Redken's Chromatic Hair Color

[Fallon]

Figured one of the lovely ehell ladies might know this.

I have just recently started getting highlights done in my hair every six weeks. My stylist and I have found a gorgeous red color that looks really good on me and works well with my natural color. I've been considering doing something more permanent because the vibrant color of the highlights only lasts through a few washes before it lightens up and I don't enjoy it quite as much.

I get my hair done at my local Ulta (I adore my stylist - he rocks!) and I saw tonight that they offer something called Chromatics Color by Redken. It's supposed to be a permanent color.

How long does permanent color typically last? Does it wash out like high lights?

And has anyone had the Chromatics Color done? How did your head react to it? My skin is really sensitive and right now I'm having issues with my scalp being pretty itchy (got some Nioxin shampoo/conditioner and scalp treatment to fix that) so we're going to do a skin test with the color we've been using next time I go in to make sure I'm not allergic to it before redoing the highlights (if I decide not to do the permanent color).

[doodlemor]

Best of luck with this, OP.  I don't know anything specific about the Redken product, but I do know that the reds tend to fade, and are more difficult to maintain.

I suspect that the different products work differently on different hair types, too, so you need to discuss this with your hairdresser. 

[MrsJWine]

I've heard the same about reds. In fact, I dye my hair red, but use a semi-permanent color because it will fade so fast anyway; this way it doesn't turn as brassy or weird, and it kind of blends with my roots if I don't get around to coloring it again soon enough.

I have found that soaking my hair in vinegar before shampooing the first few times makes the color stay more vibrant longer. After that I do it about once a week. It still fades, but it does it more pleasantly.

[Esther_bunny]

I haven't used Redken Chromatics but I have used Pravanha Chromasilk Vivids and it really depends. If the hair was already colored they tended to stay in longer but when I put some vivid color on platinum they faded with each wash or dip in the pool. And conditioning the hair just made the color spread.

Red is hard to keep in though. In my experience though, once you dye the red in several times it will stay but then it's a booger to get out.

We are actually going to try Fudge colors this next time b/c my stylist says they tend to stay in longer.

Good luck!

[MrsVandy]

 I was red for a while and I found that a demi stayed longer for me. However most permanent colour last any where from 60-90 days and it will fade eventually. Ask your styliest what they think is best for you and do a patch test since you are so sensitive right now.

Reds are the hardest to keep and get rid of I'm afraid. Its because the red colour molecule is bigger then all of the others so it has trouble penetrating the hair cuticle. Once in it has trouble leaving since it is bigger.

[hyzenthlay]

I use Garnier Pomegranate on my dishwater blond hair. ( I think it's dishwater, but I haven't seen more then a quarter inch of root in decades  )

The color does fade a bit after a couple of washes, but it doesn't turn an odd color and actually after it fades a smidge I am frequently told that my hair color look very natural. (But I have freckles as well, and the red really does read well with my skin tone)

My hair definitely retains a red hue and I have to tend to roots long before I would have to worry about the color not looking red.  However having very long hair I also don't wash my hair more then twice a week, and I suspect that does help.

[PastryGoddess]

You should look into having your stylist mix up some custom color shampoo.  It will help the color stay true longer.  I get mine from Aveda and Elizabeth Arden does it as well.  Talk to your stylist and see if he can do it.  Otherwise do a google search and a ton of options will come up.  Most of them will need your color formulation before they'll make your shampoo.

Aveda's conditioner isn't the best, so I wouldn't bother with it.  But you will need to get a good conditioner because the shampoo can be a little drying

[MamaMootz]

I have dyed my hair regularly since I went prematurely grey at 16. I use L'Oreal Excellence medium reddish brown permanent hair color. And I just looked up Redken to be sure, and it's manufactured by L'Oreal USA. So the dye formulations used may be slightly different for a professional hairdresser, but if they are made by the same company there should not be a significant difference. I love the L'Oreal brand because their hair colors are consistently good and the conditioner they provide with it keep my hair in excellent shape.

What helps it not fade for me is to use a shampoo specially formulated for color treated hair (I like Pantene - it works pretty well, so far but I am going to look into a L'Oreal shampoo formulated for color treated hair) and deep conditioning treatments once a week, along with regular conditioner after I shampoo.

It is going to fade a bit in 30 days, but not so much that it's significant if it's a permanent color. Like Hyzenthlay said, you will see roots before it fades significantly.

[Lady Snowdon]

My stylist uses the Redken's hair color, and I've found that the red does tend to fade much more quickly than other colors - for me I noticed a difference at about two weeks out.  However, that might just be me; I frequently think my hair looks a different color, or doesn't show a color that other people see.  My DH told me at one point that he still thought my hair looked very red at 4-5 weeks out.  I do think the red looks gorgeous and very natural!  I'm considering doing red with gold/green/blue highlights for Christmas this year; I think the idea of being festive with my hair is very fun!

[hobish]

I use Garnier Pomegranate on my dishwater blond hair. ( I think it's dishwater, but I haven't seen more then a quarter inch of root in decades  )

The color does fade a bit after a couple of washes, but it doesn't turn an odd color and actually after it fades a smidge I am frequently told that my hair color look very natural. (But I have freckles as well, and the red really does read well with my skin tone)

My hair definitely retains a red hue and I have to tend to roots long before I would have to worry about the color not looking red.  However having very long hair I also don't wash my hair more then twice a week, and I suspect that does help.

  That's what i use, too, and even their reds are permanent permanent in my experience. I go back and forth from pomegranate and intense auburn; they're very close. Granted my hair is base red and i just touch up the whole thing when i do the roots, but i have never had it actually wash out.

If you use the Redken let us know, OP. I am always intereted in trying new stuff.
 Garnier has been my favorite for a while because i like their colors, my cosmetologist girflriend says they are Ph balanced, and i find Garnier washes off of skin and sinks (and tubs, and floors, and walls...) better than most while still sticking in my hair.

ETA: my natural color is a plainish sort of brown with more and more grey in it. I usually leave a grey streak in the front. I think grey is pretty...just not as pretty as red or black just yet   

[MizA]

I have reddish pink (or is it pinkish red?) hair.  I wash it twice a week with lukewarm water and Sebastian Laminates shampoo and conditioner.  It really doesn't ever fade.

[Morty'sCleaningLady]

I'm a rapidly greying redhead who colors as well.  I use L'Oreal products that I get at Sally's and am pleased, in general, with the results.  Since my hair grows like a weed and I get roots within two weeks, I use a comb-in demiglaze to keep me from looking too scary to small children. 

Red does fade with shampoo, sunlight, and other normal things.

[GirlyGirl]

I got my hair colored red at Ulta last month.  By the time I went in for a trim 5 weeks later, the vibrant red was completely faded.  I asked the stylist why, and she said they used demi-permanent color, so it wasn't expected to last very long.

[Kaymyth]

I use henna.  It's a natural-looking red with orange undertones.  It is a massive pain in the patoot to mix up and use, but the stuff doesn't fade out.  I've got inch-long roots and the rest of my hair is still a vibrant red.

The only thing is you really can't mix this stuff with chemical dyes (so no highlights in other colors), and most stylists will look at you like you've grown an extra head if you ask about it.

[Lovemykids]

I will say that I have actually noticed a difference in how long my color lasts based on what products I use on it.  This is a surprise to me because for years I got highlights with my old stylist and she would always say to me, "Now, you don't have to use any special products on this."  Then I stopped coloring my hair, moved, and have only in the past year found a stylist I LOVE.  She is so good with color and she recommended a set of products for me to use.  I used them regularly for about five months, then ran out and wasn't going to be back to see her for a few weeks so I just used some stuff I had leftover at home (which was, in fact, labeled as being "for colored hair").  You would be amazed at how quickly my color faded in two weeks using the cheap stuff!  So now I invest and use the products she recommended.  FWIW, it's the Pur line of shampoo/conditioner.

I'm not sure what brand of color she's using on my hair.  She mixes up a custom color and she isn't loyal to any one brand -- she uses whatever product works best for a particular customer's hair (which is why I trust her judgment on which products I should take home!).