Dye hair orange or blue..how?

Hi,Im interested in dying my hair Blue, like an electric blue, or maybe orange.I have a few questions about this.Is there a way I can at home maybe with something dye a part of my hair to see what it looks like then what process do you go thru to dye hair that color if you even do it.ThanksDave

> Hi,> Im interested in dying my hair Blue, like an electric> blue, or maybe orange.> I have a few questions about this.> Is there a way I can at home maybe with something dye> a part of my hair to see what it looks like then what> process do you go thru to dye hair that color if you> even do it.OK, well I've done my hair candy colors a few times... usually just a stripe of it, since it is fairly damaging and I used to do my ex-boyfriends hair crayon red all the time. The process is the same regardless of the color of your hair, but the strength of products and processing time will vary depending on what color and ethnicity your hair is. My hair is naturally dark brown and I'm caucasion... but my ex was asian and his hair took a LOT of processing. Anyways, here's the procedure I use, be aware that it is *very* damaging and non-reversable:1. Start out with a powder bleach and cream developer. By bleach I don't mean the kind you use on your clothes , you can get it at the beauty supply... the brand I usually use is L'Oreal quick blue. The developer ususally comes in 3 strengths: 20 volume, 30 volume and 40 volume. If you're blonde use the 20, if your hair is darker you could use the 20 or the 30 and for asian hair I'd definately suggest 40. Keep in mind that the stronger developers (30 and 40 volume) are more damaging to your hair. Mix the developer and bleach into a thin paste... it should still be goopy, but thicker than the developer alone.2. Carefully apply the bleach, being very careful to keep it off your scalp. Use rubber gloves. The best way to apply it is to use a tint brush available in beauty supply stores. Let it sit. If your hair is naturally fairly light colored wash it out after 20-30 minutes. My hair usually took 45-60 minutes. My ex usually had to leave it on 2-3 hours! (He has very short hair, so wasn't worried about damage.)3. Your hair should now be somewhere between white-blonde and dark yellow. It's time to use color. You have 4 choices for bright colors: Manic Panic, Punky Colors, Special FX, or Fudge Paintbox. Manic Panic and Punky Colors have been around *forever*... they're vegtable based temporary dyes and won't fry your hair too much more than the bleach already has. The Fudge colors are the only salon-quality bright colors availible... they're fairly expensive, but I've had good results with them. I haven't used Special FX so I can't comment personally on it, but I've heard really great things about them... apparently they have more staying power than the others. (All bright colors are *not* permanant, they're semi-permanant which means they will slowly wash out over 2-3 weeks and you'll have to repeat the color application. DON'T re-bleach your hair every time to apply the color... you only need to re-do the bleach when you get significant roots.) One thing to note when you're picking out colors: generally the samples at the store are done on *white* hair... your hair will be somewhat darker, so unless you're naturally blonde don't go for any of the light pinks, lavendars or powder blues... go for the strong, bright colors... they'll show up better. For the first time you might want to go with the orange because it doesn't take as much bleaching to get a good color. You have to bleach your hair nearly white to get the blue to take good.4. Once you've picked out the color, just follow the instructions on the package... but double the time they say to leave it on your hair. (And with the Fudge you may want to add heat.) Be careful though because this stuff will stain *everything* it touches... be sure to have some old towels on the ground, wear an old t-shirt and gloves.Enjoy beautiful bright hair!-jj

> Hi JJ,> Thanks for the great info that you posted.> Not that I am going to dye my hair any color...but I> enjoyed reading your recommendations. :-)Thanks.For the record, I'm not doing *any* of that to my hair anymore now that I'm trying to grow it out. Long hair is not compatible with that kind of damage. Any more I just use henna or maybe Manic Panic or Fugde for a bit of a red rinse on special occasions. But for people with short hair or who wouldn't mind cutting it short that's the way to brilliantly candy colored hair.-jennifer j

Are there any "paints" that can be used to temporarily color sections of hair? I seem to recall seeing such products around halloween. Are they damaging and where can they be found?