Morticia-black is less attractive after 30.

October 4, 2011 1:59 PM

When I try to dye my very light brown hair dark brown, it turns black. Any recommendations for a true dark brown at-home dye?

I've used Revlon Colorsilk in Dark Brown, and similar colors in Clairol Nice and Easy. They come out very black and don't fade at all (meaning I eventually have to cut the black ends off and try again.) Unfortunately, I'm too broke for salon color right now.

posted by juniper to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (16 answers total)

I've been using this for years to even up my color and cover the occasional greys, and it starts out very dark but always fades to a natural-looking brown. Then again, my natural color *is* dark brown, so it might affect my hair a little differently than yours.
posted by pinky at 2:07 PM on October 4, 2011

I've had good results with Loreal Superior Preference Dark Ash Brown #4A. It's a very dark brown with no red overtones. YMMV: My hair is dark brown to begin with, but I have a lot of grey.
posted by BlahLaLa at 2:13 PM on October 4, 2011

Have you tried medium-brown dyes to see if they're dark enough? Maybe everything just turns out a little darker than you expected.
posted by aimedwander at 2:14 PM on October 4, 2011

I've had this problem too. The color BlahLaLa links to is probably too dark for you (gray hair will end up lighter than yours, using the same color). I'd go to a medium-brown dye.
posted by runningwithscissors at 2:15 PM on October 4, 2011

And if you're getting darker ends, use the "touch-up instructions" that have you apply color to the roots, wait a bit, and then extend the color to the ends. It also helps to deep condition your hair a couple days before you color it.
posted by runningwithscissors at 2:17 PM on October 4, 2011

I have naturally very dark brown hair, and I dye the grey. It's been my experience that no matter what brand I use, if I use a dark brown dye, it comes out black. If I use a medium brown, which in theory should be way too light, it comes out perfect.
I have no explanation for this, I've just learned to accept it the same way I accept that some socks will disappear in the clothes dryer, no matter how carefully I feed them in there.
posted by MexicanYenta at 2:18 PM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

I have naturally dark brown hair. To cover up some old blonde highlights that I got tired of keeping up with, I started dying my hair with this. It's semi-permanent, but it made all my hair dark to medium brown. So, if you don't like medium brown, try dark blonde. It's not blonde by any stretch of the imagination, even on the bits of my hair that were really light.
posted by artychoke at 2:27 PM on October 4, 2011

I've been dyeing my light brown/blondish hair dark for yeeears and my go-to box dye is Natural Instincts semi-permanent in Nutmeg. It does go on darker but not flat black like some others tend to. They have a permanent version now ("Natural Instincts Vibrant"), and I actually like that even better - it does fade a little so I don't get a hard line at the roots, but not so much that the color gets blah like a semi-permanent does (I used Dark Brown 4).
posted by ella wren at 2:49 PM on October 4, 2011

Don't use the junk from the drug store. Goldwell is the best, I think, and you can mix several shades to get a personal color. Dark shades are always very dark, however-- use a neutral brown as a base color and then tone it darker (or redder or both.) Killer Strands is a good site for directions.
posted by Ideefixe at 2:50 PM on October 4, 2011

Try L'Oreal Ultra Lightening colours. I have very porous hair, naturally dark brown, but which absorbs colour and always ends up much darker than the shade on the box. When it was available in the UK I used to use this colour, which would take my hair to a much darker shade than that shown on the box, but a nice chocolatey brown, which is how I wanted it to be. If I go by the shade worn by the model on the box, I always end up with black hair.

Yes, I know this shade is not dark brown, but if your hair absorbs colour as mine does, you may find that even this light shade will give you a much darker shade than the one shown on the box.

Before you try another colour, though, I'd thoroughly recommend you remove the existing colour, using this (or something similar). Then you can start with a blank slate when you go to put new colour on your hair. I stripped my colour off completely earlier this year (after it went far too dark) and the colour I've used since has been fine.
posted by essexjan at 4:12 PM on October 4, 2011

You may have tried this one already, but I've had good luck with Clairol Hydrience in Sable Cove. My hair's light brown with some reddish highlights to it, but this gets it to a dark brown I like. It's maybe a little dark at first, but eventually fades enough that I don't have roots or anything and don't have to dye again unless I want to.
posted by radiomayonnaise at 5:01 PM on October 4, 2011

If you start out with brown hair, you're going to need to go lighter. A blonde would use the dark brown to get that shade, so you, with a naturally darker pigment, won't need dark brown.

Most professional hair colorists tell me you should always go one or even two shades lighter than you want your hair to be if you are a brunette.

One thing you can do is get your hair colored professionally once, and get the color number and code they use so you can pick out the right shade for yourself next time. I have brown hair, and just cover up my grey, and I use a 7G or 7N, which is actually an ash blonde, but it comes out just right to match my pigment. So a light brown would be enough to darken my color.

If you decide to go with a store-bought color, I've also become a big fan of the foamy mousse type because it offers better coverage, in my experience. YMMV, of course.
posted by misha at 7:49 PM on October 4, 2011

Oh, and one more thing--be cautious with brown dyes! If they have "warm" in the color, it doesn't mean darker, it means (according to Clairol reps I've spoken with) reddish.

And when you get into 'warm' browns, and you have naturally brown hair, you know what you end up with? Maroon hair!
posted by misha at 7:53 PM on October 4, 2011

Nice 'n' Easy 112a. Darker than I want the first day, but definitely not black. I have dark brown hair to start with, but I do know the Morticia look you are trying to avoid--this isn't it. It isn't as red as it is on the box.
posted by skbw at 8:10 PM on October 4, 2011

I find drugstore hair dye always goes way darker than you want. I dye my hair auburn with L'Oreal Healthy Look (which is awesome and contains no ammonia) 6 RR. It's dark rock & roll witch red at first before it fades up, but boy does it last! Instead of waiting the couple days before washing it, I wash it right away to lighten it up a bit. I still find the color lasts a solid month and still looks great when I have to dye it again to hide the roots.

Healthy Look. totally recommend it, and I love the no-ammonia formula. I find it a bit lower-risk than the serious stuff, since it really doesn't mess with the harsh chemicals as much. I also try to not leave it on for the full 10 minutes, which means it's not quite so dark.

Garnier also has a no-ammonia formula. If you're not lightening your hair at all, you really don't need the harsh chemicals.
posted by custard heart at 10:52 AM on October 5, 2011

Of note to future readers of this thread--I see, while advising a friend (really ;-) re: "resistant grays," that Clairol makes a Gray Solution product that includes an extra bottle of "gray retexturizer," that is, a killer pre-treatment to be followed by regular dye per usual.

Next time I might get a package of the Gray Solution for the retexturizer and follow it with the dye from some other (Clairol) imprint for the right color match.
posted by skbw at 10:56 AM on October 10, 2011