Red Hair Dye
Red hair dye rates as one of the most popular types in the world. But there are so many different hues and shades it can be difficult to choose which route to go. Colors range from luscious strawberry blonde to deep crimson, and from copper to chestnut. And one of the primary advantages is that there are products that can be used to color any natural shade of hair, from black to grey and anything in between. Often the color result you can expect will be shown in photographic form on the packaging.
If you look at natural red hair, even this is quite varied. It ranges from the "original" so-called red-head who had a carroty-red (or light orange-red) hair color, to deep reddish-brown auburn. All these colors are available to us in a bottle or tube. But in addition, red hair dyes also take red hair out of the realm of everything ordinary (and natural) – if that's where you want to go.
The thing is that "red" hair can look as natural or funky as you want it to. If you're wanting the more natural look, then you should avoid any red that is starkly postbox or traffic light red or bright shining crimson, and those that are purplish in hue. Natural red hair is usually either red-brown or red-orange. If you want to go funky, then you may need to bleach your hair first, to achieve the desired effect.
While many very ordinary people use various types of red hair dye, it is true that most of us do tend to notice when celebrities change their hair color and go from blonde to red or blue to red, or simply from their natural brown to copper or crimson. It's not so much that red is necessarily an eye-catching color to talk about, but rather what the stars are doing to their hair that matters. If I, on the other hand were to dye my hair a different shade of red, only my family and friends would notice – for the rest, nobody would care.
I'm cool with that thought, since many a celeb has been harshly and unkindly criticized for going red. For instance Rihanna, the young, popular R&B artist from Barbados, is, like a multitude of women, a natural brunette. But she's done chestnut, auburn and a deliciously decadent, boldly fake red-orange (take heed that not all red-orange hues look natural). While some fans thought she looked stunning, in mid-2011 the look landed her a high position on an Internet site's Top 17 "worst celebrity hair color disasters".
American socialite, model, radio host and TV personality, Khloé Kardashian Odom (who is married to US basketball player Lamar Odom) is another brunette who made the same worst 17 hit-list. Not looking her best, the paparazzi captured her on camera with hair that was described as looking like "an orangutan". Chestnut would have been a kinder description, and one that millions of ordinary women are happy to identify with. In fact it is probably true to say that chestnut is one of the most popular hair colors sold by established by mainstream brands like L'Oreal, Garnier, Clarins, Revlon and Schwarzkopf, to name just five.
Even if you have colored your hair red before, be sure to check the manufacturer's instructions and to follow them. While most use similar procedures – for instance mix the developer crème with the nourishing crème, apply to your hair and leave for a certain length of time, rinse and then condition – this is not always the case. It's better to be safe than sorry.