Hair Dying and You
We’ll start at the first step, deciding where to dye your hair. If this is your first time, I’d suggest doing your ends. It’ll help you to convince your parents if they know you can cut it off later if they disapprove. Plus it’ll be easier to maintain and keep healthy. If you want to be a little more advanced, I would say to do strips. And then if you think you’re ready, do your full head.
Now no matter what color you want to do, if your hair isn’t an extremely light blonde naturally, you’ll need to bleach it. Be very careful with this, because the bleach is going to sting really badly. The end result is worth it, but it’s easy to lose sight of that and take it out too early. Then the color won’t stick and your effort will have been for nothing. There isn’t a really set time for bleach, because everyone’s hair is different. You can wash your hair out after your hair turns straw yellow. It’s extremely important to wait until that point however, because otherwise your hair will be a brassy yellow. I recommend leaving conditioner in your hair overnight after bleaching your hair, to help it recover from the damage.
After your hair is done bleaching, wash it out with cold water and condition it thoroughly! The bleach is going to damage your hair, so conditioning it well is very important. Now if you want to the color right away, go ahead but remember your hair is extremely dry and damaged from the bleach, so it might be best to wait a day or two.
Now onto the hair dye. Talk it over with your parents before choosing. Whatever color you choose, it’s going to fade eventually. Every wash it’ll get a bit dimmer. My advice to you is this, pick a color you don’t mind when it fades. If you pick a bright color just because you like that exact shade, it won’t stay that way forever. For brands I recommend Splat, Ion and Arctic fox, they are the brands I normally use, but heads up, Ion fades the fastest. It will be easier if you have someone else putting the dye in for you. If you don’t want to stain your skin, have the person putting the dye in wear gloves and put Vaseline or some cream around your hairline and most importantly on your ears. Note that your hair has to be dry when you put the dye in or else it won’t take.
After you put the dye in, wait 20-40 minutes before showering. I recommend using cold water, because it’s the best for your hair, but if you’re like me, I start with warm water and then move to colder water. Again, condition well. Now I always forget this, so I’m adding it in the article to remind you. The water is going to be very colorful, as is your skin and the shower, so remember to rinse the walls and floor off every so often or else it’ll stain. Again, I say this because my bathtub is currently blue, rinse the walls and floors!
Now remember, anything the dye touches it’s going to stain permanently, so wear clothes that you don’t like and that are easy to get out of. Also, put plastic shower curtains down anywhere you’re going to sit, to save your furniture. That’s all I have for you today, so good luck!