Pizzazz Republic: It’s Time to Dye!

When In Manila, it’s time to color the town in rainbow colors!

You’ve probably already encountered someone who has a dyed head — and a crazy one at that! Red, green, pink or even a mix of it! Being one of the dye hards, I always get the question: “How did you color your hair like that?“

And so today’s the day that I’m going to share with you the answer to that question! And most importantly, where do I get them high-quality dyes that I use. 😀

So, shall we begin?

In a span of two years, I’ve been red-orange, bleach blonde (yellow), green, purple, pink and currently blue. I’ve pretty much covered all the colors of the rainbow. 😛

Bleach, baby, bleach

A lot have asked me, “Did you bleach your hair to make it look like that?”

The answer is YES. Unless you’re a natural blonde and a very light blonde at that, in which case you’d be good to go. But if you’re like me who was born with black hair, then we all have to go through some sessions of bleaching.

— DIY bleaching requires brave souls. So you really need to be sure that you really want this.
— I’ve been dyeing my hair the DIY way with the help of some family members and I am not a professional when it comes to hair, so let me remind you: DYE AT YOUR OWN RISK and consult a professional if you can.
— Can’t muster the courage to DIY bleach or risk frying your hair but got the bucks to spare? Then I highly recommend to have your bleaching done by a professional.
— Have basic knowledge of the Color Wheel. Trust me, you’ll need it to achieve the color you want.
— DON’T EXPECT TO MUCH. DIY dyeing your hair is serious business and the results are not always positive, so keep your expectations at bay.
— BE OPEN TO HAPPY ACCIDENTS. All of my hair colors are happy accidents and well, I’m always happy with the results!

For bleaching:

– Mixing Bowl
– Tinting Brush
– Disposable Latex Gloves
– Clips
– Comb
– Old T-Shirt or a Protective Cape
– Bleaching Powder
– Oxidizing Lotion
– Ear Covers (optional) or you can just apply conditioner along your hair line

You can get your bleaching necessities from department stores and I, personally get my bleaching powder and oxidizing lotion from HBC. I think some online stores have bleaching kits for sale.

Just follow the instructions on the bleach packet and you’re set to lighten your hair!

How light, you ask? Well, that depends on the color you want to achieve. And it takes a few sessions of bleaching before it can reach a decent level of lightness. It took me around 3 bleaching sessions to get the lightness I wanted.

For Coloring:

– Semi-permanent dyes

— Don’t shampoo your hair prior to bleaching! The grease will protect your hair.
— Heads up! Bleaching will itch and cause a burning sensation to your scalp.
— Get a lending hand. Bleaching areas on your hair should be done simultaneously or else it would turn out patchy. It isn’t always that bad though!
— Don’t leave it on too long. Nobody wants fried and/or dead hair.
— NEVER DOUBLE PROCESS!!

Let your hair rest first and condition a lot after your first bleaching session. Wait until a week or so before doing the next one. However, if you’re happy with the results of your first bleaching, then it is alright to apply your semi-permanent dye afterwards.

Colored Fancy Follicles

If you’ve reached up to this point, then you probably made up your mind that you want some fancy follicles. 🙂 So, let’s get this going!

Two years ago, finding semi-permanent dyes here in the Philippines is almost close to nothing. So I have to get mine from ebay. Thankfully, we have Pizzazz Republic!

Pizzazz Republic offers Special Effects, Manic Panic and Punky Colours. These are popular brands of semi-permanent dyes and they have a wide range of colors available. More colors, more fun!

My go-to brands are Manic Panic and Special Effects. But Punky Colours, which is a new brand looks promising. And it smells really nice too! Pizzazz Republic is gonna bring in soon Adore dyes too, and I’ve been hearing good reviews about it.

So, why semi-permanent dyes? One is that, they are safer for your hair as they don’t contain ammonia or peroxide. You also have to keep in mind that semi-permanent dye fades out after several washes.

Remember when I said that knowledge of the color wheel is important? Yup, it is. When coloring your hair, the principle of color still applies. I made a mistake when I decided I want to color my hair turquoise (blue-green). My base color was bleached blonde (a very yellow color) and I bought the turquoise dye, being unmindful of the color theory, I applied the color to my hair and — it turned out GREEN! Because you see, yellow + blue = green.

Nevertheless, this is one of them happy accidents and I liked how it turned out! So guys, color wheel!

— Rinse the dye with cold water. This is based from experience. Warm water tends to wash off the dye faster.
— Always, and I mean ALWAYS, condition your hair. Even do some deep conditioning at least once a week.
— Brightly colored hair will surefire attract attention. People will stare and if you think you can’t stand this, then you might reconsider. It took me a while to get used to it but you will, eventually.
— Just enjoy and have fun with your new hair color! 🙂

Well, I think that’s pretty much it! And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask and I’ll try my best to answer.

Happy Hair Dyeing!!

And because we like to spread our un-dye-ing love for hair color, Pizzazz Republic and When In Manila have an awesome giveaway for you!!

Just follow the steps below to earn entries to the giveaway:

Reminder: Do all mandatory options for your entries to be valid.

Our twitter option has a special instruction so make sure you check it well! And don’t forget to tag friends on your Twitter and Instagram entries!

Let’s do this!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: This contest is open to Philippine residents. The prize will be claimed from Pizzazz Republic.

Giveaway runs from November 6 to November 14, 2013. Tue winner will be announced on November 15, 2013.