At Sally's, they have a product called "protein filler", which you can apply to your hair before coloring it next time. The problem it sounds like you're having is that your lightened hair is now very porous, and the red dye won't hold. The protein filler helps reduce the porosity so the dye takes better.

I know of which I speak:
people.tribe.net/agentoran...aebc30b16f

That having been said, red hair is still pretty high-maintenence. Good luck, Rox!

I googled and couldn't find ION anywhere. is it a temporary dye or permanent?

there are a ton of color shampoos out there that basically put some tint in your hair when you wash. you can also try putting temporary dye over permanent dye to get a really strong, longer lasting red. if you're using a light blonde base there usually won't be much depth to the color to begin with (red dilutes/screens back to pink or orange, it's one of the few colors that makes a whole other color when reduced/lightened). you could try doing a darker base first, like light auburn next time you dye.


red dye fades quickly, no matter what brand, no matter what application. it'll always need more frequent touch up to stay vibrant.