So today I ruined my hair.....

[Mikayla]

Grrr...I was trying to think who to call about this and realized I have much collective wisdom at my fingertips right here!

For some moronic reason, I decided to dye my hair this morning.  I used a Loreal permanent color.  My normal hair is a very dark brunette, and I picked a lighter shade of brown - like a medium brown.

Well, it's ghastly.  In fact, parts of it are kind of orange-ish.  Even my dog barked at me.

Here's my question. I really really want to get one of their semi perm rinses and fix this asap.  Has anyone ever done this and, if so, how long did you wait before fixing it?  Also, if it matters, my hair is not overcolored or in bad condition. 

Not looking for guarantees - just life experience. 

[NyaChan]

I don't know how to fix it, but I did the exact same thing when I was in freshman in high school and had orangey hair for a long time while I waited to grow it out (I was too scared to re-dye it) so I have great sympathy for you.  ((HUGS))

[TootsNYC]

some of the redness may fade a bit; I use a "medium natural brown" semi-permanent, and it always lightens and gets less intense after about 2 days.

The "ash" browns have less red in them, if you want to use a new color.

But I've never fixed a hair color, so I'm not of THAT much help.
 

[NyaChan]

If it is a possibility, see if you can take it into a salon to darken the orange parts - I once went in wanting subtle brown tones put into my dark hair and walked out with white-blond streaks.  They charged me all over again to fix it, but they dyed it over with a dark brown that looked really nice in the end. 

[PastryGoddess]

You need to go to a salon and have them fix it for you.  It can be done, but I don't recommend you try and fix it yourself.  I've done this before and found that the fix job doesn't cost as much as a regular dye job *shrug* not sure why.

If you are in or near a major city/town, see if there is a Dominican Salon, they are typically not as expensive and work very fast while taking care of your hair

If a salon is too expensive, try and go to a beauty school/training center.  They will have licensed hair stylists overseeing everything AND it's often much cheaper than a regular salon.

[greencat]

Okay.  Step away from the box mixes!  I also recommend going to the salon.

If you can't afford the salon, which is the best option when you've messed up at home, here's what you do.

Go find a Sally Beauty or other professional salon supplier.

Buy a bottle of 10 strength developer.  You don't want any stronger (higher numbers), because you do not want to strip any color out of your hair when you do this.

The way most professional hair color works is that it has a number that indicates how dark it is, and a letter or pair of letters telling you the tones.  Some of them have other systems, but most of them will be something like "5RG" - which is a medium red-gold color.

Have one of the employees help you find the dye.  You probably need a darkness 4 or 5 to cover, depending on just how light your hair is now, and you need one with a V tone - that's violet.  Probably a BV or an NV - have the employee help you decide, as she'll be able to see your hair and give you better advice than I can on the specifics.  That will correct the brassiness.

I'd give it a day and a good wash and extra pampering conditioning before you do the dye-over.

[Browyn]

In the drug store buy a box or two (depending on how thick your hair is) of Color Oops.  Follow the directions and wash you hair multiple times.  It will take the dye out.  I know, due to my supposed to be auburn that came out nearly black home dye job.

My cousin told me what to go buy, She is a hairdresser.

[Onyx_TKD]

I used a Loreal permanent color.  My normal hair is a very dark brunette, and I picked a lighter shade of brown - like a medium brown.

OT: Is it possible to dye dark hair a lighter color without bleaching it? I also have dark brown hair, and I've never tried dying it. I've toyed with the idea of getting a streak of blue or something after seeing a friend with a gorgeous streak of fire-engine red, but I always assumed it would require bleaching, which I didn't want to do.

OP, good luck getting it fixed. If I were you, I'd probably go to a hair salon rather than trying to fix it myself, but I don't have any experience with using dye.

[buvezdevin]

In the drug store buy a box or two (depending on how thick your hair is) of Color Oops.  Follow the directions and wash you hair multiple times.  It will take the dye out.  I know, due to my supposed to be auburn that came out nearly black home dye job.

My cousin told me what to go buy, She is a hairdresser.

I don't think this will work for OP, it sounds like her hair was lightened to produce the orange tint so she needs a toner or color *added* not removed, to get to "brown" without red/orange.

I agree a slon would be best, but otherwise greencat has offered an excellent plan B.

[camlan]

OP, I'm guessing this was a two-part color job, where first you put something on your hair to lighten it and then you put on the actual dye. The orange color is coming from the lighter or bleach.

I would strongly recommend that you go to a salon and have them fix your hair. I think this is the best way to get a natural looking color on top of what is already there. My BFF owns her own salon and she has been able to fix some pretty awful-looking dye jobs, both at-home types and some from expensive salons.

If you absolutely can't, and I'd call around to a few places to see what they might charge (they'll probably have to give you an estimate, but you'd get a feel for if you could afford it), then greencat's post is probably the way to go.

[Slartibartfast]

I used a Loreal permanent color.  My normal hair is a very dark brunette, and I picked a lighter shade of brown - like a medium brown.

OT: Is it possible to dye dark hair a lighter color without bleaching it? I also have dark brown hair, and I've never tried dying it. I've toyed with the idea of getting a streak of blue or something after seeing a friend with a gorgeous streak of fire-engine red, but I always assumed it would require bleaching, which I didn't want to do.

OP, good luck getting it fixed. If I were you, I'd probably go to a hair salon rather than trying to fix it myself, but I don't have any experience with using dye.

Not really - the only really noticeable color you can get with dark hair is that "she tried for redhead but got purple instead" color you sometimes see people with.  I put a streak of blue in my hair a while back - even though I've never dyed my hair before, just bleaching a lock of it one time was enough to make a noticeable difference in texture and breakage between the bleached lock and the rest of it.  Then the blue washed out within a week or two and I was stuck with that greenish color blondes sometimes get when they swim in chlorinated pools too much 

[mmswm]

I agree with going to the salon to fix it.  I've seen some horrifically bad results when friends tried to fix these sorts of things at home, such as massive breaking and frizzy-beyond-control hair. 

[wheeitsme]

If you can afford a salon, that might be a good way to go, but I have used the "semi" to adjust a "permanent" box color.  I even once used a permenant box after a permanent box (it was necessary, lol). I would advise waiting at least 24-48 hours before using it, though.  It's not great for your hair, but it did fix it.

[MOM21SON]

I am on a very strict budget and my hair was a mess.  Last week, I entered the salon!  I have so much more confidence and my hair looks great.  Totally worth it.  I am even back at the gym.  I say splurge on yourself.

A little splurge goes along way.

[siamesecat2965]

I am on a very strict budget and my hair was a mess.  Last week, I entered the salon!  I have so much more confidence and my hair looks great.  Totally worth it.  I am even back at the gym.  I say splurge on yourself.

A little splurge goes along way.

I am as well, and highlight my hair, but I have it done at the salon.  I know if I did it, I'd end up with giant stripes! 

I had an unfortunate incident one time with salon color; I had my hair lightened (I'm a blonde) and had some red highlights which turned out kind of pink! 

I wasn't able to get back to my salon so I used something called "Color oops" It worked for me in that it removed the color, but left the blonde.  Not sure if this would work for you, as it will only remove color, but won't fix any errant bleaching or anything like that.