I need advice on home hair color to take my natural light brown with auburn tints to a rusty red?

I already have blonde highlights (aveda) and have for years. For the fall, I want to color the light brown parts of my hair (I think I am a 6 on the color scale naturally) a brighter auburn color, while leaving the blonde streaks intact. What I have in mind sounds really pretty, but I am afraid of going orange and/or messing up the blonde I already have. Also, I've got probably 10 gray hairs on top of my long, thick mane. Do I need to worry about grays at this point or can I use traditional coloring methods?

I need advice on home hair color to take my natural light brown with auburn tints to a rusty red?

I think I can safely suggest that you try henna to color your hair. You wouldn't even need to use a complicated formula, but you should always mix it yourself and use "body art quality" henna. Most likely, if you've ever met someone who used henna and didn't like it, they used some product available in a drug store that only INCLUDES henna and isn't considered a true HENNA product.

Some benefits: It is a natural product, and the lowest toxicity you can get, especially if you mix it yourself. You can use a mix as simple as powdered henna and rainwater. I kid you not, that would be it!

Next, it is actually GOOD for your hair, unlike hair dye. It repairs and binds keratin together, sealing split ends and protecting hair from future damage. To check up on this, go to hennaforhair.com. There are more benefits than I can actually list here.

It is also a permanent hair STAIN and lasts as long as your hair does, only fades slightly, works with your own hair color, turns many shades of red, can be tweaked as you like to get more variety in color, and only shows when your hair grows out.

Lastly, as far as grey hair goes, it softens as it colors it. It looks lighter at first, but after a second application looks like normal hair.

I'm not sure if you would end up with true "blonde" highlights if you try this, but they would be golden red. And the color would be very vivid on you if your hair is lighter brown. I would highly recommend this website for information. The woman who maintains it has a doctorate in cultural studies based on cultures that use henna, and she knows a lot about the actual chemistry of what goes on when you color hair with henna. Also, there are many troubleshooting tips and pages and pages of mixes you can try to get the color you want. A forum is available to talk to people who have used henna and may have information for your questions.

I have used this and highly recommend it for those who have some gray and need to soften the coarseness, or if you want something low in toxicity. The key is to use body art quality henna, not those products from beauty suppliers or from local ethnic markets. It costs more, but you are less likely to have problems with the quality and with counteractions if you have colored your hair with hair dye in the past.

Okay, that's almost a novel. Sorry. Anyway, hope this helps.

R