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Many people will tell you the only "safe" way to dye your hair is to go to a salon and have a professional do the job for you. If you're extremely concerned abut damaging your hair or somehow messing it up, it is not recommended that you dye your own hair. That said, most people should be able to do the job themselves without much trouble. The advice in this article is not from a professional hair stylist, it should also be noted. It's just from a girl who has ben dyeing her own hair every color under the sun for about 18 years now. Aside from Platinum blonde, this is the easiest thing to do. Most drug stores will have box after box of brown, black, blonde, and red hair dye in every shade imaginable. You can even get some slightly unnatural colors such as burgundy or blue-black.
Natural hair dye comes in semi-permanent and permanent colors. Semi-permanent dye is less likely to damage your hair than permanent dye. Permanent dye opens your hair follicles and actually changes the color of the hair, which is why it does not wash out. Semi-permanent simply stainsyour hair with a color that slowly washes out over a period of anywhere from one to six weeks. If you want to end up with hair lighter than your natural clor, semi-permanent hair dye will not work, as it stains, and does not change the actual color of te hair the way permanent dye does. Dyeing your hair black is a long-term commitment. While it is possible to strip black dye out, it can be a very difficult process that often damages your hair. Be sure you really want black hair before choosing black dye... it's not as easy to walk away from as most other shades. Bleaching/blonding your hair ca do significant damage. It is important to not let the bleach sit on your hair for too long (certainly no longer than the box's directions), and to use a vry good conditioner afterwards. Apply the dye. Now is a time to ignore the package directions. 15 minutes? Not going to cut it. Try 4-6 ours. Or 10 hours, for that matter. These dyes are vegetable based and will be staining your hair, so they're not going to do dmage. In fact, they will help to condition your hair after bleaching, as they coat the hair with color and actually make hair look thicker and more vibrant. The recommended 15 minutes isn't going to do anything, and I know this from experience. If you have naturally light hair, you will be able to achieve some of these colors without any pre-processing, but the color will not last as long as it does on bleached hair. Believe it or not, the damage of the bleach actually helps the semi-permanent vegetable dyes stick to the hair better, though regardless, they will wash out over time. The color will also be more vibrant on bleached hair. The four major unnatural dye color companies are SpecialEffects, Punky Colors, Manic Panic, and Raw Color. You can get myriad shades of red, blue, green, turquoise, purple, pink, yellow, and orange from each of them. As for which is better, it is entirely a matter of personal preference. Once you have decided whether or not you want to blech your hair beforehand [follow thedirections if you do!] it's time to go for the unnatural color. Applying it is easy. The dye are either a paste or cream that you apply by hand to your hair. One very important note: remember how I said semi-permanent dye stains your hair? That means it also can stain your skin, clothes, towels, and anything porous it comes into contact with. Use caution. You can cover your hairline and ears with Vaseline before applying the semi-permanent dye, as it will ceate a barrier between the dye and your skin.The most important thing to remember when dyeing your own hair is this: you know your own hair pretty well. Does it seem damaged? Is it too dry? Can it withstand being dyed? If you're not sure... invest in some good conditioner and conditioning treatments and re-assess after a week or two. Still in doubt? Consult a professional and get his/her opinion. Otherwise? Have fun! |
