Hair dye for naturally black asian hair

I have pitch black thick wavy asian hair (has been chemically straightened & trying to grow it out atm!).

For the holidays I want to do something fun and am contemplating dying my hair cherry red/purple, but I'm a hair dye n00b and am not sure whether it'll even show up on my hair. It doesn't need to show brightly, as long as you can at least see the colour LOL. As I have chemically straightened my hair before, I DON'T want to bleach my hair.

So yaah, can you give me advice? If you have pitch black hair like me, where people say it looks like i've dyed my hair black LOL, then that would be even better if you could give me your experiences with dying your hair

Here are a couple of photos of my hair in indoor lighting. Might upload photos of my hair in outdoor lighting but mehh, no point really.

i have similar hair!!

i wanted to get highlights so i went to a hairdressers in hong kong

and they were like ' we'll never get any colour in that' so they suggested to dye my full hair a base colour and then apply the highlights on top.

but my mum was like no so they did something else.

i think they applied hella lot of treatment in my hair (lots of chemicals) and then applied the highlights and i had to sit under that big round thing (not sure whats its called) for ages and they had to get the hairdryer out to make sure it was hot enough

and then after a cruleing day in the salon my hair came out really nice

anyways what im suggesting is go to an asian salon.

they know asian hair the best and know how to dye it the best. cause lets face it our hair is different to other races. and talk to them about how youve chemically straigthen it (which i dnt understand, dont asians have naturally straight hair?)

or since your growing it out. id say let it grow out and cut the dead ends and start fresh!

hope ive been of some help

Haha I had the same problem earlier this year, but I've been using Japanese coloring brands such as Palty to dye my naturally black Asian hair, and it worked! My hair is now a light shade of brown, so if you want a lighter color, try the blonde pigments and it'll turn out brown or lighter brown if you leave it in longer. Most Asian supermarkets, especially Korean or Japanese have do-it-yourself hair dye that works primarily on Asian hair. If not, you can always go to an Asian hair salon(search on www.yelp.com for the nearest location and ratings/reviews by locals) and have them dye it for you. It might be expensive as it ranges from $30-60, considering the do-it-yourself dye kit costs less than $10. Hope this helps!

M... If you're looking for something really temporary then you could try buying the temporary dye stuff that washes out with water... or you could buy clip on hair extensions. Other than that though it's unlikely that even the tint would show up even if you dye it. :/ I don't know for sure though since I haven't tried- I had to bleach my hair for my purple streaks to show up, and my hair's also naturally really really dark. xD

It's impossible to lighten your hair color by dying it, you have to bleach it first. But, if you do it right, it'll probably be less damaging than you think.

The "bleach" that is found in hair dye is really hydrogen peroxide. They come in different volumes. If you don't want a lot of damage, I would get the 20 vol developer, you can find it from Sally's. The box hair dye that you find in drugstores have hydrogen peroxide in them already, especially the ones made for people with dark hair tend to have 30 vol or higher. So, if you want to dye your hair red/purple and you are worried about hair damage, you are better off mixing your own. Just find the hair dye in the color that you want, and add a 20 vol developer to it. It will lighten your hair just enough to let some of the color show through.

I think the reason Palty ends up working for people is because it has more hydrogen peroxide in it to start. I'm not sure where I read that, but that's what I've heard.

At any rate, I'm not sure you can just "dye" your hair a red or purple color (I assume you mean like...cherry red and not natural red). If you just want a hint of red or purple, that is more possible but it will fade out pretty quickly.

ladyivorypale is exactly right, most box dyes already come with hydrogen peroxide to lift your color. If you are a complete hair noob, and most of us are, I'm not sure you want to mix your own dyes though. That's why the people who put together the box dyes give you exact amounts to mix together

Box color can and will show up on dark hair. Depending on what you pick, box color can lift your hair color up to 4 levels lighter, which a lot of people don't seem to realize. My previous hairdresser told me otherwise, since I had dyed my hair a darker brown earlier this summer. When I said I wanted to go lighter, she said there was no way to get a lighter color over a DYED darker color. After a long discussion with another cosmetologist, and some experimenting, I've found that this is not true I got a box of medium natural blonde, and my black roots and previously darker brown hair are all now a nice, medium brown shade. If you'd like to see pictures, PM me. I've been too lazy to put them up on the hair dye thread. xD The trick is to pick a box lighter than what you want. If you want it less noticeable, go for a color closer to your hair color. If you go too close, it won't show up.

well I just dyed my hair the other day.

I'm quite sure my hair was like you.

and I went like 3/4 level lighter without Bleaching.

And it works, my hair color is completely different now.

I think my hair color was a 9, then I changed it to a 5.

(I'm guessing the numbers are color coded)

but I don't know, the charts in this site:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_sXI8Dr0DFV0/STRLk3d8...hart%5B5%5D.jpg

seems different. Teh chart they showed me has 9 as the darkest color, and in here it's 1 as the darkest =/

Anyways from that chart, I dyed it to a level 7 ish from 2, or 1..... think it's 1.

And the color did show.

My hairdresser said that it also depends on your hair.. some hair will take the color and some wont (hence making it darker than the actual color)

meh I dunno, I'm a noob as well, just thought I would share something

anyways what im suggesting is go to an asian salon.

they know asian hair the best and know how to dye it the best. cause lets face it our hair is different to other races. and talk to them about how youve chemically straigthen it (which i dnt understand, dont asians have naturally straight hair?)

hope ive been of some help

Naw, my ends flick out a lot .

It's natural, I get waves a lot when I grow it out as well .

But most asians do have straight hair, naturally .

Is your hair "virgin" - free of chemicals? If so, I think you can get away without pre-lightening. Just head to Sally's and grab a bottle of level 4RV (red violet) and 20 volume developer. Since your hair is black, 30 volume might be more effective, just check in with one of the employees. They usually know what they're talking about.

i have similar hair!!

i wanted to get highlights so i went to a hairdressers in hong kong

and they were like ' we'll never get any colour in that' so they suggested to dye my full hair a base colour and then apply the highlights on top.

but my mum was like no so they did something else.

i think they applied hella lot of treatment in my hair (lots of chemicals) and then applied the highlights and i had to sit under that big round thing (not sure whats its called) for ages and they had to get the hairdryer out to make sure it was hot enough

and then after a cruleing day in the salon my hair came out really nice

anyways what im suggesting is go to an asian salon.

they know asian hair the best and know how to dye it the best. cause lets face it our hair is different to other races. and talk to them about how youve chemically straigthen it (which i dnt understand, dont asians have naturally straight hair?)

or since your growing it out. id say let it grow out and cut the dead ends and start fresh!

hope ive been of some help

I'm thinking, your salon in HK tried to rip you and your mum off. I've got highlights (in Shanghai) about 4 times now (in the last like, 6 years), and my hair is the same chinese shiny dark black. They probably could get colour in, they just either 1) Couldn't do it using cheap products 2) Didn't want to. =_______= But yeah, the longest day I had was 6 hours. SIX FREAKING HOURS FOR HIGHLIGHTS. The hairdresser decided it'd look nicer to highlight individual strands as opposed to chunks for a more 'natural' look. I nearly died.

Anyway, to the original poster. Unless you use, like as other people have said, hydroge peroxide or some other type of bleaching agent, your hair isn't going to do anything like, at all. Your best bet since you're a self proclaimed noob, is to go to an Asian hair salon. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Box color can and will show up on dark hair. Depending on what you pick, box color can lift your hair color up to 4 levels lighter, which a lot of people don't seem to realize. My previous hairdresser told me otherwise, since I had dyed my hair a darker brown earlier this summer. When I said I wanted to go lighter, she said there was no way to get a lighter color over a DYED darker color. After a long discussion with another cosmetologist, and some experimenting, I've found that this is not true I got a box of medium natural blonde, and my black roots and previously darker brown hair are all now a nice, medium brown shade. If you'd like to see pictures, PM me. I've been too lazy to put them up on the hair dye thread. xD The trick is to pick a box lighter than what you want. If you want it less noticeable, go for a color closer to your hair color. If you go too close, it won't show up.

Thank you! I think I'll try that !

palty,

it's made for hair thats asain, or already really dark... but you might need more than one box ... D:

2 boxes for medium length hair (:

WAIT, but the instructions are japanese ... so...

go watch youtube videos for english instructions (:

I've had two years (back in the ol' days) of trying out stuff to get purple hair lol. I recommend you Palty if you still want to keep a certain "natural" tone to your hair (like a brown/mauve when you mean purple). If you mean it when you say you want something fun (and perhaps shocking) like a nice vibrant purple or intense cherry red, you really should go to a salon, not that I'm saying you CAN'T find any good product, it's just that it can be a mess separating your hair and making sure your highlights is well defined...

Also, since it's going to be your first time, and based on the pics, you have rather "thick" hair, I think you shouldn't expect too much from the first try since it can be tricky. The first time I dyed didn't turn good enough because my hair is stubborn Good luck!

If you go to Sally's Beauty Supply, they have a hair dye that's specially made for dark hair. I think the brand is Loreal.

Hey everyone, I'm new to Soompi. I clicked "new topic" but nothing happened. So I'm going to ask my question here haha.

To anyone who has used Loreal hair dye in hopes of getting a dark red color?

I have virgin, really black hair. I'm contemplating on the following shades. Which one worked?

1)L'Oreal Feria Multi-Faceted Shimmering Colour 3X Highlights Permanent Haircolour Gel 74 Copper Shimmer - Deep Copper (I read really good reviews about this one.. but Idk if they were from an asian girl or not lol)

2)L'Oreal Feria Hair Color - Ruby Fusion 66

3)L'oreal Paris: Superior Preference Intense Dark Red Rr04 Haircolor, 1 kt

How long should I leave the dye in for?

Please help if you had have experience with Loreal Hair Dye.

If anyone has pictures, that would be helpful too!

^ wow i just posted a topic about this too getting red hair from black hair haha and im talking to someone who's done the developer thing before.. http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=324890

you guys, dying your hair from natural black to a shade like red is very very difficult without bleach or pre-lightening. red is a dark colour so putting a dark shade on top of another dark shade won't really show up. if it does, it will not be a true red shade.. probably more like a brown with a reddish tint since that's what black and red looks like mixed together. your hairdresser will tell you the same. seeing as you seem to have very long and thick black hair, i'd recommend you go to the salon if you really want to dye your hair. just tell them to use a gentler type of dye. but note that gentler dyes also wash out faster.. within 1-2 weeks. also i really wouldn't worry too much about bleaching... if your hair is still really thick after straightening, it can take a little bit of damage. good luck!

^ wow i just posted a topic about this too getting red hair from black hair haha and im talking to someone who's done the developer thing before.. http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=324890

Haha yeah, you messaged too.

Hey everyone.

Question about L'Oreal Hair Dye?

Which shade seems like it would get me at least red undertones?

I have black hair. I'm not going to lighten my hair beforehand.

1) L'Oreal Feria 74 Copper Shimmer- Deep Copper

2) L'Oreal Preference Lightest Auburn 7La

it's definitely possible to get lighter hair from virgin black hair!!!

dont bleach!!! the dye is already damaging enough but the texture of my hair is the same as before. the conditioner that feria comes with is really nice

i have below shoulder length hair that's really thick as well

i used

on black virgin hair and it came out pretty close to the box; i left it on for 40 minutes though, thinking that there was no way i was going to get red bc my hair was virgin black. i think ~25 mins wouldve been perfect.

it was too red for me so i dyed it back a soft black i would consider doing highlights though

if it's your first time, definitely get someone to do it for you!!

but then again, everyone's hair is different. one of my friends has dyed her hair before, she dyed it a burgundy and you could barely see anything.

it's definitely possible to get lighter hair from virgin black hair!!!

dont bleach!!! the dye is already damaging enough but the texture of my hair is the same as before. the conditioner that feria comes with is really nice

i have below shoulder length hair that's really thick as well

i used

on black virgin hair and it came out pretty close to the box; i left it on for 40 minutes though, thinking that there was no way i was going to get red bc my hair was virgin black. i think ~25 mins wouldve been perfect.

it was too red for me so i dyed it back a soft black i would consider doing highlights though

if it's your first time, definitely get someone to do it for you!!

but then again, everyone's hair is different. one of my friends has dyed her hair before, she dyed it a burgundy and you could barely see anything.

that's awesome to hear! Hopefully when I get to doing it, it'll work for me :3