Hair Die

I may as well have been saying that to my poor head of hair last night. Except more like, "Hair, die!!!"

That picture right there is what happens when you refuse to pay sixty dollars to have highlights put in and instead trust your 27 year old sister to do it. Who says "Ooh, it'll be like an art project!" Erm...

So a little back story...I've been wanting to do something different with my hair for a while, but I'm growing it out, so cutting it short was out of the question. I decided that dying/highlighting it would be the best way to go.
And I also decided that I wanted to try doing the ombre technique- where the highlights start mid-way down your hair, so that your natural color fades into a lighter color.

But there was no way I was going to pay to get this done.

My older sister, Erin, dyes her hair on a regular basis, so I figured she would be the best candidate to do my hair.

I showed her a video (two, actually...precautionary measures and such) on how to do the technique, etc.

I also bought the product, which wasn't a dye (since my hair's so dark, dye wouldn't do much) but instead would lighten my hair and then tone it. So, basically, if left on too long it could dye my hair blonde. Remember that fact. It's important.

It was about...10:30 at night when we finally started. We did a strand test on a piece of hair in the back and the color looked okay, so we went ahead and started. The product had to stay on my hair for ten minutes. Also, the technique involved using a brush to apply the product, kind of feathering it onto the hair and  wrapping the hair in foil and folding the foil, kind of into a sandwich shape. Remember those facts too. They're really important.

So, she started on the first strand, and let me tell you, it's kind of scary when your art-degree holding, paint-loving, straight line-loathing sister is holding a strand of your hair and saying, "Ooh! Just like painting!"

And then, "Oh, remember that feathering technique? I threw that out the window a while ago."

And then, "Ha, are you supposed to wrap this foil like a sandwich? This looks more like a burrito."

And then, "Oh, nevermind, they look like dumplings now!"

Add in a countless number of "Oops" and "Uh-oh"s and you've got a pretty stressed out Naomi.

And then there was the fact that the hair had to be teased, and instead of combing it up two times, it was more like....eight times. Pretty, right?

She finished all of the hair, though, and we were ready to sit and wait for all of the product to process.

Except we realized that on the first half of my head, the product had been on for half an hour. Remember what I said about it only needing to stay on for ten minutes? And that it could potentially turn my hair blonde? Good.

We ended up rinsing one half of my head while the other was still in the foil. It was...interesting, to say the least. It seemed as if my reaction was increased each time I unwrapped one of the little hair-burritos (Chipotle should add that to their menu...). There's a video of that, and maybe someday it will make an appearance on this blog, but...not today ;)

Anyways, in the end, the color ended up being okay. It looks a little more like I had highlights growing out as opposed to a gradient effect, but that's okay too.

Anddddd I'd post a picture of it, but there's still a bunch of people who I'd rather see it in person first, so that will just have to wait :)

Oh, and the moral of the story?

If you're going to have your sister dye your hair, be knocked out for it.

;)