So my brown hair was just… there. Existing. Doing nothing exciting. I get like that sometimes, need a change, you know? And purple. I’ve always liked purple. Not a full head of it, mind you. That’s a bit much for me. But streaks? Flashes of it? Yeah, that I could do. So, purple foils in brown hair, that was the mission I set for myself.
Getting My Gear Together
First things first, I had to get my stuff. Went down to the beauty supply store – the one that doesn’t ask too many questions if you look like you might mess it up, ha! Here’s what I grabbed, nothing too fancy:
- Some bleach powder. The blue kind, they say it helps with the orange tones. Whatever.
- Developer. I think I used a 20 volume. My hair’s pretty dark, but I didn’t want to completely nuke it.
- The main event: a tube of vibrant purple semi-permanent dye. Looked almost neon in the tube, which is what I wanted.
- A roll of proper hairdressing foil. Tried kitchen foil once, years ago. Don’t. Just don’t.
- Gloves, a plastic mixing bowl (seriously, no metal with bleach!), and one of those tint brushes.
- An ancient towel. The kind you wouldn’t even donate. Perfect for dye jobs.
And yeah, I actually did a strand test. Snipped a bit from the back where no one would see. Slapped some bleach on it, timed it. Good thing, too. My hair lifts slower than I thought.
The Bleachy Bit – No Turning Back Now
Alright, go time. Threw that crappy towel over my shoulders. Sectioning my hair was the first battle. It’s never as easy as those online videos make it look. I just grabbed pieces, aiming for a sort of chunky, random look. Some thicker, some thinner. I wanted the purple to really stand out, not be all dainty and uniform.
Mixed up the bleach and developer. Yep, smells like a chemical factory. The consistency needs to be like thick cream, not runny, or it’s a disaster. Then, the foiling. This is where you need patience, which I usually run out of fast. Took a sliver of hair, painted the bleach on – staying about half an inch from the scalp – laid it on a foil, folded it up. Tried for neat. Some looked okay, others… well, they were unique. Rustic, let’s call it.
Then I just sat there, foils sticking out all over, checking a test foil every 10 minutes. My dark brown hair fought it. Took a solid 35, maybe 40 minutes to get to that pale yellow stage. You really need pale yellow, like the inside of a banana. If it’s orange, the purple will just look muddy. Learned that the hard way before.
Rinse and Assess the Damage (Hopefully Not)
Once it hit that pale yellow, I practically ran to the sink. Rinsed the bleach out of those foiled bits super carefully. Tried not to splash it on the rest of my brown hair. A quick, gentle shampoo just on the bleached parts. Towel-blotted them. They were… blonde. Very, very blonde. A bit of a shock, but that’s what the purple is for, right?
Operation Purple Reign (Or Something Like That)
Time for the fun part. Got my purple dye. Squeezed a whole load of it into my (clean) plastic bowl. This was a direct dye, so no developer needed. Just pure, unadulterated purple. I plastered that stuff onto all the bleached sections. Really made sure every blonde strand was soaked in purple. No foils this time, just careful work to keep it off the brown as much as possible.
The tube said leave it for 20-30 minutes. I pushed it to 40. Figured more couldn’t hurt for a semi-permanent. Wrapped my head in a plastic grocery bag I had lying around. Keeps the heat in, stops drips. Classy.
The Grand Unveiling
Back to the sink for the final rinse. Used cool water, like they say to, until it ran mostly clear. My shower looked like a Smurf had a very bad accident. But hey, that’s part of the process. Poured on a ton of conditioner, left it for a few minutes. Squeezed the water out, wrapped it in a different towel, and braced myself for the mirror.
And you know what? It actually looked pretty darn good! The purple was super bright against my dark brown. Some streaks were bolder, some a bit softer, which I quite liked. Gave it some character. Best part? My hair didn’t feel like total straw. That conditioner did its job.
So, What Now?
Dried it, gave it a bit of a wave. The purple just pops. Makes me feel a bit less boring, which was the whole point. It’s work, sure. Purple washes out, so it’s all cold water and color-friendly shampoos from here on out. But for that flash of color? Totally worth the mess and the slight panic during the bleach phase.
So that’s my tale of going purple. It was a bit of a faff, a bit messy, and bleach is always a gamble. But the result? I’m happy. If you’re thinking of doing something similar, just go for it. Do the strand test, get an old towel, and accept that you’ll probably get dye on your ears. It happens.
