Hi *waves*
Looking for advice on how to dip dye my hair (dark brown on top, purple fading to pink on bottom).
Just to start, I'll fill you in on my hair history:
My natural hair is fine, straight and a level 5. I first bleached my hair in 2012 and since then it has been highlighted once. In 2013 I went from purple back to a level 4 brown with one pink stripe at the side. In summer 2014 I dyed my hair all over with Casting Creme gloss level 4 all over, covering the strip too. Since then I have redyed once, using the same dye.
My hair is in great condition right now. I get trims every 4 months or so and use oils and masks at least once a week. I even had the ends trimmed today in preparation for the bleach.
I'll insert a picture of my current hair here:
So now, onto my questions!
What would be the best way to bleach the ends for a dip dye? Im thinking coconut oil on first + 30 vol bleach. I'm happy to settle for a plum-pink gradient as I know this is easier to achieve than blue purples.
Will i need to do a colour remover on the lower half or can i go straight to bleach?
How do I avoid the dip dye looking blocky? What is the best way to apply the bleach so that a straight line effect doesn't happen?
Say if i want to darken the top section using my usual box dye; is it better to bleach the lower section first or vice versa?
Sorry if this is a lot of questions, its been a while since I used bleach so it's mildly terrifying!! 😮
Thanks in advance for the advice!
Posted : January 26, 2015 5:45 pm
From what I've read it's kinder on your hair to decolour before bleaching, but I don't have experience in this.
If you want to avoid it looking blocky it may be better to go for an ombre style if you wear your hair straight, even if you only blend the bleach up slightly. Otherwise just make sure you use a dark pink/purple over it to match your dark hair and it looks a lot more natural - at least until it fades.
Personally I would colour the top first to avoid any getting on the bleached section and messing things up, and because you'll be decolouring and/or bleaching the ends soon anyway so it's not the end of the world if some dye ends up on the lengths, but again I don't have experience here.
Hope this helps - dip dye wave *yay*
Posted : January 26, 2015 6:04 pm
Definitely coconut oil!!!! 😀
Try a colour remover first since your hair's been bleached & dyed before, you'll get a better idea of your base before bleaching this time around.
You might even be able to get away with a lower vol peroxide.
To avoid the blockiness you could try an ombre style by backcombing (I tried this and failed haha), you can apply the bleach roughly by hand at the top of each section, apparently gathering it with pony bands can help with this. I tried that too but my wee elastics degraded and snapped due to the oil 😛
Just .... don't apply it in a straight line I guess.
You say "if" you want to darken your top section ... tbh whether you do it before or after, you'll have to protect the bottom section anyway BUT it might be better to do the top bit first, protect the dip-dye area as best you can, then do your colour remover and bleach the dipdye section afterwards. HOWEVER if using a permanent dye containing peroxide (show me a box dye without it) you will have to be very careful not to overlap with the bleach or you could overprocess your hair. And/or wait at least a month in between to allow the hair to recover, doing your usual tlc routine 🙂
Posted : January 26, 2015 7:15 pm
for me, the best option to have a well blended color is backcombing and the same goes for bleaching, if you don't want a straight line also from that. With bleach you can also try to apply bleach with a brush and go a bit upper than you planned on tiny, tiny strands of hair. I'm not sure I can explain it... it's a bit like the balayage technique.
Posted : January 26, 2015 8:09 pm
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