Things I Knew Before I Dyed My Hair a Non-Traditional Color
Lately I've been in sort of a rut. And what do you do when you're in a rut? You want to shake things up, of course. Now, I'm not the type who likes to shake things up or do anything impulsive* so I thought this through. I kept going back to my hair. I wanted to do something drastic to my hair.
But what could I do?
My day job is in a corporate environment so whatever I did had to work there. This really limited what I could do. I could do an edgy, professional cut but I'm someone who considers a messy bun as the height of hairstyle and the less product, the better. And I hate having short hair so that also limited what could be done. So a hair cut was out. That led me to color. I've been coloring my hair for years in the auburn and red zone for the most part but I wanted a funky color. Without bleaching my hair.
I did some research and found the Splat Midnight series. It's technicolor hair dye for brunettes who just don't want to bleach their hair. It's what they call "demi-permanent" and meant to last 30 washes. After reviewing the color options with Bestie Danielle, I went with the Midnight Indigo and took the plunge on the first of March.
How did it go?
Interesting to say the least. I was nervous-excited as I prepped for the dye job Thursday morning. At Danielle's suggestion, I decided not to go full blue but only do the underside. That way if I hated it or it came out awful it would be hidden when I let my hair down.
Since I've been DIYing my hair for a while. I have a system: wear my contacts, no shirt, and clamp my hair up with a claw once all the dye is in. After I sit and read for the 25 minutes it takes for the color to set, I hop all the way in the shower to rinse out the dye and, well, shower.
This system does not work with demi-perm dye.
First, since it was a blue base it look like a Smurf massacre in the bathroom. No matter how careful I was, blue dye ended up all over me and the sink. Even with Vaseline over my ear tips, shoulders, and neck I was still covered in blue. Hubby helped me remove some of it with water and some burp clothes that Munchkin no longer uses. It didn't work. What did was make up remover towelettes to take the dye off me. It worked beautifully.
The second mistake I made was not giving me enough time. This dye takes longer than my normal 25 minutes to set. In fact they recommend 45 minutes to an hour! Since Munchkin had an appointment that day I barely made 45 minutes. Next time I will not do it on a day where there is an appointment. Or a day where Munchkin is going to be around because the last thing I need is a blue toddler.
The third mistake was just hopping in the shower like I normally do. The water looked like blue food dye and stained everything. Including my feet and legs. So next time I will not hop full body in the shower. It just doesn't work.
Because my hair is naturally dark the blue did not pop like I pictured but it was more subtle. When it was 100% wet it didn't even hint at blue and I thought "dammit, all that time to just have black hair." Because of that, I wasn't sure I liked it at first but as the day went on, the color grew on me more. And the fact that I'm half blue and half auburn is kinda cool because I can twist my hair in different ways to showcase both colors.
One word of caution: When your hair is wet, the color will run and stain so it's important to not wear light colors when you have the wet hair, go to bed with wet hair, lean against your pale colored headrest in the car, etc. Make sure you have some ratty towels or rags to drape over things if you're going to put your wet head on anything.
Will I do it again? Most likely.
What do you think, Lurkdom? Was it a success or a bust? Tell me below.
Also, I want to know: What's the craziest thing you've done to your hair?
* Save that one time where I flew to PA for an overnight just to see a tribute band.
 |
| Ready to plunge in |
My day job is in a corporate environment so whatever I did had to work there. This really limited what I could do. I could do an edgy, professional cut but I'm someone who considers a messy bun as the height of hairstyle and the less product, the better. And I hate having short hair so that also limited what could be done. So a hair cut was out. That led me to color. I've been coloring my hair for years in the auburn and red zone for the most part but I wanted a funky color. Without bleaching my hair.
I did some research and found the Splat Midnight series. It's technicolor hair dye for brunettes who just don't want to bleach their hair. It's what they call "demi-permanent" and meant to last 30 washes. After reviewing the color options with Bestie Danielle, I went with the Midnight Indigo and took the plunge on the first of March.
How did it go?
Interesting to say the least. I was nervous-excited as I prepped for the dye job Thursday morning. At Danielle's suggestion, I decided not to go full blue but only do the underside. That way if I hated it or it came out awful it would be hidden when I let my hair down.
Since I've been DIYing my hair for a while. I have a system: wear my contacts, no shirt, and clamp my hair up with a claw once all the dye is in. After I sit and read for the 25 minutes it takes for the color to set, I hop all the way in the shower to rinse out the dye and, well, shower.
This system does not work with demi-perm dye.
 |
| The Smurf massacre |
The second mistake I made was not giving me enough time. This dye takes longer than my normal 25 minutes to set. In fact they recommend 45 minutes to an hour! Since Munchkin had an appointment that day I barely made 45 minutes. Next time I will not do it on a day where there is an appointment. Or a day where Munchkin is going to be around because the last thing I need is a blue toddler.
 |
| Wet it looked black |
Because my hair is naturally dark the blue did not pop like I pictured but it was more subtle. When it was 100% wet it didn't even hint at blue and I thought "dammit, all that time to just have black hair." Because of that, I wasn't sure I liked it at first but as the day went on, the color grew on me more. And the fact that I'm half blue and half auburn is kinda cool because I can twist my hair in different ways to showcase both colors.
 |
| Final product |
One word of caution: When your hair is wet, the color will run and stain so it's important to not wear light colors when you have the wet hair, go to bed with wet hair, lean against your pale colored headrest in the car, etc. Make sure you have some ratty towels or rags to drape over things if you're going to put your wet head on anything.
Will I do it again? Most likely.
What do you think, Lurkdom? Was it a success or a bust? Tell me below.
Also, I want to know: What's the craziest thing you've done to your hair?
* Save that one time where I flew to PA for an overnight just to see a tribute band.