Dying Do's and Don'ts--Hair, That Is...

I know better.  I really do.

Soon after The Magician and I met, I dyed my dark blonde hair cherry black for a Halloween party.  It was wash-out dye.  Per the package, you were supposed to use it on dark brown or black hair that you wanted to give a purple shine to.  I thought that "not working" would mean that it would streak..

But instead it didn't wash out.  Dark blonde roots looked bizarre with faintly purple, mostly black hair.  By Christmas I was getting alarmed and after New Year's I had to take a trip to the salon.  This was in 1997.


But this summer I had the sudden urge for red hair.  (I should have done henna like my dear friend Elizabeth F.)  It''ll wash out this time, I said.  Just for fun.  I'll be back to "normal" by the time school starts.  (Did I mention that I'm a teacher?)

The problem was that I already had Sun-In in it.  (I'm really starting to wonder if being in touch with your inner 14-year old is such a good idea.)  So I wasn't sure what would happen...

Here's before:

 To add to the drama, I missed a few spots:

 There are those who would call it orange....

I'm getting it cut on Tuesday.  Short.  I'm definitely getting it cut shorter.... Plus I'm not sure that it's actually going to wash out....

So, Top Ten Rules for Dying Your Own Hair, although why anyone should listen to me on this topic I have no idea.
1. Get two old towels that you don't care if they get stained.  One is to wrap around your head for the 10 minutes it has to sit, and one is to wrap around your body after you get out of the shower after rinsing it out.  You can never quite get it all rinsed out so you don't want a white towel ANYWHERE in the bathroom.
2. Remove all the rugs in the bathroom.
3. Use an old comb to help spread the dye through your hair.
4. After you use the comb, check for drips on the floor.
5. Set the timer and don't say, "I'm just going to finish up this email really quick before I rinse this out."
6. Wear gloves, just like the package says.
7. Have a disposable and/or stainable towel of some sort to catch the drips that get on your face while you are applying it.
8. Dying your hair is like feeding a toddler -- "How did that get all the way over there?"
9. Wear a ratty old bathrobe while you are waiting for the stuff to set.  Do NOT wear clothes that you ever want to wear again.  (This may mean don't wear clothes, but that's what the ratty old bathrobe is for.)
10. Have a sense of humor.   Be open to surprises...