I Dyed My Hair Purple!! 5 Steps For Happy Hair Transformation
Ever fancied a big change with your hair but been too cautious to do it? Worried that you might not like the result, or that it might not suit you?
These are prime reasons why I’ve never really done anything drastic with my hair (that, and I’m a coward) but with a recent job change and house move, I decided I wanted to dye my hair purple.
Purple? Probably some sort of quarter life crisis I know but now that I’ve only gone and done it.. I’m wondering what the panic was all about! So here’s my story- I dyed my hair from black to purple and now wondering why I didn’t do it sooner.
By Zoe Dubs, facevaluebeautyblog.co.uk
With advanced salon formulas and the growing home hair-dye market, changing your hair colour is so easy. Even the most Cautious Carol’s can do it, you just have to think carefully about what you want, and how you’ll deal with the results.
1. Picking The Colour
You gotta start somewhere. Whilst it’s all well and good to lust after pastels or platinum blonde, try and draw your inspiration from someone who has the same colouring as you. If it looks good on them, it’s much more guaranteed to look good on you too!
Celebrities are obvious sources of hair-spiration, but after seeing pictures of Katy Perry with beautiful purple hair, I then drew inspiration from Pinterest and Google – it’s amazing what a quick search for “purple hair on Chinese girl” will get you.
Top Tip: You don’t have to match the style exactly – my office job means I can’t really have full-on Perry purple all over so I decided to keep the colour in the underlayers and the tips.
2. Consider Your Commitment
If you know you have no time for products and after-care, don’t pick a colour which will need serious maintenance! Think about how much time (and money) you’re prepared to invest.
If you want something which will bow out quietly, avoid vibrant shades and try slices of colour instead of all-over colour.
If you’re prepared to go the distance, you can go for larger areas of colour - check out my tips on colour maintenance below to make your money go further!
3. Picking The Professional
If you’re going for a serious change, it’s always recommended to get it done professionally. And that’s coming from me – a lifetime DIY hairdresser. I’ve cut, coloured and even bleached my own hair but even I knew I needed to get this done by a professional!
Don’t just pop down to your local salon – do some research on salons which specialise in hair colour, or in your hair type. If you’re bleaching your hair – you don’t want it to be in the hands of someone just giving it a go.
It was for this reason that I picked ColourNation Salon on Winsley Street. It has glowing reviews from its customers and is a hair colour specialist. I looked at their Facebook pictures to check out the latest examples of their work and knew it would be the one for me.
4. Maintaining Your Colour
Once you’ve invested in the perfect colour, surely you’d want to keep it perfect for a long as possible? I’ve been trialling colour preserving products for years - here are my trusted favourites and top tips.
A regular mask or treatment is required to keep hair hydrated and smooth. If you’ve bleached your hair, some seeeerious nourishment is required. I like Wella Brilliance Colour Mask (£7.35) because it’s really lightweight, doesn’t make hair feel greasy and smells fantastic.
A hair oil provides a UV filter to stop the sunshine draining your colour. Most importantly, it reflects light thus making your colour more shiny and truly illuminated - it really does make colour stand out.
I like bumble&bumble Colour Minded Polish (£21.50) but if you don’t want to splash the cash, try Schwarzkopf Essence Ultime Diamond Colour Oil (£3.59) – developed with Claudia Schiffer herself, it makes colour hair look more vibrant and softens dry hair whilst sealing in colour.
5. Be Gentle On Your Hair
Bleached hair is more vulnerable and susceptible to breakage so try snag-free ties like invisibobble (£1.95) These genius hair ties are designed to securely hold hair without leaving any kinks so you don’t have to spend time heat styling.
In fact – cut down on your heat styling, full stop. This got2b Mind Blowing Express Blow Dry spray (£4.05) cuts blow dry time, whilst protecting hair. Save time AND protect your colour? Sounds good to me.
Top Tip: Be warned, this one is for those who are DEDICATED to colour care. For super-bright and vibrant colours, wash hair in the coldest water possible (for the first wash I was doing it in the sink!)
It was uncomfortable but my colour stayed true for much longer than normal. If you’ve paid for it, you might as well get to enjoy it for as long as possible right?
Do you have any top tips when it comes to changing your hair colour? Would you like to change your hair colour?
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