I have dyed my hair jet black and I tried to put peroxide in it to make it lighter so I can dye it red; it didn't work. How do I make it light enough to make the red dye show?
By Nicole from Buffalo, NY
So sorry but about all you can do now is place a vibrant red over the black often but not on the roots! Either be patient and allow the black to eventually fade and grow out or seek out and pay for a really good professional color hairstylist.
I have to agree with Deeli, you are asking a lot of your hair. It would be best to wait for the black to fade. You could use a shampoo with egg in it, as the egg will over time fade the color but what you might have in between is hard to tell. A professional hairdresser might use a color stripper to remove some of the built up color, she/he would be able to tell you if you should go red at that time according to the condition of your hair.
I once dyed my hair too bright a red (I now have dyed red hair that I enjoy), and it was suggested by my daughter who once dyed her hair a red that dyed a bright orange, instead, that she washed her hair in baking soda and that well toned it way down. I did that to my hair and it really worked! It really seems to pull the color out, especially if you really mess it up! Good luck!
If you used a semi-permanent color you could try washing it every day until the color fades a little. I haven't tried either baking soda or egg, but they can't hurt.
Balayage is a hair coloring technique that paints the dye on for subtle gradiations in the color. This is a page about coloring hair with a balayage look.
Changing naturally dark hair or hair that has been dyed a dark color to a lighter one, does require additional steps. This is a page about changing hair color from dark to light.