Hello All,

I have been wearing for almost 2 years now, 2 years ago i was insecure, unsure and worried. Well, i still am but not as much. I did it and i wish i would have done it sooner but i am happy. I love every moment of it and my advice for the newbie, hang in there, it will settle down and becomes a part of your daily routine. Two things that i have not mastered are cutting my own hair (I need to get a good shaver) and cutting the piece. I am still relying my salon to do the following.

My dilemma:
I have a problem with the hair color. At times it will turn orange or red-dish tone, i am currently using Back2Natural, it smells good and keep your hair soft. Unfortunately, i have to use it every 3 weeks to preserve the hair color. Usually, one week after wearing Back2Natural, you can see the hair dye comes out when you are washing your hair. I am not sure why? perhaps because i am using too much leave in conditioner or? i have no clue but i want to find a brand that can keep my hair the same color especially the front as i dyed the front Hairline from blonde to dark brown to keep the roots natural.

My questions are
1) Any color-dye brand recommendations beside Back2Natural that is not too harsh for your hair? I read in one of the threads, "Just for Men" is recommended.
2) What kind of razor/shaver do you use to cut your own hair? Your side hair, not the system.

Thanks in advance for your help.

You can get into a vicious cycle when you start dying your hair.
Basically, to dye any hair permanently, the hair is effectively stripped back so it can receive and absorb the new colour.

That means when the hair starts fading, it fades faster & lighter each time, which in turn means you have to dye it more frequently.

The semi permanent dyes (or hair colour designed to hide grey) lay on top of the hair and tend to give a 'one tone' effect which can look unnatural as most heads of hair are made up of several different colours.
Just For Men is one of the latter.
It works VERY quickly and you have to be careful how you apply it so you don't get any on the base.
Just For Men carries on colouring the longer you leave it on and so if you're taking your time, it can turn out way too dark.
They have recently brought out a product called AUTO STOP which claims to stop working once its achieved the colour it says it is.

But with any dye, you have to remember that replacement hair is already highly processed and therefore receives colour faster than natural hair does.
So its recommended you leave any hair dye on about half the recommended time.

All that said, many hairwearers DO use dyes and are happy with the results.

The problem I'm hearing a lot about Back2Natural is that it mainly 'maintains' hair colour rather than restores it.
So people have to use it from day one of receiving a system and then carry on using it regularly.
There is an alternative product designed specifically for replacement processed hair that I sell called Aufero.
This is more of a treatment, than something you need to use all the time.
I'm pleased to say its getting some great feedback and is helping to break that cycle of constantly dying hair.
It restores the original hair colour AND removes any brassy or red tones that occur when hair colour fades.

Just to be clear, I only sell this product because otherwise it wouldn't be available for the general public.
Its not my business.
Its designed to be sold to salons and used as a restoration treatment.
But I was sent some and was so impressed that I contacted the company to become a distributor so that individual hairwearers could buy it and do their own treatments.

Its a colour conditioner and you apply it very simply by combing it through the hair and then rinsing it off.
It also leaves the hair in great condition.

If you or anyone is interested in purchasing some, then you can contact me at: [email protected] or have a look at http://www.facebook.com/Aufero
Below is a picture of how it worked for me.

"You can get into a vicious cycle when you start dying your hair.
Basically, to dye any hair permanently, the hair is effectively stripped back so it can receive and absorb the new colour. That means when the hair starts fading, it fades faster & lighter each time, which in turn means you have to dye it more frequently."

I have no idea, thanks for the newsflash. I agree Back2Natural maintains but does not restore the color. I feel it is a waste of money in my opinion. However, that product smells really good, sometimes it lasted for 3 days and keep my hair soft and silky. It works as a conditioner as well. I wish it is cheaper so i can use it as a alternative for conditioning.

Hersute, i will definitely try Aufero, i will check out your facebook. Thanks

I have to be honest and say I've never tried B2N. I just go by what others have told me.
I've heard a couple of people say they think the product is 'gritty' and don't like the way it leaves the hair.
Just recently a few have said they swear it caused their system to shed.

I'm not sure about the last claim.
It seems to me more likely that by the time the hair has faded enough to consider using it, its become brittle and the shedding would have happened anyway.

You know when you buy an off the shelf hair dye it has 2 bottles.
One is the peroxide developer. Thats the stuff that strips the hair so the colour can be absorbed.
Usually in a store bought colour that peroxide is 12%.
If you're just darkening your hair a shade or two back to its original colour, 12% is way too strong and unnecessary especially for processed replacement hair.

Anyone dying their system hair should really consider going to somewhere like Sally's Hair & Beauty and buying professional dyes and then a much lower % developers.
The staff in these places are very helpful and can advise you.

Unless you are using highlift blondes no color over the counter will be 12% peroxide. That is 40 volume! Even as a colorist, I don't use 40 volume all that much. Also, there is ZERO reason to ever use any permanent color on a hairpiece. When depositing color, (which is all you can really do to systems because the hair is treated and will not lighten predictably,) demi permanent colors, especially the professional ones (and even the lesser quality ones found at Sally's) produce beautiful multi dimensional tones in the hair as they are slightly translucent in nature on not opaque. Demi permanent colors do not lift. Demi's are longer lasting than semi permanent colors and basically the same as semi permanent color but made with permanent color molecules without the alkalinization ingredient. Semi permanent color is now a term that "usually" refers to a single component color.

In addition, a two component color (2 bottles mixed) has little to do with its natural hair lifting ability simply because of the presence of peroxide. The peroxide only acts as a color molecule oxidizer unless there is an alkalinization agent present such as ammonia or MEA at which that point the natural hair color will lift. It is this alkalinization agent that determines if the color is "permanent" or a lifting color not the presence of of peroxide.

Sorry to get a little technical..but knowledge is power

Is there a simpler way of saying the above because, as a layman, I didn't grasp or understand it.
I've never heard of a demi colour.
On a scale of 'permanency', is it above or below a semi permanent colour, or just a completely different colouring system?
And are you saying that peroxide in a developing lotion really has no ability to lighten hair?
If so, why is it sold in different strengths depending upon the result you're attempting to achieve?
I assumed the stronger the developer, the more it 'opens' the hair, so it receives more of the colourant and the more you open the hair, the weaker it can become?
Is it not right that if you're only darkening your hair one or two shades darker, you don't need such a strong developing lotion like the ones you get in off-the-shelf boxed dyes?

My experience of dying my hair and using an unnecessarily strong developer seems (to me) to cause my hair to lighten again faster than if I were to use a milder developing lotion.
Is this belief completely unfounded?

And before you get upset, please understand I'm not questioning whether you're right or wrong.
I'm positive you're right.
I just want to understand what you're actually saying, but in a basic principle kind of way rather than getting confused by chemical compounds and technical vernacular, which I'm sure for you is everyday parlance.

Obviously if you put yourself in the hands of a professional colourist such as yourself, you would hope they would have your depth of knowledge and you'd leave them to do the right thing and you wouldn't really need to know any of the above.
I'm trying to grasp this as a novice and how to apply it from a DIY point of view.

If I was standing in a store looking at the array of products available, I wouldn't know how to apply any of what you've said to help me make the best decision.
In fact, I'm more confused than I was before!
I'm befuddled by your 'power'!

Is there a simpler way of saying the above because, as a layman, I didn't grasp or understand it.
I've never heard of a demi colour.
On a scale of 'permanency', is it above or below a semi permanent colour, or just a completely different colouring system?
permanent...demi...semi...temporary. Demi is permanent color ina semi permanent base. Almost think of it as a hybrid of the two. Longer lasting like a permanent color but without the ability to lift natural hair color.


And are you saying that peroxide in a developing lotion really has no ability to lighten hair?
On its own, by itself it isn't very effective at all. It is when it is mixed with an alkalinization agent that it releases al of its oxygen and the lightening process can occur.

If so, why is it sold in different strengths depending upon the result you're attempting to achieve?
Different volumes (10, 20, 30 & 40 and higher - 3%, 6%, 9% & 12% and higher) are relative to the amount oxygen present in the peroxide. his increased "fuel" when mixed with an alkalinization agent will allow for more lift.
I assumed the stronger the developer, the more it 'opens' the hair, so it receives more of the colourant and the more you open the hair, the weaker it can become?
Actually peroxide is acidic and acidic products by their very nature lock down the hair instead of opening it. It is the alkaline part of the color (ammonia or a substitute) that will cause the hair to swell and the cuticle to open. In addition it will also activate more of the oxygen in the peroxide.
Is it not right that if you're only darkening your hair one or two shades darker, you don't need such a strong developing lotion like the ones you get in off-the-shelf boxed dyes? When darkening a hair piece there is never a reason to use permanent color. Developers in most colors that are over the counter ar 20 vol or 6%..the exception being higher lifting blondes.. 10 vol gives you 0-1 level of lift, 20vol gives 1-2 levels, 30vol give 2-3 and 40vol give 3+ levels of lift of natural hair color[/b]

My experience of dying my hair and using an unnecessarily strong developer seems (to me) to cause my hair to lighten again faster than if I were to use a milder developing lotion.
Is this belief completely unfounded?
see above
And before you get upset, please understand I'm not questioning whether you're right or wrong.
I'm positive you're right.
I just want to understand what you're actually saying, but in a basic principle kind of way rather than getting confused by chemical compounds and technical vernacular, which I'm sure for you is everyday parlance.

Obviously if you put yourself in the hands of a professional colourist such as yourself, you would hope they would have your depth of knowledge and you'd leave them to do the right thing and you wouldn't really need to know any of the above.
I'm trying to grasp this as a novice and how to apply it from a DIY point of view.

If I was standing in a store looking at the array of products available, I wouldn't know how to apply any of what you've said to help me make the best decision.
Anything that says it washes out in 20 shampoos etc is perfect for a piece. The reason is, the hair piece is already chemically processed and therefore the more temporary colors act more permanent in nature and the more permanent color act more temporary.
In fact, I'm more confused than I was before!
I'm befuddled by your 'power'!