Wednesday 7 March 2012

I've missed your ginger hair, and the way you like to dress.

It may come as a shock to you all, but I am not a natural redhead. I know. Who knew? Well, I get asked about my hair quite a lot though, so I thought I'd do a bit of a post about it.

My natural colour is a medium-dark brown, if you're curious (and don't remember). I've dyed my hair for pretty much all of my 20s, ever since I realised that first, flukeish grey hair at age 19 had multiplied. If I left my hair to its natural devices, I don't think I'd even be a quarter grey, but on the occasions I've left it a little long between dye jobs, those silvery strands are getting more and more noticeable (but don't cry for me, Argentina - I'd much rather be grey than bald!).

My favourite brown hair dye is Maple Syrup by Garnier Nutrisse, which fades to a really warm colour with auburn tones.


I was trying to go red for a while - subtly red - and the colours just weren't taking. My friend Rachel recommended I tried Schwarzkopf, saying it was 1) brilliant and 2) cheap, so I picked up this (on offer in Wilkinsons at £2 a box) and gave it a shot.


This colour is very vibrant - it doesn't look remotely natural, but I always quite liked that. It actually turned out that the colour my friend recommended wasn't the above, though (which was the shade I used for most of last year), but this one. I gave it a go. Why not?

It's a lot more plummy, but I was taken aback by its staying power. It didn't fade much at all, and it was only when my roots started to get ridic that I redyed.


Schwarzkopf is great because it's really cheap and often on offer in Wilkinsons. I flipping love Wilkinsons. I have long, thick hair, so I need two boxes - if you have long hair and are changing to a colour drastically different from your own, use two boxes or you'll end up with patchy colour. You can't really use TOO much dye.

I dye my hair about once a month. Fading combined with root regrowth means it becomes a necessity. I have bad roots here and here if you are thinking 'I have never noticed your roots before!'. You get a better result when you go professional, but box dyes are SO much cheaper. I know people who spend around £100 getting their hair dyed - the most I spend is around £10 for two boxes. And that's the PRICEY stuff.

On Elizabeth's recommendation, I also tried this colour. It was super vibrant, but I was starting to get sick of the unnatural reds. And this one... well.


After that, I got my hair dyed professionally - I had bleached strands woven through, so the copper colour came out really ginger. I was slightly horrified for the first day - it was much lighter than I anticipated - but then I realised how much I liked it. I didn't stick with it due to not having time to get to the hairdresser, and the roots came through SO obviously because it so much lighter than my natural colour, which I didn't like. Bloody roots! You ruin everything!


About a week before I'd got my hair dyed professionally, Amy and I stalked a girl at the Motel Blogger event and Amy found out the shade she used, so as soon as I re-dyed, I went for it. Funnily enough, Ellie uses this shade too - it's funny because Amy and I both see Ellie a lot, I'm surprised we didn't make the connection!

It's L'Oreal Mango - it looks orange on the bottle but it is the closest my hair has got to AUBURN, which is what I've always wanted. I really want my hair just to look naturally red, but it's incredibly hard to achieve. This is my favourite shade of box dye that I've used, and after the first couple of washes, it fades from being mad bright to a more Christina Hendricks shade.


Currently, I'm using Nice 'n' Easy Warm Auburn, which previously turned my hair a warm brown. But after making my hair be red for the last year and a half, it went ahead and stayed red. I think I might have reset myself to ginger.

I was debating re-embracing being brunette again, but whaddya know? I kind of like it red.


PS - A bunch of people have been doing sponsored posts about hairdye recently. Not me, I just really like talking about hair.
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22 comments

  1. red is so bloody hard to keep up but i love your ginger and the very last picture colour!

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    1. Funnily enough I think the brighter, faker reds are easier to maintain!

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  2. Haha I like this post, I've dyed my hair every colour under the sun but it has been bleach blonde a long time now. I actually really like every shade you've had, they're all quite different yet all really suit you!! :D

    http://www.rafflesbizarre.blogspot.com

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    1. I know, in my head my hair hasn't changed that much but looking back it really is. I can't believe how bright it was in the summer!

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  3. You are some sort of magic hair lady Sarah, how on Earth are you brunette in those first photos?! I always wanted an auburn tone to my hair, and no semblance of dye ever works in my hair. Also, you look so flippin' cute in that milkmaid braids photo. xxxxx

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    1. Seriously, I don't know why it used to come out so red in photos! Weird hair magic.

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  4. You really suit being ginger! Love it. x

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  5. I used to have bright red hair and the upkeep is so hard. Your more natural shade looks so pretty and I bet it isn't as stressful to keep up!
    You'd think this was your natural shade because it really suits you :)

    xx

    http://wearenouvellevague.blogspot.com/

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    1. Funnily enough the brighter colour was actually a little easier, the roots weren't as noticeable! I think I will go brown again this year, but I'm liking the colour at the moment. :) Yay for ginger!

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  6. I love being a redhead. It's actually closer to my natural colour than any other colour I have been!

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    1. I've really only been brunette and redheaded, should really be more adventurous! Being a redhead is awesome. I love your hair!

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  7. I do love the auburn-y colours on you, but the red from the Schwarzkopf Live Colour looks awesome on you too, love how bright it is!xxx

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    1. Aw thank you! I really don't remember it being SO bright but apparently it was!

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  8. I've recently goone from jet black to vibrant red. I love it but as it had to be stripped, my roots are now growing darker. I've decided to just use a box dye on my natural colour until I eventually have a head full of hair that's all the same shade! I agree, it's so hard to get right but well worth it!

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    1. I know, my roots are so bad since I had it pro-dyed and the colour fades on the roots really quickly. I should probably strip mine, there are so many different layered colours on there!

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  9. I love all the different shares of red you've tried out. Your current colour looks gorgeous - very Christina Hendricks! x

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    1. Aw, thank you! I adore Christina so that's high praise!

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  10. My hair is also brown but with auburn low-lights which turn ginger in Summer photos. I attempted professional dye job a few times and went proper orange - I may return to the boxes, all your shades look great.

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    1. Oh dear, unintentional orange is never good! Definitely depends on the brand but all the ones I recommended worked fine for me!

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  11. I've had my eye out for the Mango one since you mentioned it before., but haven't found it - where have you bought it from? I definitely want to go bright orange on my next dye (rather than just natural looking auburnish colour I have at the moment - Clairol perfect 10 in light auburn from wilkos too, also has great staying power after the first few washes).
    The professional dye does look gorgeous, but who has that much money? Not me anyway :(
    I'm definitely a ginger at heart too, there's no shame in that :D

    Rosie xx

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    1. Most places - Boots have it! BUT they have changed their packaging recently so look at the names. It does seem to take really well. I may try that Clairol one!

      I got lucky with the professional dye as a friend of mine did it on the cheap for me but still a lot more expensive than box dye!

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