Attention all box dye enthusiasts! I have literally been coloring my hair for 11 years and I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to figure this out. If you are coloring your hair the same shade as your natural hair color or darker, you should only be using temporary hair dye. Permanent box dyes contain oxidizers (i.e. hydrogen peroxide) and ammonia, which actually lighten your hair. This sucks for darker hair for two reasons:
1) It’s hella damaging, and everyone knows that dry, damaged hair is gross.
2) Your base color will actually be lightened, so your hair will fade much faster.
They contain a ton of this oxidizing agent and ammonia because they are supposed to work on all hair colors. My hair is fine and prone to breakage as it is. I used to use permanent hair dye ever 4-6 weeks all over my strands to counteract fading, and my hair was literally fried.
I’ve been using this Natural Instincts dye for the past 3 months and I can already see a difference in the new growth. It’s not breaking off and frizzing as easily, and the color stays a much more vibrant auburn. I keep it on a few minutes longer than the directions call for, since red hair is super finicky.
This particular dye lasts for 28 shampoos. Seriously, though, how long does it take you to get through 28 shampoos? Like, a year? I’ve been touching up every 4-6 weeks and I haven’t seen nearly the amount of fading that I used to. Which is great because nothing is as gross to me as faded red hair!
Check out that fresh 2 death dye job.
Also, can you tell I got a new camera?! I bought a Nikon D3200 for myself for Christmas and I’m in love.
