Can I Use Red Hair Dye As A Filler?

January 30, 2023 by Manasa Hegde

People who love dying their hair in two shades darker often wonder if they can use red dye as filler. The answer is yes! You can definitely use red hair dye as filler, but only under certain conditions that you are dying your hair in brown color.

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Red Hair Dye As A Filler

Why is Red Hair Dye Used as Filler in Brown Hair Dye?

If you look closely, every color has certain hues of different colors. For instance, brown color has hues of red, blue, and yellow, giving the brown shade a particular look when applied to hair.

It means when you apply red hair dye as filler while making your hair brown; it ensures that the perfect brown shade will be obtained. At the same time, the red filler will make the hair look shiny and vibrant instead of dull and brassy. So, red hair dye helps to pre-pigment your hair.

Let’s talk about the necessity of pre-pigmenting the hair and what color fillers are all about.

[ Read: How To Use Hair Dye Without Developer ]

Importance of Color Fillers

Prior to applying hair color, you have to bleach your hair. The bleaching process removes certain pigments from the hair. These are-

Eumelanin- brown pigment
Trichromes- red pigment
Pheomelanin- yellow pigment

Now, if you want to apply a brown shade, which is two shades darker than your natural hair color, you cannot do it directly as it will not give the desired color. Before applying the brown dye, there is a need to replace the lost pigments during bleaching. It is called re-pigmentation, which is done with color filler.

In the case of brow shade, red hair dye is applied as filler to re-pigment the hair strands.

[ Recommended: How Long Does Permanent Hair Dye Last ]

Benefits of Applying Hair Dye as Fillers

Helps the new color deposit evenly
Keep the roots from being as noticeable when they grow in

If you skip the process of applying red hair dye as filler, you may end up getting weakly brown hair with a greenish tinge. So, for a perfect brown shade, do not forget to apply red hair dye as filler.

How Does a Pre-Color Treatment Work?

Every color is formed by a mix of different colors. For instance, blue and yellow form green, yellow and red form orange, and so on. You should only use red filler if you are yearning for a hair color that contains red pigments.

The brown color is a mix of pigments like red, blue, and yellow. When these pigments are used in the correct ratio, a vibrant and lively brown color is attained. However, mixing various pigments creates an endless range of possible brown shades with diverse hues and tones.

If you want a level 4 brown shade, you need to concentrate more on red pigment, whereas in the case of level 6, the more yellow pigment will be required. So, whatever shade you want on the hair, you have to think about red, yellow, and blue pigments to attain it.

[Read: How To Get Blue Out Of Hair ]

How to Apply Color Filler?

Applying red color filler is essential before the brown dye. It helps in getting the desired brown shade because filler adds pigment to the hair. It is like dying the hair twice, with the only difference being that filler does not require a developer.

The developer deposits the color into the cuticle of the hair. Since the goal of applying filler is only to re-pigment the outside layers of hair strands so that later they can absorb the brown dye easily, we don’t need a developer with them.

[ Read: How To Get Green Out Of Hair ]

Things Required While Applying Color Filler

Red hair color kit
Brown hair color kit
Hair dye brush
Gloves

Steps to Apply The Filler

Firstly, we need to retain the natural oils of hair so that they form a protective layer. To achieve this, do not wash your hair for 48 hours before applying red color filler.
Comb hair and detangle them. Apply red dye to your hair without mixing it with the developer. Let it stay for 20 minutes and rinse.
Your hair will look bright red after rinsing. Now, take the brown hair dye kit and mix the dye with the developer evenly. With the help of a hairbrush, apply the mixture over the red hair. Do not miss any strand.
Let the dye sit for 40 minutes and rinse with lukewarm water. Ensure every bit of dye is rinsed from the hair.

Your hair will now look beautiful with the brown shade that has the desired shade, sheen, and shine.

Red dye works as excellent filler that creates a more brilliant and long-lasting effect. Therefore, using it as a pre-color treatment is essential to get the best tone.

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