Question for people who dye their hair

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

Because it's been far too many years since I did anything like highlights and funky colors. I still dye my hair. Just not like this.

My MC keeps her hair dyed black. Straight black. That's it.

There is one part of the story where she colors it a completely different color--her entire head of hair--"just for the weekend." Because she doesn't want a certain person to recognize her who she might possibly cross paths with at that particular time.

And then she goes back to her trademark black after that weekend.

So. My question is. What colors could she realistically use in that situation?

I originally had blue, which worked out great for the comedic reactions from people she knew when they saw her.

But I think you have to bleach first if you go from black to blue... right? (I don't know, I've never done it) And then if she goes back to black again after only two days... would that completely destroy her hair?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Cella · Aug 19, 2011

Color added to color will make it darker unless a bleach or some kind of lightener is used.

Will she be doing this herself or going to a salon? A lot of professional colors and bleaches now have conditioning properties added to them so it would be reasonable that her hair might just appear distressed and not destroyed.

Archie1989 · Aug 19, 2011

yup.

(sorry, I know that's not the answer you wanted)

To go from black to any other color, you'd have to bleach the hair.

Then, to strip that color, and then cover it with black, you'd have to bleach it again. Essentially, her hair would be FRIED.

You could just go with a wig or something, although I know that's not as "fun" and "dramatic."

Or you could have her buy the colorful extentions that you can clip into your hair. If she's so inclined, she could also add feathers and stuff, (according to some of my friends, they're rather popular lately) which, if styled correctly, could make her look a lot different, especially if she's not the type to call such attention to herself.

hope this helps!

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

Cella said:
Color added to color will make it darker unless a bleach or some kind of lightener is used.

That's what I was afraid of.

Will she be doing this herself or going to a salon? A lot of professional colors and bleaches now have conditioning properties added to them so it would be reasonable that her hair might just appear distressed and not destroyed.

She usually does it herself but a salon is not out of the question. She has money. And adding a mention of going to the salon for it would actually be easier than changing all the dialogue and reactions that resulted from the blue hair.

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

Archie1989 said:
yup.

(sorry, I know that's not the answer you wanted)

To go from black to any other color, you'd have to bleach the hair.

Then, to strip that color, and then cover it with black, you'd have to bleach it again. Essentially, her hair would be FRIED.

You could just go with a wig or something, although I know that's not as "fun" and "dramatic."

Or you could have her buy the colorful extentions that you can clip into your hair. If she's so inclined, she could also add feathers and stuff, (according to some of my friends, they're rather popular lately) which, if styled correctly, could make her look a lot different, especially if she's not the type to call such attention to herself.

hope this helps!

She wouldn't go for the extensions or the add-ons. A wig... maybe. But then I'd still have to change everything because it's not permanent.

Crap. ANY color? Really?

CRAP.

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

I guess I should be glad I caught this now and not after I thought revisions were done. (trying to look at the bright side here. le sigh)

VeryVerity · Aug 19, 2011

Archie1989 said:
yup.

(sorry, I know that's not the answer you wanted)

To go from black to any other color, you'd have to bleach the hair.

Then, to strip that color, and then cover it with black, you'd have to bleach it again. Essentially, her hair would be FRIED.

This.

It's been a long time, but I've been there, done that. Hair like straw.

I have a friend who went blonde from black. I believe she had to have multiple sessions in the salon to get it there, and it still trashed the condition.

Bleaching black hair will make it go orange first, usually. But it might look patchy and messy, not an even colour.

My info is a good few years out of date but I doubt the chemicals have advanced that much.

Sorry!

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

VeryVerity said:
This.

It's been a long time, but I've been there, done that. Hair like straw.

I have a friend who went blonde from black. I believe she had to have multiple sessions in the salon to get it there, and it still trashed the condition.

Bleaching black hair will make it go orange first, usually. But it might look patchy and messy, not an even colour.

My info is a good few years out of date but I doubt the chemicals have advanced that much.

Sorry!

Excuse me while I go scream.

...

...

...

Okay, I feel better now.

Ugh, but seriously. I think I'm just going to have to forget the dye altogether. This makes me sad.

VeryVerity · Aug 19, 2011

Sorry

Just realised my post crossed with your preceding ones.

If it helps dying it black again would probably work after bleach/ blue, and she could just deal with the hair frazzling.

I'm sure there are other ways she can change her appearance (trying to help, know that's rather generic and mostly not helpful).

Good luck thinking of something to make it work.

Verity

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

VeryVerity said:
Sorry

Just realised my post crossed with your preceding ones.

If it helps dying it black again would probably work after bleach/ blue, and she could just deal with the hair frazzling.

I'm sure there are other ways she can change her appearance (trying to help, know that's rather generic and mostly not helpful).

Good luck thinking of something to make it work.

Verity

She gives herself a complete makeover, not just the hair. So I could still make the story work without changing her hair, it just wouldn't be as funny.

And that's probably a stupid as shit reason for getting upset over it, but oh well. I liked the blue hair.

Obviously if it won't work, it won't work. I'll cut it if I absolutely have to.

But if she can go back to black and maybe just wear her bandana for a while until her hair gets reconditioned, then maybe I'll do that.

Fabulous, now I'm torn again. :Headbang:

greenleaf · Aug 19, 2011

Does she have to go back to the same hairstyle as before? Maybe after she returns to black and her hair is fried, she can get a short hairstyle? Unless she's a bandana type of girl, then that would work, too.

Jersey Chick · Aug 19, 2011

Even if she went to a salon to go from dark to light, it would be at the least, a multi-step process over a period of visits. I was just getting my hair done this weekend and a girl came in to have corrective color and was told it would take at least two visits (her hair was a gingery-orange) at least a week apart.

Sorry.

OTOH, I was blonde and it took me one visit to get my hair a dark brown (I kept it dark brown for a few months and then went auburn this past weekend.

) My hair wasn't damaged at all, so it's possible to do without frying your hair.

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

greenleaf said:
Does she have to go back to the same hairstyle as before? Maybe after she returns to black and her hair is fried, she can get a short hairstyle? Unless she's a bandana type of girl, then that would work, too.

Good question.

But no, that won't work. haha. There's a big thing about her hair later in the story. It has to be long up to a certain time, then it *does* get cut pretty short. I can't change the timing of that cut, though.

And yeah, she wears her bandana when her hair is extra frizzy (it's naturally curly, did I forget to mention that?). But she doesn't really *like* wearing a bandana in public.

Thanks, anyway. *hugs*

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

Jersey Chick said:
Even if she went to a salon to go from dark to light, it would be at the least, a multi-step process over a period of visits. I was just getting my hair done this weekend and a girl came in to have corrective color and was told it would take at least two visits (her hair was a gingery-orange) at least a week apart.

Sorry.

OTOH, I was blonde and it took me one visit to get my hair a dark brown (I kept it dark brown for a few months and then went auburn this past weekend. ) My hair wasn't damaged at all, so it's possible to do without frying your hair.

Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!

Don't be sorry, though.

I'm just going a little crazy with this.

My hair is naturally dark brown with red highlights. I've dyed it blonde in the past-- after dying it bright red-- and didn't have any problems. Then I was red again with blonde highlights.

But this was over a period of weeks, or even months (I don't remember).

Currently, I'm dyed red and am going back to my natural dark brown soon, with either red or blonde-ish highlights. But that's a different story, going from light to dark. And again, it's already been a few weeks since my last coloring. And I UBER-condition almost daily.

I think I'm leaning toward removing that element from the story now. I don't want her to fry her hair, especially if she's changing other things, too. The hair isn't crucial.

I just liked it.

But I can live without it. And removing the little bits here and there that I liked won't be terribly difficult. It's just frustrating that something seemingly minor has now turned into a slightly major revision.

rar.

mickeyDs4 · Aug 19, 2011

When you go drastic like you're wanting to, it's best to do it in stages.

pixydust · Aug 19, 2011

LOL... well, technically she'd only have to bleach it once to make it the lighter color from black. So on Friday, or whatever, she'd bleach--now depending on her "real" hair color, it might take anywhere from 15-30 min to get it light enough (and pull the orange out). Then she'd put on the color.

Now, when she wants to go back to black, all she has to do is dye it black. Simple. Might be a little blue/violet-tinted (cause of the bleach) but it'll mostly be black. And it would HAVE to be permanent black to be dark enough.

But, only bleach once and the hair wouldn't be fried. There's conditioners that will help with that, anyway. And the added color fills the hair pores so it thickens the stripped hair up and softens it again. Bleached hair is frizzled. Colored hair is happy hair.

I know because I've done this before. I still have hair...lol

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

pixydust said:
LOL... well, technically she'd only have to bleach it once to make it the lighter color from black. So on Friday, or whatever, she'd bleach--now depending on her "real" hair color, it might take anywhere from 15-30 min to get it light enough (and pull the orange out). Then she'd put on the color.

Now, when she wants to go back to black, all she has to do is dye it black. Simple. Might be a little blue/violet-tinted (cause of the bleach) but it'll mostly be black. And it would HAVE to be permanent black to be dark enough.

But, only bleach once and the hair wouldn't be fried. There's conditioners that will help with that, anyway. And the added color fills the hair pores so it thickens the stripped hair up and softens it again. Bleached hair is frizzled. Colored hair is happy hair.

I know because I've done this before. I still have hair...lol

If what you're saying is true (and I believe you because you color so often), then...

I don't have to change anything. Just maybe a quick mention about the hassle of bleaching (maybe the day before she goes blue?) so that any readers who know what's what will not call bullshit on me.

If this ends up in the final version I'm acknowledging you for it. :Hug2:

heisei · Aug 19, 2011

Okay, technically, this is possible and it would not ruin her hair as much as people are saying, but only if your MC has thick hair. If it's fine, it wouldn't go well if she does it in a single day.

I've been dying and bleaching my hair by myself for years. Recently I bleached my hair from pink to blonde. I bleached it two times and dyed it blonde (with a special dye that's very much like bleach). I did this in the course of five days. I have very fine hair, and its state after all that butchering was: very soft, a little dry, and tending to frazzle if I pull too hard with a hair straightener, but visibly not that much different. It's been two months since then and my hair didn't fall out or anything. That's an example of fine hair.

People who have thick hair can allow themselves to be more drastic, doing it all in one day. A friend of mine went from dark red to blonde in a day and she has thick curly hair. Her hair ended up drier than usual, but that's about it.

So, the thing you imagined is not impossible. There are a lot of myths out there concerning bleaching hair, but the truth is that it only really matters what your hair is like. Your MC might have to bleach her hair thrice before applying blue, for example. Some people can go from black to blonde in two sessions, some need as many as six. It depends on the hair.

Alternatively, you could have her use colour hairspray, but I'm not sure how well that works on dark hair. You should buy some and try it out.

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

heisei said:
Okay, technically, this is possible and it would not ruin her hair as much as people are saying, but only if your MC has thick hair. If it's fine, it wouldn't go well if she does it in a single day.

I've been dying and bleaching my hair by myself for years. Recently I bleached my hair from pink to blonde. I bleached it two times and dyed it blonde (with a special dye that's very much like bleach). I did this in the course of five days. I have very fine hair, and its state after all that butchering was: very soft, a little dry, and tending to frazzle if I pull too hard with a hair straightener, but visibly not that much different. It's been two months since then and my hair didn't fall out or anything. That's an example of fine hair.

People who have thick hair can allow themselves to be more drastic, doing it all in one day. A friend of mine went from dark red to blonde in a day and she has thick curly hair. Her hair ended up drier than usual, but that's about it.

So, the thing you imagined is not impossible. There are a lot of myths out there concerning bleaching hair, but the truth is that it only really matters what your hair is like. Your MC might have to bleach her hair thrice before applying blue, for example. Some people can go from black to blonde in two sessions, some need as many as six. It depends on the hair.

Alternatively, you could have her use colour hairspray, but I'm not sure how well that works on dark hair. You should buy some and try it out.

Thank you so much!!!

My MC has thick curly hair. But it wouldn't be out of character for her to bleach and bleach and bleach as many times as she needed to to get this right. The reason she doesn't want to be recognized is a pretty major deal-- crucial to the main plot.

YOU ALL ARE SO AWESOME YOU HAVE NO IDEA - THANK YOU ALL FOR WEIGHING IN.

I love this forum.

pixydust · Aug 19, 2011

If it's fine, it wouldn't go well if she does it in a single day.

This is true. I have thick hair and that's why it's usually fine with the process. But heisei left it blond (I assume white blond). And when you fill the hair follicle back up with color, it thickens it back up a little. Bleach makes your hair very brittle because what it basically does it strip layers of the follicle off. Fill those follicles back up and you have much happier hair.

The last time I bleached my hair it took one session and I have super dark brown hair that is thick and resists bleach. Then I dumped the color on my hair (pink last time) and it was fine.

Just make your MC have thick hair...lol. Maybe even light brown under the black (or maybe she doesn't even remember what color her hair is...lol). She can even be surprised how easy the bleach job went.

pixydust · Aug 19, 2011

In fact if you have her do pink, she can bleach her hair just half way and the pink will look SUPER cool against the orange. It kinda gets these streaky things going on.

Then when she dies it black again, it'll hold the color but not be quite so blue/violet

pixydust · Aug 19, 2011

LOL...now I wanna dye my hair again.

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

Her hair is naturally a mousy brown, very thick and very curly. She keeps it short, usually, and dyed with permanent black, but she grows it out a bit more over the course of this story. (only to have it all cut off again at the end. heh.)

She does this dye job in the first half of the book. And it's only for a weekend, and she knows she needs to do it ahead of time.

So I'm thinking if she bleaches it the day before, then dyes it with blue the day of, she'll be okay. She doesn't go back to black for about a day and a half after that...

Am I on the right track now?

Lydia Sharp · Aug 19, 2011

pixydust said:
In fact if you have her do pink, she can bleach her hair just half way and the pink will look SUPER cool against the orange. It kinda gets these streaky things going on.

Then when she dies it black again, it'll hold the color but not be quite so blue/violet

Well, shitdamn, that's an even better idea. Now you got me thinking....

heisei · Aug 19, 2011

Lydia Sharp said:
So I'm thinking if she bleaches it the day before, then dyes it with blue the day of, she'll be okay. She doesn't go back to black for about a day and a half after that...

Am I on the right track now?

Yep, I think so.

Also, I agree with pixydust about the pink. Bleached hair is always orangey unless you apply a toner, so if she puts blue over the orange-blonde, it would probably turn out kinda green.

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