Question about hair dye [updated pic]

[True]

So my son wants to dye his hair, he's been using temporary colors for some time because hes so dedicated to this color. like chalks and sprays. 

Basically I'm calling for experienced suggestions here. Iv asked around all the salons, and there's only one of them that iv found so far that will do non natural colors, but its WAY out of my price range. I do have experience dying my own hair, (from when I was younger) but back then I was just buying cheapo dyes.

My son has dark blond/brownish color hair, so I know we would need to lighten it first. He wants a sorta darker lime green color. If anyone is familiar with the youtuber "jacksepticeye" that's his inspiration lol.

What brands/products should I look for? Any other suggestions?
He definitely wants a permanent color. I also cut his hair myself all the time so I don't need help with that, BUT should I cut it before or after its dyed?

[retrogradenova]

Yay hair dye!!!!!
It's been a while since I've dyed my hair, but I wanna try help anyways!

You don't need a salon to dye your son's hair. It's a waste of money. And I would be concerned if any salon tried to charge extra for non natural colors especially if you're supplying the dye yourself.  Honestly I can see why some salons might not do it, people sometimes say the want outrageous colors, but are unhappy with the results and blame the stylist. But if you're already cutting your son's hair you should be fine. It's just a matter of following the dye directions.

Depending on exactly how dark his hair is or how light of a green your son wants you may not need to lighten his hair. I know the manic panic reds covered my hair fine and i was a 8N-9N at the time. I do not have expirence with greens with my hair specifically so I can't say for sure. But like I said it all depends what you're going for. But if you are going to lighten his hair first, all I can say is Conditioner!!!! Lots and lots of it.

That being said I really liked Manic Panic dye when I used to dye my hair. It's a semi permanent, (but really what dye isn't semi permanent after you start washing your hair?), and it usually fades within 4 weeks (though darker colors may make a more permanent stay). So if your son decides he doesn't like it, its not the end of the world. And it fades fairly well so it's easy to redye and doesn't do harm to the hair.

It's usually a little easier to cut hair when it's damp, but dye is generally applied to dry hair. I see no reason to cut his hair before you dye unless you might be worried about cutting off too much of the dyed hair and ruining the look. If it's only a trim, then there shouldn't be a problem doing it after you dye it.  Look at it this way, you go and get you hair dyed and styled at a salon, they dye first and cut/blowdry after. So I don't think you need to worry about that. 

Looking around a little bit, this blog seems to have lots of good tips as the girl seems to love manic panic: http://hairbylizzy.tumblr.com/

Gosh this makes me want to dye my hair. I have some After Midnight and Bad Boy Blue stashed away for a rainy day, hehe!

Hopefully I've helped a little and didn't just bore you with things you already knew. Good luck dying it  

[octocorn]

I'm a stylist, we do charge more for non-natural colors because it's a double process and it takes more time than a "natural" color does. That being said, if you have a Sally's beauty near you, ask them for advice for on the scalp bleach, and you should be able to find the green you need in either the manic panic or ion brands.  Fashion colors are all semi-permanent for the most part, bleaching the hair makes them more permanent.

[True]

Thanks! You both pretty much answered everything I was wondering about xD. I Do have a sally's, and figured that I could probably find what I needed there, I would have gone today, but by the time I was on that side of town (and remembered) It was already closed, but not a big deal. :p

Ill ask someone there about bleaching first, Im pretty sure we're going to need to, he's kinda at that dark blond, turning to brown stage, and he wants the green to be pretty vivid. He's 12, and his hair is pretty normal textured.

Any suggestions about like color safe/after care/conditioners? Im sure the specialist at Sallys could answer, but I'm just so suspicious of business employes only promoting their own over priced products. >.< I'm not really looking for the "cheap" way out.. I just don't want to get unnecessarily fleeced by an employee. xD

[Princess Lala]

I used to be in a cosmetology training course back in high school, thanks to that I change my hair allllll the time. I dropped out because it was costly and we had to buy all our own supplies, so I'm not licensed, but I have the experience to do it. I have had rainbow hair, neon hair, cotton candy pink hair, and even snow white hair.

You will need to prelighten his hair, Sally's is going to be your best friend! Ion color brilliance is my go-to brand for lightening products because they are a little more gentle on sensitive skin such as my own. Look for the purple bottles on the hair isle and for silver/purple packets near it. I recondmend getting their packet of lightening powder that is ammonia free (like $3?) and maybe a small bottle of ion's  lv. 30 developer (another $2?) along with one of ion's $1 replenishing revivalisant conditioner packets omg it works wonders. I wouldn't go any lower than level 20 because his hair can turn orange if he has brown tones. Follow instructions, mix the developer and ammonia free lightening powder in a bowl with a ratio of 1:1. Apply with a brush, USE GLOVES, it will cause slight itchyness and white fingers so use gloves and don't lather on scalp or wear a shirt- fabrics will get lightened too. If it gets on his skin wash it off immedietly! His hair will lighten fast, it won't turn white but it will be a pale yellow blonde- don't leave it in for a long time obviously! Wash solution out in shower when his hair is his deired color and condition. Let his hair dry and rest a day or more (probably do it on the weekend?) This was all just for pre-lightening.

For the lime green color I have always used either ion color brilliance ($5 a tube) or manic panic ($8). I also use Pravana Chromesilk but you need to have a license to get that, I have a friend pick that up for me but the other two brands work amazing and are available at Sally's. Now this is imoprtant- the longer you leave the fun color in your hair, not only will the color last longer and turn out more vibrant but it the wheat proteins will make your hair very soft. I leave my color in at LEAST 4-7 hours no less but that's just me. Cool colors like greens wash out fast because of the color molecule size, getting scientific here, and can become brassy over time. Apply his hair color on the lightened areas, cover and time it at least a few hours. Having his hair covered while color is being applied traps in body heat, which can brighten results as well. If you used Ion or Manic panic, it will not harm his hair and will make it very soft. Manic panic has this slight cooling effect when I use it, feels good.

Currently right now I am using Ion color brilliance red in my hair. Its not orange red, its like crayola "red" kind of red! 

Just let your son know if he is dedicated, he will have to go through the whole process all over again every month or more for a root-touchup and it can be a chore for some people. Make sure his school is okay with this first! Also you should change his shampoo out to something sulfate free- foaming agents have a bad habit of pulling out fun hair colors.

When he is ready to go back to his original hair color, use any ammonia-free demi or permenant hair color.

[NovelNerd]

I'm not a stylist, but I had pink hair for four years and blue/ purple for two. I teach now and only dye it wild colors during the summer. I've gone through the process of doing t myself and salons too. The big thing to remember is colors like that don't last long and even a salon will not tell you their color will stay on long.

I have jet black hair and have to bleach mine and then I usually use Manic Panic from Sally's just because it sticks well and I have enough to do touch ups. I touch up mine once a week when I have wild colors. It takes a lot of upkeep and usually if you have to bleach your hair it spends a lot of time damaged. My hair stylist bleaches mine because I don't trust my bleaching skills and then I color it. Last year over the summer though my hair felt like straw from the amount of bleach and such to keep it light enough for my color. I was using all kinds of stay in conditioner products.

I'm not trying to be negative just give the full spectrum here because it is fun and I do it every summer. It's not something dark hair enjoys long term and it took a while for my hair to get back to normal. If his hair is light enough to hold it without a lot of bleach it should go better for him.

[True]

Thanks for all the info! And yeah when I said permanent color, I didn't expect it to last too long, xD Were just looking for something that will last longer than the spray in stuff. :p I might actually see if I can get a place to at least bleach/lighten the top of his head (where he wants the color) The idea of it kinda freaks me out, and I'd rather a pro do it, but I'm pretty sure I can do the color myself, done it loads of times on my own hair. ^-^

It seems like everyone is pretty reliant on either manicpanic and ion, so at least I know what I'm looking for!

He goes to school nearly every day with temp green in his hair and teachers have never mentioned anything against it, plus Im sure iv seen lots of other students with rainbow hair. xD

[Princess Lala]

Just be careful if you are going to a salon, highly stressing here to request the lightner to be ammonia-free. From personal experience a lot of salons will use ammonia containing products and it will not only weakens hair but stinks like lice shampoo x( Salons can also charge by the minute no matter what amount of hair you are lightening, lightening can take up to 30 minutes (usually on lower level/dark hair will it take that long). Call up a salon ahead of time, ask about their stylists's products and pricing, then make an appointment. Typically each stylist in a professional salon will buy their own supplies and rent out their own space so brands can vary what each stylist uses.

[True]

ooh Thanks! Ill keep that in mind, I had no idea! o.o

[Princess Lala]

No problem! Salons will always try to sneak in hidden fees too, keep in mind they depend on their clients appointments to pay bills! The only time I ever go to a hair salon is when I want my friend to give me my whispy anime-style layers in my hair since its hard to cut it evently myself xD Just that cost me $28. Just highlights can cost anywhere around $100, that's not including a tip. They really try to get ya!

[kaoskat]

Lime green sounds fun! I have no advice but I hope he likes his new hair!

[True]

So.. Update. We put the green manic panic directly into his hair, xD the person at sally's said his hair would be light enough to give a darker shade, which he seemed keen on. So we did it today, let it sit for about 6 hours, washed it out.. and it ALL came out. I won't know until it's dry, (too tired tonight to look for the dryer) but I don't think ANY of it stuck.

Now i'm wondering if he's just got that type of hair that doesn't take color well at all. But hoping we have better luck after we lighten it. It only used about a 3rd of the jar, so we have plenty to work with.

[Princess Lala]

Its gotta be prelightened. Manic panic never sticks well to virgin hair- not even my own. My natural hair is a light grey-blonde with some natural white stands here and there and I still have to lighten it every time the first time I tried it on my own virgin hair was a raspberry color from La Richè. It didn't stick that well, the color washed right out and lightly stained it pale pink omg I was so mad.

I promise if his hair is prelightened to about a level 8-9 the manic panic will take the lime green really well!

[True]

Its gotta be prelightened. Manic panic never sticks well to virgin hair- not even my own. My natural hair is a light grey-blonde with some natural white stands here and there and I still have to lighten it every time the first time I tried it on my own virgin hair was a raspberry color from La Richè. It didn't stick that well, the color washed right out and lightly stained it pale pink omg I was so mad.

I promise if his hair is prelightened to about a level 8-9 the manic panic will take the lime green really well!

Thanks so much Lala xD I swear you're like my hair dying expert haha. Ill have to wait until tomorrow to stop by Sally again, wont have access to vehicle in time today. luckily we still have plenty of green dye left!

[True]

I thought I would post an update. Hes super excited about his new hair lol.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


He originally wanted a more lime green, but I didn't even think about mixing colors for whatever reason lol. So it ended up more of a Chartreuse, that he actually likes more. He's always been a big fan of bright/fluorescent colors xD so I guess this worked out even better than I planned. 

Thanks everyone who helped! I feel a lot more confident now about dying hair and everything that comes with it. ^-^