My semi permanent/alternative 'all nighter' hair dye routine!!

 

So after a few comments on many of my hair dye reviews, I've noticed people seem to be intrigued by my "all night hair dye method".

Instead of repeating myself over and over, I thought I'd post about my method of hair dye madness.

 

So as you can probably tell, I am a hair dye junkie!! I dye my hair a different colour every couple of months; mainly due to boredom but sometimes grown up adult things like jobs don't agree with wacky hair.

 

Why do I opt for an all night hair dye routine?? I do this for 2 reasons. Firstly, these veggie dyes are very conditioning so they put moisture back into your hair!! The longer you leave the dye on, the more moisture your hair can absorb. Secondly the longer the dye stays on, the more your hair will absorb and therefore the longer the dye will last.

 

So here's my all nighter routine;

 

For the brightest results,  you need to prelighten your hair (unless its very light blonde or an ashy blonde). If your hair is any darker than platinum you won't get the brightest results you're probably after however you will get a tinted effect.

To prelighten hair,  I highly recommend Scott Cornwall's Decolour Hair Stripper as it removes both natural and artificial colours from the hair without damaging it unlike bleach. If you have very dark hair or have used dark dyes for a long period of time, you may need to use 2/3 lots of hair stripper. Avoid bleaching your hair if possible; bleaching damages your hair and will make it very porous which will result in patchiness.

Click here to find out how I keep my bleach/stripped hair in good condition.

 

 

After lightening your hair, you want to remove all yellow tones to ensure the colour is as true to the sample colour as possible (think primary school paint mixing. If you have yellow toned hair and add blue dye, it may turn slightly green). To do this you need a toner. I use Scott Cornwall's Toner and it is one of the best I've found so far.

Once your hair is prepped for colour you can get dying.

 

 

Most semi/alternative dyes are veggie dyes which means no damaging chemicals!!
These brands are veggie dyes (semi permanent only);
Manic panic
La riche directions
Schwarzkopf Ultra brights
Crazy Colour
Special fx
Stargazer

 

 

Please check that your dye is veggie first before following the following method.

 

 

To get the best results, wash your hair first. This ensures that the dye isn't stopped from penetrating the hair due to dirt/grease/product in its way. If you chose not to wash your hair first, you may end up with patchiness.

Make sure your hair is 100% dry before applying the dye. If your hair is wet, it will water down the dye and your colour may look slightly faded.

 

 

Section your hair horizontally starting from the bottom and working up and apply a generous amount of your dye starting at the roots and down to the tips using either a tinting brush or your fingers. Rub the sections of hair between your thumb, pointer finger and middle finger to ensure all the hair is covered. Do this until the whole of your hair is smothered in a generous amount of dye (you may need a couple of bottles/tubs/tubes).

Massage the dye into your hair as if you are applying conditioner and pull all hair up onto the top of your head.

 

 

Remove your gloves and cover your head in cling film. Avoid going over your face to ensure you don't suffocate yourself!!!

Cover your pillow(s) in an old or dark towel to ensure that if your cling film slips off in the night, your pillow cases won't be covered on dye.

Sweet dreams!! Leave the dye on all night or longer if you wish!!

 

 

When rinsing the dye out, rinse your hair with water first to get some of the dye out. Continue with your usual hair wash routine (you may need to shampoo twice). Avoid clarifying shampoos as these will remove the dye quicker than any other shampoo. I recommend using L'Oreal Paris Elvive Triple Resist protein shampoo and conditioner to keep your hair dye fixed and your hair healthy. Shampoo for coloured hair will keep your colour for longer however it isn't too important if you haven't got any to hand.

 

 

Voila!! Bright bold colourful locks!!

 

 

 

 

 

As I said above, this method will work wonders on prelightened hair. If you chose not to lighten your hair, this method is definitely recommended to get the most colour absorbed into your hair as possible.

 

 

For all you pastel lovers, you can use this routine too!! If your dye is already mixed to achieve a pastel result then go straight ahead and use this method.

If however you've found a dye that's bold and bright and want to convert it into a pastel dye, simply mix some of the dye into your regular conditioner and use the above method.

You can top up your pastel colours by again mixing the dye with your conditioner to inject some colour back into your hair with every wash!!

 

 

Calling all red/orange/pink lovers!! I've found that these colours fade the quickest... especially red and orange!! I found I was dying my hair at least once a week; so the longer you can leave your dye on, the better. Lucky for all you blue/green/purple fans, you'll probably only need to dye your hair every 2-3 weeks!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now go get dying you little cling film heads!!