Archive for January, 2010

Green Hair Color : More than just a Color

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Most people have used hair dye at one point or another in their life to change the tone, add highlights, or to change the entire look of their hair color altogether. But only a fraction of these people have ever used green hair color to drastically change their appearance that demands attention. This could be for many reasons, first off the top of the head is that it’s of course not natural for anyone to have green hair! Most people choose to use hair dye in order to make it appear like a different hair color, like going from blonde to brown, or black to a lighter shade of brown. These are regular colors and while you may be able to tell they are using hair dye upon close inspection, for the most part it goes unnoticed and people will dismiss it as your true color. On the other hand if you have just purchased green hair color and applied it to your head, you won’t be able to take two steps without people specifically noticing you.

 

For some people, getting noticed for green hair every step they take isn’t a bad thing, and in fact is exactly what they’re looking for. Let’s face it, some people love getting attention and will do whatever it takes to get it! This doesn’t mean that people who use green hair color are attention seekers who are desperate and were deprived of attention as a child; some people turn their hair green simply because they want something new, or because they enjoy wearing outrageous things simply because it makes them happy. Whatever the reason for doing it, using green hair color on yourself is going to be a fun experience and you’ll probably find that simply going to places like the grocery store with green hair open up the door for all kinds of experiences that you never had before. You’ll find that people start conversations with you more based on your hair. You’ll probably get asked, “what’s the green hair for?” or be told “nice hair” frequently which opens up the door to start a conversation with the person.

 

On the other hand there will always be people who will stereotype others by their appearance. When they see someone who has green hair they may immediately think misfit, or someone who isn’t nice or is starting trouble or is in to psychedelic drugs. You may begin to see people give you dirty looks, or actually avoid being around you altogether. This is bitter sweet, because it allows you to see a side of the world that you would have never experienced before. It allows you to feel a bias that you may not have known existed and reveals the shallow thinking of many people all around us every day. At its most basic level, green hair color is simply a way to change your hair color, but on a deeper level it can actually be a great and eye opening experience that you’ll learn a lot from.

I have black hair, can I still color my hair with green hair color?

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

The short answer to this question is yes, but this question deserves more than just a one word answer as there are a lot of things to consider when using green hair color on black or very dark hair. The first tool you’re going to need in order to make this happen is dedication. Are you willing to go through the effort it’s going to take to keep your hair green? Because black hair is so dark, it will be very difficult to get it to a green color directly simply because the black would override the green. What this means is you can’t apply green hair color directly to your black hair and expect for it to be a good green hair color once you’ve completed. If you had very blonde hair you could do this, so with that information what it means is that in order to make your black hair a good quality green color you will first need to bleach your hair to blonde. For this reason many people who have black hair stay away from going to a green color because it’s so hard on their hair. Not only will you be bleaching which isn’t good for your hair, but then you will be applying more chemicals to your hair to apply the green color. At the end of the process if you don’t do it correctly you’ll have hair that looks very damaged and worn out and you may regret ever doing it.

 

The good news is if you have the dedication and the time, you can use green hair color to color your black hair green and still have it end up looking good. One of the keys to this is buying high quality coloring products that reduce the amount of harmful chemicals you’ll be putting in your hair. A popular product called “Sun In” is a spray bottle that bleaches your hair by spraying bleach type chemicals directly on it. While this will help turn your black hair blonde before using the green hair color, it’s also not healthy for your hair and isn’t recommended. A good high quality example of bleach for your hair is L’Oreal Platinum. You can find this in almost any store that sells hair dyeing products and can expect this to be of higher price than most other products. This is because the ingredients used in the development promote healthy hair and will cause much less damage to your hair once complete. It’s well worth the money if you want your hair to look nice, which is a given since you’re looking to dye it green!

 

Keep in mind that regardless of how high of quality the product you use in your hair is, you will be damaging your hair. It should also be noted that bleaching black hair is permanent, so don’t expect the color to simply fade out of your hair with time; you will need to actually grow it back out in order for the bleach to be gone. Once you bleach your hair a nice blonde color (be sure to follow the directions for your specific brand, every bleach is a little different!) you can then begin to look for green hair color. Once again, go for high quality products. A good green hair color product can be found at Hot Topic. Special Effects is also a good quality green hair color that won’t completely destroy your hair. There are less expensive ways to go, like creating your own, or sitting in the pool too long…but it’s not recommended! It’s also a good idea to wait a couple of days before using green hair color on freshly bleached hair. It can be very hard on your scalp and hair and you should give it time to repair by using warm water and really good shampoos and conditioners.

 

If you have dark hair and are looking to use green hair color on it, take your time and buy high end quality products and understand that this is permanent! While the green hair color may fade, once it’s gone you’ll be bleach blonde again until your black hair grows all the way back out. Have fun!