My tips for coloured hair // dyeing & maintaining.

I think it's safe to say that when it comes to dyeing my hair, I've been round the block a few times. I've been pretty much every hair colour under the sun and I think that makes me a bit of a hair dye connoisseur. As I'm very much a DIY kind of gal, I've had a lot of practice and developed a few tips and tricks over the years. 

So I thought I would share a few tips to help you if you are looking to dye your hair some jazzy colours or just looking to maintain colour you already have.

Dyeing //

One of my biggest tips for dyeing your hair, especially when dying your hair artificial colours is to always put the dye on dry hair. Most packaging will tell you to use it on damp/towel dried hair, but I find putting it on dry hair allows for a more even coverage and helps the colour to fully saturate into your hair.

Conditioner is your friend. Mixing your dye with conditioner not only means you can get more use out of your dye, it also enables you to mix your own colours to get the exact look you are going for. Also, even though most non-natural hair dyes are just vegetable dyes and aren't actually that damaging, adding conditioner to your dye means that your hair will be in the best possible condition from the get go and will hold you in good stead for when it comes to maintaining the colour.

Ensure the hair is fully coated and has been properly saturated. I always make sure to divide my hair and dye it bit by bit and properly work the dye into my hair using my hands. By rubbing it all in and separating the strands it will prevent a patchy dye job which nobody wants (trust me, I've been there) but will also make the colour last longer because it is properly in the hair follicles. 

Do a bit of research into brands to use, some are much better for keeping colour than others. My go to brands are Bleach London (not the best for keeping colour, but I love the shades,) Schwarzkopf and colour freedom. I've also heard amazing things about Arctic Fox and think I'll be trying them next time. All these brands produce really lovely colours, are really good for mixing and building up colour and are also for the most part quite long lasting.

When it comes to rinsing the colour out, make sure you use cold water, it's not the most comfortable experience but will ensure the colour locks into the hair helping it to last a lot longer. Warm or hot water will pretty much just rinse the majority of the colour out straight away.

Maintaining //

This is going to sound super grubby but the best way to stop your colour fading is to wash it as little as possible. I went from washing my hair 2-3 times a week to 1-2 and have noticed a vast improvement in how often I need to top up the colour. If you can just reduce the amount of times you wash your hair it will be a massive help in maintaning your colour.

When it comes to not washing your hair as much, dry shampoo will become your best friend. It is perfect for helping to keep your hair looking fresh during those in between days. Some brands now offer coloured dry shampoos which are also perfect for hiding those pesky roots for a little bit longer too.

If you can find shampoos and conditioners that are specifically designed to maintain colour, this will also help prevent colour leakage when washing your hair as it will help to keep it locked in a bit more. I recently started using the Bleach London pink shampoo and conditioners which actually contain colour, so help top up your dye with each wash. They aren't dyes so aren't a massive help, but they do enough to keep it looking slightly brighter.

These were just a few of the things I do to keep my hair looking as fresh as possible. Obviously these are all affected by the individual hair quality and colour. Some colours do just stay in your hair better whereas others are just a bit more of a ball ache to maintain. Pink is one of these colours, and is definitely more of a commitment than other hair colours I have been, so that is also something to bear in mind when picking a colour to go.

What's your favourite hair colour?
Do you have any tips for maintaining colour?

Speak Soon
Char xx 

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Think Pink // feat. Bleach London & Colour Freedom.

And here we go again...

If you follow me on instagram  you will have already seen that I have dyed my hair again. In fairness, I did already make it clear that once I'd gone back blonde that it wouldn't be that long before I dyed it again. This time I have gone for my personal favourite: pink. I love pink hair I think it is so stunning, it looks amazing in both bright and pastel shades. I am just obsessed with pink hair so I knew I had to re dye mine pink.

BLEACH LONDON // ROSE

BLEACH LONDON // VIOLET SKIES

BLEACH LONDON // AWKWARD PEACH

COLOUR FREEDOM // PINK PIZAZZ

I used a mix of colours from two different brands; Bleach London and Colour Freedom. I've used Bleach London before and I am a massive fan. This was the first time I've tried Colour Freedom products and I was pleasantly surprised. The colour is very pigmented, it feels nice on your hair and you get a really reasonable sized bottle of dye.

My approach when it comes to hair dye is shove a bunch in a pot and mix it all together until it resembles a colour you like the look of. I love experimenting with colours and every time you top it up you get something a bit different which is really cool. Pink is obviously not the most long lasting colour which is a bit annoying, and these brands are not the most long lasting dyes that I've used but they do last quite a while, I normally have to top it up every couple of weeks. I may look into finding another brand that is a bit longer lasting to mix with these dyes to help keep it pinker for longer. My magic tip is to leave these dyes on for between half an hour and an hour, the packaging says it only needs 10-15 minutes but the longer you leave it the more the hair will soak up they dye, and because they are only vegetable dyes they won't damage your hair like other dyes do when you leave them on longer.

BEFORE

I love having pink hair again, it feels very me. I'm so excited to try different variations of colour maybe adding more of the peach to make it more peachy and even giving a more purpley pink a go. There are so many colour possibilities.

AFTER 

I would definitely give these colours a go if you are looking to try pink hair for yourself, they are really easy to use and create beautiful colours.

What's your go to hair dye brand?
What's your favourite hair colour?

Speak Soon
Char xx 

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Harley Quinn Hair | Schwarzkopf Live Colour

When it comes to dying my hair I'm very much a DIY kind of girl, here is how I used Schwarzkopf Live Colour to achieve my Harley Quinn-esque hair. 

I'm constantly on the hunt to find the best dyes for bright or pastel colours. Many I have experienced haven't had quite enough colour pigment or haven't lasted long enough to warrant the effort that goes into it. This is the first time using this particular brand and I must say I was very impressed, the two colours I opted for were '093 Shocking Pink' and '095 Electric Blue.' Both colours came out exactly how they look on the box and despite being semi permanent seem to be lasting a lot longer than a lot of other dyes I've used. What really impresses me about these dyes is that they include multiple sachets of conditioner so that you have the option to make the dyes more pastel to suit your taste without having to use up all of your own conditioner.

I opted for a mixed dip dye look, one side is pink and the other is blue. In order to create this look I parted my hair evenly down the middle and put my hair into bunches, placing the hair band where I wanted the dye to end. I opted to do the dip-dye quite high up on my hair, but that's because I have quite long hair and liked the way it looked. Where you wish to end the dye is your own personal preference. One of the most important things when dip dyeing your hair is to ensure it is blended well and isn't just a block of colour. I used the pure dye on the ends and then half way up before diluting the dye with conditioner to make it lighter and lighter until it was well faded at the top. 

Just to warn you this is a very messy process so be sure to use gloves, wear old clothes and put down old towels and ensure you clean up any spillages ASAP. 

 I'm very happy with how this look turned out. It's a bit of a twist on classic dip dye and meant that I didn't have to decide between pink and blue. If it doesn't prove to be too much of a challenge to maintain I can picture myself keeping this look for a while. I love it.

What are your thoughts on Schwarzkopf Live Colour?

Would you brave this look?

Speak Soon

Charlotte xx 

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