Whenever I get bored, I always want to do something new with my hair. With it being as short as it is, there's not much to change with the cut, so it has to be the color. I've wanted to have my hair blue for a long time, but was always told it would wash out and dull too quickly. I decided that now was the time to do it. I did some research online for good hair dyes to use on brown hair, and didn't find much. What I did find was a great looking dye for only ten dollars, so I ordered it and got to work. I used Arctic Fox's Aquamarine hair dye, along with other products to take out the red dye still left in my hair.
The first step was to take out the red, because I didn't want my hair to turn purple when mixed with the blue. I used Color Oops, which I've used a couple of times before with great results. It pulls out any dye color in your hair without using bleach. It smells absolutely horrible though, like rotten eggs being covered up by a bad perfume, but it got the job done and brought my hair back to a brown.
After that, I wanted to try to lighten my hair up a little more before using my lightening product. I used L'Oreal Paris Excellence Creme in 9.5 NB, which promised to lighten hair a few shades. I have a sensitive scalp, so the tingling with this product did become a little bit uncomfortable, but nothing compared to some of the bleaching that I've had done before. After half an hour, my hair lightened to a honey dark blonde/light brown color.
Now it was time for the product I was most nervous about. I used Sun-In Spray all over my head, which promises to lighten hair when exposed to heat. I used the spray and blow dried my hair three times and lightened my hair up to a dark blonde. The product definitely builds up, and if you are using it before using a hair dye, you need to rinse and shampoo your hair to get all of it out.
Finally, I was able to use the Arctic Fox hair dye. I had read a lot of great things about this product: it's vegan, cruelty free, long lasting, and donates 15% of each sale to animal shelters. It also smells strongly of grapes. This product is very messy but easy to clean up. It's recommended on the bottle that you use coconut oil or vaseline to line your hairline so the dye won't get on your skin. I didn't remember to do that, so I did have a blue forehead for a day or two after. The dye comes in one bottle that can be used multiple times if you don't use it all up in one shot, and does not come with gloves so you need to have your own. I left it on for the recommended time of half an hour, and I plastic wrapped my head to lock in the heat. After the time was up, I looked at the hair to see if it looked like the color had soaked in enough. I washed it in mildly warm water until the water ran clear. Definitely use a towel you don't care about because even if you think all the dye is washed out,; more will get on your towel when you dry your hair. The color was so vibrant, I was amazed. My hair felt soft and healthy and looked like I had gotten it done at a salon.
The photo below was taken after three hair washes with warm to hot water. The color is still there and very intense in person.
I'm incredibly happy with the Arctic Fox hair dye and the price, and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get cheap fantasy colors with a great range in shades.
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