Resisting the urge to... color?

[Rebelkat]

Recently there have been a lot of people posting about having the urge to cut. Well, I guess I'm way out there because I'm having to fight the urge to color. :rolleyes: Nothing drastic, just a semi-permanent, deposit only hairdye from Manic Panic or something similar in a color that can be applied over my natural color. I'm not entirely sure WHY, though. I'm actually very happy with the improvement in my hair recently and there isn't anything going on in my life that would cause a "OMG! I need a change!" reaction. It's like I'm feeling optimistic enough to go and do something adventurous. I even went in Photoshop and played around to see what certain colors would look like on top of my hair.

Here's my dilemma: I have NO IDEA whether doing a temporary wild color would be worth the damage... or even if it would damage my hair. After the color washed out, would my hair go back to it's natural state *considering it's a deposit only hairdye*, or would it always be slightly different from it's original color? Also, it says that the dye doesn't take well to hair that's been conditioned... does that mean if I DID dye it that I'd have to use shampoo on it first instead of my usual CO? Input, anyone? :shrug:

[wintersun99]

.............

[Roseate]

Here's my dilemma: I have NO IDEA whether doing a temporary wild color would be worth the damage... or even if it would damage my hair. After the color washed out, would my hair go back to it's natural state *considering it's a deposit only hairdye*, or would it always be slightly different from it's original color?


Manic Panic is very gentle. No ammonia, no peroxide; it's just vegetable dye and will not damage your hair at all.

About the washing out though... IME it does eventually wash out, but it can take a loooooong time. Months. Some blondes get permanent stain; I didn't, though I was thoroughly sick of the dingy bruise-color by the time it was gone. It looks great for a few weeks, then after that you're left just kind of waiting for it to go, unless you plan on refreshing it again.

It's fun though, and it won't hurt your hair.

I second the streak suggestion; still fun, less commitment!

[Rebelkat]

I might try doing a streak. Somewhere I still have the brush I used back when I put light blond streaks in the front of my hair to look like Rouge from X-Men. If I do decide to dye, I'll either do vampire red (http://www.manicpanic.com/images2/bestofbest/vampred5.jpg) or deadly nightshade (http://www.manicpanic.com/images2/bestofbest/deadly_2.jpg)(both pics are on natural brown un-bleached hair). Any opinions on which color would look better?

I still haven't decided whether I'll actually dye my hair... I just ran across a tutorial on Youtube that shows how to make your own clip-in extensions. Maybe something like that can allow me to indulge my adventurous side without making a commitment? A different color every day? :p

[heatherdazy]

I was just about to suggest clip in extensions! And really, a few chunks of hot pink or purple is more interesting than a whole head of it.

[Dementia1013]

You could get several different clip in extensions and accessorize with everything you wear! That would be fun. :D

[Heidi_234]

MP and SFX are pretty much harmless fun dyes, the damage comes from bleaching it beforehand. The only thing that might happen is that the dye lingers longer than you thought it would, but that mostly happens to people who have brighter hair to begin with.

I totally understand your urge to color. If MP or SFX were available locally I would have done it already. Why don't you have some harmless fun with your hair?

[~GypsyCurls~]

I'm right there with you! I actually quit permanent color several months back (I had been using Feria) and only use semi permanent now, just to color grays and because I find my natural color boring. And mostly for the health of my hair. I have a strong urge to use this gorgeous Herbatint (permanent color) red on my hair though...the urge is strong...must fight it!

[Bellalalala]

Wigs and clip in extensions.

I dyed my hair for 13 years until recently. Whenever I get the urge to colour again-which is frequent- I buy a cool new wig or extensions. Now I have APL virgin hair.

[Samara Morgan]

As long as you get a semi-permanent dye with maybe, no ammonia in it, I shouldn't think it will cause too much damage :)

I have just had the urge to colour too and have acted on it lol :D It adds a bit of excitement to your hair when you're feeling a bit bored of it I think :agree:

I don't know about how much certain dyes stain your hair though, so I'm not sure about that.

[Isilme]

it's the ammonia and peroxide in the dye that does the damage, and as long as they aren't in the bottle the dye is harmless! But as others have said, the colour may linger for a very long time.

[missfortune9335]

It could just be because my hair is blonde, but I've found that for me, semi-perminant color does not actually wash out/fade back to my natural color... If you're just wanting a streak or two I echo the idea of getting some clip in ones. Plus then you can change up the color a lot :D

[nyemelis]

I haven't dyed my hair in three years, and before that I dyed it pretty constantly. What really helped me was putting aside the equivalent of what I would be spending on hair dye and maintenance every month. It wasn't much, but it added up.

Now I have a little fund of money ready to be spent on something nice for myself!! It's great how much money I saved AND how much healthier my hair is (I dyed it with really horrible dyes.)

[Bellalalala]

I'm not blond and my hair isn't processed at all, and any pigment I put in my hair gets stuck there permanently.

Semi-permanent and demi-permanent on me have always been completely permanent, with very little fading.

Even those stupid colour mousse things that are supposed to wash out in just a few washes...yep, they stuck too.
There is a distinct line on my hair where I used one of those stupid mousses in red (over a year ago!) that you can still see in daylight if I point it out.

That's why I buy wigs.
I guess that on certain hair types, nothing is truly temporary.