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I have dark brown hair and I really want to dye it red. So I went out and bought a Auburn red hair dye and dyed it. Now my hair is medium length, but the hair dye I bought had a girl with short hair on the box.. I didn't think it matters. Well I love the color, but it didn't really get my roots. And it isn't as bright as I would like.What should I do? Did I not use enough.. I only used a quarter of the bottle. Is it the wrong color for my hair? Should I try the same color again.. just use more? :confused: Please someone help?

You should mix up the entire amount and throw away what is left over. It isn't worth keeping once it is opened. I wouldn't recommend coloring it again real soon because you don't want to damage what you have.

If your hair is dark you want to start with your roots and work you way down the length. New hair that hasn't been exposed to sunlight will take longer to accept the color.

Wait a couple of weeks and do it again. This time mix it all up. Put it on your roots and leave it there for the recommended time, then at the last 5 minutes of development time comb it through the length to blend it in and refresh your color.

If you color your hair at home with a store bought color, it will not look like model's hair on the box. In order go from dark to red, you will need to pre-lighten your hair and then apply the selected color. You can try using a 20-volume peroxide developer with the desired color in equals parts. Apply the color mixture on the roots for 25 minutes then comb the color through the rest of your hair and leave it for another 10 minutes. This still will not give you the same results as the model's hair on the box, but it will lift your roots a couple shades lighter and refresh your hair color.

Prettylady all your color answers are very helpful, thank you.

One great product that works for my dark brown hair is
L'Oreal Excellence Permanent Crème HiColor dye. NOT to be confused with the HiColor Highlights line. (You want the one in the black box.)

http://www.lorealtechnique.com/hicolor_01.shtml

You can find it at Sally Beauty Supply or online.
Use it with Oreor Crème Developer or Ion Sensitive Skin Crème developer. (also available at Sally Beauty Supply).

**** It HAS to be a crème developer because this product will NOT work with a liquid developer.

This stuff gave me beautiful, vibrant red results. I used Red Fire, but there are many shades to choose from. It lightens your hair and deposits dye in the same step. It also doesn't damage my hair the way other dye has.

Be sure to use a protein filler on your ends before you recolor. (I like to put Colorful Professional Protein filler #10, Red in a spray bottle and dampen my hair, then let it air dry right before I color.) This will even out the tone and help you retain your color.

Good luck!