I’ve got a shorter haircut now (it’s earlobe-length.) I was thinking about going black, but then someone suggested copper-red, like Feria red, and that would be kind of cool too. What do you people say?
P.S. Please no streaks or highlights. I want an out-of-the-box color that I don’t have to regularly pay a stylist every month to keep colored.
Why don’t you try one of the temoporary colors that wash out with your next shampoo, or a coloring mousse? I know that black is available in single use color. You could get some idea of how well you like it before you’re stuck with it.
Have fun and post before and after pics 
I think either the jet black or the copper red would be a good look, personally, based on your natural coloring. The one caveat I have about red hair dye is that it generally doesn’t last that long, if you apply it on top of darker hair. That having been said, I was a redhead for several years and loved it. It’s a fun color. (I’m now a bleached blonde.)
My niece did the feria red. It won’t work that well on hair as dark as yours. Hers is not as dark, and the red hardly showed. I imagine you are not planning to bleach that hair, since you plan to do it yourself. I agree with sandpiper, trying black with a temporary colour would be the best. You’re a pretty young lady, with that complexion you should look really dramatic in black.
FYI, if you do want to bleach your hair at home, just ask. I’ve done it several times now with no major problems, so I can probably provide some useful hints. MoodIndigo is right; if you don’t bleach first, the red is not going to be that dramatic on your hair, as it is already dark. My hair is naturally a light chestnut brown, and I sometimes had trouble getting red dye to appear correctly.
As a habitual hair colorer, I want to caution you against going with black, unless you know you’re reeeeaaallllly going to like it. For a long time. It’s hard to color over black, so you’ll have to just let it grow out once you are ready for something new.
And post an after pic once you decide!
Well, I recently bleached my hair (that was a BAD idea, bleaching suplies+alcohol=bouv’s hair wacked out in the morning) so I dyed it to a bronzish color. It looks pretty good, but then again, I’m a guy, so who knows.
For what it’s worth, I would stay away from black. Everytime a girl I know has dyed their hair black, it has looked awful (IMHO, anyways.) Actually, the red might look good, but as said you might want to bleach it first (and there are plenty of home-bleaching kits available, I don’t think they are pricey, but I really don’t know.)
Hmm…I’ve got a box of ‘purple haze’ coloring, you want that?
~Whatever you do, don’t dye it black… It never looks real…
well, it’s like this:
if you want a simple job, and you are a beginner, try a semi permenent color. you will have to go darker than your own. nothing "light’ will work, including red. theses semi perment colors tend to not look too natural, but sometimes thats the fun.
if you do have your heart set on red, then use a permenent color. it will give you better results. however, the nightmare come re-touch time. I have never been able to do this well on my own.
bad note: red can look brassy really fast.
black can be cool, in a goth chick way (which everyone will think). but it can be VERY overpowering. it drains the color from your face.
tell us, what effect are you looking for?
what color does your hair turn in the sun? blondish or reddish?
something fun?
something natural?
something crazy?
I think a pretty color would be something browinsh red.
keep in mind:
the hair samples you see almost NEVER look like that in real life.
your hair WILL be darker than intended for the first week or so.
I was a redhead for a long time and it was fun.
made mistakes a plenty, but that is part of the fun, I think.
good luck!
and do post pictures!
Your picture shows a brownish-red color. (who can tell with the local DMV) Go black and have some fun…
“Temporary” black dye will leave your hair darker (thought not necessarily black), permanently.
Don’t dye it black anyway. If you really have your heart set on black, pick a super-dark brown. It will look black, only real, not tacky.
Red fades. Fast. When it does start to fade, you can go to a salon and buy something called red kicker, or a conditioner specifically for red hair, and it will brighten it without actually dying it again. Or you can buy a tub of red manic panic, mix a teaspoon of that with however much conditioner you usually use, and throw that on - same deal.
Hm… as for my opinion, I say go dark coppery red without any purple tones. And buy more than one box, one is never enough. Revlon makes a line of dye that’s just reds… I can’t remember what it’s called, but I like it a lot. Comes in a big red box. Good luck
If you’re looking for punky red, bleach and use Special Effects. They tend to last longer than Manic Panic, which will fade after a week. I think you can get it at Hot Topics.
If you want to go black, I’d go dark blue. Gives it a bit more sheen than black, which ends up looking flat. And a flat dye job on people with straight hair makes the hair look limp and stringy. So if you DO want the dramatics of black, I’d go with a dark purple or blue.
Either way, get a girlfriend to do the actual bleaching, if you decide to do that. It is terribly hard to see the back of your head well enough to bleach evenly.
Good luck.
I just did mine tonight. For years I was a Feria Chocolate Cherry. I will miss all the compliments I received. (Vain? I am not vain). However, my natural color is a very dark brown-black, and that’s what I went back to. And the color matches my eyebrows.
As you look like you have quite a bit of red highlights, you could go a medium auburn,perhaps. I would not suggest going black, IMHO it would make you look rather pale and pasty, but, it’s your hair. Do what makes YOU happy.
I was trying to go for something that looked fairly natural. I don’t want my real color to get darker - btw, how can black dye permanently change the color of your hair? Aren’t your roots genetically coded to produce a certain color of hair? The super-dark brown sounds like a good idea. 'Sides, I think my mom’s got some dark brown mousse in the bathroom.
I’ll hit the drugstore tomorrow - it’s midnight where I live.
until it grows out, that is.
Well, the hair you put it on will permanently change. Meaning, it’s not a “throw it on and 24 shampoos later your hair is exactly how it was before” thing.
And if you do go for red, DON’T bleach it out and then dye it (unless you’re using something that specifically says so) or it will turn a hideous pink-orange color. If you pick a dye that is lighter than your natural color, it will lighten it a shade or two or three. If you want it any lighter than that you need to go to a salon.
I want to know what you pick!
For anyone who might care - my hair has been bright red for most of about three years now… I used manic panic for a while because they’re the only ones that make the exact shade I like, but you’re right, it doesn’t last long at all. Some of their colors are better than others, though. I finally switched to fudge brand (which I think is probably the best aside from professional stuff) because I got sick of having to re-do it every two weeks, especially since right after dying it, practically everything you touch turns red (especially pillows).
