So, I've been obsessed lately with being a redhead. I'm a brunette normally, and last year I wanted to be as light as brunette as possible without going blonde. This year: its RED. I want like Ariel Little Mermaid red. A good friend, who like me has been altering her hair color for many years, suggested I try Color Brilliance Brights by Ion. Its semi-permanent, and requires no mixing of developer or any of that jazz. Its also ammonia free, so you can store it if you don't use the whole tube, and its also not hell on your hair.
This was my first attempt:Not so bad, considering its just going on top of mostly natural hair. But I definitely missed a huge swath right on the side, and it washed out pretty quick. It was bright, for sure, but not quite the red I was looking for.
My friend agreed to help me. We decided to lighten the roots, and then put lightener through the rest of my hair to help it blend (since it was previously lightened back when I had a professional taking care of this). We ended up pretty much bleaching the roots to blonde, and the rest to a lighter brown. My poor hair. So dry and fried.... But behold! Getting closer. It was pretty pink on the top, fading to exactly the shade of red I wanted on the bottom. But... motherfucking dye washed out EVEN FASTER. Within a week, the blonde bits on top were peeking out.
It always looked worse in my head than it actually did, but it was very annoying. Especially since apparently my hair grows at the speed of LIGHT and my nice dark brown roots were starting to show. Even more so now as I write this, three weeks later. So I took matters into my own hands. My friend had trouble getting two tubes of the straight red dye to get all the way through my hair. So, I bought two tubes of the straight red, and then a bottle of a more natural red from a different line of Ion colors to mix with it.
Well! I FINALLY got closer to that rich firey red that I wanted. This image is just after rinsing (and turning my shower into something resembling a murder scene). It was very pretty. And I was very happy. It was still a bit pink on top (due to the bleach halo I will soon have around my head as it grows out), but I can tweak the formula enough to make it happen. 
Well, I've started washing only every other day. And i redid this hair once about five days after I did it, and haven't redone it since (so, I'm on 11 days, maybe 4-5 washes?) And this is what it looks like today. See all that lovely bleachy blonde? Ugh. For all that, it doesnt' look that bad when I wear it down. And in sunlight it blends very nicely. But this red... man, it just WILL NOT stay in!
It might be time for this gal to bite the bullet and just pay somebody to fix all the mess that it currently is. Or I might bleach the shit out of all of it and go for blue. I've always wanted to have blue hair, just for a bit. And I feel like before I turn 30 is the time to do that. But I fear the bleach.... my poor hair... :)
So, I guess my review of the Ion Color Brilliance Brights is.... yeah, they look freaking great for about two days. Then shit washes out. And fades. I mean, I was leaving this stuff in for like an hour at a time in hopes of making it stay in for longer. AND I used their color sealant, AND color sealing moisturizing treatment afterwards. I washed it this morning, there was still color coming off. And I use color safe shampoo and conditioner. So, as much as I'd like to do a blue with the same stuff, I fear that I'd just end up blondish-gray after a week. I'm used to hair dye not holding in my hair. Its always been that way. But... a noticeable difference after each wash? Seems a little ridiculous. It is super easy to use, and comes off your skin pretty easily, with a little scrubbing, and its not harmful to hair really, since its ammonia free. So, I guess I hesitantly recommend it, if you don't mind weekly touchups.
Went to IMATS. Did not plan for it well, and so I pretty much bought anything and everything that caught my eye. Eesh. I was pretty broke for a while, ha ha. I have pictures ready... just haven't posted them yet. In the process of moving from my apartment into a house, so haven't had a lot of time. I will post them as soon as I can.
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