Dying my hair

[soilman]

I want to dye my hair. I have a few streaks of gray, but as long as I'm putting a ton of goop in my hair and leaving it there for 5 minutes to an hour, I might as well change the color while I'm at it. I'm dark brown, almost black now. I want to go to medium brown, with streaks of light brown or red or reddish brown or even a non-natural color for the streaks.

I can't be bothered trying to avoid products that have had samples tested on animals during the research and development stage, since they harm way less animals for every batch of product made, then they harm when actually using animals in the product. I just want to make sure that all the major ingredients are non-animal.

I've heard of manic-panic hair dye but I went to their web site and despite claiming to be vegan, they don't list their ingredients, and the site is utterly confusing. No instructions re how to use the product.

I need instructions too. How do I dye my hair without dying the bathroom fixtures too? And without dying my face, other skin, or pubic hair?

[Fona]

"I need instructions too. How do I dye my hair without dying the bathroom fixtures too? And without dying my face, other skin, or pubic hair?"

Be very careful, put a towel round your neck to stop it dying the back of your neck, any you get on skin wipe it off straight away and it will be fine and rinse it off over the bath then clean it straight away. The dye needs time to take affect so if its wiped off straight away it will be fine.
And um dont put the dye anywhere other than the hair on your head.

[karenlovessnow]

I hate it when men dye their hair...I know, it's not fair that women can and I think men shouldn't. I just happen to love men with graying hair. I think it makes them look distinguished and handsome...there is a guy where I work who is adorable and 49...he dyed his hair to get rid of the gray and it looked awful. Thankfully he's letting it go natural now. That said, if you must, Fona gave some sound advice. It can be messy, but if you take your time and cover up with a towel, you shouldn't have a problem. :)

[Fona]

I hate it when men dye their hair...I know, it's not fair that women can and I think men shouldn't. I just happen to love men with graying hair. I think it makes them look distinguished and handsome...there is a guy where I work who is adorable and 49...he dyed his hair to get rid of the gray and it looked awful. Thankfully he's letting it go natural now. That said, if you must, Fona gave some sound advice. It can be messy, but if you take your time and cover up with a towel, you shouldn't have a problem. :)

e.g. Sean Connery, Richard Gere

[soilman]

I want mine to look obviously dyed, but not an unnatural color, except for the highlights.

When I rinse off over the tub, won't the (white) tub get dyed?

I threw out all my "old" towels when I moved so I'll have to use one of my 2 new towels. After it gets dye on it, how do I save it to use it again next time I dye my hair, without getting dye all over things that it might come in contact with? Anyone have any ideas? I don't want my roomate's washing machine or tub or sink to get dyed. He'll get upset.

you can't see the gray easily in the photos.

http://shakahara.com/images/tz2

The blond and bald photos are photoshopped.

[karenlovessnow]

Actually, I like you blond....I don't have a problem with getting dye all over the place...as long as you roll up the towel so the dyed parts don't touch anything else, you should be ok. Your white tub won't be permanently dyed as long as you rinse it right away...again, go slowly...don't turn the water on really hard...keep a very slow stream...that will minimize the splashing...when you're done, make sure you scrutinize everything to make sure there isn't any tiny splashes that you might have missed. THose will be harder to clean up if they sit too long.

I use regular commercial hair dyes and I don't have a problem with the washing machine getting dyed at all...or my other towels.

[Black Heart]

Your bath will not be permanently dyed if it's enamel; if it's plastic you should be more careful. I use black hair dye and it will dye the limescale on the bath black but not the bath itself, so you just need to clean it carefully afterwards. The things in the bathroom that will stain are soft furnishings, paint and tile grout and anything else porous. You need to cover everything up carefully with several layers of newspaper or plastic sheeting. I even blu-tack newspaper to the wall to protect the paint.

I don't use an old towel round my neck because I'd prefer to stain my neck than a towel. You can get little packets of tissue impregnated with some sort of chemical to remove dye from your skin; they work quite well. If you're careful (like Fona said) and use a creamy dye then you will not get drips anywhere.

You would have to make an awful mess to dye the washing machine, just a few spots won't hurt it.

If you use a bright or semipermanent colour you may need to be careful with your towels and pillow cases.

If you want highlights it might be best to get someone else to help you, as it's your first time and they are much more tricky than dying all your hair one colour.

[sally429]

I use red dye and I have never had a problem with staining (other than my towel). I usually just put it aside until it is dry and then put it with the rest of my laundry, wash it with my darks and put it away with the rest of the towels. It has never dyed anything else including the tub or washing machine.

[Fona]

I want mine to look obviously dyed, but not an unnatural color, except for the highlights.

When I rinse off over the tub, won't the (white) tub get dyed?

I threw out all my "old" towels when I moved so I'll have to use one of my 2 new towels. After it gets dye on it, how do I save it to use it again next time I dye my hair, without getting dye all over things that it might come in contact with? Anyone have any ideas? I don't want my roomate's washing machine or tub or sink to get dyed. He'll get upset.

you can't see the gray easily in the photos.

http://shakahara.com/images/tz2

The blond and bald photos are photoshopped.

It shouldn't, kate thought her aunties bath would dye when we dyed her little sisters hair and it was fine, just make sure you clean everything. It will stain if you leave it and don't wash it off as its dye and it will do its job if left for long enough

[Iria]

My mom rinses her hair in the metal kitchen sink.

[oexoskeletalx]

before i went vegan, i would use petroleum jelly around my hairline to keep the dye from seeping down anywhere i didn't want it. i don't know if it's vegan, but you could use something like that or something similar.

the tub won't stain if you're careful to rinse out your hair in one area that's being hit with the water constantly, so the water with the dye in it has some time to be drained out.

[soilman]

Thanks all.

I did it. Sorry I don't have a digital camera to show you the results right away.

The tub-shower is undyed. However my hair came out a bit uneven, despite my making a prodigious effort to get every hair thoroughly coated. The upper layers are dyed. The underneath layers aren't well dyed. I dyed it a chestnut color. It came out lighter than the picture on the box.