Dying Your Hair

[MermaidAmestris]

So I really want to dye my hair from blonde to black. I'm not super afraid of drying it out because my hair is oily as is, but I'm still afraid of it looking ugly in general. Are there any natural dyes that can help me get a good color? And would I have to keep redying it constantly (like if I were to dye it blue or something), or would I only need to dye the roots? Is there a permanent dye that holds its own against chlorine and saltwater and constantly being underwater? Should I dye it myself, or get it done at a salon, and what would be a good price estimate? Haha, sorry I don't know much about dying my hair, I've never been allowed to before

[Morenna]

Personally, I'd find a salon to do it if possible. They'll know best how to do it safely for your hair and keep it healthy. I don't know if there's a way to permanently dye hair, but I'm not an expert. That might be a question I'd ask the stylist. I haven't ever gone as dark as black, but I do habitually have mine dyed a dark auburn/red and I'm always having to have the roots touched up as my hair grows out pretty quickly.

In my personal experience, the more exposure to water I've had, the faster my dye washes out, but I've also been told that's a hazard of going with reds. I'm not honestly certain about blacks. Again, I'd probably ask a professional.

As for a price estimate, it depends where you go. I go to a mid-/high-end place and for a full color my stylist charges $95 and for a touch up on roots just a little over half that. You could probably find a place to do it for cheaper, but I'd be leery of the quality of the dye they're using and what damage it could do to your hair if you decide to keep doing it.

Another option would be to look into beauty schools in your area. Services will be cheaper as the students are learning, but dyes especially are closely supervised by instructors in that environment, so I wouldn't be so much concerned for quality as time while instructors teach and monitor.

[selkie13]

You would probably need to dye the whole head if the chlorine has changed the color too much, but if its pretty similar to when yo first dye it the roots and a little bit more should be fine. But chlorine does wash out your dye so remember, condition before and after going into the pool! It works for me and kind of delays the fading

[AniaR]

I dye my hair regularly because it gets so chlorine damaged. I have auburn hair and I'm in chlorine so much it keeps going blonde at the ends. My hair dresser said dying it helps close the folicles being opened by the chlorine. I do notice a huge diff for the better when I do it.

For sure talk to a salon for advice

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[BayouMermaid]

I would love to dye my hair... but with four feet of hair, I think it would get expensive. I believe that black is one of the colors that holds better to hair than lighter colors like red. I think a salon is going to be the best place to get advice. They may even be able to recommend a hair care routine for hair that is in frequent contact with chlorine.

[deepblue]

So I really want to dye my hair from blonde to black. I'm not super afraid of drying it out because my hair is oily as is, but I'm still afraid of it looking ugly in general. Are there any natural dyes that can help me get a good color? And would I have to keep redying it constantly (like if I were to dye it blue or something), or would I only need to dye the roots? Is there a permanent dye that holds its own against chlorine and saltwater and constantly being underwater? Should I dye it myself, or get it done at a salon, and what would be a good price estimate? Haha, sorry I don't know much about dying my hair, I've never been allowed to before

I've been dying my hair myself since I was about 14. I have suggestions.

If you do this yourself: There are tons of tutorials online. It's best not to buy a prepackaged box of dye and chemicals, they're just not the best. It's best to get a black permanent dye, developer- you only need a lift of 10 if you're going black over a light color.



However, if you want to buy a prepackaged dye and developer, make sure it's high quality, and don't skimp on price. The gloves they come with are usually crummy. Invest in a decent pair from a salon supply place.

You'll also need an applicator brush and bowl. Depending on your length of hair, you'll need clips to get it out of your way as you go. You need a cap to put over your head while the dye sets. You'll need to protect your ears and hairline with petroleum jelly, and protect the surface areas of where you are dying your hair.

The *only* prepackaged dye which works for my highly resistant hair is Naturatint- and it's also better for the environment and for your hair. You can find it at Whole Foods type places.

http://www.naturtintusa.com/



It is a lot more expensive, but worth it on so many levels. The black is a true black, in spite of the pic on their site not being very good.

If you have bleached hair and that's why it's lighter? You might need a filler first. If our follicles are too processed, the black will not always take and you'll end up blotchy. You can only get that at a salon supply place.

However- personally, I recommend that if this is the first time you're going black over lighter, that you get it done at a salon. Watch how they do it. Then when it comes time to do your roots, you can get the things you need at a salon supply place and take care of roots at very little cost.

[MermaidAmestris]

I've been dying my hair myself since I was about 14. I have suggestions.

If you do this yourself: There are tons of tutorials online. It's best not to buy a prepackaged box of dye and chemicals, they're just not the best. It's best to get a black permanent dye, developer- you only need a lift of 10 if you're going black over a light color.



However, if you want to buy a prepackaged dye and developer, make sure it's high quality, and don't skimp on price. The gloves they come with are usually crummy. Invest in a decent pair from a salon supply place.

You'll also need an applicator brush and bowl. Depending on your length of hair, you'll need clips to get it out of your way as you go. You need a cap to put over your head while the dye sets. You'll need to protect your ears and hairline with petroleum jelly, and protect the surface areas of where you are dying your hair.

The *only* prepackaged dye which works for my highly resistant hair is Naturatint- and it's also better for the environment and for your hair. You can find it at Whole Foods type places.

http://www.naturtintusa.com/



It is a lot more expensive, but worth it on so many levels. The black is a true black, in spite of the pic on their site not being very good.

If you have bleached hair and that's why it's lighter? You might need a filler first. If our follicles are too processed, the black will not always take and you'll end up blotchy. You can only get that at a salon supply place.

However- personally, I recommend that if this is the first time you're going black over lighter, that you get it done at a salon. Watch how they do it. Then when it comes time to do your roots, you can get the things you need at a salon supply place and take care of roots at very little cost.

Thanks. My hair is actually naturally blonde, it's just a hideous shade. I've never treated my hair at all except for shampooing and conditioning in the shower, so I had no idea what to do. Well, technically I dyed it once, but it wasn't real hair dye, it was that spray-on colored stuff that doesn't last very long. I did it black once for Halloween and got lots of compliments, people said it looked very natural on me. And my tail has black in it anyway, plus my makeup style is also bold, so I thought the black hair would look best since it's a dark color, and I don't think my bold looks go with my weird soft hair color. Or my "soft" personality, but I've been working on that. Besides, I'm playing a fantasy character who comes from the sea and isn't around people, so it would only make sense that I'd be a bit shy, haha.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

I've been dyeing my hair since I was 13. That's when my first 20 grey hairs appeared. No grey hairs anywhere else on my noggin, just that one spot...

I use L'Oreal brand of hair dyes, the ones that cover grey hair. They last the longest.

Since your natural hair color is blonde, you could try a darker shade that's not black, look on the back of the box, it will usually tell you what shade it will be if you have certain natural colors.

[Mermaid Azira]

I have used both regular hair dye and Henna, both at my house and in a salon. Henna with some other sort of dye is an option. Henna is a bunch of work, but it improves your hair's health. But as long as your hair is pretty healthy regular dye should be fine.

How long do you want to have your hair dyed? Black does not come out of blonde hair, even if it is semi-permenant. To get the black dye out you will either have to bleach it and then dye it back to blond which is very damaging or have to grow it out. I am growing out red and black hair right now, and to get it to not look majorly stupid and halo-y I had to use so many removers. Like crushed up vitamin c, and color oops, just to get my hair to a dark brown which blends into my blonde hair. This just damaged my hair and then I had to cut like five inches off.

Definitely go to a salon of some sort. If you can find a henna mixture I would suggest that, especially if you can find a salon that does henna.

[MermaidMarina]

Girl! We have the same hair. I'm naturally a really pale ash blonde -- super fine hair that can't handle the only washing every other day -- and I shadowboxed/dyed streaks of it jet black for about 2 years with success. I originally used the Splat Jet black (and though it is marketed as semi-permanent, you add the colorant to oxidizer just like permanent stuff) and retouched with Avon Jet Black about 2 weeks ago. I swim fairly frequently, as well as sun bathe and I haven't had a problem. I do recommend having someone help you do the back by your neck though, its impossible to get it by yourself.

[MermaidAmestris]

I want my hair black permanently.

[Miyu]

I've done a lot of self-dying myself, but after living with a hairdresser for a year, I would personally recommend going to a decent salon at least the first time - they'll be able to determine which black dye looks best with your skin tone (after YEARS of dying my own hair black, I learned that I do better with a brown-black - Black black washes me out horribly >.< ). You can also tell them about how much chlorine exposure you expect and they can adjust the dye to not fade out to red or blue or whatever the base is... It's all about mixing a bunch of colours in there sometimes :P

But, overall, I would recommend henna, as it does wonderful things for the hair, and is so much less toxic to you and the environment :P

Also, if you do ever want to remove black or henna dye, look into honey lightening! I've done a couple of blog posts so far on my success with it here: http://historicbeauty.wordpress.com/ , and it's very gentle. I've seen reports and photos of it taking many kinds of dye out of hair, and it helped me get rid of an accidental blue dye job! I stopped doing the treatments in the past couple of months, mostly because it's winter and not only has our power gone out, but the pipes have burst, water heater caught on fire, etc... so I'm just waiting until I'm sure I can safely spend a couple of hours with honey on my head LOL :P

[deepblue]

Hey Miyu- I'd love to know what henna you could recommend? I've tried it a couple times, and it did nothing for my hair. My hair might just be too resistant.

[Miyu]

I've never actually gotten my hands on any henna to dye my hair ;_; which is why my has been fried until now :P I usually live in area with limited options, and only just started online shopping this year LOL! But all my friends who henna their hair just have the most beautiful, healthy hair!

[NerineArcticMermaid]

I'll weigh in on the blue color which is what I'm doing currently. I have natural platinum blonde hair...baby fine as well. Doing a pure pigment dyes in my hair..lasts a month..though it has stained my hair in places. my stylist says there is no permanent blue dye available.

[MermaidAmestris]

Is henna more expensive than other stuff? I'll totally pay whatever price it takes if it's more healthy for the environment. I only like to use stuff that's not harmful, and stuff that's all natural. Like how mermaid Raina uses Mermaid Minerals makeup and Clinique if a certain product isn't available at MM, I do the same thing. All natural makeup, soaps, shampoos, and everything else. Which is why I'm trying to find a natural hair dye, heheh

[Mermaid Miel]

When Using Henna, I bought it from LUSH. http://www.lush.com/

(Not only natural but Lush is 110% animal cruelty free)

When you buy it it comes in a Solid Bar (no chemical preservatives, no plastic packaging.) It's a bit of a workout to grate it and then melt it, But the pay off is Awesome. My hair is medium-long (Just covers bra strap length) and I can get 3 Dye jobs out of One Bar! for $25, that's $8.35 Per Dye Job! I used Caca Rouge for a deep Auburn-Red.

The Hotter the henna is when you apply it, the better. Wrap your head in cling-wrap and leave it on until it looks and feels as if your head is caked in dried brown mud. I've never had it wash out. (but my hair is VERY porous and has NEVER washed out of a colour, only lightened due to Sun.) So I would only re-apply for Roots, But when doing so I would dye the Whole head at the same time and there was no colour difference between the pre-dyed hair and the virgin roots.

[Thalassa]

I use henna to dye my hair as well. It's more time consuming than boxed dyes, but it does wonders for your hair, and it doesn't fade like chemical dyes! It's a bit more expensive than most chemical dyes, at least for my waist-length hair. And it's never reacted badly to pool water.

One thing you NEED to check: make sure you use body art quality henna! Other henna can have chemicals which react badly to your hair.

I get my henna from www.hennasooq.com. It comes already powdered. Because I do a copper color, I mix henna and cassia with warm chamomile tea and add a bit of lemon.

If you want black, you can use indigo.

Oh! There's a great site that tells you all about this, it's where I first learned how to use henna. It's http://www.hennaforhair.com/indigo/ (I gave you the indigo link but the site talks about henna as well).

Good luck! :-)

[Thalassa]

Oh, also I've found it's best to let the henna "develop" in a warm place overnight before using it. My first couple of dye jobs were pretty weak because I didn't let it sit long enough.

PS Lush's henna is body art quality, I don't use it because you have to grate it yourself and I'm lazy! ;-)

[Miyu]

Just something to think about when dyeing hair black... I saw this today and thought of this thread...

"...However, a case-control study in Italy found no association between use of permanent hair dye overall and risk of leukemia, although users of black permanent dyes, but not of other color dyes, did have an increased risk. This study, however, did not collect information on the timing or frequency of hair dye use (9)."

From here: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/f...Risk/hair-dyes

So really, for natural colours henna (as well as various teas and such) is the way to go.