Disclaimer: If you were to ask me whether you should attempt an unnatural hair colour at home, I would most likely say no, go to a hairdressers. It's not that it can't be done, but it is a very damaging process and I really wouldn't want to give anyone advice which ended up ruining your hair. Saying that, I am a hypocrite because I have always done my hair myself, but there have many times I have asked myself "Why did I mess?!" whilst looking at my poor damaged hair. I've learnt alot about what I can and can't get away with over the years, and I'm hoping that if you are going to do your hair yourself then I can at least help you avoid the mistakes that I have made. I would say though, if you can, get your hair lightened professionally, that way you don't run the risk. Also, it takes a lot of guts to have brightly coloured hair. People seem to think that if you have unnaturally coloured hair then you are open to having strangers remark on your apperance, good or bad. Saying that, I love the colour of my hair, and I don't feel me without it. I can count the number of negative comments I've had about my hair on one hand, whereas the amount of positive comments I can't even count! Lastly, it's just hair. It grows. Have fun with it!
So, let's get cracking. One of the most frequently asked questions I get is "Did you have to bleach your hair?" and I'm afraid the answer is yes. If you want vibrant, bright hair then you have to start with at least a yellowy blonde, if not lighter, depending on the colour you want to end up with. If you are looking for a more subtle look, for example, dark brown hair that shines purple in the light, then you can do that over your dark hair. Think of unnatural hair dyes as paint. If you apply paint to a white canvas, you get a much brighter effect then if you paint over a dark canvas. It's exactly the same with hair dye. If you want a pale pastel colour then your hair will have to be almost white. For a darker colour like mine, a yellow blonde is ok. Here is the colour my hair was before I applied my current teal colour.
Now, bleaching hair is very damaging (which is why I suggest you get a professional to do it, but enough of my "do as I say, not as I do" talk) as you are stripping your hair of pigment. Virgin hair (hair that has not been previously dyed) is the easiest hair to bleach, especially if it is fair. This is because if your hair is dyed, then the bleach first has to remove the layers of dye, then strip the hair of all its pigment. Below is the different colour stages that your hair goes through whilst being bleached.
You should the lowest volume bleach you can in order to do the least amount of damage to your hair. If you hair is very dark then you will need a stronger volume bleach (40 vol. is the highest I have used and would ever recommend) and it may take a few times of bleaching to get your hair light enough to put an unnatural colour over it. The best thing to do is to wait as long as you can between bleachings and to take as much care of your hair as you possibly can inbetween. Be warned, you may have orange hair for a while! Unfortunately there is no miracle product that will repair your hair. You can do things to hide the damage and make your hair appear healthier, but in the end, the only way to get rid of damaged hair is to grow it out and cut it off.
Now, I have mentioned that virgin hair is much easier to lighten then previously dyed hair, and this is where I recommend another product to use, for dyed hair, before bleaching. This is a colour remover (here is one I have previously used). If you have dyed your hair darker before, then this will strip it back to it's natural colour with little to no damage. For me, whenever I want to change colours, this is the product I use. As my hair has been previously bleached then this removes all the dye in my hair taking it back to bleach blonde. The picture I referenced earlier is actually what happened after I used a colour remover on my unnatural red hair. I had first tried a weak (20 vol.) bleach which did absolutely nothing. Colour remover is the way forward for me.
Right, on to the interesting stuff. The dye! All unnatural hair dye that I've found is semi-permanent and conditioner based. I use La Riche Directions because it's easy for me to find in the UK (I order mine off of ebay but I have got them from shops like Rowfers and small independant shops and stalls in Camden) but I have heard alot of good things about brands such as Manic Panic and Stargazers. The hair dye comes in little pots and unlike the dyes we are used to buying in the shops you don't mix them with a developer, they aren't damaging to the hair and you can store them unopened or opened for as long as you want. You can mix colours together to get your own unique shade and you can mix them with conditioners.
Now, this process can be very messy. You need gloves, a towel that you don't mind staining, and a big tub of Vaseline (oh yes.) I usually do this process in my pj's so I don't ruin any clothes and wrap the towel around my shoulders. I then apply a thick layer of Vaseline all round my hairline and over my ears. This way when you get any dye on your face (you will get dye on your face) you should be able to just wipe it away and it shouldn't stain. Gloves are a must, and I use these even when I'm just washing my hair now, otherwise my nails go a lovely anemic blue.
So now you're prepped and ready to apply the dye. You can apply the hair dye to damp or dry hair. I've done both in the past, damp after I've just removed a colour or have bleached my roots (just rinsed thoroughly and then towel dryed) and over dry because I want to refresh my hair colour. I find that the colour takes to the hair a bit better on dry hair, but I tend to find it easier to coat all of my hair when it is damp as I suppose it distributes a bit more easily. I then place a carrier bag (classy) or if I'm feeling really fancy a shower cap, over my head, wrap that in a towel and then go about my day. This usually consists of lying on the sofa watching TV for a few hours or doing some boring chores. As I've said, this dye isn't damaging to the hair at all, infact I feel like it gives a bit of a deep condition, so you can leave it on as long as you want. I try to leave it a few hours, but it honestly depends on how long you can stand being stuck in the house with a carrier bag on your head! The longer you leave it on, the more vibrant your hair will be. Now if you're after a pastel shade, you can take a small amount of the dye and mix it with conditioner and treat that mixture exactly the same as you would the hair dye. It can take a bit of experimentation to get the desired shade, and pastel hair does fade a lot quicker than the normal dye, but it is very pretty, and then you can use the mixture as your conditioner to keep it the same shade. (I actually do this to my normal conditioner anyway to try and keep my colour vibrant). You can actually use a teeny tiny bit of purple dye (and I mean teeny tiny) mixted in with your conditioner if you're after white blonde hair, or are looking to cancel any yellowy tones in blonde hair (purple is the opposite colour to yellow in the colour wheel).
When you're ready to rinse your hair, put on your gloves and get rinsing. Now, I find I could rinse forever and the water will still run blue/green/purple/whatever. Rinse it until you feel like you can't rinse anymore is my tip. You'll never get the water to run clear so just do what you can. I would say to give your scalp a good scrub with your fingers though, especially where you part your hair, because the dye will also dye your scalp.
And that's it! Dry your hair and admire your lovely new colour! People will look at you. People may shout things at you (good and bad). People will aske how you did it. People will tell you they love it. People will tell you about when they had unnatural hair. And other people with unnatural hair will smile at you as you walk by. Be proud! I'm Kim, and I am a hair-dyeaholic!
P.S. Keep an eye out in the future for my posts on how to do your roots, and how to keep you colour vibrant and healthy inbetween dyes.
So, let's get cracking. One of the most frequently asked questions I get is "Did you have to bleach your hair?" and I'm afraid the answer is yes. If you want vibrant, bright hair then you have to start with at least a yellowy blonde, if not lighter, depending on the colour you want to end up with. If you are looking for a more subtle look, for example, dark brown hair that shines purple in the light, then you can do that over your dark hair. Think of unnatural hair dyes as paint. If you apply paint to a white canvas, you get a much brighter effect then if you paint over a dark canvas. It's exactly the same with hair dye. If you want a pale pastel colour then your hair will have to be almost white. For a darker colour like mine, a yellow blonde is ok. Here is the colour my hair was before I applied my current teal colour.
Now, bleaching hair is very damaging (which is why I suggest you get a professional to do it, but enough of my "do as I say, not as I do" talk) as you are stripping your hair of pigment. Virgin hair (hair that has not been previously dyed) is the easiest hair to bleach, especially if it is fair. This is because if your hair is dyed, then the bleach first has to remove the layers of dye, then strip the hair of all its pigment. Below is the different colour stages that your hair goes through whilst being bleached.
You should the lowest volume bleach you can in order to do the least amount of damage to your hair. If you hair is very dark then you will need a stronger volume bleach (40 vol. is the highest I have used and would ever recommend) and it may take a few times of bleaching to get your hair light enough to put an unnatural colour over it. The best thing to do is to wait as long as you can between bleachings and to take as much care of your hair as you possibly can inbetween. Be warned, you may have orange hair for a while! Unfortunately there is no miracle product that will repair your hair. You can do things to hide the damage and make your hair appear healthier, but in the end, the only way to get rid of damaged hair is to grow it out and cut it off.
Now, I have mentioned that virgin hair is much easier to lighten then previously dyed hair, and this is where I recommend another product to use, for dyed hair, before bleaching. This is a colour remover (here is one I have previously used). If you have dyed your hair darker before, then this will strip it back to it's natural colour with little to no damage. For me, whenever I want to change colours, this is the product I use. As my hair has been previously bleached then this removes all the dye in my hair taking it back to bleach blonde. The picture I referenced earlier is actually what happened after I used a colour remover on my unnatural red hair. I had first tried a weak (20 vol.) bleach which did absolutely nothing. Colour remover is the way forward for me.
Right, on to the interesting stuff. The dye! All unnatural hair dye that I've found is semi-permanent and conditioner based. I use La Riche Directions because it's easy for me to find in the UK (I order mine off of ebay but I have got them from shops like Rowfers and small independant shops and stalls in Camden) but I have heard alot of good things about brands such as Manic Panic and Stargazers. The hair dye comes in little pots and unlike the dyes we are used to buying in the shops you don't mix them with a developer, they aren't damaging to the hair and you can store them unopened or opened for as long as you want. You can mix colours together to get your own unique shade and you can mix them with conditioners.
Now, this process can be very messy. You need gloves, a towel that you don't mind staining, and a big tub of Vaseline (oh yes.) I usually do this process in my pj's so I don't ruin any clothes and wrap the towel around my shoulders. I then apply a thick layer of Vaseline all round my hairline and over my ears. This way when you get any dye on your face (you will get dye on your face) you should be able to just wipe it away and it shouldn't stain. Gloves are a must, and I use these even when I'm just washing my hair now, otherwise my nails go a lovely anemic blue.
So now you're prepped and ready to apply the dye. You can apply the hair dye to damp or dry hair. I've done both in the past, damp after I've just removed a colour or have bleached my roots (just rinsed thoroughly and then towel dryed) and over dry because I want to refresh my hair colour. I find that the colour takes to the hair a bit better on dry hair, but I tend to find it easier to coat all of my hair when it is damp as I suppose it distributes a bit more easily. I then place a carrier bag (classy) or if I'm feeling really fancy a shower cap, over my head, wrap that in a towel and then go about my day. This usually consists of lying on the sofa watching TV for a few hours or doing some boring chores. As I've said, this dye isn't damaging to the hair at all, infact I feel like it gives a bit of a deep condition, so you can leave it on as long as you want. I try to leave it a few hours, but it honestly depends on how long you can stand being stuck in the house with a carrier bag on your head! The longer you leave it on, the more vibrant your hair will be. Now if you're after a pastel shade, you can take a small amount of the dye and mix it with conditioner and treat that mixture exactly the same as you would the hair dye. It can take a bit of experimentation to get the desired shade, and pastel hair does fade a lot quicker than the normal dye, but it is very pretty, and then you can use the mixture as your conditioner to keep it the same shade. (I actually do this to my normal conditioner anyway to try and keep my colour vibrant). You can actually use a teeny tiny bit of purple dye (and I mean teeny tiny) mixted in with your conditioner if you're after white blonde hair, or are looking to cancel any yellowy tones in blonde hair (purple is the opposite colour to yellow in the colour wheel).
When you're ready to rinse your hair, put on your gloves and get rinsing. Now, I find I could rinse forever and the water will still run blue/green/purple/whatever. Rinse it until you feel like you can't rinse anymore is my tip. You'll never get the water to run clear so just do what you can. I would say to give your scalp a good scrub with your fingers though, especially where you part your hair, because the dye will also dye your scalp.
And that's it! Dry your hair and admire your lovely new colour! People will look at you. People may shout things at you (good and bad). People will aske how you did it. People will tell you they love it. People will tell you about when they had unnatural hair. And other people with unnatural hair will smile at you as you walk by. Be proud! I'm Kim, and I am a hair-dyeaholic!
P.S. Keep an eye out in the future for my posts on how to do your roots, and how to keep you colour vibrant and healthy inbetween dyes.
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