You love your ginger hair, but you dream of a darker, sultry look. You feel ready for a change. Burgundy is a great hair color choice for redheads looking to go darker because it’s in the red hair family but can still give you the big change you’ve been hoping for.
The shade is a beautiful mix of purple and brown that leaves you with a gorgeous red wine color. Now that you’re ready to take the plunge and go deep red, we need to discuss how to go darker so you can achieve the burgundy color you want.
If you want to go from red hair to burgundy, as a professional colorist, I will discuss the step-by-step process of darkening red hair to burgundy the right way.
Note that it’s always best to get the help of a professional when coloring your hair because there are so many things that can go wrong and you want someone who has experience dealing with different situations.
How to darken red hair to burgundy
The great news is that it should be relatively easy to dye your hair burgundy if it’s already red. In most cases, you can just apply semi-permanent burgundy hair color over the red, and it will turn out beautiful.
There are several hair color situations where going from red to burgundy may take an extra step or require permanent hair color, let’s go through each scenario to ensure you can go from red to your dream burgundy hair color.
Situation #1: Your hair is red from root to tip
piece of cake. Choose a permanent burgundy hair color and apply from root to tip. You’ll want to section your hair into four quarters and go through each section, carefully applying the color with a colored brush and gloved hands to fully saturate your hair.
Saturation is key when going darker with hair color, as this will ensure the red is completely covered and give you an even, all-over color.
Condition #2: Your roots have grown out and the mid-lengths and ends of your hair are red
If you’ve dyed your hair red, but it’s been a while since you touched it and your roots have grown out, you may need to rethink your hair color formula.
Instead of just applying the hair color root to tip, you’ll need to do two different hair color formulas. One for the roots that have grown and then a second formula on your red mid-lengths and ends.
For the root formula, you’ll want a burgundy with a hint of red. You’ll also want this formula to be darker (for example, if you plan to do a level 5 burgundy on your ends, you should do a level four red/burgundy on your roots).
For the middle and ends, apply a burgundy hair color one shade darker than your roots.
You apply the root formula first and then go back and apply the second formula to the means and ends. Divide your hair into four quarters to stay organized. Following these two formulas will give you a uniform and smooth result.
If you feel a little intimidated by this process, you can always go see your hairstylist. Bring them an inspiring picture of burgundy hair, and let them take it from there!
Situation #3: You need a gray cover
If you are a redhead who also has a lot of gray hair. You will probably want to ditch the semi-permanent hair color and go for a burgundy permanent hair color.
Permanent hair color is the only one that can give you 100% gray coverage. Permanent hair color has many options for burgundy and will give you the change you want, plus the gray coverage.
Important things to remember:
- If you are completely red with no gray, apply permanent burgundy root to the ends.
- Saturation is the key to transitioning to a darker color.
- If you have roots, you will likely need two different hair color formulas.
- If you have gray hair, you’ll want to choose permanent hair color instead of semi-permanent.