“People who haven’t red hair don’t know what trouble is.” – Anne of Green Gables
Out of all of the questions people ask me, I get more questions about my hair than anything else. I definitely don’t mind, because I know first-hand that the internet is the best place to get personal reviews and suggestions for products, techniques, and everything else. So for those of you looking to go red, here are the products that I use!
1. Clairol Professional Dye
Though I alternate between shades, I most frequently use Clairol Torrids “Audacious Red” for a vibrant, red-orangey shade or Reddest Fire Red for a darker (but still red-orange) color. I wouldn’t recommend buying the dyes online; if you visit a beauty store in person (my go-to shop is Sally’s), you can pick out the shade you want based on swatches. In the end, the best shade for you depends on your natural hair color and what sort of shade you’re trying to achieve. The only thing I can stress here is that professional dyes (such as Clairol’s) are fairly easy to use and will ALWAYS produce a much more consistent color than box dyes. After many years of hair-dyeing, I have never had luck with box dyes and will never touch them again, even if using professional dye is slightly more tedious (you have to brush it in rather than shampooing it).
2. Clairol Pure White Cream Developer
If you use professional dye, you also need to buy developer with which to mix it. The volume of the developer that you’ll require also depends on your starting color and your desired color. Usually at a beauty store, the sales assistants can recommend which one you should use. Regardless of what volume you choose though, you should always go with the “Creme” developer, which is loaded with conditioner to protect your hair from damage.
3. John Frieda Radiant Red Shampoo & Conditioner
Although there is no perfect anti-shade shampoo, I quite like John Frieda’s radiant red. Some people have recommended henna shampoo, but when I tried it, it dried out my hair incredibly, so I’m sticking with this.
To maintain the color and keep up with my roots, I end up having to dye my hair about once a month. A few ways that I keep it [relatively] healthy are: using a comb rather than a brush, deep conditioning it every now and then, abstaining from blow-drying or straightening it, and washing it no more than once every other day.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I’ll answer them here!
November 14, 2010 at 9:05 am
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you really suit this colour hair!
November 14, 2010 at 1:47 pm
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you have gorgeous hair!!!!!!!!!!!i absolutely love redheads, so happy i stumbled onto your blog!
November 15, 2010 at 1:50 am
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catherine, thank you SO much for this! i’ve been trying to figure out the best way to colour my hair myself instead of going to my hairdresser all the time, it’s so expensive! especially since red hair is harder to maintain. and i really didn’t want to buy a box dye. this is beyond helpful, thanks, dear! :)
November 15, 2010 at 11:11 pm
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Ah I’m so glad that this could be of help to someone then! Yep, it’s so much cheaper to do it by yourself – and it can be tedious at times, but you save so much on the cost that it’s worth it. Sometimes I can spend as little as $4 a month dying it (since the developer lasts a while, you don’t have to replenish it every time).
Shoot me an e-mail or something if you have any questions – I’d be happy to help~ :) xoxox
November 15, 2010 at 11:10 am
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so that’ s a your photo!!!!
i always loved last pic!!!
but i didn’t know who toke it!!!!
amazing!!!!
The Fashion Coffee
November 16, 2010 at 6:59 pm
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Oh, nice blog ♥
November 19, 2010 at 7:59 am
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Just found your blog and I must say you’re really talented! And I love your hair! I’m a redhead too, natural one, but I still agree with Anne haha.
November 19, 2010 at 6:35 pm
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You are very fortunate to be a natural redhead! It is quite a hassle to maintain the artificial color :P
January 4, 2011 at 1:34 pm
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Gorgeous hair!! I have a lifelong love of red hair, and though my husband and I are natural blonds, my daughters are redheads. :) Anyway – I see they are discontinuing “Audacious Red” and replacing it with “5RR” – have you tried the new stuff yet and is it reall the same thing? ACKIES! Just when I was going to try “Audacious.”
January 26, 2011 at 9:41 am
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I dye my hair red too. And I go to sally’s. But I always use the ion creme dye and the developer that’s under it.
Anyhow. For anyone that reads these, I condition mine pretty much every day since I have dry hair. But it doesn’t take away from the color.
January 27, 2011 at 2:44 am
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Hi,
Your hair so beautiful, it’s exactly the shade of red I want. I can’t seem to find the dye you mentioned anywhere…is it discontinued, or where can I get it from?
Thanks!
January 29, 2011 at 9:51 pm
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Thanks for your reply! I went on the Clairol Professional website and sent an question about the closest substitute for Audacious Red. Apparently, its the liquicolor permanente range in 4RR and 6RR. This is the link to the shade brochure: http://www.clairolpro.com/Content/PDFs/Aqua_Edu_Brochure_Techniques.pdf
Thought you’d like to know :) Let me know if you ever test them out and how it turns out.
March 4, 2011 at 10:05 pm
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You hair is beautiful! I am tempted to try such a vibrant red. I am naturally blonde and pale with cool undertones. Do you think i could pull it off?
April 5, 2011 at 4:52 pm
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I am debating between dying my hair dark blonde or red. In previous blog posts I saw that your hair was a really pretty shade of dark blonde. Just curious did you do this yourself too? And what type of dye did you use? Thanks:)
April 6, 2011 at 2:51 am
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I love your hair….. thank you for posting how to get a real red hair color.
July 1, 2011 at 12:59 am
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I’m so excited that I have found your blog! Thank you for your color recommendations here. I’ve been using box red for a while and have finally found that the damage is just too much. Next month I’ll look into Audacious red.
July 3, 2011 at 1:04 pm
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Hi! I love love love love love your hair color! I have very pale skin and I was thinking of trying this. BUT my hair is dark brown, do you think I have to bleach my hair before I color? My hair is a virgin to coloring, I have only done a few hilights. :) Thanks! <3
July 19, 2011 at 6:24 pm
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Hey Catherine, I really love all the advice you have up here. I dyed my hair a darkish red color, but I wanted it more like the color of yours. Well, my hair is naturally a dirty blonde color and my roots are coming back through. When I go to dye it again, what number developer should I use to make sure my hair will come out to a red like that, and my roots not be WAY redder then the rest of my hair?
August 10, 2011 at 8:38 pm
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love this!!
ahhh I want to be a red head soo bad…
I’m just waiting for my hair to grow out, what is your natural hair color??
August 10, 2011 at 8:41 pm
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Thank you! My natural hair color is ash blonde!
August 23, 2011 at 10:02 pm
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I am a natural red head but in the fall I like to change it to a different shade. I might try one of those. So my question is, if you abstain from blowdrying or straightening, how do you keep your hair under control? I wake up and MUST shower because my hair sticks out every which way and appears frizzy from sleeping all night…Idk how to change it without wetting and drying. If I let is naturally dry, it sometimes is okay but usually comes out slightly wavy and tends to look a little frizzy or dry…
September 14, 2011 at 11:58 am
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Thank you so much for posting this! I couldn’t find the right shade of red, and your tutorial helped me immensely! The Clairol 4R shade made my hair look so much better than it did before (the salesgirl at Sally convinced me to use their Ion brand, but it turned out meh…). I’m still trying to get used to it, but I think I love it now :) Love the blog! Thanks again!
September 29, 2011 at 3:33 pm
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I have natural red hair and I always get the “ginger” comments and jokes so I dye it darker red.. Doesn’t help, still hate it! I love other redheads but I’ve never been satisfied with my own hair.
October 10, 2011 at 1:59 am
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I just discovered your blog today, I absolutely love it. This summer I made the switch to red hair from dish water blonde. I use henna, and I have about the same color as you. I would definitely recommend henna, the only thing is that (as you mentioned with henna shampoo) it can dry out your hair, to avoid it, just make sure you spend extra time rinsing out all the henna leaves.
October 14, 2011 at 1:39 pm
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I have naturally dark/dirty blonde hair, and have been dying my hair a great dark, deep auburn color, however it fades down into a sort of medium golden brown after just 2-3 weeks. Is there anything I can do to prevent the fading so much? I have to wash my hair every day due to work, my bangs, and hair that gets oily pretty quickly. Thanks!
October 25, 2011 at 9:10 pm
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i love it! how can i get that cut of hair? its pretty
October 25, 2011 at 9:11 pm
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its beautiful! how can i get that cut hair? i love it:)
March 28, 2012 at 2:41 pm
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I am a natural ash blonde, and want to go red – similar to yours, if not a little lighter (thinking of a dark strawberry blonde). My only concern is that I have dyed my hair medium/dark brown in January, what steps should I take to achieve my desired color?? (Celebrity examples: Deborah Ann Woll, Emma Stone)
Thank you !! :)
April 20, 2012 at 9:09 pm
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Hello there.
I have a little question: what can you do with the eyebrows? My hair colour is brown but I can’t see really what do you do with your brows? Please answer! Thank you.
June 7, 2012 at 3:54 pm
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this information i think will be very helpful (: i am looking into dying my hair a shade of red, but would all this still apply the same if my hair is very dark? i want it to look good but i fear that because my hair is very dark as opposed to your natural easier blonde hair, it won’t come out as great
October 14, 2012 at 10:50 pm
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Hi, the “Clairol Torrids” doesnt exist anymore… U can tell me another that cames the same effect?
And pls, can u give me the anwser by email?
Thx ;)
ps: im brazilian, so sry the english!
October 22, 2012 at 12:47 pm
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Love your hair color!!! What color was your hair before you dyed it red? Thanks ya
October 22, 2012 at 2:11 pm
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My hair was its natural color, dirty blonde, before I dyed it red!
November 21, 2012 at 3:22 pm
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I love this shirt!!! Where is it from? It’s perfect – Meg
January 10, 2013 at 5:28 pm
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Hello :)
I have a similar natural hair color to yours and I recently bought the same hair dye. My roots are darker than the tips, so I was wondering if I should bleach them first so I don’t end up with two seperate colors?
April 7, 2013 at 2:05 am
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Thanks for posting this! I’ve always had my hair done at a salon, but I just don’t have the money to keep up with it. So I’m trying to do it myself now, and I’m glad you use professional dye too, it gives me confidence that I can use Chi. It’s my favorite brand. ^-^