Based on appearances alone, colouring your hair unicorn pink or mermaid blue may seem like a magical endeavour, but it’s actually pretty straightforward, especially if you’re naturally brunette. Generally, the process involves spending hours lifting your dark hair to light blonde, depositing bright colour to your bleached strands, layering a gloss on top, and boom — you now look like (the cooler, grown-up version of) My Little Pony.
On the other hand, going red as a brunette doesn’t feel that simple. The colour is complex, and if your hair is naturally dark, going scarlet red (like Madelaine Petsch) or creating copper tones (like Lindsay Lohan from back in the day) may seem way out of reach. But the pros say otherwise — and not only is your lifelong dream of trying out life as a redhead actually attainable, but hours of bleaching and damage may not even be necessary to get you there.
Ahead, we asked the experts to break down everything there is to know about transforming your strands from brunette to brick red — and every shade in between.
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Bleach isn’t always necessary.
Good news: Jaxcee, the colour director at Hair Rules, tells Refinery29 that the transition from brown to red is smooth for the most part, thanks to the red undertones in some dark hair colours.“Dark hair has lots of natural red tones, so when you strip it there’s a lot of warmth underneath,” she says. “That red can turn into orange, too, and those are the tones you need to sustain a beautiful, bright, natural-looking red.”
That means going red is possible without bleach — but only if your strands are virgin. “You can do a single process using permanent dye on virgin brunette hair and it would pick up the colour,” Jaxcee says. On strands that are super dark, she recommends using a 30-volume developer with a customised red colour mixture.
For clients looking to ease into ginger hair, Stephanie Brown, master colorist at IGK Salon, says not to rule out bleach altogether. “What I usually suggest is a full head of highlights all over with toned red on top to slowly change the colour,” she says. “So yes, you will be lifting the hair, but the damage would be minimal.”
The process isn’t the same for virgin vs. non-virgin hair.
If you’ve recently dabbled in other colours (like pastels or purple) and want to switch things up, going red won’t be as simple as a single process. “Color doesn’t lift colour, so in that case, the process might be a bit harsher,” Brown says.In extreme cases, dyeing your hair red could involve removing existing colour from the hair. “If someone who has done a double process wants to go red, a colour correction might be necessary,” Jaxcee says. “I would also usually add red and orange tones to the hair before putting additional colour on.”
That said, for people with non-virgin neutral-coloured hair (think: brown balayage and honey blonde highlights), Brown explains that you can still achieve copper red by adding more highlights followed by a gloss.
Prepare for more maintenance.
“When red fades, the changes are more noticeable than blonde and brunette colours,” Brown says. “The further away you stray from your natural hair colour, the more often you’ll have to be touched up, which is also why I suggest getting highlights — it blends better as your hair grows out.”If your red is single-process, Jaxcee suggests going into the salon every six to eight weeks for a touch-up. “Try not to let your new hair grow past an inch,” she says. “Once it goes beyond that, it can start to look uneven and your stylist may have to approach it as virgin service, which can also be more expensive.”
Invest in at-home care.
Because your red dye-job is prone to fast-fading and colour changing, adding protective products to your at-home regimen will keep your strands vibrant (and healthy) between salon visits. “Invest in a good colour-safe shampoo, conditioner, and at-home gloss,” Brown says. For shampoo and conditioner, she suggests R + Co’s Gemstone range, which will help preserve and enhance your colour. An at-home gloss, like this one from eSalon, will keep the brick hues in your hair bright.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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