Black & Virgin Rose

Hello Beautiful Beasties!

So todays post is one I've been meaning to get done for awhile now. ... By awhile I mean .. since the end of October. I know, I know. I've been a slacker. :(  Anyhoos..  I've gone and changed out the blue in my hair for a bright magenta and I just wanted to show you all the results. Back in March I did a Black & Blue post that describes how I dye my hair.  Please refer to that post for the methods I use to dye. I will however list the products I've used for this application down below.

This is what I've used:

1 tint brush

1 tint bowl

3 pair gloves

1 RGC packette

1 packette Prism Lights blue lightener (bleach)

roughly 3.5 oz 40 Vol creme developer (peroxide) *please be aware anything stronger than 30 vol should typically NOT be used on the scalp

1 box Garnier Nutrisse Ultra Color BL21 (Blue Black)

1 bottle SE Hair Dye Virgin Rose

Blue tinted bleach w/ RG corrector and 40 Vol developer

Just a note here on changing black dyes. The Feria I was using faded extraordinarily fast. Way quicker than the semi-perm blue dye, which is a shame. I went with Garnier this time after doing some research and this one seems to be holding up pretty good as it's been in now since October and has normal wear/minimal fading.

Processing Special Effects in Virgin Rose. Its okay for it to touch the newly dyed black hair because its so dark, it should only slightly tint that hair IF it even does that. But beware of using this process if your dying over ANY other color than dark black hair.

A note on Special Effects dyes: I still love them. This is the 3rd time in my life I've used Virgin Rose. Its SO pretty. A nice in between shade if you can't decide between pink & purple. Its also very vibrant without being too in your face against the black dye. I wish they had a wider range of colors to choose from, as I've been through them all quite a few times. But I'm glad they haven't lost sight of quality control. I think a lot of companies market their products for rebellious tweens/teens. Heck.. I use to change my hair color once every few weeks when I had UBER short hair. But I like to keep it longer and healthier now. And also, because I'm a bit older I really appreciate the quality of this product compared to ... Manic Panic for instance. They have LOVELY colors and SO many to pick from.. but the quality just isn't there. I've used them too many times and gotten something that the fade out color is some pukey gross color that makes me wish I'd never dyed it 3 weeks before. So when you're choosing your dye, make sure you're getting a decent quality product, not just the COLOR you love. :) 

Ok so now onto the fun stuff.

Before: Can you believe I did this in MARCH! :D LOVE that staying power! My black looks brown though. :(

Bleached out/ freshly dyed black. My bleach job was sloppy. I have some unevenness.. but its okay!

Final Product. Aw .. isn't it pretty?

Thanks to my friend Adrian. He morphed my photos together into one awesome patriotic mashup. LoL!

Fin! :D Ack! Nakie face tho! 

This is a look I called Violet Vampire. I did it for a NTMS weekly challenge. I will be posting it next time. Im still processing through the photos, but look for it soonly! I really like how it turned out!

Okay. So there's my most recent hair journey. I honestly would really like another hair cut soon. I want something like what I had done before. Kinda a shaggy bottom bob. LoL! I love texture! Maybe something right below the jaw line? Above my shoulders? Hrm.. what you do think? Thanks for looking and have a great day!

I love you Special Effects!

This is just going to be a quick RAVE post! I just wanted to share this with you all. I've been using Special Effects hair dye for many years. I've always found it to work wonderfully for me. They have a wide variety of colors, and even when they fade, they fade to a pretty color. I knew it had decent staying power, but I'd never recorded just how long they last. I blogged back in early March about using Special Effects dye (Blue Velvet) on my hair. You can see my original post HERE.  I just wanted to show you guys what it looks like now,  roughly 5 months later!! I have not done ANY touch ups or re-dyes here. This is the actual wear of the dye. The only "special" things I do is make sure none of the hair products I use have alcohol in them, and I skip-a-day wash my hair (I've been using Moisture Maniac Shampoo & Conditioner by Tigi Bed Head) and when I straighten or blow dry my hair I use a heat protect spray. 

BEFORE : Dyed March 04, 2011

AFTER :  Photo taken August 06,2011

As you guys can see .. its still nice and vibrant!  The black dye I used faded REALLY fast. I probably won't use that brand again, as the last 2 times I've used it it's faded early on me and that sucks because it's permanent dye. I shouldn't have to worry about anything but roots with it. >.< Anyway.. I've used almost every color of Special Effects dyes out there and ALL of them have met or exceeded my expectations. Have any of you used Special Effects dyes? How did they work for you? Did you find your color had amazing staying power as well?

Black & Blue

Ok.. so first things first. I have been dying hair & practicing cosmetology for over 15 years. Just to get it out of the way, YOU may have different results using these same products. I know what works for MY hair, and the opinions stated below are my own. If you like the results, and want to try them out, please be aware results may vary and you play at your own risk! :D (image of the sign in Rocky Horror comes to mind ) tee-hee! Thanks guys.

So on with it then. This is what I've used this time:

1 tint brush

1 tint bowl

2 pair gloves

1 RGC packette

1 packette Prism Lights blue lightener (bleach)

roughly 3.5 oz 40 Vol creme developer (peroxide) *please be aware anything stronger than 30 vol should typically NOT be used on the scalp

1 box Feria #21

1 bottle SE Hair Dye Blue Velvet

My hair is naturally dark brown, and when I bleach out it pulls INSANE amounts of red. As I wanted my blue color to be blue and not turn purple because of the gold tones bleach pulls with my natural hair color, I took 2 steps to ensure I had a cool toned result. #1. I used a blue based lightner & #2. I used RGC in my lightening mixture. I first sectioned off any hair I wanted blue, and mixed up the lightener. I applied the mixture to the sectioned off areas and covered those areas with foil.  I did NOT use bleach on my scalp, I applied to about 1/2" above the scalp & covered the rest of the hair shaft down to the scalp with black dye. I like the way this blends the colors together.

Feria #21 Starry Night

While I was waiting for my bleach to develop I mixed and applied the Feria hair dye, as per the included instructions. The color I used was #21, Starry Night. I've used this shade many times before and really like the blue base it has. I think a blue based black looks totally unnatural, but gives a bit of a shinyness? to the color that I really enjoy. And .. I'm really not going for "natural" here .. so its all good.  It covers greys nicely (not that I have any... haha.. right!) and has pretty nice staying power before it starts to dull.

I left my color & bleach to develop for roughly 50-60 mins and rinsed the black until the water was clear, before removing the foils and rinsing the bleached sections out as well.

The blue color I chose was from a dye brand I adore. Special Effects Hair Dye in Blue Velvet. I've always had such WONDERFUL results with them. I think I have used nearly every color they offer in their line as well. I'm a pretty big fan, and the only other "primary" color dyes I will use are made by Fudge. Believe me, I've tried them all..Again.. please keep in mind, this is only what I have personally experienced. My hair .. it likes Special Effects dye.

A bit about the dye based on personal opinion: 1) when it fades, it fades to pretty colors. 2) stays in a decent amount of time, as long as you know how to deal with color treated (demi/semi perm) dyes. 3) vibrant colors, (omg the yellow.. is SICK I got so many compliments on it when I used that one.) 4.) NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS! Yay!

And here are the results I ended up with.

Blue Kitty

BEFORE

AFTER

So.. what do you think? Have you used Special Effects dye before? Do you feel comfortable coloring your hair at home, or do you get it done at a salon?