Hair dyeing

[Snow]

I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with dyeing their hair different colours. Reason I ask is because I have never had my hair coloured before, but I'm planning on having it dyed for this upcoming Halloween! Dyeing my hair is something I have wondered about for many years, but for some reason I have never made that leap towards actually getting it done until now.

I'm curious as to what other's experiences are with having their hair dyed. What can I expect? How long were you able to maintain the colour for? Does the colour tend to fade quicker or last longer depending on various things? Any tips on how I can prolong fading? For those who have done multiple hair dyes, did you find some colours turned out better compared to different colours? Oh and what are your favourite colours? So many questions!

I have an appointment booked at a nearby salon and I'm looking at first having my hair bleached (I have brown hair and need it to be blonde for the dye to look the way I want it to), and then they are going to dye my hair bright blue, along with adding some purple highlights. They reckon it's going to be a 5+ hour procedure.  But I'm excited for it! By the time it's done I'm hoping my hair will look pretty much exactly like this:

Spoiler

[close]

We'll see how it goes. I'll update this thread once it's done!

[Misanthropic Monster™]

I've not dyed my hair for a long time, but through my 20's and 30's I dyed my hair quite a bit - I've had it dyed green on one side and purple on the other, just purple, just green, henna red and pink!

What can I expect?
I think when it comes to dying, it depends a lot on the thickness of your hair and the color. My hair is naturally black, so I've always found it a lot of work to maintain the color - and the initial dying has always been a bit arduous as I have always had to bleach/peroxide the hair first which has a lot of risks and dangers to it.

I'd say though as long as you either get the bleaching done professionally or follow instructions correctly it should be fine - assuming your hair is dark ofcourse. If you're lucky enough to have naturally light hair then you may not need to bother with that part.

How long were you able to maintain the colour for?
For my hair, perm hair color typically lasts about a month before the color starts to fade a little and the roots show through - however I've never had long hair (usually faux hawks or short cropped hair styles) so I've never had to worry about roots too much as I'd usually just have to redye the entire hair after a new cut.


Does the colour tend to fade quicker or last longer depending on various things?
Actually yeah :) I find washing less, keeping your hair out of the sun and using special shampoos for dyed hair can help to reduce fading and help the color last longer. There's loads of shampoos you can get that are designed for dyed hair!


Any tips on how I can prolong fading?
See above :)

For those who have done multiple hair dyes, did you find some colours turned out better compared to different colours? Oh and what are your favourite colours? 

I've only ever used three brands - Stargazer, Directions Hair Color and Schwarzkopf LIVE - all these brands offer a lot of funky, bright lovely colors but I found Stargazer felt a bit cheap and the color would fade much quicker. I'd recommend LIVE and Directions over that.

My favorite color was probably Apple Green by Directions, that always made my hair a lovely pukey green!

Anyways hopefully I helped a bit there, good luck with your coloring experience and share pics once you've done it :D

[Snow]

Thanks a million for your reply, @Misanthropic Monster™ ! I've taken everything into consideration and it seems like you have lots of experience with hair dyeing, that's great!!

I'd say everything is going to be fine for the most part, as I am getting the bleaching + dye done professionally at a hair salon. I have heard  of some potential risks that come with hair bleaching, but I think the likelihood of me experiencing any adverse effects is pretty minimal. I'm also going to do a patch test about 48 hours before my appointment to be absolutely sure that I'm not going to experience any allergic reactions.

I was hoping if I get my hair dyed that the colours will last a month at least before it starts to fade, and hearing from you that your perm lasted about a month before it started to fade is reassuring. I am thinking of even making it last for the remainder of the year and I actually just last week ended up buying some Schwarzkopf LIVE (this one to be exact) from a local pharmacy which I was planning on using at home once I start to experience fading, it didn't cost much at all which is great.

If I like how this dye turns out, I've also wondered in the future if I should try lilac/light purple, pink and black, and red and blue! And I might show a close-up pic of what my hair looks like after the appointment, we'll see. ^-^

Again, thanks for your reply to my thread, it's very much appreciated! :D

[Misanthropic Monster™]

I'm glad I was able to help and tbh it sounds like you know exactly what you're doing so I am sure the color will turn out great! You should share a photo of the end product if you're comfortable with that, would be very cool to see the end result - the color you bought looks like it's gonna be really vibrant and awesome!

[tarraxahum]

I'll just throw my experience in simply in the spirit of sharing - but I'm also curious to see your result if you'd be comfortable posting!

I dyed my hair a few times, but I used the anthocyanin type of a dye (where I live it's only found in specialized hair salons, usually the like, alternative-fashion-marketed ones, or ordered off marketplaces). I am not an expert, but as far as I understand it, it works differently, because it covers each hair with a colored layer on top of it, instead of dyeing the hair itself. If that makes sense. They even call it 'hair manicure'.

It's a bit trickier to apply than a regular dye, too, but what that results in is that it's, like. Permanent (until it grows out). Hard to remove, very hard to dye over, but in my case I wasn't exactly planning to, so it was just what I needed.

I believe I heard that blue tones do wash out a bit with time, but I don't have any experience with that myself. My color was bright neon orange, and although it did get a liiiittle bit de-saturated, it pretty much held up right until it fully grew out.

Exhibit A, fresh dye (2 different times):




Exhibit B, a good few months later (I believe the dates tell me it's February, with the initial dye being done in August):



So yeah, if anyone's looking for a dye that will stick to you for a good while, I can vouch for anthocyanin! With a fair warning that I don't have experience with the colder color spectrum. Only the orange.

I should also note that I used a special shampoo to keep it bright longer, but as far as I understand you don't need to like, buy the expensive brand one, finding one with the same specs seemed pretty doable!

[Misanthropic Monster™]

I'll just throw my experience in simply in the spirit of sharing - but I'm also curious to see your result if you'd be comfortable posting!

I dyed my hair a few times, but I used the anthocyanin type of a dye (where I live it's only found in specialized hair salons, usually the like, alternative-fashion-marketed ones, or ordered off marketplaces). I am not an expert, but as far as I understand it, it works differently, because it covers each hair with a colored layer on top of it, instead of dyeing the hair itself. If that makes sense. They even call it 'hair manicure'.

It's a bit trickier to apply than a regular dye, too, but what that results in is that it's, like. Permanent (until it grows out). Hard to remove, very hard to dye over, but in my case I wasn't exactly planning to, so it was just what I needed.

I believe I heard that blue tones do wash out a bit with time, but I don't have any experience with that myself. My color was bright neon orange, and although it did get a liiiittle bit de-saturated, it pretty much held up right until it fully grew out.

Exhibit A, fresh dye (2 different times):




Exhibit B, a good few months later (I believe the dates tell me it's February, with the initial dye being done in August):



So yeah, if anyone's looking for a dye that will stick to you for a good while, I can vouch for anthocyanin! With a fair warning that I don't have experience with the colder color spectrum. Only the orange.

I should also note that I used a special shampoo to keep it bright longer, but as far as I understand you don't need to like, buy the expensive brand one, finding one with the same specs seemed pretty doable!

Whoa, I am very interested in this - I've googled it but found a few different brands of Anthocyanin Hair Manicure Color - did you use a specific brand? Did you have to bleach your hair first or did the dye coat the follicles so you didn't have to? I am really intrigued, as this could be my answer to coloring my hair again without having to bleach!!

[tarraxahum]

Whoa, I am very interested in this - I've googled it but found a few different brands of Anthocyanin Hair Manicure Color - did you use a specific brand? Did you have to bleach your hair first or did the dye coat the follicles so you didn't have to? I am really intrigued, as this could be my answer to coloring my hair again without having to bleach!!

Sorry to say, I did have to bleach it first! It's a bit translucent, so if you put it on top of dark hair (or on top of another color) then the result will be, well, layering the colors on top of one another. They say that's why it's a bit harder to do the blue color if your hair bleaches very yellow, 'cause you're risking to end up with green unless your colorist knows what they are doing

That said, I've been using this one that just straight up says "Anthocyanin" on it (second edition, for some reason):



Except not red, of course 

[Misanthropic Monster™]

Thanks for the info - I guess there really is no way for black hair to be dyed without bleach!

[Snow]

At last, my hair is done!! I got it bleached and coloured on Saturday and it took about five hours to complete. I was at the salon all afternoon, and I'm so happy with how it turned out. 

During my session, the first two hours were spent bleaching my hair. I didn't realise how painful the bleaching would be - my head felt like it was on fire for a whole hour. 😢 But once that was done I had my head washed, and then they started the colouring. The colouring was layered, so they made the front and tips of my hair purple, and then coloured the rest blue. That took another two hours, then I had another head wash, and then it was all done! It was all worth it, and I've felt so happy ever since. 

At the time of writing this, I've had coloured hair for almost a whole week now, and so far there are no signs of fading, which was something I was worrying about. I think I can expect these colours to last at least a month before I'll start to see significant fading. The salon I went to offered to top-up the colours either in December or January depending on how much it has faded by then, and as long as it's not too expensive I might go for that, we'll see.

[Misanthropic Monster™]

It looks super cool, I love the layering effect