I thought I’d kick off my hair care series with tips and a story from my friend Carolina Saco! She dyes her hair often, so I thought it’d be cool to get her feedback on what her hair means to her and how she takes care of it. Plus, she rocks literally every haircut and color she has. Enjoy her collab!

Hair AF

Hair is simply dead cells growing out of the scalp for some people. It represents beauty and tradition for others. They form a connection to their flowing locks. Hair is a wasteland of boredom to me. I love to dye my hair. I don’t think there’s anything more refreshing that dyeing my hair a new color when I’m feeling down. My hair just needs to match my moods. I feel blue some days and some days I feel pink.

This may be a difficult concept for some to grasp. Public opinion towards unnatural hair colors has shifted in a positive direction, though. It’s not as positive as it should be, though. I still get stares all day and every day. I don’t care because I love my hair.  Even bleaching my hair and seeing it fall off and having to shave my head doesn’t make me hate it. I even loved it when its color has faded into 100 different shades.

However, I feel like I’m an expert after all of these terrible experiences. I found all kinds of helpful tips and tricks to maintain these colors, or fade them out when I’m tired of them. Plus, I also discovered how to keep my hair from literally falling off my head. I wish I had known earlier, but that’s why I’m here today to share.

Just Dye It

At-home hair treatments and box dyes might seem scary, but I haven’t died yet. That’s a testament to the fact it’s not scary at all, but you need to know what you’re doing. A common misconception is that you must completely damage your hair to dye it a weird color. It’s not true at all.  For example, you can actually only lighten your hair to about a bright orange for a vibrant pink, purple, or red color.

Unnatural shades normally come in semi-permanent dyes. They’re meant to eventually fade back to the shade you bleached it to. I tried various brands and my all-time favorite has to be One n Only Argan Oil. I usually pick up at Sally’s for under $10; prices matter when you switch colors as often as I do.

My Hair Isn’t that Big, But It Still Has Secrets

The trick to getting the most out of semi-permanent hair dyes is leaving them on for way longer than directed on the packaging. This is totally safe because they are completely natural, free of chemicals and actually more akin to food coloring than anything else. Of course, there are brands that cater to those who do not what to bleach their hair but produce a subtler result.

I usually leave the dye on for about 2-3 hours. I’ll sometimes leave it on overnight if I want to ensure that the color will last a couple months. I love using One n Only Argan Oil Hair Dye because the argan oil in this brand leaves your hair feeling great. It feels better than it was before being bleached.

Let’s Be Real

The secret to switching between multiple shades and not damaging your hair is to simply avoid bleach as much as possible. You don’t really need platinum blonde hair unless you are going for a more pastel vibe.

Aftercare is truly important. You must make sure to wash and condition your hair with products designed specifically for colored hair, or else, it will wash right out. Hair masks with avocado or coconut oil left overnight can also help diminish the damage created by the bleaching process, as well.

Ok Next Color

Fading out a color that you put so much effort into making last can be horribly annoying, but it’s easy. Just switch to a regular shampoo. This can take a couple weeks or sometimes months. If you want to rush the process, you can enlist the aid of dandruff shampoo to help dilute your hair color. The Vitamin C method works well, too. Just use Vitamin C to strip the color from your hair as much as possible.

In the end, it’s just hair. It’ll grow back and we’ll still look cute – even if you have to shave your head and cry about it a lot. But in the meantime, use your hair to make a statement, match your mood, match your outfit and match your keychain.

Hope you enjoyed this collab!

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