The Girl With The Teal Hair........oh yeah, and a dragon tattoo. Don't judge me.

At the end of 2011, I was on the interweb researching beehive hair-dos (don't worry, I'll get to this, one day). Somehow during my hair research I came across this photo.

Since I was on hiatus from the Hair Coloring World for the last 7 years I hadn't paid much attention to the ombre hair that was taking over the world. But once I saw this photo, it stuck with me. 

I decided in December that this was indeed going to happen. But, I was going to do it smartly. I even showed the photos to my hair dresser (who I haven't seen since. That's right, I said December and yes, it's currently July). I told her exactly what I was going to do and she confirmed that I was on the right track. We agreed that doing just the ends would be smart because that part I can just cut off before another round of donating my hair to Locks of Love and it would only set me back a year with the donation.  I can live with that!

I was going for that beautiful teal above, but I knew, from past experiences with blues, that it's difficult. Unless I was willing to bleach my hair white, which I wasn't, I knew the color would be more of a green teal rather than a blue. And I was ok with that. I would be more than ok if the color came out like this:

                                 

I did research late at night when I couldn't sleep and I told myself that I would wait at LEAST until the spring to do it, until my hair grew a bit longer, to see if the desire would pass and just in case it was a horrible mess and needed to be cut off. 

Finally in May, I could wait no longer.  I set aside a night and my hair got to this:

After using L'oreal Quick Blue Bleach and Salon Care 20 vol Developer, twice and N'rage Twisted Teal

Not bad for a bathroom job right??  The color was much greener than I was anticipating and was rather subtle. Yeah....subtle's not really my thang.  As the week went on, my hair got washed and the color went down the drain. It turned very quickly into a sickly green that I didn't care for at all. 

 I did another round of color to get it to the right color and it was a success.

For a day.   Le Sigh. 

Eventually, I spent a full evening taking out the color in my hair with homemade potions and mild bleaching. I ended up rebleaching my hair and started fresh by using every tip I could find,  and FINALLY,  after over a month, I got it right! 

 

   This is my hair currently (unstyled). And after washing! 

The color has stayed bright and true and I quite love it!

So after all the steps, resteps and products that I went through for this, I have a list of products that have worked the best for me. Along with some tips that have saved me from wanting to give up and take to a life of hat wearing. (not that I don't wear hats a lot anyways)

Products:

• Kaleidocolors Powder Bleach in Blue
• Salon Care 20 Vol creme developer
• Punky Colour Semi-Permanent Dye in Turquoise
• Super great conditioners like ApHogee Intensive Two Minute Keratin Reconstructor or Aphogee 2 Step Protein Treatment.

Tips that WORK for Unnatural color dyeing:

• It goes without mentioning, but read the labels people. There are in fact a few semi perm colors that are to be uses on damp hair. The majority don't require that, but just in case, read. 
• You don't need to use heavy duty peroxide aka, developer. Always use a lower volume and work your way up to a lighter color. I used a 20 vol and bleached my hair twice the first time, and once again a week ago.  My hair is definitely healthier than it would be if i went full out for a 30 or 40 vol. I shiver at the idea of a 40 vol. 
• Use the best conditioner you can after bleaching your hair, like the Aphogee ones I suggest in the product list. And if possible give your hair some time alone before going for another round of bleach or even before dyeing.Be good to your hair. 
• Use semi perm color on shampooed hair. NO CONDITIONER. this is crucial. I believe I actually had conditioned my hair the first time I used the color which is why it didn't stick. 
• Research fade colors on unnatural colors. Unnatural colors will fade. They can not be made into permanent colors, it's going to take some upkeep, so be prepared for this.. Kids on the internet have plenty of blogs and posts telling you what happened to their hair. Do some research. It will save you from hating your hair.
• After you rinse your dye out, rinse your hair with white vinegar. It works just like an Easter egg! It really helps the color last.
• Create your own toner conditioner. Mix some of the dye into and white conditioner until you can see the color. Use this on your hair after shampooing every time and it will help to deposit a bit of the color back into your hair while you condition.  It took me a few weeks to realize that the conditioner I was using originally was a slight yellow color. Yellow + blue = green. Not what I was going for. Don't forget basic color theory, folks. The toner conditioner is the easiest thing you can do and it will help the color last the most out of all the steps. 
• Paint your nails before you do dye. Even a clear coat will do. As you wash the dye out of your hair, gloves on or not, natural porous nails will get tinted. It's much easier to use polish remover to take off the tinted polish than it is to scrub the tint out of your actual nails. 

And that, is how I ended my Hair Color Hiatus.