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- Dark auburn hair color
My hair color has been all over the place since I was five and made my mom use Sun In on me. I’ve been ultra dark, blondish, auburn, red and blonde, bright red, ombre red auburn, etc. etc. I’m currently doing dark warm red. It’s easy to maintain at this point, bright, and flattering (I think). Finally, I have gotten to a point where I am very happy with my hair color. It has taken a long time for me to get here!
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- photo from Google
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- photo from Google
I’m a big fan of DIY hair color, but that came with many years of trial and error. I would suggest that novices go to a professional. That also goes for anytime someone wants to lighten their hair. SAY NO TO DIY BLEACH. If you are just depositing color, it’s (relatively) simple. Something that really helped me color with less mistakes was learning what level of developer to use and about hair color levels. I have found that if I go higher than 20 near my scalp I end up with “hot roots”. Youtube videos are another helpful teaching tool. Below are the main products I use to go from brown to red/auburn/dark red.
L’oreal Mega Reds MR3, MR4, MR5, MR6, MR7, MR8 // They are all pretty interchangeable so I just pick and choose the base colors I want for my hair at that moment. Right now I go for golden, red, and orange tones. I used to love L’oreal Mega Browns because they have some beautiful violet auburn colors, but I switched to warm tones based on the idea that- my hair wants to fade and go brassy warm orange, why fight it? I use Mega Reds on my roots and my brows with a 10 to 20 level developer. When I want to go darker auburn, I apply this to my whole head. If you are scared to do your roots at home, check out this video. it is a great reference guide and I use the same technique.
Goldwell Elumen KK, GK, RR // This product is how you get intense hair color without fading. My hairdresser used this on me once so I went on Amazon and ordered it myself to save some cash. It lasts about three months! If you color your hair red you know how unheard of that is. I only wash my hair one or two times per week with cold water so that also contributes to the staying power. Goldwell Elumen will not stick to “virgin hair” so I always have processed roots when I use this to avoid bright hair with mousey brown roots. My ideal combo is a lot of KK, a lot of GK, and a smidge of RR. RR alone looks bright pink on me. TIP: Buy the Goldwell Elumen Clean if you want to try the dye. It is the only way to remove it from skin.
Wella Color Charm 8RG Titan Red Blonde // When I have faded hair and am not ready to re- apply Goldwell but I want to amp up my faded red ends, I really like this strawberry blonde shade. It is almost like a nice glaze to make all the colors in my hair more seamless without darkening it. This post shows how it looks with a fresh dye job of Wella 8RG.
Loreal HiColor Highlights for Dark Hair in Red, Copper // Use this wisely. If you have dark hair, it will transform you to fire bright red. This will REALLY give you hot roots though. I no longer use this because I am more of a dark red now, but when I was going bright and needed to refresh my roots, this was the key.
If someone were to ask me how to get the current dark auburn shade of my hair, I would tell them to start with L’oreal Mega Reds all over their head, then wait a few days/ week and go in with Goldwell Elumen.
Maintenance
Most days I use Kirkland Moisture shampoo. This is a color safe shampoo that is rumored to be a dupe for Pureology for only $12 (at Costco). The conditioner version of this is great too. Once or twice per month I go in with Jersey Bounce shampoo from Lush. This is not the most color safe, so I use it sparingly, but I love the shine and squeaky clean feeling it gives me. Paul Mitchell Strength is my all time favorite conditioner. It gives shine and strength to my ultra- dry ends. Whenever I start using this, I feel like I can go longer in between haircuts, which is helpful for my wallet. I pick this up at Ulta when the large bottles are on sale. After I get out of the shower and my hair is damp I coat it with a nice layer of Biolage Keratindose spray to add protection. I talked more about the hair products I love for styling my hair in a post from this summer.
Purchase dyes here- Goldwell Elumen, Loreal Mega Reds, Loreal Hicolor , Wella Color Charm
If you have any questions I am certainly no expert, but am happy to share my hair coloring experience.
Another hair post: Tips for healthy long hair
-Kim
I’ve been coloring my hair since I was 18 (I’m 42 now). I’m a natural brunette but I’ve done blonde, auburn, burgundy, flame red, black, purple/black… and a bunch of other colors I can’t remember. I’ve been doing medium reddish brown for about 4 years now and I like it. Red is tricky to maintain since it fades so fast. But I like having some red in my hair. I LOVE your color.
Thank you! 🙂 People give natural redheads crap sometimes and I have never understood it.
I love red hair.
Girl you pull off red like a pro! I love all of these tips 🙂
<3 so sweet of you thank you!!
Holy cow, you are a beauty!😍💎 You go girl! Great post.
I’d love it if you checked out my blog: https://emilyryannblogblog.wordpress.com/
Auburn encompasses the color maroon , but so too do chestnut and burgundy . In contrast with the two, auburn is more red in color, while chestnut is more brown, and burgundy is more purple ; chestnut hair is also often referred to as “chestnut-brown”.
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So I used hicolor and I got hot roots, how do I now fix this?!? Lol
oh no! I’d look into some youtube videos about fixing it. You’ll need to darken that area w. a low level developer and dye to deposit color rather than lift it. Essentially you’ve bleached your roots.
Hi, so I’m obsessed with the color you’ve gotten but I’ve only ever box dyed my hair 😬 I’m a little intimidated.
Right now my hair is a dark brown, almost black. My thoughts were to start with mega reds mr6. So I would color my entire head 1st? Then after a week I mix equal parts goldwell elumen kk&GK with just a smidge of rr? And put that on my whole head?
**I want to get as close to the color above as possible so is mr6 a good choice to start with?
Hi! If you’ve box dyed, I’d start with removing that color first w. color oops or an alternative. Next, lift the color. Hicolor at Sally’s is great, but make sure you don’t get hot roots. I’d watch some “black to red” videos on YouTube for more help or go to a professional 😊
You’re beautiful! Love this post!
I’m going to try. I have some blonde highlights remaining in my hair that are quite grown out (I have huge big dark roots). The bleach has destroyed my hair for decades now and I just want to get back to “my roots” so to speak… I have a natural red undertone (and my hair is VERY dark brown, naturally)…I don’t like brassy or yellow blond tones so I have to over-process my hair to be the ‘right’, more ashy blonde. I’m going to try your red concoction! I’ve been a rainbow of colours and I haven’t gone back to red in YEARS! It’s time! Do you have any thoughts about the variance the colour may have on the blonde parts of my hair? Seeing as I’m two-toned at the moment (with the pre-existing, grown out, blonde highlights)? Thanks for your help 🙂 I wish I could pay you to do this for me lol!
Color depositing gloss ike DpHue or Kristen Ess, or low volume developer + semi permanent dye. Going to a salon may be best for your first round of red, then you can upkeep at home ☺️