9 Top Red Hair Dyes for Bright, Vivid Red Locks
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Red is one of the most popular hair colors people want to get when dyeing their tresses, and we understand why.
After all, the fiery, head-turning appearance of this hue is hard to resist!
Want to try this hair color for yourself by using the top red hair dye? We’ve got you covered!
Check out our list of the nine top hair dyes for a luscious red color!
- Gives your hair a bright auburn color
- Creamy formula with rich pigmentation
- Uses Garnier’s Color Boost technology for guaranteed longevity
- Intense and long-lasting deep red color
- Suitable for both bleached and unbleached hair
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- Vibrant color payoff
- Free of alcohol, ammonia, and peroxide
- Contains deionized water, aloe vera, and citric acid
Table of Contents
9 Top Red Hair Dyes To Achieve a Fierce and Fiery Look!
Many hair-dye enthusiasts swear by this red hair dye for its vibrant color and nourishing ingredients.
Key benefits: Gives your hair a bright auburn color; long-lasting; easy to use
Features:
- Creamy formula with rich pigmentation
- Uses Garnier’s Color Boost technology for guaranteed color longevity
- Infused with highly nourishing ingredients like avocado oil, shea oil, and olive oil
Make your hair pop with Garnier’s Nutrisse Ultra Color Permanent Hair Dye!
On the hunt for the top permanent red hair dye? Your search ends here!
With a creamy formula, the Garnier Nutrisse Ultra Color in Light Intense Auburn is easy to apply and not as messy as many dyes on the market.
It’s also known for its highly pigmented formula that gives your hair a vibrant red color.
On top of that, it’s formulated with nourishing ingredients, including avocado oil, shea oil, and olive oil.
Apart from keeping your hair moisturized, these ingredients also help protect your hair from damage.
This semi-permanent red hair dye has gained a following for being highly pigmented and gentle on the hair and scalp.
Key benefits: Makes your locks look bold and fiery with its true red color; conditions and protects your hair during the dyeing process; lasts for four weeks
Features:
- Highly pigmented formula
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- Free of harsh chemicals
Achieve a fierce look with this dye from Arctic Fox!
The shade Poison from Arctic Fox is a true red hue with subtle orange undertones. So it looks bright and fiery on your locks — even when it starts fading!
This product is also quite gentle on the hair despite the intense color it offers.
In fact, its formula contains no harmful chemicals like ammonia and PPD. And it’s made with ingredients that protect your hair during the treatment and keep it moisturized and healthy.
All these features make the Arctic Fox Poison one of the top semi-permanent red hair dyes!
Quick Tip
Take note that this dye tends to bleed a lot. So apply Vaseline to your forehead and ears and place a towel over your pillow before sleeping to avoid staining, especially during the first few days after application.
Several reviewers have raved about this red hair dye, thanks to its impressively radiant hue.
Key benefits: Offers intense color payoff; adds shine; doesn’t make a mess during application
Features:
- Non-drip formula
- Contains a blend of natural oils
- Comes with a conditioner that repairs and strengthens the hair
Trusted by many, L’Oreal Paris’s Fériais a reliable choice for luscious, eye-catching red hair!
What’s the top brand to dye your hair red? For us, it’s L’Oreal Paris. And their Feria Hair Color in Velvet Red proves why.
The dye lends a deep, luscious red color to your hair with a beautiful shiny finish.
It uses L’Oreal’s Color Booster Technology to achieve a multidimensional hue with highlights. This prevents your red hair color from looking flat or lackluster.
Apart from the fantastic color, this product also has a non-drip formula for mess-free application.
Best of all, it contains conditioning agents like sunflower and coconut oils, which can nourish your tresses and make them shimmer.
Quick Tip
Want a lighter red color? Try the Cherry Crush (R57) or the Ruby Rush (R68) from this same product line with the same high-quality formula!
Now you can don gorgeous, bright red hair with this dye!
Key benefits: Intense color; long-lasting; beginner-friendly
Features:
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- Free of most irritants
- Suitable for both bleached and unbleached hair
Looking for a product that can make your hair stand out? Try Manic Panic’s Amplified Formula in Vampire Red!
Now you can don gorgeous, bright red hair with Manic Panic’s Vampire Red!
The brand’s “amplified formula” delivers thrice the intensity of pigment that the normal version brings.
As such, it offers impressively bold color payoff. Plus, its blood red hue lasts up to six to eight weeks!
The best thing about this product is that it can appear on dark hair, giving even virgin hair noticeable burgundy tones.
The second best thing? This is a ready-to-use dye that doesn’t need a developer. So applying it is a breeze!
This formula coats your strands in a rich red color while conditioning them at the same time!
Key benefits: Offers rich, long-lasting color; keeps hair soft and shiny; conditions and moisturizes hair
Features:
- Contains a keratin complex for color enhancement
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- Free of parabens, ammonia, PPD, sulfates, and other harsh ingredients
Get flaming red hair with this Punky Fire dye for a bold, unforgettable fashion statement!
While it’s semi-permanent, it lasts a long time on your hair, keeping its vibrant color for up to 36 washes!
And thanks to the color-enhancing keratin complex, it ensures you get the richer color payoff you want.
Another great thing about this hair dye is nourishes and conditions your locks as it deposits color.
It prevents dryness, damage, and breakage, allowing you to enjoy soft, radiant, and beautifully colored hair!
Experience salon-quality results by using this Vidal Sassoon hair dye!
Key benefits: Elevates your look with a cool, elegant red color; covers gray roots; keeps your hair protected
Features:
- Fade-resistant formula
- Created by hair color experts
- Comes with a conditioner and a developer
Expect to get compliments on your luxurious red locks everywhere you go!
Using this hair coloring product lets you achieve salon-quality hair color at home.
It has a rich, saturated merlot red hue that will never fail to catch everyone’s attention.
And it offers 100% gray coverage, making it perfect for mature beauties who want to get a classy and even red hair color.
Each purchase also comes with a color-preserving conditioner that helps prevent quick fading.
The best part? This hair dye won’t break the bank!
Love switching up your hair color on a whim? This color-depositing shampoo is a must-have!
Key benefits: Temporarily turns your hair red; helps strengthen your hair; repairs and nourishes
Features:
- Comes in shampoo form for ease of use
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- Formulated with keratin, silk amino acids, and pro-vitamin B5
Getting vibrant red hair doesn’t have to be a hassle with the Celeb Luxury Viral Colorwash Color-Depositing Shampoo!
If you’re looking for the easiest red hair dye to use, look no further than Celeb Luzury’s Viral Extreme Red Colorwash.
It’s a color-depositing shampoo, so you don’t have to worry about complex instructions and application.
Just wash your hair with it, leave it in for five minutes, rinse it out, and voilà — you’ll get dazzling red-colored tresses!
Despite being a shampoo, it provides rich and vibrant color payoff.
It also has added hair and scalp care ingredients, including keratin, silk amino acids, and vitamin B5, all of which help nourish and protect your locks.
With this semi-permanent hair dye, you get to enjoy intense color and shine without having to suffer through breakage.
Key benefits: Provides vibrant color payoff; keeps hair protected and shiny; nourishes and moisturizes hair
Features:
- Free of alcohol, ammonia, and peroxide
- Contains deionized water, aloe vera, and citric acid to help keep your hair shiny
- Vegan and cruelty-free
The days of sacrificing your hair health for a gorgeous pop of color are over with Adore’s Semi-Permanent Hair Color!
A red hair dye that’s guaranteed safe for all hair types, Adore’s Semi-Permanent Hair Color offers a highly pigmented color that lasts for up to six weeks.
It covers every strand from root to tip. And its cool, sophisticated ruby red hue flatters different skin tones.
But what truly makes this hair dye stand out is its formula, which is packed with natural ingredients like deionized water, aloe vera, and citric acid.
All these make your hair look glossy and healthy!
Get bright red hair without the commitment!
Key benefits: Gives you a temporary red color that looks super vibrant; colors quickly and washes out fast; ensures easy use
Features:
- Contains pure color pigments
- Suitable for all hair colors and hair types
- Comes in a convenient spray bottle
Want to try out the redhead look just for a day? Try out L’Oreal Paris’ Colorista Spray!
If you don’t want to commit to red hair for weeks or months, there’s a product just for you: L’Oreal Paris’ Colorista Temporary Hair Color Spray!
It lets you have outstandingly bright red hair for one day. So you can spray it onto your locks for a special event or a themed party, especially if you want it to go with a costume or a fun outfit!
And its red color can appear even on dark brown or black hair.
Quick Tip
Use it only on the bottom part of your hair for a quick ombré look!
How To Choose the Top Red Hair Dye
Here are some factors you should consider to find the perfect red hair dye that will work best for you!
Preferred Type of Dye
There are three common types of hair dye: permanent, semi-permanent, and temporary. They’re categorized based on how they work and how long they last on your locks.
Here’s a quick guide to the differences between them:
| Type of Hair Dye | Coloring Process | Average Life Span | Potential for Hair Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent | Lifts pigments from your natural hair and opens up your hair’s cuticles, allowing the dye’s pigments to deposit color into your hair shaft | Six to eight weeks | High |
| Semi-Permanent | Coats your strands with color | Four to six weeks or six to twelve washes | Lower |
| Temporary | Temporarily stains your hair with a new color | One wash | Very low |
As you can see, permanent hair dye lasts the longest. So if you want red hair that lasts months, it’s ideal to go for this type.
However, this hair dye type does open up the hair’s cuticles and makes it more prone to damage as a result.
As such, those with brittle locks or naturally dry hair (such as curly or kinky hair) may be better off using semi-permanent dye instead.
Lastly, temporary hair dye is a superb choice for those who want red locks for a day. It’s also great to have on hand for quick root touch-ups if you already have red hair!
Preferred Shade of Red
There are many shades of red hair dye on the market, and different shades go well with different skin tones and undertones.
So it’s important to consider whether your chosen shade will flatter your complexion!
Here’s a simple guide to the most common shades of red and which skin tones they flatter:
| Shade | Skin Tones | Undertones |
|---|---|---|
| Auburn | Fair, medium, and dark skin tones | Neutral and warm undertones |
| Copper | Fair to medium skin tones | Warm undertones |
| Burgundy | Fair, medium, and dark skin tones | Neutral and cool undertones |
| True Red | Very fair or very dark skin tones | Cool undertones |
| Ruby Red | Dark skin tone | Cool undertones |
Quick Tip
Remember as well that these shades of red create different looks!
Choose a lighter, warmer shade like auburn for radiant charm. But for a more sophisticated vibe, try a deeper, darker shade like deep burgundy or ruby red.
Starting Color
Your starting hair color is crucial when choosing red hair dye.
Some dyes require bleached hair to achieve vivid color payoff. If you’re willing to bleach your hair and give it thorough care afterward to prevent further damage, you can go for vibrant dyes.
But if you don’t want to damage your hair, make sure to choose a dye that shows up on dark, unbleached, or virgin hair.
Quick Tip
Manage your expectations when using red hair dye on dark brown or black hair. Your hair may take on a red tint or appear dark red, but you may not be able to achieve a strikingly vibrant red color.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Red Hair High-Maintenance?
Unfortunately, the short answer is yes.
If you plan to dye your hair red, expect touch-ups within six to eight weeks to keep it lustrous and vibrant.
How Can I Make My Red Hair Color Last Longer?
Here are a few ways to ensure the longevity of your red hair:
- Wash your hair only twice a week.
- Use color-safe shampoo and conditioner.
- Don’t rinse your hair with hot or warm water, which can lift your hair’s cuticles and allow the pigments in your hair to escape.
- Avoid using heat-styling tools as much as possible.
Switch Up Your Look With Vibrant Red Hair!
Have you always dreamed of getting red hair? With a wide range of shades to choose from in this article, you’ll be sure to find the perfect red you’ve always wanted.
Make sure to consider which shade goes best with your skin tone and hair type, so you can select the most flattering and least damaging product.
Want To See More Hair Color Options?
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- 8 Platinum Blonde Hair Dyes: Get This Cool Shade at Home!
- 7 Purple Hair Dyes for Dark Hair To Transform Your Look
- 9 Orange Hair Dyes To Make A Statement This Year