There are many styles and occasions when you may want colored hair. You might want something as simple as pink highlights or as complex as a rainbow-tipped mohawk. In this article, I will walk you through basic hair coloring techniques and maintenance. (NOTE, I am not a cosmetologist, these are guidelines as I have discovered them on my own)
POINT. Professional stylists will almost always tell you that you cannot do your hair yourself, or that "if you're doing it at home, you're doing it wrong." This is simply not true. These people paid a lot of money to go to beauty schools, and they make their livings by charging you over ten times as much as you would spend to do it yourself. If you know that you can do the same thing yourself for a fraction of the cost, it hurts their business, so of course they want you to come to them. You CAN do this, and you will do great!
Your hair is like a canvas. If you have a dark canvas, light paint won't be visible. So you paint on light canvas. But how do you get a light canvas? Before adding color to your hair, I advise you to lighten it.
LIGHTENING:
There are two methods, and they are very similar. The first is stripping the color. You can buy a box of color stripper from department store health and beauty departments for about $10. The second method is bleach. You can also buy box bleach at department stores for around $10. In my opinion, they are pretty much the same, but color stripper seems to be slightly less damaging to your hair.
POINT. Don't be fooled. You are damaging your hair. You are using harsh chemicals to alter the physical characteristics of your hair. The extent of the damage is what you need to focus on.
POINT. Make sure you buy actual bleach or color stripping kits, not blonde hair color.
POINT. Remember to always begin with clean hair. However, do not wash your hair immediately before coloring or lightening. If you need to wash your hair, wait til the next day to work with it.
STEP 1. The first step to coloring your hair is section off the parts of your hair you want to color. If you want your whole hair to be one color, skip this step.
HIGHLIGHTS. If you are highlighting, use a highlighting cap. It looks like an old ladies rain bonnet with a bunch of little holes in it. Put the cap on and use the end of a pick comb to pull your hair through the holes. Pull as much or as little through as you like and you are ready to begin.
SECTIONS/CHUNKS. Whether it's your bangs, the whole bottom half, the left side, the right side or any combination of pieces you want, you need to separate it from the rest of your hair. Use a comb to section out the parts you want to color, and tie or pin back the rest of it so that the sections are clearly divided.
STEP 2. Follow the mixing instructions on the box for your lightening product and you are ready to start. When bleaching or stripping your hair, remember to start from the bottom. Using a bowl and brush, or an applicator bottle and your fingers, apply the lightening product to the ends of your hair.
POINT. Always wear gloves. Due to the strong fumes bleach kits can produce, you may also want a protective mask.
Continue to work the bleach mixture through your hair, combing it through with either your fingers or a comb. You must be thorough. Apply the bleach over the entire area you want to color, except for your roots. Leave about 2"-3" of hair at the roots.
POINT. The heat from your head will cause your roots to process faster. If you bleach it all at once, you will end up with white roots and orange hair.
STEP 3. Once you have applied the lightening mixture to all but the roots of the hair you want to color, cover your hair. You can use a snug disposable shower cap or you can tie a plastic shopping bag over it.
POINT. The idea is to trap in the heat. You want to get your hair as hot as possible.
STEP 4. Using a blow dryer, high heat, low setting, act as if you are drying your hair. Keep the blow dryer moving, and be sure to cover all areas of your head evenly.
POINT. Don't keep the heat over the same spot for too long or you risk melting your cap/bag.
POINT. The trapped heat will accelerate the lightening process and intensify bright hair color.
STEP 5. Every 10 minutes or so, check the lightening progress. When your hair is a nice pumpkin orange all over, go ahead and apply the rest of the bleach to your hair, including the roots this time. Re-cover and continue blow drying your hair.
STEP 6. Be sure to keep an eye on the clock. The time doesn't have to be down to the minute, but I usually suggest leaving the bleach in for an hour.
POINT. I advise against going over an hour and a half. At this point, your hair may begin to turn to paste.
STEP 7. Rinse and dry your hair thoroughly. Do not shampoo.
POINT. If your hair is not a light blonde color after lightening, just be patient. I recommend waiting at least two weeks before bleaching it again.
POINT. Beauty supply stores, hair stores and salons should all sell "violet shampoo." This light purple shampoo can help reduce the brassy red and orange tones in your hair.
COLORING:
STEP 1. If you are going to color your hair, re-section and tie off the parts you don't want to color. Use bobby pins to tightly separate your hair.
POINT. The brand of hair color that I personally recommend is SPLAT. This brand can be found in most department stores, such as Wal-Mart or Meijer. Different locations stock different colors, so shop around. SPLAT brand lasts the longest, has the most intense and beautiful colors, and comes with its own bleach kit.
POINT. Apply vaseline around your hair line (to your skin, not your hair) to prevent the hair color from staining your skin.
STEP 2. Using your applicator bottle, apply the color to the lightened sections of your hair. Be sure to be very thorough, because if you miss a spot (the same as with the bleach), it will really stand out.
STEP 3. Cover your hair using a disposable shower cap or plastic shopping bag, just like you did with the bleach.
STEP 4. Blow dry your hair through the cap or bag. This is an important step, as it really makes your hair color bright and intense. Make sure to heat your hair evenly and all over.
STEP 5. Watch the clock. Leave your color in for about an hour, but not longer than an hour and a half, blow drying it the entire time.
STEP 6. Rinse your hair with COLD WATER. Be sure to rinse until the water runs totally clear. Do not shampoo. Dry and style as desired.
MAINTENANCE:
POINT. It is very important to rinse your hair with very cold water. Cold water holds the color in, hot water will wash it out.
POINT. If you can't stand cold showers, wash your hair in cold water in a bathroom or kitchen sink, cover your hair with a shower cap and then you can take a hot shower.
POINT. Do not go to bed with wet hair. It will stain your sheets and pillows.
POINT. Bright colors fade over time. After a few weeks or months, you may want to touch up your color. Just repeat the coloring process, there is no need to bleach it again.
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