I've wanted lilac hair for quite a while, but have been putting it off for weeks until I could afford to get my hair properly bleached at the hairdressers, as you need very white hair for the dye to work properly. I'm just going to assume if you're following these steps you've already bleached and toned your hair to as white as it can get.
Here's the steps I followed:
1. Gather up everything you need, so you won't be running around all over the house with dye flying everywhere.
The essentials are:
2. Squirt a head covering amount of your cheap conditioner into the tub. The reason it doesn't need to be a special and expensive conditioner is because it's basically just a dilutant, to make the dye paler.- any cheap white conditioner.- La Riche Directions dye in Violet.
- a plastic tub/cup for mixing the dye in (something you don't want to eat out of again).
- something to stir the mix with. I used a teaspoon.
- a tinting brush (I just used my hands and they didn't stain, but it's up to you).
- an old dark towel.
3. Add a tiny amount of dye to the conditioner. Honestly, I mean tiny. I used a quarter of a teaspoonful, and even using that I had to add more conditioner to lighten the colour. Mix the dye into the conditioner thoroughly, until it is one smooth colour, and it's the shade you're looking for. The colour you see in the tub will be the colour that ends up in your hair, so make sure you're happy with it at this stage.
4. Now, some people say to apply the dye onto damp hair, but this didn't really work with me. The first time I applied the dye on damp hair, it only stuck to certain strands and looked really strange, so the next time I just put the dye directly onto my dry hair, and it took a lot better. It's really up to you, you should know how your own hair reacts to dye.
5. Completely cover your hair with the dye. I didn't do it neatly or with a tinting brush at all, I just smothered it on and then combed it through to make sure it was evenly distributed, but that might be a bit more difficult with longer hair. Just make sure you rub the dye right into your roots, as these can be the easiest area to miss.
6. Leave the dye on for 30-60mins. If you're going to wrap your head in clingfilm to stop mess, remember that the heat from your head will speed up the dying time. 60mins was the perfect amount of time for me, and I didn't use clingfilm.
7. Rinse your hair thoroughly with cold water. Honestly I can't stress enough that you must rinse with cold water, as this shocks your cuticles and traps the dye in, meaning it will last longer. Keep rinsing until you see the water run clear.
8. Dry your hair normally.
Hopefully I haven't missed anything important out. To be honest it's quite an easy process, the longest part is mixing the colour to how you'd like it. Remember, if it does go wrong, this dye is only semi-perminant and will wash out in a week or so, so no need to panic.
To maintain the colour, add a teeny tiny amount of dye to your conditioner and use this every time you wash your hair. This will keep the colour fresh and vibrant and prevent it from fading.
And, here's a picture of how it turned out on me! I'm really pleased with the colour actually, I thought it would have come out too dark on my first attempt but it worked really well.
Charlotte
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