Dip dying hair?

[unknown]

I've already started a thread on the hair dye forum about some of this:
http://www.hairdyeforum.com/index.php?topic=4570.0

I later on decided to dye my hair like the first picture with the rainbow ends - but I'd also like to use semi-perm (I HATE permanent dyes) black over the parts that won't be rainbow-coloured.

I don't use any heat or sulfates and CO-wash in order to keep my hair in the very best condition it can be.
As my hair is already a very dark brown, bleaching will be involved on my ends...

Any tips on how to prepare my hair for the bleaching? The only thing I've got is coconut oil to prevent damage.

And does anyone here know how to keep the semi-permanent dye from leaking and mixing when I shower? The black worries me the most...

[spidermom]

Too bad about the bleaching, but I like the look.

[Amber_Maiden]

How about using Elumen? I hear that it's a safer dye.

[unknown]

Elumen can't be found here, and ordering it internationally is quite expensive thinking about all the colours I'd need....
Besides, using semi-perm ones will allow me to change the colour whenever I feel like it

I will do this as soon as I find a way to avoid the colours mixing into a huge failure, I can always cut it off if it gets too damaged...

[luxepiggy]

It's doable, but not with rainbow colours at the tips. You'd have to stick to a fairly vivid/intense blue/violet for the ends, so the finished look would be something like this:


If you'd be happy with that type of look, you're in luck. All you need is bleach and 2 containers of blue-violet deposit dye. IMPORTANT: the deposit dye MUST be a true blue, purple-toned blue, blue-toned purple, or true violet. Avoid anything that has even a hint of green or red in it. You do NOT need any black dye.

After you've bleached your ends so they're as light as they will go, apply the deposit colour to your entire length, from root to tip. When you rinse out the dye, the unbleached portions will be black, and the bleached portions will be brightly coloured.

Bear in mind that the shade of black you end up with for the upper portion is dependent on the shade of deposit dye you choose: if the dye leans mostly blue, you'll get blue-black; if it leans more violet, you'll get jet black. Piggy recommends Special Effects Blue Velvet for blue-black and Deep Purple for jet black. The reason it's so important to avoid green tones is because it will result in a gross, brackish sort of muddy black.

[theodora]

If you want to protect your hair from damage, you should also use coconut oil before putting the semi-perm black (I assume you mean semi-perm as in boxed dye semi-perm, not as in veggie dyes like Directions Ebony which is green based and would probably fade into a horrible colour). Semi-permanent boxed dyes contain peroxide, hence the need for coconut oil.

What confuses me is how you're going to dye your hair black without it running into the tips which you are trying to get lighter? Because you don't want to first dye them black and then bleach them, that's not only counter-productive but also would be more damaging.

In terms of helping rainbow colours not mix with each other, the advice is usually to rinse the different colours separately. Vinegar rinses also help retain the colour somewhat. You should search for advice on rainbow colours on the hairdyeforum, even if it's not advice on just tips, it would be useful for you.

[Katze]

wow, that looks so cool (even if some of the pics are photoshopped).

I am considering something like this. Hmmm...food for thought!

Bleach isn't an option for me (I was a bleach head for over 20 years) but my ends are light enough that this might work. Funny how this effect seems to look better on tapered ends, why is that?!? Do I have to wait until my hair does its nasty taper thing (aka 'fairytale ends') again? :P

[AchtungCurly]

Both my sister and I love this look.

This page has some advice on the bleeding black dye problem. Her blog has lots of how-tos and good inspiration. (She has an ebook too, but I don't own it.)

And, for a less-permanent way to try this out you could chalk your hair. The link goes to youtube, fyi.

[|Xei]

I don't think it's not doable, but this is probably something that will take you days to do. It gets complicated because you'll be using black semi-permanent. It might also require a lot of touch-ups as well, depending on the dye you get and how much it runs. For semi-permanents, I recommend Punky Colours and Special Effects. These have great staying power, and after the first one or two washes, they stop running in the shower.

I've messed around with semi-permanents quite a bit, so this is what I've come up with based on my experience.

Dye your hair black first, but leave out the parts you want to bleach. I'd recommend to block off those parts with conditioner, vaseline, or a 1:1 mixture of both (just vaseline alone is actually quite difficult to wash off). This makes the bleaching later on much easier as you are not trying to bleach out dye, and you can see exactly where to apply the bleach.

Go through two washes to ensure that the black will not run before you bleach your ends.
When you do bleach, ALWAYS coat your ends thoroughly in coconut oil for at least half an hour (to let it soak in) beforehand. Depending on how bright you want to go, you might need to do a second bleaching. You don't want to apply heat to the bleach because it'll fry your hair.

After bleaching, apply your colours to dry hair. It's a good idea to use a tinting brush for this since you'll be working with multiple colours, and you'll need the precision. Apply your lightest colours first, and then the darker colours. When you rinse, you want to rinse under strong, running cold water to prevent the colours from running into each other. Rinse very well, and then do a vinegar rinse to help keep the colour in.

Since you CO-wash, the colour on your ends shouldn't run into each other. It's a good idea to wash in lukewarm water though, if you don't already do so.

[unknown]

Luxepiggy: I thought of doing that, but as my unbleached hair is currently dyed with Directions Violet and it gets really bright purple in the light, I decided not to do it...
Thank you anyways!

Theodora: Did I forget to mention what type of semi it was? I actually meant veggie dyes!
A hairdresser told me to condition and foil the ends when I rinse out the black dye so they won't get stained.
I couldn't find any topics about rainbow hair on the hairdye forum. Also, how do I rinse the ends separately?

AchtungCurly: Thank you so much! *goes off to read*