13
Nov, 13

How to Care for Your Purple Hair

PurpleHair1

I finally did it!  I finally dyed the lower-half of my hair dark purple, and I love it so much!  The whole process, with a cut and style, took about 3 1/2 hours.  And it was totally worth it!  I’ve had my hair a couple of colors in the past, but never purple until now.  Although lovely in every way, having purple hair (or any bright color) takes a lot of care and it can fade fast.  And even though it’s a permanent dye, it won’t last forever.  Natural dyes tend to adhere better to the hair and last longer, but unnatural dyes like purple, pink, red, blue, green, etc. just don’t.

Other than my new purple hair, I’m thrilled to have Ms. Twinkie Chan as a guest today!  I mean, who knows more about bright and fun hair color than her?!  So, here are a few tips from Twinkie and my stylist/colorist to ensure that your purple/colored hair stays glamorous until your next tone session.

Twinkie Chan Colored Hair

Twinkie says:  When you’re starting to experiment with bright colors in your hair, you’ll probably need to bleach your hair out first, unless your are a blonde. While a lot of my friends DIY their own hair to save on the expense, I would still highly recommend that you go to a professional. I know people who have accidentally burned patches of hair off of their heads, and while hair always grows back, it’s nice to avoid that situation! I have heard of people getting their hair ruined at salons as well, but my colorist is really bleach-conservative, and I have never experienced any breakage.

One thing I remember back when I had some purple in my hair, is that I felt like I also had to change my make-up a little bit to accommodate the bluer tones. So don’t be surprised if you find yourself in Sephora, cruising some pinky blushes and blue-based lippies! It can be a fun excuse to experiment with different make-up. When I went to the mall for some make-up help, I ended up at Stila and bonding with the gal who worked there. Incidentally, we got our hair colored by the same person!

But when I had teal-green streaks, I realized that greenish hair was not for me, and not even makeup could save me! I think it picked up too much on the yellow tones of my skin, and I just felt like an alien. I couldn’t wait to change the teal out! So if you want to experiment with bright hair, just remember, that some bright colors may work for your skin tone and some may not, but don’t get discouraged if you feel like an alien, because there could be another color that’s great for you!

When I first went 100% pink, I really looked like I was wearing a wig, like I didn’t belong to my hair. I now have  a few panels or pieces of black in my pink, and the black really helps add dimension and break up the color a little bit. If you find yourself feeling too odd with your new hair, trying adding some darker pieces back in.

When washing freshly-dyed hair, you also want to make sure you didn’t just get a fancy manicure, because your hair color will definitely dye your polish a little bit!

If you decide to freshen up your color at home, and you accidentally get dye all over your shower, I have found that some spray bleach really goes a long way. Just spritz some on, open a window, and let it soak in for a while. Don’t freak out, especially if you’re a renter!

PurpleHair2

Okay, so here are the basics:

1. Don’t wear light colors like white or pastels, at least in the beginning, because it will rub off!  This is no joke for those of you with long locks.  I tested it on an old white tee the night I got it done, and again after the first wash (four days later); it does rub off.

2. Try sleeping with a black pillowcase or an old towel over your pillow, as well.  Also, be careful when leaning back on your couch, car seats, and especially other peoples furniture!  Eep!  I bet you never thought of this, but be sure that your seat-belt doesn’t rub on your hair, because that will stain, as well!

3. Wash your purple/colored tendrils as little as possible and when you do, wash in cold (burrr) water using a color protecting shampoo and conditioner.  Chose a product with no parabens or sulfates.  Some colorists will also recommend finding vinegar-based shampoos that don’t foam up very much.  You don’t want to strip your color.  Instead, between washes, use dry shampoo to hold off your natural oils.  For me, I can usually get away with wearing my hair down for the first two days, anything beyond that, I put it up in a bun or pony.  Then I wash it every fourth day.

Note: Hot water does fade your color faster, so I like to wash my hair separately in the stainless steel kitchen sink using cold water and the awesome sprayer on our faucet.  I use the sink for two reasons, first, I’m a chicken and don’t want to be standing in a cold shower, ever.  Second, our new shower is white and I don’t want to risk staining it with purple.  I think Ron would kill me!  If you’re brave or crunched for time, you can shower.  Wash your hair in cold water (fast!) and then pin it up.  Now, you can shower your body in cozy warm water!  Be aware that the purple does run off in the shower and sink, so be sure to rise it away as soon as possible.  And like Twinkie mentioned above, bleach spray can go a long way if water alone doesn’t cut it.  Also, black or old towels are are great idea, because it will absorb into the towels.

Twinkie-LightPink

Twinkie says:  We pink-haired girls often also boost our color a bit with each hair wash by putting a little hair-dye into our conditioner.

4. Be gentle with heat styling, as well.  The more heat you apply, the more your color will break down and fade.  This is difficult for me because I love to curl, dry and straighten my hair.  I try to heat style only once between washes, unless I’m headed to a Ball or something super fancy!  Ha, if only!  Make sure that you don’t care about your straightener and curling iron getting stained purple (or any color), either, because they will.  You might also notice that your hands will be tinted as well.  The heat pulls the color out as you’re handling your hair.  It usually washed right off.

5. Avoid too many hair products.  If you can, don’t use hair spray, palmades, etc., because it will contribute to the fading.  Plus, it takes a lot more effort to scrub those product out when you do shampoo.

Basically, you want to baby your colored hair if you want it to stay vibrant longer.  In the beginning, it seems like a lot to think about, but it eventually becomes second nature and part of your everyday (or every third or fourth day) routine.  Until the pros master a way to make purples, pinks, reds and blues permanent-permanent, this is what we have to do.  The price of beauty, eh?!  Anyhoo, have fun with it and don’t be afraid to add a little bit of color to your hair.

Hopefully these tips will help you maintain your color longer!  I want to give a big thanks to Twinkie for sharing her tips with us.  She’s a hair-colored icon in my book!  Oh, and did I mention that she’s the absolute sweetest?!  If you haven’t already, be sure to check out her website and say hello!  If you have any hair color tips, tricks and stories, we want to hear them in the comments below!

18
Aug, 13

30-Day Self-Portrait Challenge // No. 24, 25, 26, 27 + 28

DSC_6652
photo(4)
DSC_6482
photo(5)

photo(6)

It was fun to have part of the 30-Day Self-Portrait Challenge go into our 5 Year Wedding Anniversary vacation!  I got lots of fun shots – mostly of my feet in the soft-white sand.  Which was fitting, because that’s where I spent most of my time.  It was such a lovely and relaxing time, that I can’t wait to go back!  I’ll share more on our trip in another post.  Get ready for a lot more photos and stories!

01
Aug, 13

30-Day Self-Portrait Challenge // No.17

SelfieNo17

It’s day 17 of this 30-day challenge and I’m sharing a photo of my new Nike+ shoes.  I really like them a lot.  They’re light-weight, super soft and squishy, and they’re bright and cheerful!  They actually make me want to walk and jog more than usual.  The Heeler pups are loving it, too, because they get to run more.  If you have Blue Heelers, then you know, walking doesn’t do it for them like a good run.  Because they’re working dogs, they have so much energy to burn.  And since we live in the suburbs with a lack of cattle to chase, a good run or game of Frisbee does the trick.  We need to get as much outdoor exercise in now, because I feel Fall coming here already, then comes the snow…

31
Jul, 13

30-Day Self-Portrait Challenge // No. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 + 16

SelfieNo08
SelfieNo09
SelfieNo10
SelfieNo11
SelfieNo12
SelfieNo13
SelfieNo14
SelfieNo15
SelfieNo16

It’s been a whirlwind of a week, but I’ve been keeping up on my self-portraits.  In fact, so much has been happening that I can’t seem to remember it all to share.  Eep!  This last weekend I spent Saturday babysitting for a really great friend and we had a girls day with my mom.  My mom and I took the baby antique shopping and out to a linner (late lunch-early dinner), then once the baby went to bed, Ron and I watched a movie and nibbled on candy for the rest of the night.  It was a busy, yet rewarding day.  Then, Sunday we went to check on the status of the house.  Can you believe that we’re in week 13 already?!  It’s been pretty wet and rainy here, so things have slowed down, but I can’t wait to see next week.  We then went to visit some friends for lunch and a few games of pool, and ended the evening with a family dinner.

This week I hope to take it a bit easier, but I’ll still be working on a few projects.  I just can’t wait to have a studio again where I can spread out and make make make!

22
Jul, 13

30-Day Self-Portrait Challenge // No.4, 5, 6, + 7

SelfieNo04
SelfieNo05
SelfieNo06
SelfieNo07

So, I slacked on posting these selfies this weekend, but I did take a photo each day – yay!  I’m sticking to this.  This past weekend was a fun one.  Friday afternoon, Ron surprised me with flowers and a date night!  We went to eat at HuHut, which is a local Mongolian BBQ place where you fill up your bowl and they cook it for you.  We sipped on Cherry and Vanilla Sprites while we chatted some, and them we grabbed som Froyo and watch a local bad play in an out-door concert.  It was the most wonderful date night.  Ron’s really great at doing things “just because.”  He doesn’t wait for a reason to celebrate – I love that about him.

Then, Saturday Ron and I had another date-night and went to the local drive-in.  He made us cheesy-hotdogs with chips, and he packed popcorn, tea and all of the wonderful candies that you could think of.  We made it through all three movies!  I admit, we both dozed a few times, but never enough to miss what was happening.  I’m usually lucky if I make it half way through the second movie.  Getting to the drive-in was crazy this time.  Usually we drive right in, set up and wait for the show.  This time, we waited in line for over an hour and when we got to the gate, we were the first of the last three cars that they were letting in.  Sold out!  We were lucky to get in and find a great parking spot, and we were thrilled to see the drive doing so well.

Sunday, I went to Ikea with a lovely friend and her daughter, ran some errands and then finished off the day with some shopping and peeking at the progress of the house.  Oh!  Ron treated me to a new pair of the Nike+ 5.0 running shoes.  I’m so excited to lace ’em up and hit the pavement!  Anyone else have a pair?

18
Jul, 13

30-Day Self-Portrait Challenge // No.03

SelfieNo03

What a nice flip-flop tan, RL.  I wear flip-flops year around.  Seriously, I live in Colorado and spend much of the winter in flip-flops.  I’m really trying to get better about wearing “real” shoes, but it’s so stinkin’ hard.  Until then, I’ll continue to enjoy my sweet flip-flop tan!  ha!

17
Jul, 13

30-Day Self-Portrait Challenge // No.02

SelfieNo02

Now that it’s summer, I can really see the highlights and reds coming out in my hair.  I’ve been wearing my hair down in the day and as soon as I get home, it goes right up into a messy bun.  It’s been pretty hot and sticky here lately, so this hair style has been the norm.  I was thinking today that it would be fun to challenge myself in a new way by wearing my hair differently each day to mix things up.  Since it’s been so hot, I’ve been sticking to just a few easy hair styles.  Maybe after this selfie challenge, I can try that one next?  What do you think?

16
Jul, 13

30-Day Self-Portrait Challenge // No.01

SelfieNo01

I haven’t done one of these challenges in a really long time and I’m about due for one.  Elsie + Emma decided to start a 30-Day Self-Portrait Challenge, so I decided to join in.  This really is going to be a challenge for me, because I don’t currently have a studio space and all of my gadgets aren’t super easy to access (i.e. computer, external hard-drive, camera cables, etc).  I know, waa waa blah blah.  I’m determined to make this work, though.  This is also good for me, because if you’re like me and love to take photos, chances are good that you’re probably not in a whole lot of ’em.  Right?  So, to prove that I’m real – challenge accepted!