Live Fast & Dye Your Hair

There's a certain type of girl who goes through a period of time, usually around junior high, when she dyes her hair unnatural colors. Pink, green, blue, accidental black. I am this type of girl. I am the prototype of this girl. Except I never grew out of it. Color really speaks to me, I find it one of the most primal and basic ways to express myself and my feelings. Colors are better than words, sometimes, at communicating emotion. I figure, I get to pick the color of my shoes, my nail polish, my dress, and my purse, as my mood dictates. Why not my hair?  

Here is the journey my hair color has taken over the last 2.5 years. This is only part of a much longer tale, 15 years of hair dye adventures, but i won't make you go that far back. 

first, there was natural hippie hair

natural color: exhibit B

then i went back to platinum, 

a color I always return to because it is the color of my soul

witchy lavendar

pastel violet

fishbowl blue

ballerina pink

peachy-pink in action

and now, electric mint

it is actually literally a color from Manic Panic called Electric Mint

(if you're ever bored, entertain yourself by visiting Manic Panic's bizarre website and browsing the user gallery)

✿ ✿ ✿ DIY ✿ ✿ ✿

I do my own hair - bleach and color. What this means is, I perform mad experiments with color in my bathroom and make a mess. I have a lot of tips for at-home bleaching that I will probably make a post about someday. As far as achieving pastel colors, which is what I usually do - My preferred method is  to mix a dollop of whatever *temporary* hair dye i am using with my conditioner while showering, then leaving it on 5-10 minutes (bleached hair is very porous and absorbs color quickly, like paint on a blank canvas. Important to note: pastel colors will ONLY work on bleached or very very light blonde hair). The conditioner dilutes the color and helps it distribute evenly. Leaving it on only a few minutes results in a really pretty pastel wash. Sometimes it is not perfectly even but i kind of like the "natural" variation in tone that happens.  I refresh the color every time i wash my hair - which i only do 2 times a week.

As far as brands of hair color go: i use Manic Panic often, and although i read a lot of slamming on Manic Panic in hair forums etc, i've always had great experiences with it. They definitely have the widest range of awesome colors. Special Effects is also great and sometimes easier to find in beauty shops than Manic Panic, although i find their range of colors to be a bit more limited. I've also dabbled with "professional" or salon formulas like Chroma, and find that while they definitely last longer, they are also a bit more complicated for the novice or DIY girl.

✿ ✿ ✿

So what's next for my hair? I always go back to platinum in between color experiments, because it really is my spirit hair color (something i firmly believe in). I've been wanting to do a nice pistachio green, with less blue in it. But a rosy-lavender is also sounding really good lately. I guess I'll just have to see what mood I'm in...