Hair Colour Remover @ Boots

yumyumyummy

Thanks Scott, your advice is so appreciated and this product is absolutely brillant.

Can I ask one more question, is there anyway for me to go lighter with tints/semis or is the only way bleach ie highlights and/or permanent hair dyes. What do hairdressers use to lighten hair when they do a tint??

I forgot to add to my original post ... in case anyone is worried about using this product that even after using extra strength colourb4 twice my hair was not been damaged in any way. This stuff is a life saver, I just wish it had been available back in May 09 before I spent £160.00 getting the black stripped from my hair. thanks again Scott.

xx

Hi Yummy!

Thanks for your kind words, it would be great if you cut and paste that last paragraph onto Boots review page for Extra Strength as loss of hair condition is always an issue for people and Colour B4 isn't able to ruin the condition in anyway.

With regards to lightening the hair with tints, it can be done with 30 volume peroxide however if your hair is medium brown to dark brown/black it will go very coppery.

It isn't possible for you to go lighter with semi permanent or tone of tone colour as the peroxide contained just isn't strong enough.

Also, if you have even a light brown (or darker) base colour you should always use a high lifting colourant that contains ash as this will neautralise out any warmth and create an even lighter result.

What is your natural base shade Yummy and what lighter colour are you trying to go?

Reply 84

daniellebrace

Thanks that a bunch of help, just one thing i forget to ask if i bought hair extensions (100% human hair) in my natural colour which is a dirty blond, (well in the dark its dark brown but as soon as i go into the light it turns blonde, yeah weird i know) and dyed them black but wanted to remove that colour would colourb4 work?

this is kinda a stupid question cause i know human hair works the same as the hair on your head, but still its good to ask lol

also when i applied the red black to my hair, my roots went really red, so that would meen after using colourb4 that i wouldnt have to lighten it (maybe the ends if they were stubborn).

thank you So much and if your product works i swear it will save my life and if i could, i would give you a noble prize or something. trust me ill buy so many boxs (cause i change the colour of my hair nearly as often as a buy a pint of milk, which is alot) that ill probally keep you in business all by myself lol

Hi Danielle,

Firstly Colour B4 would work on the hair extensions however do not colour this hair extension hair. The human hair they use has been treated and stripped of it's cuticle. If you artificially colour it you will ruin the hair and if you apply Colour B4 it will also remove the natural hair colour they applied in the first instance and be left with a horrible coppery orange shade. Not to mention the condition of the hair will look like wool. Personally, I'd buy more in the colour of your choice (black) and then you could use them to create avant garde styles with your lighter colour anyway.

Also, it sounds like your red hair colour had a lightener in it. However, colourants always lift a little at the roots (due to the heat from the scalp) so you may find the root areas are a little lighter than the rest of your hair once you use Colour B4. You see Colour B4 can remove the red but it can't reverse the lightening at the roots. However see what colour you have once you use B4 and take it from there.

Cheers

Scott

Reply 85

daniellebrace

okay thanks i never knew that (glad i asked now) and thats a good idea with the whole avant garde idea, and the girl in the photo of how i wanted it had black streaks so yeah (:

also im gonna grow my hair out a few inches before i do it, but once i do if i post a photo of the colour would you be able to advise me what to do (: god you must me a saint dealing with all us, more me. Also ill post a before photo so everybody can see the results and change.

ill be in contact soon (: THANK YOU

Reply 86

Sakura-Chan

20

HI! Can I have some help too please :h:

I had my hair bleached this time last year, dyed red/ginger and dyed it the same colour all year using Clairol Nice 'n Easy, until I put a black dye on (the live colour XXL one). Since then it's faded to a muddy brown colour, and I've been dying to a mid-mahogany brown colour, using the Clairol Nice 'n Easy dyes. It's lighter at the roots and darker at the ends.

What's likely to happen if I use your product? My hair is quite short, see profile photo.

Thank you!

Reply 87

Hay Scoot,

I know you've probably heard this before but I just used the extra strength verson of the hair dye remover on my hair (it was dyed with Schwarzkopf Live Color XXL in deep black and I've been doing it for about 5/6 months) and my roots are a red/brown colour and the rest of my hair is still black. I was wondering if you could give me any advice. I've ordered another of the removers froom boots which will arrive on friday so it should give myhair some time to rest.

Thanks

Reply 88

sorry scott :biggrin:

Reply 89

oh and my original colour was a light to mid brown

Reply 90

amiee..

hello scott .. your product is a miracle ive been waitin to happen for a long time !
I usedyour extra strength colour b4 and it worked a treat .. im naturally ginger and have dyed it a million times every colour under the sun and was very dark brown at the time .. i left it on for just over 20 minutes then did the buffer part excatly how it said to .. i blowed dried and straightened it and found it had got my hair back to a light brown,gingerish colour which i was very pleased with after having no luck with vosene shampoo and lemon juice .. but when i washed my hair a couple of days later it went darker :s-smilie:

then darker even still the next time i washed it .. it hasnt gone back to the very dark brown it was but it has got quite a lot darker than when i first did it ....
is there any reason why it would of done this and do u think i should use the product again ??
thanks ..

Hi Aimee, Sorry I missed this post earlier.

Your hair has re-oxidized this happens because some colour molecules have been left inside the hair and once the air gets to them they enlarge again and go darker.

However, what tends to happen (if the hair is going to re-oxidize) is the hair gets darker over around 24 hours after you have applied Colour B4. It won't get darker with every wash.

I'm interested to know what shampoo you were using as this could be a factor in why the hair was getting darker everytime - do you remember what shampoo it was. Also, how long had it been from your last colour application was it before you applied Colour B4?

Many thanks

Scott

Reply 91

Sakura-Chan

HI! Can I have some help too please :h:

I had my hair bleached this time last year, dyed red/ginger and dyed it the same colour all year using Clairol Nice 'n Easy, until I put a black dye on (the live colour XXL one). Since then it's faded to a muddy brown colour, and I've been dying to a mid-mahogany brown colour, using the Clairol Nice 'n Easy dyes. It's lighter at the roots and darker at the ends.

What's likely to happen if I use your product? My hair is quite short, see profile photo.

Thank you!

Hi Sakura,

Based on what you have said, if you use Extra Strength it will get all the old colours out. It's possible you may find the ends remain a tad darker than the rest of the hair, but there is no reason why Colour B4 won't return your hair to the light base which lies underneith.

As long as you haven't used high heats on the hair (which can melt the silicone used in these colourants) then your hair colour should remove fine.

Regards

Scott

Reply 92

HannahCole

Hay Scoot,

I know you've probably heard this before but I just used the extra strength verson of the hair dye remover on my hair (it was dyed with Schwarzkopf Live Color XXL in deep black and I've been doing it for about 5/6 months) and my roots are a red/brown colour and the rest of my hair is still black. I was wondering if you could give me any advice. I've ordered another of the removers froom boots which will arrive on friday so it should give myhair some time to rest.

Thanks

Hi Hannah,

Well firstly we need to establish if you've been applying high heats to your hair during the 5/6 months you have been using this Schwartzkopf colour.

When we launched Colour B4 in September I was getting feedback that Colour B4 was having no effect on Schwarzkopf Live XXL black, so I used it on my own hair and applied Regular Strength Colour B4 to it and it removed it without any problems.

However, this Schwarzkopf product is called 'water resistant' which means they have loaded it with silicone. This means you won't have problems unless you have been applying high temperatures to your hair with irons in which case the silicone melts and traps the colour molecules inside the hair.

Another factor (which can prevent Colour B4 from working) is regular use of certain types of shampoos. Some famous shampoos contain high levels of silicone which create a barrier on the hair and prevent any other chemical product from working.

If you could give me a low-down on your experience - when you used the product?, what shampoo you had been using etc it will help me put the pieces of the puzzle into place.

A good tip (before you next apply Colour B4) is to buy Boots build up removing shampoo, some bicarbonate of soda and some lemon juice. Wash your hair several times with the build up removing shampoo and then mix up 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of bicarb in a cup and apply it to your wet hair, comb through and leave for about 5 minutes. Then remove with the Boots build up shampoo.

This above method can break down any build up on your hair surface and open your cuticle which will enable Colour B4 to get into your hair. If you have got a lot of excess silicone in and on your hair you want to try and get rid of that as best you can.

However, if you could answer those questions it will give me some more background on your situation.

Regards

Scott

Reply 93

Hay Thanks for the advice, I do used GHD's but not very often only every now and againand I blowdry my hair often. Also I have allergies to shampoos (mostly sulphates) so I use polytar liquid which is made as you can probably guess from mostly tar. Thought youmightly like to know that I have mid lenght hair above my shoulders if that helps at all.

Thanks again

Reply 94

alisonplus2

Hi Scott, I too hate to jump on the band wagon and ask for advice, but would welcome any you can offer.

I used colourb4 (xtra strength) on very dark brown dyed hair and it worked lovely, leaving me with a lighter colour. I decided to use light brown over it, but my hair went very dark again, so I used colour b4 (XS) a week later and again I got a lovely light brown colour. I decided not to re-dye straight away, like Aimee I too noticed that my hair got darker with each and every wash, again not quite as dark as it was but still considerable darker than when I first did it. (this was back in November)

i note your comment to Aimee about re-oxidizing, I used Loreal experte colour limnio shampoo and conditioning masque. If I re-do another colourb4, how can I prevent my hair from going darker, anything you recommend.

Sorry Scott, one last thing, does this product remove permament hair dye - i only used it on semi-perm?

thanks scott xx

Reply 95

gaggles

Hi Scott, looks like you have quite a lot of questions asked, I have looked through them all trying to find something that may help me. I have been humming and harring about using this product for the last week or so. Before I go ahead and order can I ask a question:-

I had my hair coloured professionally about 4 weeks ago. Red tint over already dyed dark brown hair and I had just a few top foils in a deeper red colour. The colour looked fab in the salon but outside it is way way too vibrant. It is what I asked for so there is no point in complaining. I think the colour is washing out with each shampoo too (is it normal for the water to run red each time I wash my hair!!!). Anyway, here are my option

1. will colour b4 strip out all the red including the red foils - I am worried if I use colourb4 it will remove the semi-tint and not the top foils and I will be left with brown hair and stupid red top - (if it does work what colour do you suggest - my natural colour is a med brown)?

2. should just dye over the red with brown, someone told me to dye over it with an ASH BROWN to avoid anymore red, is this true?

3. just hang on a little longer and get some lighter brown full head foils (not blonde just lighter than dark brown) to break up the darkness of the dark brown/red and hide the red foils. If you could give me some advice on all these options I would be forever in your debt xxxx

I have coloured my hair quite a lot in the past 7/9 months, but it is in good condition.

Many thanks Scott xxx

Reply 96

ange de la nuit

11

Hi. Wow, you're so patient!

I had just given up on this sort of thing after investigating all the American equivalents and deciding it was too risky.

I have naturally dark blonde-brown-maybe slightly ginger hair (depends who you ask). In June or July I dyed my hair with a semi permanent red (can't remember the brand because it was in Slovenia). Since then I have been using Boots Botanics semi permanent bitter chocolate, everytime it's started to fade. I have probably used it about 5ish times. Now I would like my original colour back and roots are showing through. I have been washing my hair a lot, swimming etc in an attempt to try and get it to lighten quicker but it's not happening quickly enough.

So my questions are:

Would I need to use the normal or extra strength one?
Will it be fine to go swimming afterwards?

Thanks so much and sorry for bugging you with yet another specific enquiry.

Reply 97

Ilora-Danon

Well, I've ordered 2 boxes of the extra strength and a box of casting natural dark brown in case it all goes tits up. lol.

Reply 98

alisonplus2

Hi Scott, I too hate to jump on the band wagon and ask for advice, but would welcome any you can offer.

I used colourb4 (xtra strength) on very dark brown dyed hair and it worked lovely, leaving me with a lighter colour. I decided to use light brown over it, but my hair went very dark again, so I used colour b4 (XS) a week later and again I got a lovely light brown colour. I decided not to re-dye straight away, like Aimee I too noticed that my hair got darker with each and every wash, again not quite as dark as it was but still considerable darker than when I first did it. (this was back in November)

i note your comment to Aimee about re-oxidizing, I used Loreal experte colour limnio shampoo and conditioning masque. If I re-do another colourb4, how can I prevent my hair from going darker, anything you recommend.

Sorry Scott, one last thing, does this product remove permament hair dye - i only used it on semi-perm?thanks scott xx

Hi Alison,

Yes Colour B4 removes permanent and semi permanent colourants.

Secondly with regards to re-oxidation, there are several factors which seem to lead to this. It's been difficult for us to trace patterns in the hair types which seem to re-oxidize. For example, my hair doesn't re-oxidize. I've tried Colour B4 many times and have never found any re-oxidation - even when I have used jet black colours.

The biggest reason the colour will re-oxidize is because it hasn't been rinsed long enough. Although users feel they have rinsed for ages - what feels like 10 minutes can actually be 3! It's a very long and boring process. In fact, my best tip for rinsing it to stand in the shower and do it.

Re-oxidation seems also to occur on hair which is full and thick and it's possible this hair is holding onto the colour molecules. What can sometimes happen with thick hair is when the product is rinsed the water pushes the colour molecules deeper inside the hair. Because the hair then gets flooded with more water those colour molecules become trapped deep inside the hair. Over several days (or subsequant washes) the colour molecules are drawn back out and re-oxidize when the air hits them. In all my experience, I have found re-oxidation tends to happen on hair which was previously lightened (prior to the unwated colour being applied). When the hair colour re-oxidizes it seems to never go darker than the natural (original) hair colour. My thinking is, that possibly lightened hair has gaps in it from being bleached and stripped of pigment. These shrunken colour molecules possibly fill these gaps when being rinsed. When the colour re-oxidizes it matches the natural depth of the hair.

My best tip to prevent re-oxidation (if your hair is prone to doing it - and remember not all hair types are). Is to rinse and buffer the hair for around 7 minutes. However, then towel off and blast dry with a hairdryer on a warm (not hot) heat setting. When the hair is 90% dry (at least) go back and buffer and rinse again for a further 5 minutes.

By drying the hair mid-rinse, you are drawing out that water which could be trapping those colour molecules inside the hair and allowing the 2nd rinsing stage to effectively remove those trapped colour molecules.

After you have done this, for the next 7 days use a simple shampoo such as Baby Shampoo and do not re-colour your hair. You need to make sure all those old colour pigments are gone before using your previous shampoo or re-colouring. If you re-colour and there are old colour molecules trapped inside the hair - the peroxide in the new colour will oxidize them and cause your finished colour result to appear much darker than you had hoped.

It is an unfortunate fact that for whatever reasons, some hairtypes are more prone to re-oxidizing than others. If you want to double process the hair with B4 you can. Simply follow the above instructions. Wait 7 days (using only a mild shampoo in between) and then apply Regular Strength on the 7th day. This will go back into the hair and take away any molecules that re-oxidized. However, its incredibly rare the hair goes more than a shade or so darker with re-oxidation. It just tends to show up darker on (particularly) previously highlighted hair, as it mutes down all the blonde.

Regards

Scott

Reply 99