Hair Clinic Summary: Red Hair Colour

Hey everyone - here's some of the best questions and answers from my Red Hair Colour Clinic that took place on Facebook in September. Be sure to check out the Facebook page to catch the next hair clinic.

Q: what would you suggest is the best home dye to achieve bright red hair, on dark hair? and would your deep red colour restore help maintain the brightness or would it be too dark for such a shade?x

A: You ideally need a permanent level 3 red as it will lift up the base enough to deposit the red colour molecules. Feria, Receital Preference and Garnier have some deep red permanent shades in their ranges. Yes Colour Restore Deep Red would really top up the red in the hair. Also, if you are very dark sometimes doing a 10 minute stripping on the hair (prior to colouring) will lift away the natural dark molecules and expose the natural warmth. Then when you apply a permanent red colourant on top of this you will get a very vibrant red result. Kind Regards Scott

Q: How can I remove red from my hair... I've bleached bathed it now I'm a ginger/pinkish colour?

A: Hi Terri, if you've bleached bathed it and it's showing pink you have cuticle staining in there. My immediate advice to you would be to apply a 6.0 permanent colourant onto it and get he hair to a soft brown. Try to leave it as long as you can (even a few months) and either remove this artificial colour and see what of the cuticle staining is still there, or you could have highlights over the top of the new 6.0 base to create a lighter effect. Fine Highlights done on top of new base shade will not tend to display the cuticle staining as much and can be toned to cover much better than if its the whole head. Kind Regards Scott

Q: In between dyes if I use the colour restore which option do I use? Is it just the wash in and rinse or were you leave it in for 20 mins? And can I wash and condition my hair before I put the colour restore in?

A: A rinse through Colour Restore will keep the existing tone topped up, where as if you leave it for 20 minutes it will go very vibrant. You don't really need to use Colour Restore with a conditioner, so you can shampoo the hair and then use the Colour Restore as you would a conditioner on either methods if you choose to. Kind Regards Scott

I've written a few blog posts on red hair already. If you want to know how to create vibrant red hair like Florence Welch or if you want to try a balayage effect, you can read my colour recommendations.

Autumn and Winter Hair Trends E-Magazine

Instead of a blog post today, I would like to invite you to download my Autumn and Winter Hair Trends E-Magazine for free. Have a read to find out what will be a hot trend this season and read some of my tips on how to achieve them, you can find my product recommendations and some information on my consultation classes.

Pre-pigmenting Hair with Colour Restore Deep Red

Pre Pigmenting is a method commonly used in salons to prepare very blonde, pre-lightened or bleached hair that is going to be coloured to a much darker or red shade.

When hair is bleached, heavily highlighted or lightened the centre of the hair can be empty and contain no pigment, this means that any subsequent colours to be applied to the hair are likely to fade quickly, requiring a lot of maintenance.

Hair that is void of any natural pigment (due to bleaching or pre-lightening) can cause hair colourants to take a much darker colour result than expected or create a odd translucent or unwanted green/grey tone.

In the above instances pre-pigmenting hair with a red temporary colour molecule (prior to permanent colouring) will fill the hairs centre and duplicate natural warmth (within the hair).  

When either a much darker or permanent red colourant is then applied, the hair will display depth, appear more lustrous and see a reduced amount of fading due to the new level of pigment molecules contained.    The new permanent molecules tend to sit on the outer layer of the hairs centre and permanently ‘link up’ trapping the pre-pigmented (temporary) red molecules inside the hair.

How to pre-pigment with Colour Restore Deep Red

If you are currently a lightened blonde and wish to go to a much darker brunette or red shade, you can pre-pigment your hair very easily with Colour Restore Deep Red.   

Colour Restore Deep Red

In addition, if using Colour Restore Deep Red immediately prior to application of a permanent red colourant you will also fill the hair with additional molecules which will not only produce a more vibrant red shade, but also aid against fading through subsequent washes.

1. Firstly clarify the hair well to remove any surface build up and towel-dry.
2. Apply Colour Restore Deep Red to the damp hair and comb through to ensure each strand is fully covered.  Pay particular attention to lightened or porous ends.
3. Leave the Deep Red to develop for 20 minutes and rinse out fully – do not condition the hair.
4. Dry the hair 100%. At this point you will see the strong red undercoat in the hair.
5. Mix and apply your chosen dark brunette or red permanent colourant as per manufactures instructions.

If you have applied a very vibrant permanent red colourant after pre-pigmenting with Colour Restore Deep Red, you can continue using Colour Restore Deep Red as a regular treatment to encourage vibrancy and lustre.

If you have pre-pigmented your lightened blonde hair in order to apply a deep brunette or very dark shade, you should find the new colour remains permanently within the hair and displays a rich true brunette.