Crimson, Red, Auburn, Burgundy...It's all GOOD!

Ta-da! Another hair change, what's new??!!

This color has been one in the deep compartments of my brain for a VERY long time. I've always been obsessed with dark red hair. I've had the underneath section of my hair died various shades of red multiple times but could never dive all the way in and go for it all over. My dalliances with any shade other than a blonde have usually just been deep brown. Until now!

I was in Sally's a few days ago picking up some supplies and saw that they carry a new line of hair color from Clairol. My hair has always gotten good results with any version of Clairol hair color so I was interested. It's called Flare. It's a permanent cream color with a built in gloss. Sounds great...then I read the first line about Alpha-Red Technology and was like, DO IT!

sallybeauty.com

 

I actually ended up buying 6 tubes of different colors and figured I'd come up with the color recipe later. What I ended up using was 2 ounces of the 4BB (Light Intense Brown-Chocolate), 1 3/4 ounces of the 3RRV (Intense Red Violet-Crimson) and 1/4 ounce of the 5VVR (Light Intense Violet Red-Burgundy). Ounces are clearly marked on the side of the tube which makes measuring super easy. 4 ounces of the Flare 20 volume developer and apply with brush and bowl and GLOVES. For the love of all things holy use gloves!! I applied vaseline around my hairline, ears and neck, then I sectioned my hair off into quarters and applied in small, thin sections. I don't ever just flop dye on my hair and hope for the best. The neater you apply, the better your coverage. Make sure to saturate each strand and be tidy. I let it sit about an hour, on accident. I started cooking dinner in the middle of processing and kind of got distracted. Rinsed, and rinsed, and rinsed and rinsed some more with cool water until it ran mostly clear (oh my gosh my shower looked like some kind of gory halloween set.). Applied a leave in conditioner and let it mostly air dry before blow drying the final bit. I would not go to bed with this hair color wet...you'll end up with pink pillows. So definitely wash and dry before bed or wash in the morning. Also, use OLD towels for the first few washes.



Scary red on...turned VERY dark, almost black before I rinsed it off.

Makeup-free and RED! Fresh after drying and crappy kitchen lighting!

I know that from going so blonde to this color I will have some definite fade out for the first few times I touch up. I plan to combat with cool rinses, skipping as much shampoo as I can, using sulfate free shampoo and making a red conditioner. I found a recipe mixing Manic Panic with a deep conditioner and using once a week, we'll see if it helps.

So far...I am completely in love. I just feel so DIFFERENT with red hair, but it's so much fun and talk about SHINE. Blondes never get shine. It also definitely makes blue eyes POP! It's not a natural red color but also not a "punk red" or clowny red. It's a flattering unnatural shade I think.

I am really impressed with the "Flare" colors. They are thick and creamy and don't smell too offensive. It really deposited the color I was hoping for and the color is deep and rich. My hair was left soft and vibrant, I will definitely use this line of colors again and highly recommend.