Ammonia (and NOT peroxide) is THE ingredient in all permanent hair dyes that actually opens up the cuticle and allows for the peroxide to lift existing natural color to deposit the new color into the hair shaft. So, ammonia could very well work. Actually, what happens when you mix the dye up and apply it to your hair is that the peroxide helps lift your natural color, aided by the ammonia, which is needed to actually open up the cuticle, and then it begins to deposit the new color. I know what most everyone online says, but I'm inclined to believe that the ammonia in PERMANENT (NOT "demi" or "semi" permanent, which contain no ammonia or very little) hair dyes could indeed open the cuticle up enough to "cleanse" the hair by allowing toxins to leach out. What I would try is either one of two things, or maybe even both (but be warned, it may very well burn your scalp, so do it 2 days before the actual test) here's method (1): Go to a beauty supply house, one that's "open to the public" (the drug store stuff tends to be weak) and purchase a bottle of 20 or 30 volume developer (peroxide) and look for a PERMANENT hair color (always contains ammonia, which is what you want) close you your natural color (I use Clairol Professional Complements, # 6A (Dark ash blond) or sometimes 4A (light ash brown) and go home and apply it to dry, unwashed hair. Process for 45 minutes for maximum contact time (you can also wrap your head in a plastic grocery store bag and sit under a hair dryer, if you have access to one, to assure even more penetration) and when the time is up, wash your hair with a good CLARIFYING shampoo (or even a strong coal tar shampoo), Aloe Rid by Nexxus is the best, but you'll probably have to get it online. Anyway, unlike with normal hair coloring, where you shouldn't wash your hair for 24 hours afterward to maintain your new color longer, the goal here is to wash your hair with the clarifying or coal tar shampoo like 6 or 7 times in a row, while the cuticle is still in an open (and damaged) state and do NOT use any conditioners at this point (Conditioner re-seals the hair shaft; not what you want at this point) to help leach out the toxins as much as possible. Then, you can either let it dry and then re-dye it the following day (recommended because all that shampooing will have removed much of the color you just applied, making it obvious that you messed with your hair, and I say to do it the next day because your scalp WILL be tender after all of this) but don't wash it after the second dye application, just apply a conditioner to it this second time, and then go take the test. Now for method (2): In addition to the first dye and subsequent 6 or 7 shampooing, apply some regular household ammonia mixed with a little water, let it sit for as long as you can stand it (it will burn, trust me) and then wash it again, then follow the rest of the steps. I have not tried the additional ammonia step, but you can grab some packets of ammonia/peroxide anti-burn additives at the beauty supply store and add it to your color (both times) as well as to the ammonia/water solution if you choose to go that extra step. I personally would think that you wouldn't need to do the extra ammonia step, but you could if you wanted. Other than trying these steps, your only other option is to purchase a very expensive hair detox kit called Precision Cleanse Afterburner online (type it into your browser and the website will come up) that has come highly recommended. Anyone out there familiar with this product, and most importantly, does it work? Many are just rip-offs. I hope this helps; I went to beauty school and my ex-wife was a licensed beautician, so I do know what I'm talking about regarding the hair coloring chemicals and what they do to the hair. But I admit that I haven't tried this myself, although I might have to at some time in the near future. However, another guy said that he followed this basic same home procedure and tested clean after having done "tons of drugs".
