...I got my hair dyed!
First of all, I love how so many people are dying their hair bright or pastel colors this year. When I was in California last February, I saw some of the best purple hair I'd ever seen, and purple underlights, too. Not to mention the fabulous ladies on YouTube who dye their hair pink, blue, or whatever they want on a regular basis.
But here's the thing: I'd never dyed my hair before. I've wanted to since college, but I haven't gotten to it until about 2 weeks ago, when I finally took the plunge and my stylist dyed my hair a fun color underneath.
I decided to go with cotton-candy pink underlights! The underside of my hair is an epic cotton-candy hue now. The pink is the most visible when my hair is pulled back, braided, or curled, but you can still see them when my hair is straight, too. (For the curious, my hair was originally dyed with Pulp Riot color.)
Pastel pink hair can be a biscuit to maintain. Sometimes, it's easy, and other times, it looks less pastel and more like pink-tinged faded blonde hair underneath, and the color can get uneven if you don't rinse with cold water or if you don't use color-safe shampoo.
But I THINK I found the best way to maintain my pink hair, and it's in the form of conditioner. Specifically, Overtone colored conditioner.
Overtone is a brand I discovered through a YouTube search I did on how to maintain pastel pink hair. It's not a dye, but it's a leave-in conditioning treatment that deposits color. You can tint natural hair colors, or brighten hair that's been previously bleached.
The day after I made my appointment to get my hair dyed, I ordered the complete Pastel Pink complete system, which comes with a daily conditioner, a weekly treatment, and a travel-size of the daily conditioner (that I actually used on a recent trip to Florida).
So, here's how I keep my underlights as pastel pink and unicorn/My Little Pony/mermaid-like as possible. I have two methods whenever I want to brighten the pink, or when I want to just wash my hair as normal without the pink fading.
Putting Pink Back In
To put pink back into my hair, I use the weekly treatment.
I separate the top section of my hair with a half-up bun on top of my head so all the pink underneath is visible. (If there's a few strands of dark blonde/my natural color lingering, I'm not too worried about it. It doesn't affect the non-bleached blonde at all.) Then, I just saturate my hair with the conditioner, concentrating on roots and ends after coating the strands.
I leave the treatment in for 20 minutes. That's enough to watch some beauty tutorials on YouTube or start an episode of your favorite show on Netflix. Once time's up, I rinse with cold/cool water; first the bottom (pink) section, then my entire head. As someone who loves hot showers, I'm not the biggest fan of this, but I've found it's the best way to lock in the color. I don't shampoo my hair after I rinse out the conditioner.
After that, I just blow-dry and style my hair as normal. The color is a vibrant, cotton-candy pink that fades really nicely and is easy to maintain.
Speaking of maintenance...
Shampooing with Partially Pink Hair
Washing my hair has become a little trickier these days, but I think I found a method that works.
The best part about this method? I can still take a hot shower with colored hair. That is the BEST.
I use a color-safe shampoo (my hairstylist recommended Biolage and I love it) all over my head, both my natural hair and pink underlights). Using the Biolage color-safe conditioner does not seem to keep the color in my hair all that well, so I opt for the Overtone daily conditioner instead.
After shampooing, I section off my wet hair, and then just condition the under side of my hair using Overtone. I saturate my hair with the stuff, concentrating on roots and ends. Then I set my phone timer for 5-7 minutes (5 minutes for more of a pastel pink, 7 minutes for a brighter cotton candy pink). Once that's done, I rinse everything clean.
Afterwards, I dry and style as normal, and my hair is clean, conditioned, and vibrant.
Final Thoughts
Am I going to be keeping my hair this way for a while?
Short answer: Yes. Very yes.
Like I mentioned earlier, I've wanted to do this for a while now, and I'd been itching for a change to my hair. I knew the color I wanted was going to be a challenge to maintain, but it's so worth having that flash of pink under my ponytail and threaded in my messy buns, and I can keep it hidden as well.
That said, I'm glad I found Overtone. My hair would have faded so much faster if I hadn't started using it, and it's the best thing for my hair. The bleached underside doesn't feel damaged; in fact, it's probably the softest it's ever been between the daily and weekly treatments and that Biolage shampoo.
In the end, I learned that change is good. :) And this is definitely a change that's sticking around for a long time.
Disclaimer: I am NOT sponsored by Overtone. I bought their conditioner with my own money because I saw rave reviews and wanted to give it a try, and I wanted to share it with you guys!
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