The Color of Bascha's Hair THIS week is....

| My Hair RIGHT THIS MINUTE! | Hair of my Youth | How To's |

What color is my hair this week?

Special Effects is some bad-ass shit! I've got Pimpin' Purple with Deep Purple highlights, blending into the (still!) remaining inches of blue-black. I will note, however, that the bleach did manage to damage a few strands of the black-dyed bits, so I have the occasional streak of purple in there as well. I've gotten SO many comments, most notably from children in the grocery store. Also been dying my friend Ryan's hair. Check out how I did, here.

Colors of the Past

note: This is an approximation of the color changes my hair has gone through in the past four (yes, four) years. If you know me and remember another weird color I dyed my hair OR want to dispute some color at some time, e-mail me (or bite me, whichever is easier).

Still letting the blue shine through, but I had a co-worker go the same shade, so I've mixed it up with a little purple -- currently Manic Panic Purple Haze, for those who care. I've got some Special Effects on order (Pimpin' Purple and Deep Purple, as well as Burgandy Wine.) and a new kind of silver dye I haven't seen before. Hrm! Still have a few inches of black roots left... debating about getting rid of 'em.

Bye-bye orange, hello bleach. Yeow! But I have some blue hair. Whee! I've only got about 4 inches of black hair left, and, though quite frizzy ('Frizz-Ease' is some powerful shit!) at times, it's pretty darned keen. It started out REALLY bright, and now I've got this ice-blue to teal to black thing goin' on. I'm thinking purple for Samhain, but who knows... (Fudge Blue Hawaii and Manic Panic Midnight Blue, though the MP seems to take better... how dissappointing!)

Yes, it's still black. But I added 4 streaks of BRIGHT red (Red Corvette, from FUGDE, which does kick some serious ass.) and bright red on the short hair underneath. If it wasn't for all the cracks about 'Red Hat, Red Hair' I might have enjoyed it more. But it seems to be fading rather quickly. Orange, ick!

I have about 10 inches of black hair, 3 inches of bright red, and a slowly growing 2-3 inches of dirty blonde roots. Blech.

Okay, so I'm looking for a real job (tm). Black hair it is. I have roots though. Ick. I need to dye that, dammit.

I got bored. I talked a friend into helping me bleach out some big chunks in the front. I then proceeded to dye them with MP Deadly Nightshade, which produced a varigated hot pink to dark burgandy that starts at the roots about 2-3 inches back. It looks pretty keen, though I don't think my relatives appreciated my creativity much over the holidays. Ah well, we suffer for art.

Linda Carter blue-black. Nice N' Easy. Cheap. Simple. Goth.

1 part PC Ebony to 1 part PC Plum. Purple-black. Like a bruise. Pretty.

PC Plum over faded MP Vampire Red. Magenta-y.

MP Vampire Red. Mmmmmmm... Stayed this color for quite a while.

Booooooring. Clairol Ultress True Red, which is quite normal for my taste. Started out nice, with some bright highlights, but eventually faded to boring ol' brown. Blech.

PC Ebony, ending the rainbow brite phase. I say go out in black... yep, I do!

MP Green Envy (I think.) Bleached out the purple -- took two liftings. But I went with a dark green, so it covered with few weak spots. Faded badly, though, and will probably have to cover it woth something dark, else I'll have puke green hair. Ew.

MP Purple Haze. Whee! Went over the pink great, expecially after I washed most of the pink out. Bright, consistant color. Blues take well for me.

MP Flamingo Pink. Oh my. This is bad. I look like a lawn ornament. This will not last more than a week. Ick.

MP Lavendar. The blue had faded out to a steel grey, so I gave it a little lift. Nifty keen.

MP Electric Blue. Normally a color reserved for my friend Jacob, but I decided to give it a spin. Pretty darned neat.

MP Vampire Red. My first crazy color choice. It looks like my head is bleeding. It's so incredibly cool!

An approximation of my natural hair color -- a dirty blonde-brown. I think. It's been so long since I've seen it, I'm not really all that sure.

HowTo

Disclaimer: This is the way that I dye my hair. If you dye your hair using this method and it all falls out or turns some nasty shade of bright puke green, it's not my fault. You're the moron that followed directions written by someone you don't even know. Remember, a lot of the resultant colors on this page are dependant on the original color of your hair.
If you want to write me and ask a question about dying your hair, send the mail to bascha@unc.edu. I'll try and answer it for you.

Ingredients

one open-minded person who *likes* being stared at occasionally
hair dye of choice (Manic Panic (MP) or Punky Colours (PC) are the two I use)
wide-tooth comb(s) (NOT METAL)
tint brush OR wide paint brush
large plastic (NOT METAL) bowl that you don't particularly like
rubber gloves (several pairs)
shower cap OR plastic wrap and clothespins
towels that you don't particularly like
old t-shirt you don't particularly like
hair dryer with heat setting
Clorox Clean-Up Gel AND Soft Scrub with Bleach

Preparing

If you want to wash your hair, do it a day before. Make sure your hair is free of styling products and other gunk -- go light on the conditioner! It doesn't need to be wet or damp, unless your hair is easier to manage that way. Damp is okay... wet is hard to deal with. The dyes actually have some conditioning properties if you're using MP or PC, so you probably can do it dry without all the breakage you have with regular drug-store type perm and semi-perm dyes.

If you have really long, thick hair (as I do) it might take more then one jar or bottle of hair dye. If you're not sure, buy two. You can always save any leftovers for later. :)

If you have a trusted friend, invite them over to help. It's a lot easier to let someone else dye your hair. They can make sure it's even in the back and, if you're like me, maybe it feels good.

If you like your floors (and sink and walls and countertop) and want them to remain the color that they are, invest in some cheap towels that you don't like (to cover the floor) and buy some Soft Scrub with Bleach or Clorox Clean-Up Gel. Both products work well on dye splatters. If you get dye on walls or wallpaper, make sure it's color-safe before you put the cleaner on it. I found that the Gel worked better for the cream-colored walls in my bathroom -- for the spots that always seem to appear, use a cotton swab to put a little gel on there and let it sit. It should wipe off later. I'd test it first, though, as the countertop in my bathroom has some not-so-attractive yellow blotches where bleach yellowed the formica (or whatever the hell that ugly shit is).

Dig some ratty old t-shirts that you don't wear out of the house out of the drawer. Put it on. If you ever plan on anyone besides you and your pet seeing your bra, take that off too 'cause the dye *will* soak through your shirt (particularly if your hair is long).

Now you're ready to start dying your hair. Remember, be patient. Take it slow. It's going to take a while, so sit back and enjoy it.

Dyeing

If your hair is particularly thick and prone to nasty tangles, I'd suggest brushing it out first. Try and get it as tangle-free as possible, as you're going to work some of the dye through by combing it, and it's going to hurt like a son-of-a-bitch if you have huge tangles from riding down the highway with your head out the window.
Take a scrunchie or hair clip and pull the top layer of your hair up so it's out of the way. You want to dye bottom layers first, working your way to the top. Keep pulling layers until you resemble some creature from another planet. You should end up with bunches of hair all over the top and sides and one manageable chunk of under-hair at your neck.
Get your dye. If it's the liquid/gel kind, you may want to add some cornstarch to it to thicken it. If you want to make the dye last longer AND your hair is healthy, you *can* add about a teaspoon of salt to it (I don't know why this works, but it does.). This is the point at which you mix colors, if you choose to do so.
ABOUT MIXING COLORS
If you are mixing colors, make about twice to three times what you will need. This is for two reasons: (1) You always need more than you think you will and (2) if it happens that you *like* the color you get, you'll never be able to mix it again (if you don't like it, you can always sell it to one of your friends so you won't be the only one with crappy-colored hair.). Remember that mixing black and anything will only darken the *color*, not give you a black with undertones (for example, green and black do NOT make a green-black...). The reason for this is that blacks are based on another color -- you have green-based blacks, blue-based blacks, and red-based blacks. If you mix a blue with a green-based black, you *will* get a nasty brown color. Blues and red-based blacks will give you a horrid-looking burgandy brown. Trust me on this one.
Mix colors with caution, but don't be afraid to experiment. Some great color combinations can be had -- a good one is MP black and blue and MP plum. It gives a dark purple that is incredible.
Oh yeah, and don't mix the liquid/gel with the paste... it gets lumpy and is a pain in the ass to get in your hair.
Pour/glop the dye into the bowl. (It's hard to work out of the jars.) Use the tint brush to stir it up. Add cornstarch if it's too thin.
Paint your hair, starting with the back portions and working to the front. One section at a time, follow these easy steps:
1. Glop goo on hair, starting at roots.
2. Comb goo through, putting goo that gets combed out back in the bowl.
3. Check coverage. If there's no 'bare' spots, go on to next section. If there are bare spots, paint them and comb. Remember the check the underside of particularly thick sections.
Once you have completed 2 or more sections, it's advisable to comb them together to make sure dye gets through. When you've dyed each section well, go over your entire head and check for coverage. Pay special attention to the roots at your forehead and around your ears. Get a friend to check the back. Sometimes using and old toothbrush to put dye on the fine hairs in these areas works well.
Now you have dye on all your hair. You should still have dye in the bowl at this point. What you want to do is *saturate* the hair. You don't want it to be dripping, per se (though it will) but you want to make DAMNED sure that it's gonna take. So, slap that dye on your head. Squish it. Act like it's the most orgasmic shampoo in the world (you've seen those Herbal Essence commercials). Go crazy. Scrub it around and pile your hair on top of your head (or pull it back with clips, etc.).
It is at this point that you probably want to take some time to clean the splatters off you and your bathroom. Do it now, or else it will set. I promise you. For those with great fortitude, straight bleach (no, I'm not kidding.) will get it off countertops and skin. I wouldn't suggest putting bleach on your face, however. What I have used in the past is (and don't blame me if it doesn't work for you -- dammit, it works fine for me) fingernail polish remover. Now, use some common sense and don't put this stuff in your eyes or nose, but you can use it around the hairline to clean up drips and such. It also works well on ears and throat/neckline dribbles. Bleach and polish remover will dry your skin, so moisturize later, of you're of that ilk. Use the cleaning products mentioned in the intro for cleaning sink and counter and floor.
Now to heat-set. Take the plastic wrap or shower cap and put it on, fastening with clothespins where needed. Make sure it covers all your hair and fits snugly at the edges. With the blowdryer on 'hot' (use your own discretion here -- you don't want to fry your scalp either), heat that dyed mass. What you want to do is get the hair and dye nice and hot so each hair strand can absorb more. You do this for quite a while, the longer the better. I'd suggest sitting and watching TV. Your arms WILL get tired.
Once you've completely tired of blow-drying your head (it takes about 20-30 minutes before I get totally bored of the whole business), you can stop. Watch more TV. Bake cookies. Clean the house. Masturbate. I've left hair dye in for anywhere from 5-24 hours before. The longer you leave it in, the better it holds and the brighter the color. And, yes, you *can* go out in public like that. I have. If you have problems with looking weird, you shouldn't be dying your hair in the first place.
After whatever waiting period you've deemed necessary, you can remove the plastic wrap from your head. Get in the shower. (You might want to take off your clothes first as well, but that's up to you.) Warm, not hot, water is best. Wet your hair. Use shampooing motions to start with, and rinse the dye out as best you can. This takes a while and makes a REALLY big mess. You can't get it all, particularly if your hair is thick, but try. Once the water running from your head has minimal amounts of color to it (you're never going to get it to run clear, no matter WHAT the brochure says), you can stop. If your hair feels particularly brittle or tangle-y, you can add a LIGHT conditioner (Aussie Slip seems to works okay, but aviod the heavier stuff like L'Oreal or Vidal Sasson, though those are both good for later on.), but don't rinse it too much.
You're done with the dying part. Dry your hair carefully -- it will be rather brittle and prone to breakage. Blotting, at this point, is best. You can use a light leave-in conditioner if your hair is not normally oily. And, yes, your hair will stain stuff for a few days while the dye is new. But hey... a small price to pay for fashion. Now go clean up the mess you just made.