Hey babes. Do you like those smokey dusty shades of purple and pink hair that you are seeing lately? Are you afraid to try it because of the level of commitment it takes to make it happen and to keep it up? Me too. So I did the scared-y cat version and created a lovely dusty purple on my hair that lasted all of 4 washes. And now I am ready to do it again!

I have been asked this question many times…..“Can I dye my hair blue/purple/pink/red without bleaching it first?”

I’d like to answer that question with a metaphor. Can you draw with a blue crayon on brown paper? Or a red crayon on black paper? a pink crayon on yellow paper? The answer is yes. But your crayon colors will be muted.

The reason is that when using a veggie dye like Manic Panic, Special Effects, or Pravana, you are just covering the hair with a reflective coat of color molecules. Your true hair color will still be there, lurking underneath like the paper with crayon marks on it.

If we all had white paper for our crayons, our pictures would be bright and bold. But as I learned as a child, you can create different moods by using crayons on different colored paper;)

This is why people often have their hair bleached prior to a veggie dye. To create that blank white slate….But as we all know, bleaching our hair is costly, high maintenance and damaging.

So, applying this rule to my hair, I decided to put veggie dye over it without bleaching it first. I mixed up some Special Effects Virgin Rose with Pravana Violet and Pravana silver and applied it to my mostly natural hair (I have a light ombre-highlight that I do on myself occasionally.) The results were great!

Things to consider when coloring your natural hair with veggie dye

The lighter the hair, the more you will see the color. With darker hair, your color may only show as a cast in certain lights, which can still look super cool.

Highlighted hair, either natural or pre-colored, looks super cool when you put bright colors over it, because you get that mix of dusty and bright, and it fades out nicely.

Veggie dye will not last long in your natural hair. The darker and brighter the color you use, the longer it will stay.

Apply the color very thick! trust me on this one. If you are afraid you don’t have quite enough color to cover all of your hair, mix in some conditioner. Apply it to your dry hair and follow the directions on the package!

The great thing about veggie dye is that you can’t over-process it. It has no chemical process…..Just adds color!

For more DIY hair color, check out the do’s and don’ts of DIY coloring!

Tweet

The post Dustbowl Purple. Low commitment-high impact color! appeared first on How-To Hair Girl.