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View Full Version : Dying "fantasy" colors while trying to grow long



Lilac Blossoms
December 30th, 2017, 01:06 PM
I'm hoping for advice from other LHCers who color with demi- and semi-permanent "fantasy" colors- dye brands such as Special Effects, Arctic Fox, Manic Panic, etc. I have naturally medium brown hair (level 4 or 5) so I can't achieve any of these colors without bleaching. I most recently used L'Oreal Hicolor Highlights in red, which lightens and colors the hair at the same time. It faded quickly on the length, so I went over it again with Ion Gemstones Garnet, then when that faded, I tried Garnier Light Intense Auburn, which is supposed to be permanent. It has also faded very quickly (only from my length- the hair from my ears up remains bright red while the rest, save one streak of red, has returned to brown). At this point, I'm giving up on red, but contemplating a different color- blue or purple. However, I am concerned with having to bleach while also attempting to baby my hair and grow it long. I'd love to know any tricks others have utilized, either in fading hair color without bleach, or minimizing the damage to hair when bleaching and dying. Thoughts?

Arciela
December 30th, 2017, 01:28 PM
Personally I haven't found any way to have fantasy colors stay on my hair without bleaching, which I gave up. Would love to see what others have to say :flower:

My one friend knows I love fantasy colors and linked me to this a few weeks ago on facebook - https://www.facebook.com/buzzfeedtopknot/videos/1818275778245131/?hc_ref=ARQDtduc8E_jovYKe6jSQxF9F-bpB61XdzXBL6xB1AIeMxFr2Xcrwp03US5Er5EErjg

Its temporary though, but its better than nothing :D Don't think its out yet though...but looks like it puts colors (temporary tho I guess?) onto darker hair, pretty cool. Dunno how safe it is yet though but I'd like to think its not too damaging!

lapushka
December 30th, 2017, 01:55 PM
I think there's no way around it, bleach damages your hair, but as long as you don't "overlap" the bleach, it should "normally" be fine, unless you have very fine and brittle hair that can't stand that much. You'll find out.

I'd stay away from blue (can turn green fast), but red and purple should give you nice colors. Anyway, that's personal taste, YMMV.

pastina
December 30th, 2017, 02:32 PM
I'm a diy dye person- have been for years. FWIW, reds from special fx and the like last *way* longer than any permanent red dye I tried, back in the day.

When you bleach, the damage comes from the peroxide. Like Lapushka said, your hair would usually be ok with bleach (as long as you are careful, don't overlap, etc.) Personally, I've had great success growing my hair out while keeping it rainbow colors.

But, and this is a BIG but-- both hi-color and the other permanent color you used were peroxide processes. They *both* lighten the hair, obviously hi-color more than the auburn permanent, before the color is deposited. Point is, I wouldn't add bleach on top of that unless you want to risk some major damage.

Maybe you should try something like ColorOops to get the old dye out of your hair. You might find that you're light enough for a semi red or purple to cover nicely. ....For blues, you really need your hair at blonde. (When I was in high school, I dyed streaks of my light brown hair blue without previous lightening. My friends referred to the resulting color as "bird poop")

Rebeccalaurenxx
December 30th, 2017, 03:16 PM
Peroxide is being used when you use those other dyes... so in general I think youve already done the damage.
If you try bleach youll just hurt your hair even more.

I personally have never found a single way to bleach or use fantasy colors while also growing.

lucid
December 30th, 2017, 04:26 PM
I had no problem with bleach until about BSL or waist length. After that my hair can't handle it, and the older (longer) the hair gets, the more splits and breakage I see in the bleached parts (no overlapping bleach). I guess how long your hair can handle it depends on hair type, and also how careful you are with your hair. If you plan on growing very long hair, hip +, I wouldn't bleach at all, just based on my own experience with it.

Depending on how dark your hair is, there are several veggie dyes you can use that are non damaging, without bleaching your hair first. The downside is that the dye won't stick very well to healthy hair, so you may need to re-color quite often. I have used pinks on my natural hair, with great results.

Simsy
December 30th, 2017, 10:41 PM
My sister uses hair chalk when she wants a bolt of colour. She has really dark and fine hair so dyes aren’t really an option; the amount of bleach needed to get the colour right would do too much damage.

Have you considered colouring clip-in hair extensions? I realise it won’t give you all over colour but it might be a bit friendlier to your hair and gives you the option of swapping colours in and out as the mood takes you.

browneyedsusan
December 31st, 2017, 02:22 PM
Manic Panic Vampire Red works good for me. I slap it on over the henna and it'll stay for 4ish months. :)

Also, have a look here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=125938). Member, Pastina, has already given you some great advice. She's had her hair every color known to man! :)