Help a dyeing illiterate!

[PurpleAshes]

A purple streak! That's what I want.:cheese:
I've wanted it since I was 14 but never got around doing it. Now I'm almost graduating college, so I must do it before I get a job.

The only time I tried to change my hair's color, I wanted to have red ends. I went to the salon and they spent a few hours trying to bleach my black hair. While I wanted a vibrant red, light brown is all that came out because my hair wouldn't bleach. So a few months later I tried in another salon, this time my ends bleached better, but the red wasnt that visible either.

So yeah. Help me.
What are the best purple dyes? What would be the best bleach for my unbleachable black hair? What method should I follow? Should I do it myself or go the salon? How can I keep it purple and vibrant?

Tell me all you can. I have no idea how to make this right :p

[dropinthebucket]

Maybe Manic Panic Flash Lightning kit with one of their purple shades. I think it's kindof a harsh bleach, but it helps the purple show up better. If you're just doing one streak, it might not be so bad with the bleach for damage.

[zenobia]

I was going to suggest Manic Panic too.

[Angeletti]

if you can't get the color you want from bleach or coloring then you can always go the route I went, I went to my local wig shop and bought some colored hair, sewed it onto a clip and then have color anytime I want. there is no damage that way and it's not permanent which is always nice... heres a pic of the red in my hair
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a203/genazollner/red-1.jpg

[PurpleAshes]

Manic Panic was my only choice at first, but then I saw Dementia's beautiful purple mane, which she said was dyed with Special Effects, so I was wondering which one was better, lasted longer, etc.

Angeletti, I had thought about that too and have searched all over the internet, but there are no purple clip-ons as curly as my hair :(

[kwaniesiam]

Manic Panic was my only choice at first, but then I saw Dementia's beautiful purple mane, which she said was dyed with Special Effects, so I was wondering which one was better, lasted longer, etc.

Angeletti, I had thought about that too and have searched all over the internet, but there are no purple clip-ons as curly as my hair :(

If you get a 100% human hair purple clip in you can curl it with a curling iron to match your natural texture or set it on some rollers overnight while it dries then just scrunch with gel and you're good to go.

Otherwise, I highly recommend Special Effects for purple. Also Wella Wellite bleach powder and clairol pure white 20 vol. developer from Sally's. Don't get bleach kits that already come together, they tend to be weaker result wise and harsher on your hair. No need for over 20 volume developer if you just want some purple unless your hair is colored very dark.

[UltraBella]

In my salon we use Special Effects. The purple looks amazing at first, but fades quickly. And then it can be difficult to color the area back to a natural shade because of the severe bleaching process. Sonetimes the hsir diesnt hold color very well afterwards. Be careful !

[Cholera]

I had purple hair for about 6 months. I'd go with MP Flash Lightning, and follow with RAW deep purple for 45 minutes to and hour. At first, it will be very very dark. But, it lasted about three weeks on my hair when I washed with sulfates. It brightens up into an amazing purple. Good luck :D

[Qamar]

I'll third the Manic Panic Flash Lightening for bleaching, since you'll have to bleach to get the purple to show up on black hair. I use Pravana Chromasilk Vivid dye in violet for my purple. Its the longest lasting of all the bright colour dyes in my experience and is pretty gentle on the hair. (the bleach, however, is a different story) Pravana is a licensed only product, so to buy it you'll have to search ebay or get a hairdresser friend to go shopping at a beauty supply shop for you. Its around $8 a tube and I get about four years of use from a tube for my streaks. I touch them up every six weeks or so.

[thriftesfai]

I'd also go with the Manic Panic suggestions.

[PurpleAshes]

Thanks for all the suggestions people!
So what do you think? Is it better if I ask my friend who is a stylist to help me bleach, or is it posssible (andd safe!) to do it myself?
I'm kind of DYI, so I just want to know if it's a good idea to try it on my own or if it could end up in disaster.

Another thing is, I've heard that some people bleach first, then pamper, and a few days later dye. Is this a good idea? And should I do if the bleaching is not enough?

[UltraBella]

To deposit the purple you are going to have to fully lift your color, think white blonde, and that is not a bleach job to do yoursef unless you have some experience. You can have hair loss and breakage if it doesn't go well. Yes, it can ending disaster. Yes, get help. And be prepared for once you try to go back to normal. That bleached hair is NEVER going to be like the rest if your hair.

[PrincessTieflin]

To deposit the purple you are going to have to fully lift your color, think white blonde, and that is not a bleach job to do yoursef unless you have some experience. You can have hair loss and breakage if it doesn't go well. Yes, it can ending disaster. Yes, get help. And be prepared for once you try to go back to normal. That bleached hair is NEVER going to be like the rest if your hair.


EXACTLY what I was fixin' to say!

Be careful, I recently had a bad color experience....and I will be suffering for a long time due to the not waiting for two weeks ( two week rule)

But On the flipside, I have a lot of manic panic here I have collected but never had the guts to try, Im going to do pink and blue stripped bangs, just cause I can at this point..

ETA: If you look at my siggy that is the pink colorjams used over my natural ( no pre bleaching) and it didnt last more then a few shampoos.

I hope you get a good result:D

[white line]

Angeletti, that pic is so pretty! How did you sew the hair onto a clip and what kind of clip did you use? That would be fun to have on hand to use occasionally.