Hairdye How-To, Neon colors, lightening, whitening, coloring, etc. Options

[*mishyerr*]

Since there are a ton of threads asking "how to lighten / dye / color", I thought I would just organize the basic DIY hairdye instructions. Feel free to leave any extra tips, and I will edit this post. If anything is wrong, please tell me!

Lightening(the most popular one I've seen so far)

Lightening your hair requires that you "damage" your hair one way or another.

Bleach
Bleach is the fastest, easiest way to achieve any level of lightness. Many are reluctant to bleach their hair because it is also the easiest way to completely destroy your hair. If you TAKE care of your hair, then everything should be fine, and in a few days, your hair should return to its natural state.
Never bleach your hair more than 30-40 minutes at a time. Going up to an hour and over will make all your hair as dry as grass...(and it might all fall out if you keep going)
Never bleach your hair more than twice a day. The second time will probably be very bad for your hair, already. You want to wait at least 24 hours before you attempt to bleach it again so that your hair has enough time to recover.
Never leave bleach on your skin. If your scalp is itchy and burning in a spot, there is probably bleach on it. Definitely try to get the bleach off your scalp. Wear gloves!
Always take care of your hair. Use deep leave-in conditioners, use any sort of soothing, revitalizing therapies (I use DIY hot oil therapies), etc. If you straighten or blowdry your hair, make-sure you prep your hair using a heat-protection serum after you bleach. It is important to be as nice as possible to your hair after making it suffer.
It isn't a bad thing to bleach your hair if you do it right.
You just need to buy any bleach kit, mix it, and paint it into your hair where you want to, and leave it in until it is the desire color (or the limited time). If you don't want the icky orange color that often comes with bleaching darker hair colors, then you need to buy a toner to change the color. Toner is applied for 10-15 minutes after you rinse off your bleach and towel dry.

Sun lightening + Lemon Juice
Many people use lemon juice to lighten the hair. I'm not sure exactly how much it will lighten your hair, but I wouldn't expect more than a few shades.
Make sure to:
Mix the lemon juice with some water.
Condition your hair before you do it and after. (it will dry up your hair)
Be in actual UV light. You need the sunlight to sunlight your hair :P

Alternative:
Mix 2 cups of warm water and 2 bags of chamomile tea and do the same thing. It will also lighten your hair but make it shinier, smoother, and smell good.

Alternative:
Sun-in kit at the store. The package should come with detailed instructions as to how to take care of your hair, etc.

White-Out
White hair is the best for neon-hair colors or grey/silver hair.
If you want to white out your hair, you have to do bleach treatments until your hair is almost pure white (with a little yellow).
You will need to get a toner specifically for pure-white hair. Hot Topic sells Bleach+Toner White-Out kits for about $20 that are reusable. Make sure you follow most of the same rules in the bleach section so your hair doesn't frizzle up and become grass.

Neon Colors! are my favorites.
BLEACH IS REQUIRED TO PUT ANY BRIGHT, NEON COLOR IN IF YOU HAVE DARK HAIR. I know that sucks, but it's true. Unless you want disgusting, crusty spray-in or mascara-in color, you must, must, must bleach your hair.
Just almost completely white-out your hair. If you are going for bright, warm colors (pink, red, orange, yellow, etc), then you don't need to whiten your hair as much. Just make sure your hair is at least a bright orangey-yellow color and paint in the dye. You can tell how bright dyes are usually by how thick the dye itself is. Hot Topic sells vibrant dyes, and Manic Panic is a well-known neon-hair dye brand.
Remember that neon hair colors usually fade quickly and require redos every few weeks depending on how deep the color is (Red and green fade quickly, purple will stay in for a long time).
To prolong the color, shower in colder waters and less than you usually do (unless it's once a week or less).

Alternative:
Human hair extensions (or fake, already-colored extensions) will hold the color for a long time because you don't need to wash them as much as real hair :P

Regular Hairdye
Changing from a red-head to a brunette is simple. Go to your local grocery store and buy a DIY kit. I love the Revlon ColorSilk packs, because they are cheap and easy to use. And they don't leave your hair feeling rough. Hairdyes infused with conditioning therapies will leave your hair soft, as well. Just follow the instructions the package gives you :) They're super easy.
It's good to have a friend there to watch what you're doing so you don't miss any spots. Also, make sure to comb the dye through your hair so you can avoid missed spots.

Alternative:
Henna is used for hair-dye. I'm not sure where to purchase it or how you use it. Anyone care to update?

MISTAKE?!
"OH SHIT! I DYED MY HAIR BLACK AND IT LOOKS LIKE CRAP."
Okay, that happens (to me). How do you get your old hair back at least a TEENY bit? Scrub your head ferociously with Head & Shoulders. There are chemicals in the dandruff-fighting shampoo that will help strip your hair of its new color. It won't show up the first few showers, but it works. Trust me!
If you did a dramatic change, you probably need to bleach it and dye it back to normal. Or talk to a color specialist.

[*StanleyThePanda*]

Very nice job, Mishy! Definitely helpful.

[Gypsy Eyes]

Ah this is amazing

Oh and if you want to darken your hair a bit rinse it in vinegar (plain) and sit in the sun for a bit. It's similar to the lemon juice.

[BeautyInATragedy]

^ Don't you mean lighten?

[*suddenly she*]

You know, if we ever get a Big Book of Fashion-related Things, this should definitely be in there.

Good job!

[*mishyerr*]

Ah this is amazing

Oh and if you want to darken your hair a bit rinse it in vinegar (plain) and sit in the sun for a bit. It's similar to the lemon juice.

Is this for lightening or darkening? Because I've heard that vinegar can be used for lightening. *confused

[Gypsy Eyes]

Darkening, I did if after my hair got too light this summer. It darkens it a bit.


Lemon=Lighten
Vinegar=darken (it cleans it well too)

[heatherl5]

I want to lighten my hair. It is dark brown and I want it a lighter shade of brown. If I do the lemon juice thing how long does that last?

[*MyMichelle*]

^ I think it is as long as you have that hair, unless you decide to darken it. That is if lemon juice works the same way as bleach.

I'm not sure, though. :K

[heatherl5]

ok thanks! One more question lol. Will it make my hair too light? I just want it a light shade of brown. Is it going to make it blonde and stuff?

[*MyMichelle*]

If you are a brunette on the darker side, I doubt a natural lightening will turn your hair blonde.

[gelionie]

Thanks for this! It's very helpful.

[synthase]

this is wayyy awesome
THANK YOU

If you have dark/black hair..when you lighten it, would it be brown?

[*MyMichelle*]

this is wayyy awesome
THANK YOU

If you have dark/black hair..when you lighten it, would it be brown?

It depends on how you do it. If you use the sun, it will probably turn a lighter shade of brown, but if you use bleach, the color will be more orange-y, which is why you need a toner / hair-dye to get the correct shade.

[cori-catastrophe]

you forgot the color wheel for toners. i'll post it as soon as i get home.