7 things to know before dyeing your hair red (2023)

FAQs

Is red hair high-maintenance? ›

Red can be a pretty high-maintenance color. According to Pickthorn, “red is the hardest to get, hardest to keep and hardest to get rid of.” To keep up with the quickly fading shade, clients should plan to touch up and refresh their red every 6-8 weeks.

It brightens up your features, adds extra shine to your hair and will also bring some warmth to your life. On some skin complexion, red colors will also show an extra glow. Autumn is the perfect season for reds.

Any time you apply bleach to your delicate strands, you'll need an excellent toner to neutralize unwanted undertones. As a result, toners are a must for any colored hair.

Easy. From cool copper to fire engine red, there's a shade on the red spectrum for everyone but as a rule of thumb if your complexion is cool pair it with a cool shade, and if your complexion is warm choose a warm shade, too. In between? You'd probably suit both or more neutral tones of red.

The red is the sign of courage, but also of sensuality. Dazzling color par excellence, the red is the color of passion and blood. This shade is energetic and when a person likes red she must have a strong personality. She is afraid of nothing, does not go unnoticed, rather sexy and attractive.

For starters, redheads typically have fair complexions and are more susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer. Some people with red hair also experience pain differently, or they can look older than they are.

Too brassy

Too much of a reddish orange undertone in your hair can make it look dull and damaged—the typical signs of aging hair, says celebrity hairstylist Gabriel Samra. The red tones can also make your skin look redder and rob skin of a youthful glow, adds Kyle White, senior stylist at Oscar Blandi.

Even with the most talented colorists in the best salons, red hair dye will noticeably fade in around four weeks. It can even take a few attempts to get the red pigment to stick to your hair. And even then, red hair is prone to fading and looking orange or brassy.

Red hair was the least favorable among both groups.

According to the study, 27 percent of males chose the blonde photo of the woman to be the most attractive, while 23 precent of women similarly preferred the blonde hair. Red hair was deemed least attractive by both groups, however.

According to Korab, "A rich red, such as auburn or copper, will enhance brunettes and redheads. This gives the appearance of younger and more radiant skin by reflecting light around the face with its warm tint. The deep red has a kick of fiery vibrancy no matter if you go subtle or ultra-bright."

Why does red hair color fade so fast? ›

The red hair molecule is larger than other color molecules, so it doesn't penetrate the cortex of the hair as deeply as other color molecules. Therefore, since it isn't as deep, it can wash out easier. Red hair dye may be more inclined to fade, but it can also be one of the most vibrant, unique ways to color your hair.

“To keep it simple, if the red you are trying to achieve is lighter than your hair there is a possibility you will or may experience chemical damage or breakage. If you are going darker than your natural or current color, then the chances of damage are low to minimal.

Stay out of that shower after you leave the salon

“I always recommend waiting 24 – 48 hours after getting red color to shampoo your hair. Dye molecules are really large, so you need to allow enough time for those to settle and the cuticle to close.

It's more difficult to dye naturally red hair because red hair strands hold pigment tighter than other natural colors. This means you will need to lighten the hair and strip it of its color before dying it.

“Freckles, pale skin and light eyes work best with strawberry blonde and copper reds. Darker eyes with cooler skin tones work best with deeper true reds and violet tones,” Rick explains. Emma Stone, a natural blonde, pulls off copper effortlessly while Rihanna's complexion is compatible with a true red.

"A red that's auburn with a balance of warm and cool will work for medium skin with both warm and cool undertones," says Freidman. She also explains that people with medium skin tones are lucky, as they have the widest range of red tones they can work with.

Neutral undertones are especially lucky in this scenario. Since neutral undertones usually have a mix of warm and cool tones, they can virtually work with any red hair color thrown their way. “Neutral skin tones are a little more flexible as you can wear almost anything,” says Reid.

"Auburn" can be used to describe many shades of reddish hair with similar definitions or hues. It is often conflated in popular usage with Titian hair. Whereas Titian hair is a brownish shade of red hair, auburn hair is specifically defined as including the actual color red.

Is dyed red hair attractive? The researchers noted that only 6 percent of males and 6 percent of females chose the red hair to be most attractive. "Red hair was the least common hair color of the population and all individuals preferred it the least when compared to brunette and blonde hair colors.

Is strawberry blonde or ginger more rare? Natural red hair is the rarest hair color in the world, only occurring in 1 to 2% of the global population. . The rarest shade of red hair is actually more of a strawberry blonde.

What is the most common eye color with red hair? ›

Most (natural) redheads will have brown eyes, followed by hazel or green shades.

Generally, these colours will make anyone appear older: black, cool dark brown, fiery red, yellow blonde, mousy blonde and dark grey. There's a common opinion that platinum blonde and silver hair dye age you, but we don't believe so.

An overall 2023 hair trend you'll be noticing? Light-to-medium brown shades. “People will be taking their color deeper this year,” says hairstylist Clariss Rubenstein, “even if it's just a darker, more blended shade of blonde, or a creamy mushroom brown.”

“For 2023 it will have an updated feel with more layers and softer cropped fringes, like a '70s or 90s-esque curtain bang, and copious amounts of movement made easy from internal layers – perfect for that on trend cool girl,” he says. Or, if you can't decide between a bob and a pixie, combine both.

Here's why, according to Amber: Red haircolor is often formulated with neutral pigment (unless you're using pure pigments). Over time, neutral pigment in the hair causes the overall shade to shift from red to brown as it fades out.

People with brunette hair are the most attractive.

Researchers from the College of Natural and Health Sciences for the University of Tampa sought to find out which hair color was deemed as most attractive for both men and women, publishing their findings in a 2018 Florida Scientist study.

What hair color do guys find most attractive? Sorry blondes, but 60% of the men in question said they find brunette to be the most desirable. A third of the men polled (33.1%) said they think the most attractive hair color is brown hair, while 28.6% said they prefer black hair.

People with red hair are likely more sensitive to pain. This is because the gene mutation (MC1R) that causes red hair is on the same gene linked to pain receptors. It also means redheads usually need more anesthesia for dental and medical procedures. Having red hair isn't the only thing that makes some redheads unique.

Why do people sometimes appear to be younger than others of the same age? The culprit turns out to be an innocent-sounding gene, MC1R, responsible for producing, among other things, locks of fetching red hair as well as pale skin, researchers have discovered.

Black never fails to make you look slim and elegant. Darker shades of colors like blue, purple and brown can also help to hide flaws and create a slimming illusion. On the other hand, lighter colors, like white and khaki, can add pounds and give the illusion of a larger frame.

What color hair makes you look the youngest? ›

Caramel, honey, gold, copper, and strawberry give a healthy brightness that makes us look and feel younger. (Framing your face with lighter shades draws the eye away from any complexion concerns, as well.)

Just as with blonde hair, red hair requires a little extra tender love and care. Hack admits that red hair is his favorite to color, but that she's noticed many women don't realize the extent of after-care that's needed. “Red is the hardest color to keep lustrous and the hardest color to remove,” she adds.

As natural brunettes, brown hair dyes can last the longest compared to other hair dyes. There's no need to bleach your hair colour as the eumelanin content will allow the hair colour to stay on longer.

As we mentioned, purple shampoo can be used to neutralize brassy tones, like yellow and orange that can pop up as your red hair color starts to fade. This will help your overall hue look its best, and help you make your color last longer between salon visits (or at-home coloring sessions).

Red often fades to pale pink, however, this may change if you started with a more orange-toned dye which may fade to a more peachy hue.

Wash your hair with cooler water.

The temperature of water you use to wash hair can play a huge role in how long your red hair dye will last. As delightful as it might feel when you rinse with hot water you're swelling up your hair's cuticle even more, which allows color to seep out and your hair to fade.

1Maintenance. The first thing to know before going red is how high-maintenance the color is and how expensive it can be to maintain it. Roots will reappear every four weeks or so and red dye is infamous for fading fast. You'll have to dip back into the salon roughly every six weeks for a refresh on your color.

Coloring your hair in a salon by a professional stylist on average can take anywhere from 2 to 6 hours, and can even extend to as long as 8 hours depending on your hair's condition, length, natural color, and intricacy of service.

Natural red hair is harder to dye than other shades

Headstrong as it is, ginger hair holds its pigment much firmer than any other hair colour. If redheads desired to dye their hair to any other colour (why would you?), it would only have a noticeable difference after bleaching the hair beforehand.

Why does red hair fade so fast? ›

The red hair molecule is larger than other color molecules, so it doesn't penetrate the cortex of the hair as deeply as other color molecules. Therefore, since it isn't as deep, it can wash out easier. Red hair dye may be more inclined to fade, but it can also be one of the most vibrant, unique ways to color your hair.

One of the biggest reasons why color bleeds is because the water is too warm, which is why the number one rule when rinsing vibrant colors is to always, always, always use cold water. Here's why: Hot water will open the cuticle, letting a huge portion of the color you just applied to rinse right out.

Whether you're melanin-rich or the fairest of them all, you can pull off crimson hair — and we have myriad examples to prove it. If you're contemplating whether you can pull off red hair, just go ahead and stop right there.

The first thing to know before going red is how high-maintenance the color is and how expensive it can be to maintain it. Roots will reappear every four weeks or so and red dye is infamous for fading fast. You'll have to dip back into the salon roughly every six weeks for a refresh on your color.

Too brassy

Too much of a reddish orange undertone in your hair can make it look dull and damaged—the typical signs of aging hair, says celebrity hairstylist Gabriel Samra. The red tones can also make your skin look redder and rob skin of a youthful glow, adds Kyle White, senior stylist at Oscar Blandi.

Natural redheads are born with cells that produce more pheomelanin and this provides us with vibrant red hair in your youth. As aging occurs, the body starts to produce more eumelanin which leads to hair darkening.

Green or cool ash dye will cancel out hair that's dyed red. If your dyed hair is on the warm orange side, use a completely blue hair dye. If your hair dye is a true red, then a green dye will be the most effective. Warm orange-red brassy tones can be darkened with brunette dye or lightened with blonde dye.

This is because of the chemical makeup of direct dye and it reacts with the fibers of the clothing. Red color bleeding also can be a result of over dyeing or the dye not being properly settled in the fabric of the clothing.

"If you leave your color on for too long, there is potential for extra deposit of pigment to occur. You can't make your hair too light by leaving a tint color on too long (unless you're bleaching), but it can make your hair darker than intended," says Tardo.