can't seem to color hair

Options
ohilly
ohilly Member Posts: 441
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Okay, okay, I know I am obsessed about my hair! Two things upset me now: it is very thin and baby fine. But the worst is that it doesn't seem to take color well: I have just used Loving Care semi-permanent dye, but even when I use the darkest, black shade it still comes out gray! Has anyone else experienced this, or do you know a product that works better? I am afraid to use the dyes with ammonia and peroxide at this point. Also, I am upset that my hair is so thin and fine when it used to be very thick and fast growing. A woman I know who knows a lot of bc survivors told me the fineness is temporary, that it will become thicker in time. Any advice will be appreciated: the worst is the trouble dying it. Ohilly

Comments

  • Jadie
    Jadie Member Posts: 723
    Options
    Hair coloring
    To color gray hair you have to use a permanent color. Believe me I know because I have done it for years. I use Garneia Nutrese (sp?). It has natural oils in it which are good for your hair.

    I'm sure your hair will thicken up in time. And before you know it you will be getting regular hair cuts. I keep my hair shorter now than I ever did before chemo and I love it.

    Jadie
  • Joycelouise
    Joycelouise Member Posts: 482
    Options
    Jadie said:

    Hair coloring
    To color gray hair you have to use a permanent color. Believe me I know because I have done it for years. I use Garneia Nutrese (sp?). It has natural oils in it which are good for your hair.

    I'm sure your hair will thicken up in time. And before you know it you will be getting regular hair cuts. I keep my hair shorter now than I ever did before chemo and I love it.

    Jadie

    Ohilly, My first hair dye
    Ohilly, My first hair dye after chemo was a non amonia rinse. Didn't really cover. So I went to a salon and paid over $50 for a professional job. It was supposed to be $75, but the stylist found it in her heart to lower it since my hair was not yet an inch long. Anyway, it took perfect. Since then I have colored it myself with Loreal, full strength. It colors fine but after a few weeks dulls a little. I had no reduction of hair mass with the dying. I am glad I did it. I use the medium ash blonde. My hair was fine at first but now is a mess of curls. Courage...if you really don't want to have white/grey hair, I think you gotta go serious dye. Maybe you would feel better at an expensive salon where you get the feeling they have some kind of magic dyes and aren't just charging you mucho for the same thing you can get at the drug store. The nice thing about the salon is if you don't like the color they will adjust it while you are there. Best luck. love, Joyce
  • Eil4186
    Eil4186 Member Posts: 949
    Options
    the fineness is temporary.

    the fineness is temporary.
  • mmontero38
    mmontero38 Member Posts: 1,510
    Options
    Ohilly, my hairdresser said
    Ohilly, my hairdresser said that even though we've stopped treatment for a while, the hair follicles still have some of the drugs in them, so it takes a few times before the color really sets in. I, like Joyce, tried it myself at home and then had to have it professionally colored because it didn't take too well. Now, I color it at home and use Garnier Nutrisse which I found to be more gentle and have better coverage for me. Hugs, Lili
  • seof
    seof Member Posts: 819 Member
    Options
    my hair came in grey and
    my hair came in grey and thin and baby fine at first, then it turned very curly (when it got to be bout an inch long, or maybe 1.5 inches. I waited till it was nearly 2inches long, then I got an inexpensive dye and colored it myself. The first one barely made any difference, so about a month later I got the same one and did it again and it was a huge difference. Now it is about 3 inches, still curly, and the color has faded to the color I actually wanted to begin with (a strawberry blonde). Last treatment was in April, first colring was in August. I think you just need to be patient and maybe contact ACS in your area to see if they are aware of a hairdresser who has experience with "chemo hair". There are some who do.

    Relax and enjoy...try something new to reflect the new you. seof
  • creampuff91344
    creampuff91344 Member Posts: 988
    Options
    seof said:

    my hair came in grey and
    my hair came in grey and thin and baby fine at first, then it turned very curly (when it got to be bout an inch long, or maybe 1.5 inches. I waited till it was nearly 2inches long, then I got an inexpensive dye and colored it myself. The first one barely made any difference, so about a month later I got the same one and did it again and it was a huge difference. Now it is about 3 inches, still curly, and the color has faded to the color I actually wanted to begin with (a strawberry blonde). Last treatment was in April, first colring was in August. I think you just need to be patient and maybe contact ACS in your area to see if they are aware of a hairdresser who has experience with "chemo hair". There are some who do.

    Relax and enjoy...try something new to reflect the new you. seof

    Hair
    Just for information purposes, I have a friend who is in the professional salon business with Aveda. They have natural coloring techniques that work very well. Before cancer I used her because most other salons use dyes with some form of peroxide, which tend to turn my hair red, no matter what they tried. Aveda was the one product that gave me the true color I was looking for, as well as being non-smelly (funny how smells tend to drive us crazy after chemo/radiation is over). Anyway, this may be a choice if you don't have luck with home dye kits. Hugs.

    Judy
  • Rose trémière
    Rose trémière Member Posts: 7
    Options
    Color hair
    Hi,
    Yes, the fineness was temporary for me. It took 2 years to get back to normal. As for hair coloring, I do it at home and I use Herbatint which is a permanent herbal haircolour gel. It is great because it has no ammonia, no paraben, it covers grey hair 100% and it keeps my hair healthy and shiny. I use the color "Dark chestnut" which is very dark. You might find it in a health food store or you can check out this web site:

    http://www.herbatint.co.uk/

    Take care,
    Gisele