Some questions from a guy who has never dyed his hair about dying his hair

Factual Questions
1

In this thread I mentioned that I am trying to go from my natural color (light blonde) to gray for a stage play in which I play somebody 25 years older than I am IRL. A suggestion from a Doper and from a couple of co-stars is to dye my real hair a darker shade and THEN try to gray it (trying to gray blonde hair doesn’t give much contrast unless you use 8 lbs. of product) so I’m considering doing this. (To be honest I’ve always wanted to see what I’d look like with a different hair color anyway as a matter of curiosity).

When it comes to hair dyes and most other cosmetics, I am a stranger in a strange land, so I have a few questions that may be stupid but I still need answered. My appreciation for any help.

  1. There are hair dyes for women and hair dyes for men. The ones for men are more expensive. Hair is pretty much hair, I thought- is there any difference in the dyes or is it just marketing (i.e. should I go with the dyes for men or just by the cheaper Ms. Clairol stuff)?

  2. If I dye my hair then I want to go from my own medium-light blonde to a darker brown. (Too dark wouldn’t look very natural.) When selecting a dye, does the current color of my hair matter?

  3. How do I dye my goatee and brows without dying the skin?

  4. How long do most dyes last? (Since I’m male I can alway buzzcut my head if it looks too bad when the blonde roots come in.)

  5. Are gray hair dyes sold?

  6. Does anybody know how long I should wait after dying my hair before frosting/graying my hair for the play? Could there be a bad reaction?

Thanks for any info,

J

2

  1. Buy male-specific products. Don’t be a wuss. (Actually, I think there is some difference, but what it is I don’t know.)

  2. Current hair color doesn’t matter.

  3. Use specific dye for your beard and brows. I use “Just For Men” to keep the gray out of my goat, and it works just fine. No skin coloration at all.

  4. I find that the dye tends to fade after a couple of weeks or so. Not a lot, but some. Buzzcut is the solution to that problem. :smiley:

  5. Not that I have ever seen. Little call for them outside to the theater industry.

  6. 24 hours? Let it set overnight at least, just to be sure.

3

Ahhhh, you are lucky to have been blessed with a canvas (i.e.: your hair) that is super easy to work with. Light hair is the best for dyeing. I have really dark redidsh brown hair which, with age, is turning almost balck. Dyeing my hair with a DIY kit is a waste of money since the results shown on the box are practically unacheivable for me. Anyway, 'nuff about me!

So, as far as a women’s hair dye vs a men’s hair dye, IMHO, it’s all marketting. What’ll happen I think is that in womens’ kits, there is likely to be more product to begin with since women tend to have longer hair than men. So go with a women’s hair dye kit (an added bonus is that you’ll have more colours to chose from).

As for your beard problem, I’d use a “Just for Men” kit for facial hair. They make kits especially for beards. Try and select it a shade or 2 darker than the colour you’ll chose for your hair. Facial hair usually is darker than hair hair, and you’ll have an easier time “Graying” your beard too if it’s darker (I mean, it’ll show more).

So now you’re all set, and you only need to pick a colour. You said your hair is medium blonde? If you have golden undertones, try and get a brown that is golden too (so no ash browns). My golden haired friend used an ash dye once and she ended up with dull greenish undertones. Alternatively, if your hair is more ashy to begin with, try and stick with an ashy brown. Otherwise, the golden from the dye will end up brassy. Same goes for copper or reddish hair (just replace “golden” with “copper”).

If you’ve got the moolah, maybe try and go to a salon. They’ll know more than I do on this subject. I am only speaking from experience on me and friends (IANA hairdresser).

4

Actually, it does. It’s less of an issue when you’re going from lighter to darker, as in our friend’s case here, but it’s something to consider nonetheless. You don’t want to mix apples and oranges and go with an ash brown when you’ve got golden blonde hair, in my experience at least.

Hair colour of origin has everything to do with it when you’re like me and have really dark reddish hair. And it plays an even bigger role (no pun intended) if you’ve got hair colour already in your hair. Results in a DIY kit only take into account natural hair colour and results may or may not work on already dyed hair. Or worst, the dye works, only to give you a colour that is totally different from the nice lady (or dude) on the box. Read the fine print on the side of the box where they show hair colour swatches.

I looked at your picture that you linked. I think you can get away with getting a medium golden brown dye. Do a strand test before to make sure you like it though.

PJ

5

Q 1. There are hair dyes for women and hair dyes for men. The ones for men are more expensive. Hair is pretty much hair, I thought- is there any difference in the dyes or is it just marketing (i.e. should I go with the dyes for men or just by the cheaper Ms. Clairol stuff)?

A Many of the women’s “dyes” are permanent. I don’t think you want that. For a base you’d want a temporary dye or one that that is labeled: “covers gray”.
Q 2. If I dye my hair then I want to go from my own medium-light blonde to a darker brown. (Too dark wouldn’t look very natural.) When selecting a dye, does the current color of my hair matter?

A For a temporary dye, if you are going darker, no.
Q 3. How do I dye my goatee and brows without dying the skin?

A I think there are specific products on the market which will do this. You can also do this with regular products, you just have to be careful in your application.
Q 4. How long do most dyes last? (Since I’m male I can alway buzzcut my head if it looks too bad when the blonde roots come in.)

A It really depends widely on what you’re using.
Q 5. Are gray hair dyes sold?

A No, beyond the “frosting” you mention below. Gray is the effect of strands of hair without color interspersed with regular hair. A gray hair isn’t really gray, it’s white.
The only difference between “gray” and platinum blond, is the texture and stiffness of the hair.
Q 6. Does anybody know how long I should wait after dying my hair before frosting/graying my hair for the play? Could there be a bad reaction?

A If you dye your hair dark and then coat it with a whitish spray there is no problem unless you have allergies or sensitivities.

I thought most stage actors use a temporary spray-on color for their hair, not a dye. In other words, you would spray on a coating of color to cover your natural color, instead of “dyeing” the shaft of the hair. It washes out in one shampoo. You can find this stuff in a costume shop and sometimes in the drugstore.

If you want a more permanent darker base, use a shampoo-in temporary dye (“covers gray”) which partially penetrates the hair shaft, and then spray on a gray or white coating.

At any rate you would never “dye” your hair gray in the real sense, because that would mean making individual strands completely white, an arduous process for your purposes.
Why don’t you ask your fellow actors what they use?