Refreshing my Color at Home

 

This Summer I had my stylist color my hair red using a low volume developer to mitigate the affects of the dye. As we all know reds tend to fade quickly and since my Summer dye-job my hair has faded from a vibrant deep red to a warm reddish-brown. Because I love the shade of reddish-brown my hair has morphed into, instead of having my stylist re-dye my hair I am opting for a temporary red rinse to bring back some of the vibrancy my strands have lost.

Things You Will Need

• Semi-Permanent Rinse 
• Moisturizing Shampoo
• Moisturizing Conditioner
• Vaseline
• Olive Oil (Optional)
• Protein Conditioner (Optional)
• After Color Sealer (Optional) 
• Rubber Gloves
• Relaxer Brush (or Color applicator brush)
• Color mixing bowl
• Processing Cap

 I first washed and conditioned my hair per my usual wash day routine. I applied a generous amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to my dry strands, covered my hair with a plastic cap and allowed the oil to sit for about 45 minutes. I then shampooed using my Kera Minerals Sulfate-Free Shampoo followed by a quick 2 minute condition using GVP Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm. After t-shirt drying my strands for about 5 minutes I sectioned my hair into fours then applied my Kera Minerals Smoothing Deep Conditioner, covered my hair with a plastic cap and allowed the conditioner to sit for about 2 hours. (I would normally only condition for 15 minutes but because I no longer have a hooded dryer and was caught up doing other things I left the conditioner on longer.) I rinsed the conditioner in warm water to keep my cuticles open in preparation for the color application.

Before applying the dye I protected my hair line and forehead with Vaseline to prevent staining on my skin in case the dye was runny. Using Adore Creative Image Semi-Permanent Rinse in Intense Red I applied the color using an applicator brush (similar to what you would use for a relaxer) beginning at the root and combing the color through to the ends. The application process mirrored that of the relaxer process only I applied the color to the entire length of my strands. I allowed the color to sit for about an hour under a plastic cap to make sure I got the shade of red I was looking for, then rinsed with cool water and followed with another quick shampoo. To seal in the color and make sure my strands were thoroughly conditioned after the process I applied Ion's After Color Sealer and allowed it to sit for five minutes before rinsing with warm water. Once the process was complete I styled my hair as usual.

For those of you with dark hair a rinse may not work for you because it does not truly soak into the cuticles, but rather deposits on top of the strands. I would suggest trying a deep shade of red and allowing the dye to sit a little longer than instructed and also using a hooded dryer to encourage the dye to deposit fully onto the strands. Because my hair had already been lightened by my stylist using permanent color the dye took easily and showed up clear and vibrant.

Have you tried a semi-permanent color at home?