Photo by Arabelle
I get a lot of questions about my hair—specifically, how do I dye my very dark, very thick hair all kinds of Skittles colors without going bald? I’ve even written a hair FAQ to deal with such questions. But we figured it would be helpful to SHOW you how to dye your hair and not just talk about it. Now, I have a big confession to make: my DAD dyes my hair! I just mix the products and do touch-ups afterward.
In this video my dad and I will show you how we get my hair purple. If you have a super understanding dad like I do, or a rad friend to help, this video will give you guys some pointers. Disclaimer: if you mess up it ain’t my fault! Go to a professional if you’re scared—that’s what I did the first time.
Products I used:
This was so great (Hi Arabelle’s dad!). But I have black hair and I want to know if there’s any way I can get a purplish tint without bleaching. Please help!
Log in to replyyou can get a TINT by just depositing color.
Log in to replyI have textured black hair (Jew + Pueblo Indian), and I used Special Effects Deep Purple for the longest time to give it a gorgeous purple tint. Basically it would look jet black in low light, but when the sun hit it or I would be in a well lit room, it had an amazing purple tint. I looked like a superhero!
I wouldn’t bleach my hair or anything, I would just apply the special effects on my hair, and leave it on for 3 hours under a shower cap or bandana, while I went about my business at home (save it for a cleaning/laundry/video game or tv marathon day). Then I’d just wash it out and rock my purple ‘do.
Also put any leftover dye in your conditioner! It helps maintain the color in your hair for a long time.
Log in to replyDid you use Manic Panic hair dye?
Log in to replyi use the deep purple too and get compliments all the time on it!
i do bleach my hair first (i have dark brown japanese hair), it starts out a super dark almost black purple and fades to pink if im lazy and don’t retouch it! yay purple hair!
Log in to replyThanks a lot! I’ll try it today.
Log in to replyYour dad is THE BEST. Can he do my hair please?
Log in to replyArabelle, be mine?
Log in to replyWe can dye our hair crazy colors together and go to flea markets and things!
awesome tips! i’m dyeing my hair green this summer!
http://mercurialmanic.blogspot.com/
Log in to replyI wish my parents had the same feelings about hair dye as your dad :( I want colorful hair so badly, but they refuse to let me!
Log in to replyCutest dad award.
Log in to replythis is the cutest thing i’ve ever seen.
Log in to replyYour dad. Stop it. He’s amazing.
Log in to replyCoolest dad ever!!
Log in to replyThis couldn’t have come at a better time
I’m planning on bleaching and dyeing my hair blue in about a month probably
once I finish school.
I’ll most likely get one of my friends to help me bleach it because she knows what she’s doing when it comes to that unlike me. (:
the result is soooo good! it looks so beautiful. i will def be picking up these products to dye some strands for braiding since i can’t do my whole head bc of work :( what a bummer. but anyways, thanks for the vid and your dad is super awesome!
Log in to replyLoved this!
Log in to replyPretty much the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen… what an awesome dad :)
your dad is very knowledgeable! and experienced! a good dad! it seems to take a while. i kind of liked the purple and pink hair though, but it looks great!
Log in to replyawwwww yes he is and it does. like the minimum amount of time it would take would be like, 2 hours probably.
Log in to replyyour dad is one of the most awesome dads i have EVER MET. i love when he starts talking about how kids should be able to dye their hair whateever colour they want because it’s the straight up truth.
honestly…… teenagehood is the time to experiment with this kinda thang anyhway!
Log in to replyThis is great, I have the same hair type (I’m half Philepeno, what other hair could I have?) but I go to my mom’s friend to have my hair done. Pink worked good but purple turned silver, will that happen here?
Log in to replyCannot even handle the adorableness of this video. It’s killin’ me.
Log in to replyHi, I have a question and I hope you undestand it cuz my english is not too good -.-
My hair has been purple for a year, but now I want to change the color to turquoise. Do I have to bleach all my hair again? Or it’ll work if I just wait till the purple fades?
Btw, your dad is awesome :), my mom always tells me to go back to being a normal person.
Log in to replyAww that’s so cute! My dad shaves the side of my head for me—he can get the lines so much straighter than I can. And it’s good bonding, haha!
Log in to replyHow often do you have to re-dye your hair to keep it that colour? Or do you just let it fade out?
I dyed my tips teal over last summer and it faded super quickly, although that may just have been because I was swimming every day and the dye was semi-permanent.
Log in to replyi let it fade out. n_n
Log in to replyHi. I love how your hair turned out. You made it seem more magical with the multi-colored reflection of your windows. Anyways, I have a question: I have brown (or on-the-verge-of-being a perfect brown) and thin hair. If I left the bleach in for too long, would it damage my hair?
I love your blog(!!!). I had been reading it for the longest.
Log in to replybleaching your hair will damage your hair no matter how long you leave it in. if you leave it in too long it will just get lighter and fry it more, but the second you bleach your hair you damage it anyway.
Log in to replySome good tips there, and your dad is a real star! I tend to use vaseline/petroleum jelly across my hairline and ears to stop staining, but its a pain to get off afterwards!
Log in to replyAlso, I always strip the colour out before bleaching my roots because I tend to change the colour at that point, so it was cool to see how it turns out if you do the roots with the colour still in. That purple is gorgeous btw!
So what if my hair is already blonde, and i only want to do the tips (so i can cut it before I come home from camp :))
Log in to replyThen you can just put the colour in! :D
Log in to replyI would like to know how you did the hair before the purple. It’s really stunning, basically just all-around-amazing. Was it an all-at-once type of deal, or an evolution of color? Thanks!
Log in to replyYour hair looks great! :D
Log in to replyI have two chunks of color in my hair now, but I’m trying to work up the nerve to do my whole head. (my fear being a mixture of possibly attached to my natural color/What if it never grows back the same/ what if it looks hideous thoughts) I have fairly dark brown hair and I find Manic Panic’s lightening kits usually get my hair to almost white within half an hour! :)
This is great! My mom always dyed my hair different colors for me. Every time my colors would start to fade she’d be like, “What’s next?”. (She loved it!) Our favorite was a combo of orange and magenta that we called “missile pop.”
Log in to replyhahaha that’s awesome!
Log in to replyThose eyebrows are super crazy. I love the hair color, also.
Log in to replyi am planning on dyeing my (equally thick dark) hair purple after school ends (uniform “normal colour hair” rules suck)
Log in to replythen rookie releases this video
coincidences like these are what leads me to believe you guys hijack my thoughts
Even though I’d never dye my hair, your result is amazing! So cool!
http://fashioninpepperland.blogspot.com
Log in to replytotally irrelevant but i love the way you say ‘level scoops’. i’d love to die my hair but my school wouldn’t allow it :( :( :(
Log in to replyliterally the cutest video ever.
Log in to replyWish my dad was as understanding as yours – my parents were against me dying my hair all through my teenage years and it’s only now I’ve moved to Uni that I can have the crazy colours I’ve always wanted. They still disapprove but they can’t stop me.
Log in to replyHow on earth do you keep your hair that shiny after bleaching and dying it? It looked so healthy and beautiful at the end of the video…
Log in to replyI wanted to dye mine candy pink, but I was so frightened of damaging it too much that I ended up dying it blueish black (again).
aw thank you! i put a lot of care into my hair and air dry and never use heat on it if i can help it. hair masks every 2 weeks, leave in conditioner every time i wash it, stuff like that.
Log in to replyThat is one awesome dad!
Log in to replythis video is the story of my life except that it’s the other way around and i dye my father’s beard blue
Log in to replythat is so cool.
Log in to replyThis is fantastic! It’s renewing my urge to have crazy colored hair!
My question: If my hair has already been dyed a dark color (I recently dyed dark brown to cover all the highlights and reddish tints from previous colorings), will that affect the outcome? I’m sure I will need 40 volume developer, but will it be enough? I tried bleaching my hair before and it didn’t come out AT ALL the way it should have due to not strong enough developer and previous dye jobs.
Log in to replyhonestly? i have no idea. if you have so many layers of colors it would be best to go to a professional to get the colors stripped and to start from scratch. when i had like 8 layers of diff colors i went in as a color hair model and they spent 2 days fixing my hair color from previous dye jobs.
Log in to replyaaaaaaaw, ask you’re dad if he can adopt me! :)
Log in to replyI have a question: my hair is naturally light brown with patches of very light blonde. I want to dye my hair a very light pastel pink/peach kinda colour. Should I bleach my hair first so that it’s all a white/blonde and then apply the colour so that I can achieve a very pastel look? Is it worth ‘frying’ my hair for? Will it make a difference if I bleach it or not? Thanks guys :)
Ps.What is the easiest unnatural coloured hairdye brand to use, as I’ve never dyed my whole head before?
argh. I am going to get a pixie cut in less than a week, but this is reminding me of my desire for purple tips. decisions, decisions.
awesome video, though! I have a friend who wants blue hair and I will probably end up helping her dye it. hopefully these pointers will help me not fuck up.
Log in to replyI was planning on redying my hair today so yay for this video and Arabelle’s dad ~
Really want to bleach my hair but my mom’s worry about getting damaged and all. And she refused to listen to me that Manic Panic will restore the damages and all. Which really sucks considering the fact that I have dark, dark brown hair(Asian problems) and you can’t really see the reddish colour at all unless I’m under the sun. Meh.
http://www.style-abuse.blogspot.com
Log in to replyI already have blonde hair, but its a fairly dark blonde. Does that color hair need to be bleached or can I just go straight into the dye?
Log in to replyIt depends on how intense you want the colour to be. If you want a vibrant colour, you’d probably have to bleach it.
Keep in mind, bleaching your hair also makes the hair more porous so it absorbs more dye.
Log in to replyHey, I have a question that’s a little off topic.
Log in to replyHave you guys at Rookie ever considered hiring interns to help with shoots or designing stuff?
Your hair looks great! And thank you for posting this video, my friend has been wanting to go lavender for a while but was concerned it’d take multiple bleachings and toooons of damage to color her already dyed dark hair such a pastel shade! I just showed her this and now we’re going to do it together hopefully this week :) Plus, like everyone else, I love your dad! He’s the coolest!
Log in to replyhi! just to let you know: on developers, 10 is for deposit only, just putting color in with no lightening. 20 is for deposit and lift both, to color and lighten. 30 is lift only, best for bleaching your hair out. 40, i would never use, as your hair will most likely be quite quite damaged xx
Log in to replyso cute :( i usually dyed my hair by myself. even my dad said i need to re-dye my pink hair into black again. super heartbroken. i’m sad, i wish my dad and i could do something fun like this
Log in to replychachachee your dad!
Log in to replyChachachee is my new favorite word.
Log in to replyLas paredes de mi cuarto son del color de tu cabello!
Log in to replyHi there! My two cents!
Kaylah from the Dainty Squid also has some great info on bleaching and dyeing your hair funky colours. http://daintysquid.blogspot.com/2011/04/hair-tips-and-tricks-part-one-bleach.html Check it out!
ALSO! NEVER NEVER EVER EVER bleach your hair if you dyed it with henna, okay!? Your hair will turn safety vest orange (or green if you used indigo as well) no matter how many times you bleach it or tone it and you do not want to go through that pain. Even if you henna-ed your hair 6 months ago and now you want to bleach it, don’t do it!
Log in to replyI used to ombre my hair in this weird dark forest green teal collor back in 2010/2011 but i wanted to have natural hair again so i cut it off.
Log in to replyI always mix the pink hair dye with conditioner and then keep it on my head as long as possible, helps to minor the damage after bleaching and the hair absorbs the pigment easier when the cuticles are still open (the conditioner before colouring would close them). (hope it’s understandable, i’m polish and not so familiar with the “technical” language ;)
Log in to replyiwantiwantiwant. If only I could convince my parents/do it without them disowning me after
Log in to replyThank you Rookie this is so helpful! Also, Arabelle you’re adorable and so is your superstar dad.
Log in to replylove your pants or skirt or whatever it is in the two seconds before the end of this video, haha
Log in to replyIf I bleach my hair, will I get my natural haircolour back? I’ve got dark brown hair, I’ve never dyed or bleached before.
Log in to replyBy the way, what an AWESOME dad! :)
love this article, dyed my hair bright blue cuz of it
Log in to replyOhh your dad is so freaking cute!
Log in to replyThis is AMAZING. Your dad seems pretty awesome. I really wanna try bleaching/dyeing my hair (either pink or blue) over the summer but does the texture get really rough despite all the conditioning you do after?
Log in to replyYour dad is so awesome! I’m lucky to have a mom that always let me do whatever i wanted to my hair, no matter how she thought it’d turn out.
I’d just like to suggest using vaseline along the hairline to keep away unwanted stains!
Log in to replyYour Dad literally IS the best! What a pro. I’ve been dying my hair technicolor for years, but I still never get it quite right. Always cool to get good tips.
Log in to replyI did a post on my blog about dyed hair and then showed my Dad this post and said: “isn’t he like the nicest Dad in the world?” My Dad got jelous and is now going to help me dye my hair candy-floss pink- works like a charm ;)
P.S Arabelle you’re beautiful!
http://www.opheliahorton.wordpress.com
Log in to replyHi there!!
I was just wondering how long your color stays in, and what your washing routines are, since your color seems to last quite long.
Thanks!
Log in to replyWhat color do you use? I love, love, love the vibrant shade of it. Thank you. :-)
Log in to replyHey , I’m not sure if this question has already been asked but I’m slightly allergic to hair bleach . & by slightly I mean my scalp turns bright red and itches almost instantly and after 15 minutes I can’t handle it anymore and wash it off . I currently have purple hair too , but the color fades fast and I want to rebleach it but I’m scared its going to be too painful . So do you , or anyone , know of a way to make the pain minimal ? I usually keep the hair dye on for 2 hours but I’m going to try and keep it in for 4 like you next time . It came out great :-)
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