It’s 11:59 and my roommate and I are sprinting into the CVS near campus. We try not to be the straggler customers, but the urge hit after anime night and it was unavoidable. We’re energetic, and more than a little sleep-deprived. It’s official: It was time to dye our hair blue. Since then, I believe I’ve learned a thing or two about the best way to go about dyeing one’s hair. Listen up, put away your $2 shampoo, and let’s get cracking on making sure your hair doesn’t fray.
It doesn’t have to be a specific brand, but know that if you’re buying hair dye at a corner store it isn’t guaranteed to last. Try to find some that’ll at least tide you over for a month, most of those will carry longer but we’ll get to that later. Corner store dye is less likely to work, so unless you have bright yellow or white blonde hair, go for the one that says brown. Even if your hair is dirty-blonde, it’s better to pay the exact same price for some ‘brunette dye’ than to have to come back and buy it all over again.
Multiple pairs, trust me on this. You’re going to be miserable if you don’t have gloves, even if you’re not the one actually dyeing it. Staining my hands blue for a day was a way to make jokes about Smurfs to the guy next to me in math class, but you might not be that humble. Just shell out on the box of one-time use gloves. If you plan to dye it again they’ll come in handy anyways.
Don’t ruin your pretty display towels (assuming you’re not a college student and own more than one). Drape one or two over the old clothes you’re wearing around your neck to make an attempt at protecting yourself from the dye. Results may vary.
If you’re paranoid about getting dye wherever you’re doing the dirty deed, bring a cut trash bag along to cover up the floor. Most of the time you’ll be able to wipe up the dye, but if you miss a spot and forget then it’s going to be a huge pain. Save yourself some time and headache by taking preventative measures against this.
If this is your first time, you should ask for someone to help you out or spot you just on principle. While you might take one look at your bleach job and deem it decent, your friend might see the patchy spots for what they are and demand you add another layer. In-person consultants are key to this step, seeing as they can spot the back of your head, which would be hard for you to totally get with a mirror.
The roots need the most color, and the most time, so always begin from the roots and comb it down. Make sure to be generous with the amount of dye you’re applying, especially if you have naturally dark hair. If you’re scared you’ll run out of dye you can always buy another box, but unless you have extremely thick or long hair, it probably won’t happen. Many boxes nowadays give you a full bottle of dye, so you’ll be able to dye and re-dye for quite a long time.
Shower caps can be used while your hair sits for that hour or so in order to make sure that you aren’t getting the dye all over everything. I’d still recommend leaving a towel around your neck personally, but the cap will make it easier to go about business as usual.
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