now - so I don't want anything that'll majorly dry it out. Ahhhh!! Decisions, decisions!!

Any suggestions/hints/ideas??

Thanks so much!!

TLC1994

Ok - I know that nobody replied to my previous post, but quite a few read it, so I thought I'd follow up in case anyone was secretly interested! (Plus, I do need some more help if anyone is willing!!)

On Monday afternoon I did the Excellence Medium Maple Brown. I left it on my roots/outgrowth for about 25 min. then on the rest of it for about 10-15 more minutes. The color on the roots is beautiful - nice and rich with a fair amount of red. Unfortunately the rest of my hair didn't take quite as evenly, so it's a bit lighter than my roots (the brassiness is slightly showing through). And while I like the color of my roots, it's not the color for me - it's just a bit too dark.

I called L'Oreal and they said that I probably should have used another box of color (my hair is shoulder length and thick) and I think I also had a tiny bit of frizz control stuff that probably was a bit too oily and didn't mix well with the color. L'Oreal said that I could wait 48 hrs. and do the lighter part of my hair over again with the same color and leave it on a full 30 min. I'm scared to do that because it seems too long, so I'm thinking of doing another test strand so I get my timing right.

Anyway, would it be crazy for me to totally re-do my whole head with a lighter shade instead of trying to fix it with the darker color? I already feel like I'm in over my head a bit (no pun intended), and I don't really feel like totally screwing it up, but I'm just looking for options.

Or...since it's just a bit dark for me, I was thinking of carefully adding some highlights, just to break it up & lighten bits of the color. I have to work up some confidence first for that, though!!

Anyway, that's my experience, in case anyone was wondering! Thanks for hearing me out.

witchcurlgirl

Lighter dye wont lighten the darker color....so dont just dye it a lighter color...

As you did just do it....give it a couple of days, and it will lighten a bit....maybe then the roots will be closer to a color you can live with


Then if you still think its too dark, you can add a couple of highlights to break it up

TLC1994

Thanks for the reply. The roots have lightened up a bit and it's blending a tad bit more now. It's not bothering me as much anymore, so I think I will leave it alone. The thought of doing more color on the ends scares me - I'd hate to really dry it out.

I may try some highlights. I bought the Revlon Frost & Glow kit last night (the chestnut color) & did a test strand like they suggest. Left it on 20 min., washed with their shampoo/toner, dried it and.....it didn't do anything! Looks exactly like the rest of the hair on my head! So I'll try another test strand later today and leave it on longer I guess. The only thing I noticed was once I applied the shampoo/toner, I could see the red color coming out of the hair that I was holding. I could see the red dye on the gloves. But it still doesn't look any different. I've never done at-home highlights before, so I didn't know what to expect. Maybe the chestnut won't lighten it enough for me?? Who knows.

Anyway, in the meantime, I'm learning to kind of like my new dark brown color! I probably won't do it again - but I'm not going around with a hat on either!

witchcurlgirl

The highlights probabaly didnt show because 20 minutes wasnt long enough. You were bleaching through color, not virgin hair. Highlighting with home kits can sometimes take 45 minutes.

I'm glad the roots are fading....usually, its best to do nothing for 2 or 3 days...then reasses the problem....oxidation sometimes makes the color fade to something closer to what we had in mind...

I've learned through years of trial and error.....pro color and home color.......

alaskabelle

A great color line for semi-permanents that last a long time and don't fry your hair (if MY hair isn't fried by it, well nobody's can be) is the Satin line, available at better beauty supply stores. Lots of excellent choices in the medium and light brown and semi-red ranges. The level 5 will probably seem like a true medium brown to you.

I use it to cover highlights that I am growing out, and to add shine, and probably have to pull it through the whole hair every 2 months or so. I recently looked at the ingredients, and it appears to be CG all the way.

Best haircolor I have ever used--better and more predictable than going to an Aveda salon and trying to talk to somebody. But I have always been happier with my own haircolor jobs than when I have paid others to do it.

alaskabelle

Something you can do to lift out excess pigmentation from color is called Malibu 2000 crystal gel treatment. This should do the trick--try that before you add more bleaching agents!