Hello everyone. My name is Alastor, and I fear I have done terrible things to my hair.

What have I done, you may ask? Well, last September, I dyed my extremely light blond hair to a very dark red for reasons beyond me. By January, it was somewhat faded, but still looked terrible. I went down to Mexico for a month, and while there, I re-dyed my hair red and it turned even darker than before, but it quickly faded. In April, I chopped my hair off to a short length and the red was very faded. I got tired of seeing any red whatsoever, and I dyed my hair a very dark, permanent black (L'Oreal Feria - 20 Black Leather). This was a huge mistake on my part.

I've read about many things that can remove hair dye, among those include Prell Shampoo, hot water (obvious), oil treatments and even dish detergent (what a silly thing!).

I ask of everyone: What works best to make this horrid color fade and eventually dissipate?

I would like to use bleaching as a VERY last resort. I will if I have to, but I would like to avoid that route if possible.

Also. What of the red? Assuming the black goes away, will the ugly red tint still lie underneath? Will I HAVE to bleach to get rid of that?

Thank you in advance for your answers.

~Alastor

My what a pickle you have gotten yourself in! The two most difficult colors to get out of your hair, red and black. You have two options with these hair colors 1) let it grow out (which I'm sure would look lovely!) or 2) go to the salon and have your hair stripped and have it re-colored to your original shade.

Please note you cannot do this yourself. If you try to bleach the color out it will turn probably shades between green and orange (I've seen it happen its UGLY).

After you have your hair stripped you have o have a deep conditioning treatment - the salon will typically do this after they have recolored your hair. For a bit afterwards you will have to make sure to not put any stress on your (heat, chlorine, etc).

Like I said, I would like to use bleaching as a last resort. Bleach is very unhealthy for your hair and will most likely fry mine, so to speak. I am the impatient sort, though, so I wouldn't like to grow it out for another month just to cut it off and have an inch of hair, but it seems that I may HAVE to.

Clearly easier for guys then for the ladies. I suppose you could always just shave it all off as well?

NOT doing that. I love having my length of hair... Ugggh, bleaching.

Using Prell shampoo, hot oil treatments, dish detergent or hot water will not remove hair color, but it help "fade" hair color faster. To go from black to platinum blonde, you will need to lighten your hair with bleach (hydrogen peroxide) to a pale yellow stage and then apply a toner in order for it to look natural. This process should only be attempted by a professional. If you want your natural platinum blonde hair color back, make an appointment to see a hairstylist.

I'm just really worried that the bleach will do serious damage to my hair. What's the risk?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mr Blackrose

I'm just really worried that the bleach will do serious damage to my hair. What's the risk?

---

If you do it yourself it will be BAD. If you go to the hairdresser they will be able to minimize damage and dryness. I had to do this once myself. As a teenager I dyed my hair black with bright red streaks. My mom flipped out that I did it and I had to get my hair stripped and have color put back in my hair. My hair felt like straw for a while. Over time it got softer and I learned my lesson to never do something crazy to your hair. My hair didn't fall out or anything like that but again I had a professional do my bleaching.

I do believe I will try using dish detergent with my shampoo tonight. Just a few drops mixed in with the shampoo, yes?