The coloured hair trend seems to really have boomed in the past couple of years and as someone who has had every hair colour under the sun (bar yellow, but soon my child, soon I will have the locks of Angelica Pickles), I've been asked a lot of questions and thought it'd be helpful to write down nearly everything I know in one big giant blog post. So here are ten tips to becoming a fully-fledged mermaid and achieving the hair of your dreams:
1. Bleach is an integral part of creating bright crazy coloured hair as it essentially turns your hair into a blank canvas. This sounds fairly obvious but do not use household bleach on your hair! You need bleach specifically for use on hair or you risk burning it completely off. When possible try and get your hair done professionally, especially if this is the first time bleaching your hair. You don’t want to accidentally leave it on for too long and have your hair break off.
2. If you’ve previously bleached your hair and are touching up the roots – try and avoid overlapping where you’ve previously bleached as this will create a weak point in the hair and could lead to damage.
3. If you’re trying to bleach out a yellow tone or make your hair lighter after a previous bleaching session, please alternatively use a white or silver toner as this won’t damage your and will alleviate brassy tones.
4. The semi-permanent coloured dye that you’re likely to buy is essentially a deep conditioner and really nourishes the hair. The container will probably recommend leaving it on for around fifteen minutes but don’t be afraid to leave it on for longer. Brands I’d recommend are Directions, Crazy Colour and the new products from Bleach London. It’s also important to note that although they are semi-permanent dyes, they can often leave a stain behind once they’ve faded out.
5. Remember in primary school when you were taught the colour wheel? The same rules apply to hair colour. If you can’t find a shade of green you want, you can always mix a yellow and blue together. Try testing it on a tiny section of hair beforehand, as the colour you see in the mixing bowl won’t necessarily be exactly the colour you’ll end up with. The colour wheel also applies for dying over your current colour, e.g. if you have blue hair and dye over it in pink it’s more likely to turn a purple shade.
6. If you don’t want brightly coloured hair and would prefer a pastel tone – mix a tiny drop of coloured dye in with a large amount of conditioner. Mixing your dye into your conditioner bottle is also a great way to maintain brightly coloured hair as it gives it an extra boost during your regular hair wash routine.
7. Try and avoid any unnecessary stress to your hair. Even little things like being out in the sun too long or having your hair up in a bobble too tight can stress your hair out but really heat is the main culprit for causing damage. Try to cut out using straighteners and curling irons as much as you can, if not altogether. Also avoid using your hair dryer, especially on a high heat. Even prolonged showers on a hot temperature can be bad news so try investing in a shower cap. Rinsing your hair with cold water at the end of the wash locks in the proteins from your conditioner and makes your hair shiny.
8. Deep conditioner, coconut oil and satin are your new friends. Try to use deep conditioner at least once a week to stop your hair from feeling like straw. If you have a day where you’re not leaving the house, have a go at using coconut oil as a hair masque – it works wonders. Sleeping with it in helps a lot too but that can get quite messy. If your pillowcases are made from a cheap material it’s likely that your hair will become agitated and brittle when you move about in your sleep. A silk pillowcase or a silk cap costs only a few pounds from Amazon including postage and will be so worth it in the long run.
9. You probably thought that your diet would have no effect on your hair whatsoever. This is completely false, the phrase “you are what you eat” clearly didn’t sprout from nowhere. Iron and vitamin B complex are good for maintaining healthy hair so either invest in some vitamin supplements or start eating more leafy greens.
10. If in doubt, just use hair chalks. Again these would only work on light or pre-lightened hair.They’re pretty cheap and easy to wash out, you could even have a different hair colour every day if you wanted. You could be the human embodiment of a rainbow!
If you have any tips on dying your hair or maintaining healthy hair - do leave a comment with what you find helpful.
