DISCLAIMER: I am in no way a professional I just really suck and want people to know how to suck less.
As people know, I went to a Catholic preparatory school for 12 years and that came with a lot of restrictions on what I could do with my clothes, hair, face, etc. You weren't allowed to put even a touch of mascara on until high school and no drawing on your body (even though it was a healthy way I coped with depression.) One of the biggest rules that you could never break was no unnatural hair colors, which confused me because for a while I had an undercut and most of my head was buzzed and that was allowed. As soon as I graduated I took $120 out of my account and told my hair stylist I wanted my hair to be dyed shades of blue and green and purple and I was so pleased with how it turned out. So here's a guide and some advice I'll give to those looking to completely change their hair color.
1. Prepare to Sit and Wait for Long Periods of Time
For God's sake please bring a book or something to entertain yourself. If you know the hair salon doesn't have a water cooler or food, bring snacks and water. People expect that the bleaching process (if you're planning on lightening and then coloring your hair) will take the longest, but the dyeing actually took over two hours. The bleaching process only took about 30 minutes because even though my hair is naturally a dark shade of brown, it's technically a shade of blonde which makes it faster to lighten. If you're planning on going in for an hour at the most and then running out the door, you have to consider if you're willing to dye your hair and whether or not you have enough time. Personally, I had to leave work two hours early and block out the rest of my day just so I could dye my hair and that's what you'll have to do if you really want to. Take your day off and do it, if you don't have any days off try to take a couple hours off your shift and go do it. Don't expect to go in for a couple of hours and then poof it's there. It takes a long time. I ended up Snapchatting the entire experience with my hair dresser. It was amazing.
2. Not Everyone Will Support Your Decision
Sadly, we live in a world where not everyone supports "freedom of expression" even if it's as harmless as dyeing your hair red or blue. If someone talks to you and says they hope you grow out of this phase or that you'll look back on it and think it was stupid to do--just remember that even if you do think it's stupid in the future, you were excited and happy to do it now. Everyone makes a fashion choice that they'll later believe is stupid- just because it's hair doesn't mean that you shouldn't experiment with it, or at least try it- if it's something you're willing to work with. Do not take what people say personally because in the end, if it makes you happy then it won't matter what they say.
3. COLORS ARE NOT PERMANENT
This was something I learned the hard way. I didn't fully understand how permanent or not permanent hair dyes are. They're actually not even considered dyes, they're stains. When I dyed my hair, I did my normal shower routine with the exception of a new color-guard shampoo and conditioner and then I hopped into the ocean after a week. When I emerged from the cold water my hair (specifically where it was dyed purple) turned a weird shade of blonde.
Day 1
Day 9
Repeat after me: do not wash your hair every day if you want it to last. Trust me, this was the hardest habit to break, but investing in a shower cap and washing my hair once every three days made it last a lot longer. I had to go back after 10 days and get the colors refreshed and it wasn't fun to have to explain that I carelessly washed my hair a bunch of times and swam in the ocean, because that's stuff you can't really do when you dye your hair, unless you have enough money to re-dye your hair every week.
4. Don't Dye Your Hair By Yourself
I dyed my hair once with a box hair dye. It damaged my scalp and it damaged my hair. I had to let it grow out for two years before I felt comfortable dyeing my hair again. You can do what you want, but as my hair stylist said to me, "If you want to do a bad job, do it at home, it'll be more expensive to fix your hair later."
