Dye your hair a strange color

A lot of people want to dye their hair with semi-permanent unnatural-color dye, such as Manic Panic, Special Effects, or Punky Color. Its actually quite a process and requires a lot of attention to detail or your hair will look/feel really bad, the color will not come out right, and itll fade instantly. This is, as far as I can tell, a definitive way to do it, from years of trial.

Step 1: Get stuff

You'll need:

• basic hair dying tools: combs, hair clips, a tinting brush, plastic bowls, rubber gloves, petroleum jelly, tin foil (you can get precut tinfoil at the beauty supply store or just cut some everyday kitchen foil)
• bleach: BW2 or similar bleach powder, get two packets for short hair and a small bucket for longer hair. you really dont want to run out. peroxide developer (20 vol for light hair, 40 vol for dark hair) a small bottle (4oz) for v. short hair, a large bottle otherwise. its cheap stuff and you dont want to run out.
• toner: "blue lightening"/"platinum"/etc. for dying hair a blue, green, purple, etc shade. "light blonde", etc for dying hair an red, orange, yellow shade. They come in 2oz brown bottles. ask the salesperson to point you to it so you dont get the similarly looking hair dyes. they're often apart and near the bleach.
• hair dye: "special effects" is my favorite and seems to seep least and keep longest. however, "manic panic", or "punky color" is OK. get a couple similar shades to get a gradient effect. most hair can be done w/ a single bottle. if you have a lot of hair, get two shades to make sure you're covered. you'll also need some left over for touching up. some people use "kool aid", but i cant advise it I buy mine from the garment district, which also sells online. any reputable place will have a color swatch panel. If you happen to have some hair bits, say cause you just cut your hair or something, you can dye them to get a sense of how it will come out.
• other: j&j baby shampoo, hot oil treatment, an old/unwanted towel that you can use to dry your hair once its dyed

You can't get most of this stuff at a generic drug store, especially the bleach and toner... you must go to a beauty supply store!

Step 2: Bleaching

cut the tinfoil into small squares.
wash & towel dry your hair.
mix up the bleach powder and developer in a plastic bowl with the tint brush, i feel like its a 'frosting' consistancy.
both people should wear old clothing as bleach will immediatly damage anything it touches.

Starting at the back of the head and moving up to the crown (this is very important!) The person bleaching the hair divides up the hair into chunks and brushes the bleach into the hair, get close to the roots but dont get the bleach on the scalp because it will itch a lot.

After each chunk of hair, fold it into the foil. my lovely assistant crunched the foil, but thats not advisable as its harder to remove without yanking the rather delicate hair

Step 3: Wash out bleach

Depending on your natural hair color (mine is dark blond), your desired color (a medium red), and developer (20vol) you wait 20-30 min or so and then wash out the bleach. i think using a hair dryer on warm will speed it up, but thats just a guess. take out a foil and see if your hair looks good. then wash it out completely. because its just a bleach step, hair will be 'brassy'

Step 4: Tone

Toner takes out the brassy color and leaves hair white-ish (blue toner) or blond (gold toner). Its also a mild bleach.

Mix the bottle with peroxide (50/50) and apply to hair with the tint brush, back to front. I think you can foil but I tend not to. After 20min, wash out.

Step 5: Dye

Finally, with all the prep done, pour out the dye(s) into plastic cups and decide what color should go where. Some people like to have bangs or streaks a seperate color, or fade from back to front or from roots to tips. I wanted a "fall leaves"/"flame" effect so we just alternated shades.

Before you start, rub petroleum jelly along your hairline: the dye will stain your face and ears if it drips or rubs, and its rather hard to remove.

Dye hair from back to front, make sure the hair is saturated, and use a fine toothed comb or stiff brush to brush the dye into the hair. Get close to the roots but dont dye the scalp: it looks wierd.

Now cover your hair with a showercap if its long to keep it from getting all over the place. Some people use a hair dryer to speed this up, but I dont. Wait 30min-1hr to get a good set.

When you wash it out, try to do it in a slop sink or similar because the dye can stain the porcelin and its a pain to get out (softscrub/ajax seems to work well). wash away from the face and body so that the dye doesnt drip onto your skin and paint it. A wand is good here. Maybe have your friend help you out. Wash until the water is clear, 10min minimum...otherwise you will just get dye on everything.

The folks at haircrazy suggest a vinegar rinse to help set the color. this seems like a very good idea, but i didnt know at the time.

Step 6: Upkeep

After you've washed out the dye, you may want to consider doing a hot oil treatment or two because your hair is very damaged. The dye is a conditioner but I still think it helps.

When you wash your hair, use J&J baby shampoo which will not strip all the color out at once. Harsh shampoos will make the color fade within a few washes. Some people suggest using a "coloring shampoo" (from the beauty supply store) if one is available.

Dont forget to wrap your hair in the dye towel when you sleep (if its long) or cover your pillowcase (if its short)

You can do minor touchups every few weeks to keep it lookin' good!

Comments

[AussieAnglerGal]

ok thats cool! I've dyed my hair a few times bit mostly it gets a red tint????
i'm a "dirty" dark blond, so i've got blond, hazelnut, brown and occasionally black hair, but i want to dye it black???? most brands say my hair color will stain if i dye it black, but would using highlights for light hair work???

[plasticcuppolitics]

Any tips on already dyed black hair (fruitice)? I tried once but bleaching it destroyed my hair and only made it orange. If i had kept going the hair would have surely fallen out. I used a platinum blond kit though, maybe salon quality 40 vol wont do that? Any suggestions? I really want turqouis and blue hair!

[kbledsoe1]

I have died my hair multiple colors with different brands. I definitely think that Special Effects and Manic Panic are the best brands. I just bleach my hair with a bleached hair bye from CVS or other drugstore. I have dyed my hair with bleach multiple times. The problem with it is that after too many times NO color will hold on to the hair because all the pigment is gone. I would only dye hair once or twice with bleach then the color you want. The Special effects blue, Electric Blue lasted on my hair for about 2 months straight with no fading. After about 4 months it turned a greenish color and had to cut it off.

[ufojunkie]

Okay just a tip.. No offence to Manic Panic but their Blue hair dye isnt the best. Its turns out green. I've dyed my hair twice with it and both times it was a green; its very pretty but not blue. so if your looking for a bright real blue try something like Raw Color or Color Fiend their both really good and both are at Hot Topic.com

[Jujubee710]

My hair turned out blue from the Atomic Turquoise actually.

[gblair]

if you mix the color automatic turquoise with ultra iolet you get a decent blue!

[plasticat]

Maybe it's because your hair wasn't white when you put it on... Blue+Blond=green. I had the same thing happen, and I thought that was why.

[Jujubee710]

I didnt even bleach mine I just put it over the pink I had before&&the atomic turquoise went blue.

[Aleksandr Skotbot]

I just got the best blue color ever, it's called SPLAT from rite aid (if you have rite aid) I cannot believe how well it turned out. I did, however, have to mix it with something else (fudge paintbox whiter shade of pale) because the blue is VERY dark.

[xfindIthardtobelievexX]

Hey i just dyed my bangs blue with this stuff and well...its to blue DX if i put bleach over it could i get it to light blue?

[Aourie]

SPLAT sucks. I just dyed my hair blue with it the other day, and its already fading. And thats after it couldn't be seen barely in the first place!

[lovergurl]

i used splat and mine never faded its been in abt 6mnths still as bright red as can be did you bleach it before you did yours? i get complaments everday of how they like my hair :)

[xxkaitlynxx]

it faded because it is SEMI permenant. meaning it won't last. if you want a color that won't fade so quickly, you need to look for a permenant dye.

[Aourie]

And I had it in for a little over a half hour.

[livinglivid]

I was just going to talk about SPLAT! I adore it because it really is great dye and it comes in a box with some bleach. I too have noticed that the blue will be very dark if you leave it on very long - but I've started leaving it on for only about 10-15 minutes. Its neon and it really doesn't fade like you would think it might.

[sharkona]

Also, I sleep with the dye in, most alternative hair dyes (i.e. Manic Panic, & Special Effects) have conditioner in them, so even after a whole night, my hair is soft, plus, it sets in GOOD, and lasts a lot longer in my opinion. Just put a plastic bag and a towel on your head & hop into bed. Rinse in the AM. If this is too much to handle leave it in for as many hours as you can stand!

[sharkona]

This is a really good inscrutableness, but it should also be noted that If you're going to go with blue, purple, pink or green colors, you're going to need it to be white blonde, but DO NOT bleach it again that day, spend a week with ugly hair, wear hats etc, and treat the Sh@t out of your hair with oil treatments and long heavy conditions, then do another bleaching round, the whiter your hair is the more vibrant (& even) the color will be.

[veggiepunk]

(removed by author or community request)

[gblair]

2 table spoons of koolaid, 3 tablespoons of toner, if you dont have toner just use a color safe conditioner, if you use conditioner youll need to add 2 more table spoons of koolaid, and 2 more tablespoons of conditioner! Hope this helps!

[kbeattie]

I would say avoid baby shampoo. Although its gentle, its not ph balanced and can cause the colour to fade quicker.
Use a colour protect shampoo and a spray in/leave in conditioner, so you only strip the hair once on each wash, instead of twice.
Also, keep a bottle of cream cleaner handy as I have found that it is one of the best things to remove dye stains.

[TexelGirl]

When I was dying my hair blue, one of the tips I read was to add some extra dye to a color-safe conditioner. That way you get a color boost with every time you condition. It did seem to prevent fade/dullness much better than when I didn't do it.

[Familia87]

i have this friend she dies her hair blue green purple and red she has natural blond hair but some dark spots so the hair dy misses them how could she get them to dy to

[Scwounch]

To get your hair that extra bright color, I actually recommend skipping the foil business and rubbing the bleach all over. Sure it will get on your scalp and itch/burn a bit, but no permanent damage will be done. Be a man and take it. Also, leaving the bleach in for as much as double the time is necessary to get from brown to platinum blonde (or as white as possible).

[komecake]

  This is not true. Damage CAN be done. Yes, I've done it, but it's not the smartest thing to do. I have gotten blisters on my scalp more than once. Once they heal, your scalp will stay dry for awhile and cause some wicked dandruff.

 This may not happen to you, but for a lot of people it will. It also depends on the strength of the developer they use. I would suggest promoting this idea as for others it could end badly. There IS a reason there is a warning about getting it on your scalp. They are chemicals after all. 

[mdunksta]

i got my hair bleached without tin foil and i didn't get squat on my head just a color

[amethysteria]

You can help your scalp by ensuring that you havent washed your hair in at least two (preferably more) days prior to bleaching.

[shiggles]

yeah i did that once with off the scalp bleach not knowing the difference!!!!!!!!!!!!!!had ozzing scabs on my head for weeks not a good idea never do roots 2 x's due to heat in scalp they lift faster and will over process quickly! really itching was the least of my concerns it looked worse than it felt and it burned like hell!!!!!!!!  yes you could really see the scabbs ugh!!!!!!!!

[hsullivan]

You can get hair color out of couuntertops witth toothpaste

[bstewart11486]

Just a Note: Toner is not a mild bleach! It is a mild dye that has a concentrate of either blue, violet, gold, green, or a combination of those. It is used to counteract the unwanted pigment or to enhance the color. It uses the basic concept of complimentary colors. Layering or mixing complimentary colors nuetralize eachother giving you a more natural color. Ex: Highlighter yellow blone hair would need a violet toner (yellow and violet are opposite on the color wheel) to counteract the yellow and give you a pretty neutral blonde

[God Under Siege]

Simply not washing your hair as often helps you keep the color lasting longer and keeps your hair more healthy too! Something the beauty and hygene industry totally don't want you to believe, but it's true! Don't wash out the minerals from your scalp everyday. It'll save you money too!

[The Ideanator]

Thats pretty much how I justify it, I just wish I knew where to get the green and blue dyes cheap.

[shiggles]

in ga our local cvs carries a kit with green blue and purple it's either special effects of splat beauty supplie places the ones with all the barrette and hair weaves have a huge selection of wild temp colors the shops that carry alot of ethnic hair and skin products

[shiggles]

cheap rum works really well at removing dye from skin and countertops!

[giantcanadianspydermonkey]

my hair is already blonde should i still use this?

[komecake]

  Not if it's the color blonde you want. Toners are to get the shade of blonde that you desire as bleaching often leaves peoples hair brassy or yellowy. There is no need to do it if you like the color.

[dammitcoetzee]

There is a pretty fantastic CRT tan occurring in all these pictures. =P

[Yerboogieman]

One time, i bleached my hair then put blue dye in the spikes, after that, my hair has never been straight again...

[donaoh]

When i dyed my hair blue, i mixed some dye in with my conditioner every time i washed it to top up the colour. A few times a week for the first 2 or 3 weeks i put conditioner into dry hair, wrap cling film on it and a towel over for a conditioning treatment. It really helped the condition of my hair, as it usually gets really weak from the bleach.

[hallowedgrave]

Just wanted to drop a "Thank you" comment for this excellent step by step hair dye instructions. I didn't follow it completely but took ideas from it that helped me during the bleaching/pre-lightning stage(e.g. tin foil, etc...)

[Felix Tamen]

The author is right: this is the best process for getting really vibrant color. However... I you're using really dark dye and lots of heat, you can skip the bleaching step. This works on my average-brown hair. The resulting color will be darker/subtler, but sometimes that's OK, or even desirable. The upside is that you don't have to damage your hair by bleaching it. I like to test this by dyeing the tips of my hair. Then, if I like the effect, I go back the next day and dye the rest. It's time-consuming, but to me it's worth it to avoid the troubles of bleached hair. YMMV.