Question:
Hi, I have blonde hair (medium, natural), which I have always lightend.
Recently I decided to go brown. I went to the hairdressers and they dyed it a red / brown. She told me when I do it myself not to go darker than a level 5. It was a semi, actually 2 semis.
Anyway, I recently did my own semi (Napro - chesnut) and it did not even darken my roots.
Any tips? Was the Chesnut not dark enough? Is there any products you can use to disguise the blonde roots? What are some good brands of semis for chocolate brown / red brown?
Thanks for the comments.

Answer:
its probably because supermarket/packet semis are poo! they wont take to the blonde properly. you probably need something more than a semi. i get a demi (dont know what that is tho haha)
i always go to the hairdresser to get my brown redone.
ok im not much help yeah?

Answer:
I wouldn't do it yourself, go back to the hairdresser, it's not worth the pain, time and effort. Also, please don't use a permanent because if you end up not liking it and wanting to go light, it's the most arduous horrible process.

Answer:
when i used to go brown i used light mocha, can't remember the brand but there are many raves on here
ETA: it was loreal castings

Answer:
Loreal Castings: Light Mocha

Answer:
when I first went darker I used a semi filler then loreal castings on top of that. I never had a problem, it will be darker at first as its a tone on tone hair dye.

Answer:
i was a natural blonde (got highlights to help it along )
and i have coloured my hair myself to brown. its easy & can be done without your hairdresser - you just need to do test on strands somewhere thats not too obvious (like the bottom back hair).
this is my hair blonde (about 18 months ago):
http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...t=blonde-1.jpg
i then went a light ash brown colour - that turned out like this:
http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...nt=brown-1.jpg
i achieved that color by using a red filler first - its a mouse (semi permanent) which is soooo easy to put in your hair (no drips) called Goldwell colarnace in shade Mahogany or sometimes i used the colour copper gold.
then to achieve that ash brown colour i used Country colours (65 highlands chestnut).
im now alot darker:
http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...nt=brown-2.jpg
im currently using L'oreal color Castings - i cant rave enough about how fantastic their colour range is - makes your hair really shiny & soft to touch.
hope this helps. you can do it yourself without going green
good luck!


Answer:
Thanks for the replies!
Ms Chi Chi, all the colours you have done, look fantastic!
Today I bought 2 colour castings, one mahogony and one light mocha.
Ms Chi Chi, is one packet enough for your hair? I have hair that sits on my shoulders but is thick and wavy.

Answer:
Your hair looks really healthy Ms Chi Chi!!!

Answer:
Originally Posted by shell68 Thanks for the replies!
Ms Chi Chi, all the colours you have done, look fantastic!
Today I bought 2 colour castings, one mahogony and one light mocha.
Ms Chi Chi, is one packet enough for your hair? I have hair that sits on my shoulders but is thick and wavy.
one packet should be fine - your hair should be damp so that helps 'further' the colour.
do a test patch - i know its time consuming but it will avoid horror stories.
are you going to put in a red filler? the very first time i did it i didnt put a red filler in & it had a very faint green tinge to it but i quickly fixed that up by throwing on red semi permanant mousse, washed it out & viola it was perfect.
good luck with it & let us know how it goes