Category Archives: DIY

I am asked a lot of questions about the various types of hair that are not atop someones head, so I’ll try to answer those as best as I can. Please be aware that there is skin under the hair you want to dye, so if you’re planning on going rainbow-style in sensitive areas maybe test that on a small area first.

I get the impression that the structure of body hair has a lot to do with it’s capacity to hold semi-permanent/rainbow dye well, but I haven’t conducted enough experiments to figure out how exactly everything works. I feel that the coarser the hair is, the less likely it is to work with semi-permanent dye. The same is true for very fine hair. I would assume most dyes available in Europe and North America are actually formulated for some form of “average” caucasian hair, so the closer the hair you want to dye fits that standard (whatever it is), the easier it will likely be.

Eyebrows

You can dye your eyebrows. It’s a lot of fun, but I haven’t had any mentionable success dyeing my eyebrows with non-permanent colors so far. Everything non-permanent I have tried washed out in a day or two. I’m not sure if this is more because of my hair type, or if eyebrows are just weird, or if it is all my fault because I’m washing my face so frequently.

I usually use regular permanent hair dye (drugstore brand) in the most colorful shades of red and purple I can find. I find it easiest to apply the dye with a very small straight brush. Using q-tips, I wipe off any excess dye immediately as it is really annoying to get permanent hair dye off ones face.

The life cycle of eyebrow hair is relatively short. So in order for neon eyebrows to look really amazing they need to be touched up roughly every other week. When they start looking funny it is also possible to fill them in with a matching lip liner (yes, lip liner. Obviously eyebrow pens are better, but it is almost impossible to find purple or bright red eyebrow pencils.).

Creepy alien, kind of.

Also: be careful when using bleach on your face! Eyebrows usually are situated in close proximity to someone’s eyes. Getting bleach or other chemicals into your eyes is not a good idea, so do it at your own risk. That being said, I have been bleaching and dyeing my eyebrows for years and it has never been a problem.

Beards

Beards are similar to eyebrows, except that they’re not as close to your eyes (this makes things easier). You can bleach and dye beards just like the rest of the hair on your head. Semi-permanent dye seems to work better on beards than on eyebrows, but that might very well be due to the amount of hair. An eyebrow usually is such a tiny patch of hair that the semi-permanent dye just does not seem to stay as well as with a full beard.

From the brands I have introduced earlier, Manic Panic and Special Effects seem to work best here – use small straight painting brushes for the best results.

Armpits

Works well, but semi-permanent dye tends to bleed when getting wet. Having red armpit hair while sweating and wearing a white t-shirt could lead to weird situations, so permanent dye might be the better choice if you are going for long term results.

Arms, Legs, Chest …

I think it makes more sense to use permanent dye for this, as all semi-permanent products tend to disappear after a few days due to sweat and the fact that people shower daily and wear clothing all the time.

That being said, I have dyed funky patterns into people’s arms and chests and it has been fun.

Pubic hair

Just like for all non-head-hair I think using permanent dye is best. And you know … if you have really sensitive skin, then maybe just don’t do it (or test the product you are trying to use on a small area first).

The dyed hair also grows out really fast.

People I have talked to who did dye their pubic hair generally seem not to have had good experiences with either henna or semi-permanent dyes for practical reasons, and because of the durability of the dye job. Read: Bleeds a lot and fades really fast or doesn’t give a good coverage to begin with.

If you have rainbow hair, conditioner is your best friend. I never wash my hair without using conditioner afterwards, and I think this step is really important for keeping it in good shape. Also, my hair looks horrible when I skip that step. It is also advisable to not handle your wet, bleached hair too much before putting in the conditioner. Even if it’s in a relatively good shape, bleached hair tends to break when it’s wet. I am using a natural cosmetics brand for shampoo, as well as various conditioners and hair masks that I am constantly switching between.

chop chop

Water and dye

I wash/shampoo my hair about twice a week, and with that schedule my dye jobs last about four weeks most of the time. Sometimes it’s only three, but often I only touch up the lengths every 2 months or so. When getting your hair wet, semi-permanent dye will fade much faster than permanent products. The more often you wash your hair, the quicker it will fade. The color builds up though: If you dye for the second or third time, you will notice that the dye job will last much longer than in the beginning. You will also notice that after some time the roots will start fading a bit faster than the lengths because of this.

You can touch up your hair in between dye sessions during your everyday routine by just adding a bit of dye to your shampoo or conditioner. I mostly wash my hair with purple shampoo. But: The dye will bleed out and if you dyed it an actual rainbow, that can affect the other colors. If the hair at the top of your head is blue, and the bottom is yellow … you might want to wash your hair so the water all flows from yellow to blue – and not the other way around. For this reason it is generally much harder to maintain gradients or actual rainbows  if the light colors are at the bottom.

Heat does also factor into the longevity of your dye job. Hot water opens the hairs scales, so the pigments can wash out more easily. If you want semi-permanent dye to last as long as possible, you should wash your hair with relatively cold water. I did not believe that for quite some time, but it actually makes a huge difference if I wash my hair in hot water versus lukewarm.

Chlorinated water (especially swimming pools) are the worst enemy of your rainbow head. Being in a swimming pool for a few hours will likely strip all the dye out of any hair that stays in contact with the water. This can be used to one’s advantage when fading/bleaching out old dye. Swimming in natural water works fine for me.

Keeping the color vibrant

There are a few things everyone knows are bad for you hair, but they have a much higher impact on hair that is bleached and dyed with a semi-permanent product.

Being in the sun too much will visibly fade the color, and it also easily damages the structure of hair that is already damaged from bleaching. If I’m in the sun a lot I usually wear a hat anyways, but if you don’t maybe try using sun spray. Doing a hair mask when after getting a lot of sun also never hurts.

Regular haircuts

I’m quite radical when it comes to chopping off my hair. If the tips are in a really bad shape, I will let the hairdresser cut off 10, or 20cm without hesitation (depending on my hairstyle at that time). It is generally advisable to get your haircut a few times a year in order for the color to look it’s best: The whole bleach situation really does not make the tips of your hair any nicer, and damaged tips do not take dye all that well. This means the color will fade much faster at split ends and such, but you might never notice that at all I guess.