By Un’ruly Contributor: L’Rai Mensah, Writer + Editor + Stylist
A few months ago, I woke up and decided I wanted green hair. It was such a random thought, but I was so adamant about it! Actually, I had been thinking about coloring my hair green for some time.
Let me give you some background, I recently moved into freelancing full time as a style/beauty writer and needed a change in appearance along with my career move. I wanted something bold yet tasteful, so I went for a greenish blue hue called Aquamarine by ADORE. Now, I have to admit, I did not do much research prior to coloring my hair, something I definitely wish I would have done. Researching is so important! Thats why I want to share my experience with you, along with do’s and don’ts and things to think about beforehand. Lets get started!
1. Assess Your Hair Health: The key to coloring successfully is assessing your hair health. Do you tend to get a lot of breakage? Is your hair and scalp naturally dry? Is your hair currently over-processed or already colored? These are the things you must keep in mind when coloring your hair any hue however, when coloring a vibrant color like green you need to make sure your hair health is up to parr. Keep in mind that if your hair is already a dark color you will have to bleach your hair prior to coloring it. Bleach can be detrimental to already damaged hair, so be sure to assess whether your hair can handle bleach and color.
2. Choose Your Color: Figure out a hue that complements your skin tone. The key to wearing vibrant color is in the way it’s carried. Part of that is choosing the right color. I have warm undertones so a cool green/blue complimented my skin tone well.
3. Select Your Line: I chose to use a line called ADORE. I loved the color, Aquamarine, which turned out fantastic. The only issue is that it’s so messy! I went to the salon to have my hair colored but when I got home the dye kept running. Literally for about 3 weeks I continued to see remnants of dye on my sheets, pillowcases and even in my shower after washing a few times. For that reason, I probably will not use the ADORE line again even though I was head-over-heels about the color. There are other lines I’ve heard great things about such as Manic Panic, which I have yet to try but have read many great product reviews about it.
4. Style and Profile: The way in which your hair is styled is probably the most important when trying to successfully pull off this look. Stay true to your personal style but make sure the style and cut are defined. For example, I choose to wear my hair curly much of the time but when I straightened my hair the color was much more vibrant, which I loved. My hair is natural and I like the versatility of wearing my green hair curly or straight. When I chose to wear it natural I realized that the color looked much better when I pinned my hair up. I played with different styles and chose the ones that fit me best.
Check out a quick video I put up when I initially colored my hair. I start talking about my hair color experience at the 3:54 minute mark. Do you have any hair color stories to share?
