Understanding Red Hair Color

Getting The Right Red and Keeping it Fresh

Shades of red hair color vary from light strawberry to fiery copper to rich auburn.

See the hair color pictures below for a guide to help you decide which red you want.

The best way to communicate to your hair stylist what shade of red you want is to find a hair color picture to show him/her.

Tips | Maintenance | Photos | Related Pages

Tips For Achieving A "True Tone"

PREPARE YOUR HAIR
For best results (and to avoid common color mishaps), make sure your hair is ready for the color.

Minerals from water, chlorine from swimming pools, and build-up from styling products can all impede the haircolor formula's ability to do it's thing.


Use Joico K-Pak Chelating Shampoo before coloring to help eliminate these impurities.

Do you color your own hair? If so, you know that achieving the shade of red you want can be difficult. The color you see on the box is NOT necessarily the color you'll end up with.

More on the chemistry of hair color.

Reds are tricky because you're not starting with a blank (white) canvas. You're dealing with the underlying pigment in the hair. With dark hair, that'll be an orange/red tone -- with light hair, it's yellow.

Adding an identical red hair color formula to either of the above examples of underlying pigment will produce a completely different result.

These books provide more advanced information on the art and science of hair coloring. Learn color theory, corrective color, mixing formulas, application techniques, etc. Both are written by experienced, professional cosmetologists.

Maintaining Red Hair Color

Once your hair is colored, keeping the red in your hair becomes the challenge. Red hair color contains the smallest of hair color molecules. Small molecules enter the hair shaft easily, so your hair soaks up the color. They also escape from the hair shaft easily, which means you wash many of them down the drain each time you shampoo.

To prevent those sneaky red hair color molecules from leaching out, use a pigmented shampoo and conditioner. These products deposit color molecules back onto your hair every time you use them. (The conditioners are the most effective) My favorite is ARTec's color enhancing line.

Red Hair Color Pictures

Consider both the level of darkness and the tone of any hair color you choose. I'll specify both in the example hair color pictures below...

Click to enlarge photos
Use this virtual hair style program to try on hair colors before you commit.

	Light strawberry blonde (level 9) This color has bleached blonde foil highlights, which lighten the overall color. Best neutral, fair skin tones. If your hair is already quite light, this is a good option. Really dark hair will require A LOT of maintenance to deal with the regrowth. Details on using foils to highlight hair.
	Bright copper red (level 8) This is a great, rich copper/strawberry. It's a very bright color, so beware! Many women feel sure they want a bright shade like this... until they're looking at it on their own hair. Use this virtual hair style program to try on hair colors before you commit.
	Dark copper red (level 7) Same advice as above with this color. It's very bright. Not for the faint of heart. Reds like this are difficult to tone down once the molecules are in your hair. It can be done, but it'll end up being a darker color than you probably wanted. Use this virtual hair style program to try on hair colors before you commit.
	Neutral copper red (level 7) This shade is more reminiscent of a "natural redhead." Could be described as a ginger spice color. It's very rich and not overly bright... a good choice if you want a more subdued red hair color.
	Light auburn red (level 6) The tone of this auburn hair color is deeper than the coppers above. Very rich without being too dark. A great color for fair skinned women who find the coppers too bright.
	Auburn red (level 5) Also a rich auburn, just slightly darker than the one above. These reds have enough brown pigment to keep them from being overly bright.
	Dark auburn red (level 4) A very rich, deep auburn red hair color. This is a beautiful shade. It's just one level darker than the photo above. The differences in color levels is subtle. If you spend alot of time in the sun, it's wise to opt for a shade darker than you want to compensate for the inevitable fading.

If you're coloring your hair red, consider having your eyebrows tinted. Many women have ash toned eyebrows, which contrast with the warm, spicy red tones.

Related Pages

New Hair Color Trends

Hair Color Article Index

Try out hair styles and colors on your own photo.

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