Having purple hair was  nice experience. Actually it was fun, but the fun part was only for a week and I swear not to ever color my hair purple ever again.

For a week, I must admit I had fun sporting the purple head. Wherever I go, strangers, most especially kids get mesmerized. Some kids would even walk up to me and say, "can I touch your hair?" Lol, I would let them, no harm done with that. But after a week, I got tired of the attention and seeing myself in the mirror with such hair. Even my husband said "WTF" when he first saw me with my purple do.

Remember that last time I bought Manic Panic Purple Haze with the intention to only use it as an additive to my shampoo, conditioner. Basically, it was for the purpose of making a DIY Hair Toner. Well it did not really work so well on my hair and I wrote about it on my previous post.

Take note: I am not blaming Manic Panic for it. Before, I continue, in fact Manic Panic is an awesome product. It is vegan, it is easy to apply and very gentle on the hair and scalp. I even wished I bought Virgin Snow instead. *SIGH* Unfortunately my hair was not very pleased with it. I have seen gorgeous fadeouts on Instagram and Facebook and I thought the same thing would happen to me.

For example, there is one person I know who used a purple semi-permanent hair day and it turned bright pink EVENLY after a couple of washes and then pastel pink...until her hair was back to white.

In my case it was different. After a couple of washes, the bottom part of my hair indeed faded but it was still purple, while nearly the upper half was like pink and lavender while at my hairline it was super brassy--I did not like it. When the colors on my head one day reminded me of this particular flower I decided that it was time to erase it.


Looking like a flower, ey??? My hair after 3 weeks just before I decided to do a bleach wash.

Right after using Manic Panic purple haze...Sorry for the bad lighting but t was already nighttime when I rinsed it out. I felt electrified seeing how beautiful the color was on my head.


 After a couple of washes...I thought it was okay, maybe it would fade into silver...but it did not. LOL!


After a week I tried to erase the color using shampoo and baking soda. I know it takes a couple of times before such technique would fade the color out completely but after the first try my hair became so dry and frizzy at the ends I had to chop a few inches off of it.

 Still unhappy, I decided to do a bleach wash after another week.

Blue plus red equals violet, right? From the things I read online, the cool tones (blue) washes out first so what was left was the red tones. and the faded red tones appear pink on my head. The bleach wash I did was made with only bleach powder and volume 20 developer and lots of shampoo. I know a higher vol developer would be more potent in stripping the color out but my hair has already sustained a lot of damage from previous bleaching as you can see...

So the reason why I am not dying my hair purple every again is this PINK color on my hair. It took the longest to fade...way too long. I tried another bleach wash with a stronger developer but that PINK would not budge. SOB! SOB! SOB! I hates it! So to cover it up, I ended up using box dye--NOT a TONER--in very light ash blonde and so far it worked. I will write about it on my next post.

If you want to read about what I did with Manic Panic Purple Haze a month earlier than this, click HERE. Or, if you want to know how I bleach bath my hair, click THIS.

Disclaimer: Please take note that obviously, I am not a hair professional. This is just me and my hair adventures or misadventures.


I hope you enjoyed reading. See you all on my next post.

Can conditioner + Manic Panic Purple Haze take out the brassiness on your hair?

I got overly excited when I finally received my Manic Panic Purple Haze in the mail. I did not intend to use it to have purple hair. Instead I just want to use it as an ingredient for a DIY purple shampoo, DIY purple conditioner and DIY hair toner.

Since I started bleaching my hair, it has been my goal to have perfect platinum white blonde hair or the silver granny hair. I was able to achieve that after getting my hair bleached to a level 10 (which obviously did not happen overnight given the fact that I had jet black hair) and Wella Color Charm T18 toner.

Well, having platinum white hair is actually a handful to maintain and brassiness will always hunt your or chase you, follow you like your own shadow. So I am always on the internet looking for ways to keep brassiness at bay. And whenever I search about how to deal with brassy hair, this DIY Toner with either Manic Panic Purple Haze or Ultraviolet would always come up on the the search results.

I have read a lot of stories about how it worked for them. I have seen a lot of before and after photos. I have also watched a number of YouTube videos showing you how to do it...To make the long story short, I got convinced that I should try it for myself.

I have tried food coloring but I saw minimal results...I have tried using a DIY toner made with cheap purple dye + conditioner and it works, but it does not give the white hair that I want...it usually gives me something like ashy or wheat-like shade of blonde. So far only Wella Color Charm T18 worked for me, but before I realized that, I did experiment with a DIY Toner made with Manic Panic Purple Haze and conditioner.

Everybody on the internet seem to swear by this kind of combination and it does seem like it works for them. Unfortunately, the case quite different with my hair...in other words, it did not work so well for me. Read on.

This little tub would go a long way if it worked for me.

My first attempt:

put too much violet dye in my conditioner...what was supposed to be a diy toner gave me this...LoL... #diyhair #diy #hairtoner #hair #hairstyles #haircolor #toner #manicpanic #purplehairdye #dyedhair #hairdye

A post shared by piaya d (@piayad) on May 28, 2017 at 8:34am PDT

2nd Attempt:

3rd Attempt

FINAL SAY

I will be sporting this violet hair for a while... im visiting Grimace at McDonalds #purplehairdye #purplehaze #manicpanic #nofilter #purplehair #bleachedhair #hair #dyedhair #color #purple

A post shared by piaya d (@piayad) on Jun 8, 2017 at 10:32pm PDT

Til next time, loves!

This is why platinum hair or bleached hair turns green, how to fix it and avoid it.

Not only did hard water turn my hair brassy, there are strands that are visibly greenish

How to fix "Green Hair"

• See a hairstylist. This is obviously the easiest and the safest thing to do and these professionals would know how to fix it. The down side is that it costs money, so one is compelled to try a few DIY remedies.
• Use clarifying shampoo. This type of shampoo should clear your hair of mineral deposits. However, you have to take note that using clarifying shampoo too often can dry your hair so be sure to use conditioner.
• Some suggest using red-based toner or ketchup. I did not bother to do this because there some videos on YouTube that show this does not work. On the other hand, some do claim that it works so feel free to try it on your own.
• Use baking Soda and hydrogen peroxide. I made a mixture of 1 part baking soda and 1 part hydrogen peroxide. I mixed it with shampoo and massaged it all over my head for a few minutes and let it stay for a while. It worked in one wash but it did not remove the dullness not to mention that it made my hair super dry. Also, it stripped my hair of the toner that I previously used. Before doing this, I suggest you take a few strands of your hair and test it. Better safe than sorry.

• Others suggest using apple cider vinegar rinse. I did not try this one.
• Bleach wash. I was impatient so I did a bleach wash the next day. A bleach wash is basically bleach and developer, the same one you use to bleach hair, but diluted with lots of shampoo and conditioner. I put it on my hair and let it stay for 10 minutes tops. It worked for me because I know my own hair. However, please do your research first and do a strand test. Use this method with caution. By the way, people also use bleach wash to remove hair color. Don't forget to follow up with deep conditioning

How to avoid getting green hair

• Shampoo hair right after getting out of the pool.--Come on, it is summer, can you really say no to swimming? You may use a swim cap or saturate your hair with conditioner before going into the pool--just to be safe.
• Use clarifying shampoo at least once a week. Take note that it can make your hair dry and speed up the fading of semi-permanent dyes as it strips hair of mineral deposits. Read instructions and use mild clarifying shampoo.
• Shampoo or wet hair 2-3 times a week only, those who have bleached their hair know why :) wink wink
• Also take note, that the color of your hair mask can affect the tone of your hair. remember that bleached hair is like a blank canvas. I once used an egg mask and guess what it did to my hair...
• Regularly visit your stylist--it can be a costly BUT it is your safest option--especially if your hairstylist is an expert.
• For those who have platinum or blonde hair, whether you are the real deal or you have achieved it by bleaching, you DEFINITELY need purple shampoo. Whatever brand you use, it is up to you. However, choose the one that protects your hair from mineral deposits.
  
  Also take note that a purple shampoo does not automatically tone hair, there are some that do, but purples shampoos mainly keep the hair from turning brassy in between salon visits. I recently got Davines' Alchemic Silver Shampoo. It now protects my hair from becoming discolored due to hard water that is coming from the shower.
  
  This brand is quite difficult to find locally. I have seen it in Amazon and other similar sites. So, I got mine from Alexa's Salon Therapeutique, a salon here that  specializes in hair bleaching, balayage, blonde and funky hair colors, as well as different kinds of hair treatments. They sell many imported hair products at reasonable prices.

My super orange hair after using a Palty Creamy Hair Bleaching Product

The bleaching part 

For the third time, I bleached my hair. I had to pay attention to the spots that I missed the second time I did it (Palty). However I did not jump right into bleaching my hair right after mixing the bleaching powder and developer to a creamy consistency. I cut a few strands of my hair, better safe than sorry and dipped it in the solution.I used it as a gauge, or like a timer, or my sort of lab rat, you get the point.

Better safe than sorry. I left a small portion untouched by the bleach

 So I did the bleaching part. My scalp felt itchy at first and the solution smelled like cat piss. Then wrap my hair with food wrap. I was nervous. After 15 minutes I checked the test strands and when it was pretty light (about 3 shades lighter)

The unflattering head wrap------------------------------------->

Attempting with DIY Homemade Hair Toner

So the next thing to do was to get rid of this horrible bright yellow shade that made my hair look and feel like egg noodles. In the absence of those commercially sold toning products, I experimented with my DIY hair toner. For this, I used Hotaleza's Keratin Hot Oil treatment and McCormick's blue food color. A few drops should do the trick.


My first mixture was too dark and I was too afraid to use it. So I made another mixture that came out a lighter shade of blue, dipped the strands of hair I cut earlier.

I rinsed the test strands after 30 mins and it looked even lighter with most of the yellow--not all--gone. The conditioner +food color combination seemed promising so I proceeded with my actual hair.

I left it on for about an hour. When I rinsed my hair, it seemed to work. The keratin treatment gave my hair instant relief from the harsh bleaching process. Under the lighting it seemed like some of the horrible yellow was gone.  I must admit though that there are still uneven spots--the disadvantage of bleaching hair on your own.

After all the trouble I went through, these are the results:

MOMENT OF TRUTH

I have to say I am not really happy with the results for me, it is a case of blonde hair gone wrong (sigh). I did not get the lightness that I wanted. For one, I was too chicken to let the bleach stay longer...or maybe I did the right thing...and two, I still have dark brown strands in some parts of my head. Third, I can't take the yellow tinge completely off my hair. One thing felt certain. My hair needed some time to recover before I do (chemically) something  to it again.

There are also several other factors. Maybe I did not use the right stuff (conditioner and food coloring) or maybe I did not leave it on my hair long enough. I have seen bloggers or youtubers perform the same experiment using other brands with much better results.

In my case, I am giving my hair a rest for at least 4 weeks. And finally, I have decided to get either Wella Color Charm T18 Lightest Ash Blonde or Manic Panic Virgin Snow and use them as toners. And I will also buy Manic Panic Purple Haze so I could mix it with a good conditioner for weekly maintainance. It may cost more than the those I have used before but I am now at a point where I should finally get it right. (Disclaimer: I am not endorsing these products. I am doing this out of my own interest and curiosity.) If you have any suggestions please write it in the comments below.


ALSO READ: Palty Creamy Hair Dye in Hard Bleach Gold Brown: Love it!

or you can read about the second time I tried to make my hair lighter here.
 

It is summer and everyone seems to go lighter--I am talking about hair color. I decided to join the bandwagon, not to mention I was always curious of what it is like to have super light hair...and then pastel hair...and so on. I basically want to experiment with bolder colors before I turn 40---oops that a lot of years ahead of me.

Anyways...if you can still remember I used Palty Creamy Hair Dye in Hard Bleach Gold Brown about two weeks ago and I was pretty satisfied with the results. Later on,  however, I realized I wanted an even lighter hair. I did my research and found that you can bleach hair after at least a week.

Two weeks after my first attempt to bleach my hair.

I must also mention that I have learned that bleaching hair to achieve that super pale shade don't usually happen in one go. I realized that doing at home is actually a long and tedious process--and a lot more...read on.

I already had the intention to bleach my hair again but because I was afraid that I might (further) damage my hair, I waited 2-3 more weeks. While I was waiting, I found out that there is an even lighter shade than the one I previously used.

So I bought Palty Creamy Hair Dye  Mecha Flash Bleach Sparkling Blond. So far, it had more good reviews than bad. Here is the product.

Let's compare the two products for a quick second. As you can see, the box says that Mecha Flash Bleach Sparkling Blond should produce significantly lighter results than Hard Bleach Gold Brown. Take a look at the pictures.

So I went ahead and bleached my hair for the second time hoping to get the same color as indicated on the top of the box. And because its been a couple of weeks since the first time I used bleach, there is already growth of course. And besides some black hair on my head, the rest of my hair has turned  BRASSY, something I should have paid attention to earlier.

Anyways, let's move on. After applying the latest bleach I bought, my hair was indeed lighter. I did not go too near the roots as I was too scared. Also, I left it on for 30 minutes max only.

So this is the before and after photo:
Yes, it is obviously lighter and brighter but far from what the top of the box shows. I would not blame it on the product, though, as it did what I expected it to do. Here is the big red flag, my hair is yellow, or yellow orange and that is absolutely not what I was hoping for. I thought I would get Platinum locks like Daenerys--toink! But my expectations were too high and my knowledge was insufficient.

I did not do enough research. The journey to achieving a really really pale blonde does not end with Palty Hair Dye. Even if I followed the many stages of bleaching, or used another brand, I would still get the same freakishly yellow strands. EEW!

Here is another angle:


Later on I found out that the orange or brassy color is due the fact that dark hair has yellow or orange undertones and bleaching alone will not take that away.  I have also learned that there is still another step to do: TONE. as in WHAT?! It is not easy to find a hair toner here.

Besides the fact I would have to order that hair toner online, I have three other considerations. I am not bleaching my hair again, at least in the next two months. Next, I do not want to use another strong hair dye. Lastly, my hair is now super dry.

However, I am willing to spare another room for one more product which I am very interested to try. This product is Manic Panic Virgin Snow. It is used as a hair toner and it seems pretty popular these days. I see this product every time I Google hair toners. It is hard to find locally--sob sob. So I would have to get it online and it is quite pricey. Before I do that, I will search the city for this product first and I should update you within a week.

In the meantime, my next quest is to use a DIY hair toner because I really need to take this horrible yellowness off my head as in ASAP. I have read articles saying regular shampoo (it should be white and sulfate free) or keratin treatment plus blue food color should work. So I gotta try this one. This will be my quest tomorrow. Please stay tuned for updates and feel free to pitch in your suggestions below.