Why does my hair get darker when I dye it lighter?

I have dark brown hair with red undertones. i have really bad greys up front, so i try to keep my hair dyed. because i've had so many bad experiences (the same one i'll tell about) i've settled and just dyed my hair dark brown. BUT i really want it a bit lighter. however. everytime i dye my hair a lighter shade of brown (like i did last night - medium golden brown)....my roots and top of my head take the color, but the rest of it turns...black. it looks ridiculous. what could be the reason for this?

Why does my hair get darker when I dye it lighter?

Are you bleaching it / stripping the color first, or, are you just putting the color in on top of the other color? If the latter, well, that's where you are going wrong. Color cannot lift color, only darken it. So, the color you are putting in is just sitting on top of the other color, thus, making it darker. The only way to get your hair lighter, is to bleach or strip the color you had in before, then, put in the new color.

Why does my hair get darker when I dye it lighter?

maybe its made wrong

Why does my hair get darker when I dye it lighter?

your har is prone to darkness so if you try to make it lighter it will turn darker

Why does my hair get darker when I dye it lighter?

must have been a bad brand of dye, or a mixmatched box of dye.

Why does my hair get darker when I dye it lighter?

I had a similar experience happen to me. My hair is naturally dark blonde, but about 5 monthes ago, I dyed it dark brown. The other day, I tried to dye it dark brown with red undertones, and my roots turned out almost orange! I suggest next time you color your hair, use the root touchup technique (usually it tells you to leave the color on you roots for about 15min and then apply the rest to your hair and leave on for about 5min.)