Okay, so I dyed my hair Midnight Blue a few months ago now but have only gotten around to doing my roots once since then (wow, that's really bad now that I actually think about it!)
When I first went blue I had to bleach out some faded ginger that was still left after using a colour remover, but also had some roots coming through which I bleached as well (I used 20vol bleach over coconut oil and I think it was on my roots for an hour). I had no problems and the colour came out evenly.
Then last time I bleached my roots I left the bleach on for a shorter time (about 30 minutes), but it still came out light enough to dye over. When I put the dye on though, it just didn't take. The lengths of my hair took the dye fine, but the roots came out a pale turquoise colour which faded to a pale green after a couple of washes. At first I wondered if I'd somehow left some coconut oil on the hair which had acted as a barrier, but then a few weeks later I dyed over it again without re-bleaching and the same thing happened. The only possible explanation I can come up with is that the coconut oil protected my hair so well that with the combination of that and the reduced bleaching time, my hair has actually stayed in such good condition that it won't take the dye. Is that absolutely absurd or is it actually possible?
It's now time to bleach my roots again and I have no idea how to go about it to fix the problem from last time and ensure it doesn't happen again. Has anyone here had a similar experience? I've uploaded a couple of pictures of how it is now (with the faded green colour) and you can see my natural colour coming through too. Please excuse the greasy hair... I'm planning to bleach it tonight or tomorrow!
Well I *tried* to attach pictures anyway... I'll try to get them to work again...
Posted : March 15, 2014 6:56 pm
Did you apply the dye to clarified, non conditioned, product free, dry hair and cover it with a cap?
It is very possible that you have more of a compact cuticle, and bleaching less just left your hair less porous andin better condition so it didn't take the dye very well.
You can presoften the hair with peroxide, clarify out then apply the dye, or you could try leaving the bleach on a bit longer, and when the dye is on your head, wave a hair dryer over it for 15-20 minutes or so
Posted : March 15, 2014 10:21 pm
Yup, I did everything as you said AND used a hairdryer :
If it is possible for it to just be the result of the hair not being porous enough from the bleaching then I'm sure that must be it. I just had no idea if that was a crazy idea or if it is actually possible.
If I pre-soften it with peroxide instead of leaving the bleach on longer, is that any less likely to interfere with the natural wave of my hair? My hair is wavy rather than curly, but I used to be able to get messy curls easily by scrunching it it while it was drying. The reason why I left it on for a shorter time in the first place was because after the initial bleaching my hair would no longer curl from being scrunched dry, even though it didn't feel at all damaged (and I CO wash and avoid silicones, so it wasn't just that the damage was being masked), so I want to minimise that effect on the new growth as much as possible
Posted : March 15, 2014 11:12 pm
I had a simmilar problem once - what I tried was a in-depth natron wash and it really helped. (Admittedly I never bleached my roots for more than 5 minutes but I never had to in order to get results and I never would want to, so I needed a different solution.)
I just shampood my hair with my regular stuff, rinsed that out and dissolved one tablespoon of natron powder in a coffee cup filled with lukewarm water (by stirring it with a spoon) and then emptied that out over my head, massaging it in with my fingers. Left it in for a little time, repeated the process, rinsed that out, waited until my hair was dry and put the color on, left it there for several hours (over night). That did the job for me, alas I'm not so sure why and it is something worth trying I think - natron is cheap and won't damage your hair as bleach would, even if it might feel a little coarse after the wash.
Posted : March 19, 2014 12:55 pm
Presoftening with peroxide shouldn't mess with your natural wave pattern, I've never seen it happen anyway. If you are nervous about it though, you can try it first on a test strand in an unnoticeable area first, clarify it out in hot water, then apply the dye again to your product/conditioner free dry hair. Some people use baking soda to presoften, but on some people it seems like it's a total PITA to get the baking soda all out lol. If that doesn't work though, you still have to do your roots, so when you bleach your roots this time, I would leave it on another 5-10 minutes, and the last 5 minutes pull the bleach through to the still resistant area. Or you could leave it on for the 30 minutes again and then go over it with peroxide after for 10 minutes, if that works on the test strand, it's up to you. If the presoftening doesn't do the trick though then you may just have to leave it on a little longer and pull it down a little for the last 5 minutes or so
Posted : March 19, 2014 2:09 pm
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