HOW TO: PASTEL MINT HAIR
Want to know how to get minty green hair? Have you tried it yourself and it came out too vibrant neon or too blue? Well I'll teach you all of the tricks to getting a refreshing "pastel" green color.
What You'll Need To Know, and What You'll Need To Have.
Before I get into how to obtain your pastel mermaid locks, I just want to say the whiter your hair the better! If you have super light blonde or white/silver hair, your pastels will come out much nicer. If you need to bleach your hair, I highly recommend Matrix V-light bleach, and manic panic virgin snow blonde toner. The toner will get eliminate any yellow tones from blonde hair and make it more of a white blonde. Although the toner is a lavender color, it will not make your hair lavender. So putting it on natural colored hair such as brown, dirty blonde etc, won't do much at all.
Also, some people have recently told me, when they tried to go mint their hair turned out a bright neon turquoise or blue which perplexed me because to obtain mint all you need is GREEN. No turquoise or blue will give you mint green hair.
I highly recommend the hair color brand "raw" in the color of "green emerald" the richer the green the better shade of mint you'll get. Raw is a "demi permanent" hair color which means it's more of a dye and will last longer, whereas manic panic is "semi permanent" and is pretty much a vegetable based hair "stain" and will wash out within a week or two tops. I also recommend the hair dye brand "Special Effects" in the color "sonic green" it's also a demi permanent hair dye, and the color is much better than raw and manic panic. Although these colors last much longer, and the color quality is far superior to manic panic, they are more damaging to the hair, but only slightly. So if you want a non-damaging, temporary pastel hair color, go with "manic panic" in the color of "green envy." For the picture featured in this article, I used "Raw" in the color shade of "Super Green" which is less on the dark, rich scale and more on the bright neon shade of green. The color kind of resembles a "grassy" color.
How To Obtain The Pastel Shade
Okay, so to obtain ANY pastel hair color, you need conditioner. Lots of conditioner in contrast to the actual hair dye. Any kind of cheep,(or expensive, it really doesn't matter) conditioner will work. Make sure that it is a white colored conditioner. If it's a pink, blue, green, conditioner it can change the outcome of your dye. The color added to the conditioner will bleed into the dye making it some odd color. So no herbal essences. I personally use suave conditioner for the pastel purpose. Other than that suave doesn't really do anything nice for my hair.
Mixing the dye can be bitter sweet. Too much hair dye in the mix makes it too vibrant and not very pastel looking. Too little hair dye creates a barely visible tint. I usually eyeball it, although that sometimes doesn't work out. My hair is shoulder length, so the best mixture for this hair length is to pour between one-third to about half of the conditioner into a mixing bowl, then a tablespoon and a half (if you leave out the half it's quite alright) of the actual hair dye into the mixture. I then mix it around with dye brush applicator until all the conditioner is saturated with dye and no white is left visible in the bowl.
Next, apply the mixture to "DRY" hair either using a brush applicator or you can use your hand. If you use your hands be sure to wear gloves because the dye will stain your hands temporarily. Make sure you apply it to all the desired areas, starting from your roots to the ends of your hair. Cover with a plastic bag and wait about an hour to an hour and a half. I'f you're using manic panic you can even keep it in overnight. This will insure that it'll last longer than a week but, it still won't last as long as Raw Or Special Effects brand hair dyes. Also there is no need to apply heat as it will make the color more vibrant, but you can do so if you choose.
Finally just rinse it out. Do not use shampoo as the demi and/or semi permanent color will bleed and fade instantly. You could use this method after drying your hair if the result of the color is "too vibrant" Eventually it'll fade to a pastel shade. Although I don't recommend over shampoo-ing your hair because it will become too dry,and breakage will occur.
Where You Can Find These Products
You can get manic panic from Sally's Beauty Supply or Hot Topic. Raw is available at Hot Topic as Well but not Sally's Beauty Supply. I have yet to find a place that sells Special Effects Hair Dye in any stores in My area. You can find Special Effects Hair dye on Amazon.com But be cautious of who you buy it from, make sure the seller has a good rating from consumers. You can also buy mixing bowls and brush applicators from Sally's Beauty Supply. You can find a cheap "white" colored conditioner from any hair and beauty supply store, grocery or drug store.
You can apply these tips to get ANY pastel color you want. The main ingredient to pastel hair is conditioner. If you have requests for any hair tips feel free to ask!