So, starting from the beginning, my hair is, as most Asian's hair is, EXTREMELY dark brown/black.
Emo picture, I know. >n<
Emo picture, I know. >n<My hair is also VERY oily and gets greasy to the extent that I absolutely have to wash it every other day. If I wait any longer, my hair looks like it's always wet. Especially my bangs. At the end of the day (when my hair is clean at the start) my bangs are greasy from the oily combo of my forehead and my oily scalp. No fun! However, it does make for very, very healthy hair!
So as I ventured around the internet in search of hair dye that didn't require bleaching before hand, I stumbled upon posts on YouTube and other site about a Japanese hair dye brand called "Palty." Upon learning that this brand didn't require bleach to make my hair lighter I researched it thoroughly and proposed the idea to my mom who then gave me the money to buy some next we go to Pacific Mall...not that I knew they sold any there, just that I assumed they did.......
From my virgin black/brown hair I used Palty's "Juicy Peach" hair dye to dye my hair a slight shade of red. -> I have wanted red hair for a very long time and even now, June 2011, I have not accomplished the colour of red that I have so dearly wanted. ): <- This was in August of 2010. I wanted to do it before school started.
I quite loved it, it wasn't overly red for school but it wasn't not noticeable. I'm just disappointed I don't have more pictures of it. I really liked it. But as November approached so did picture day AND grad picture day. I didn't want my roots showing through but I also wanted something a little less red. So, I picked up a box of Palty's "Caramel Brown" dye.
This was the other dye that I had wanted to try upon discovering Palty. It was a nice ashy brown on the box. However, on my hair it was a subtly orange-y brown. But my attitude was, "as long as it covers the roots." The...very few I had.
So, later came the cold winter. Ha, "cold" winter. It was actually pretty nice for a Canadian winter. Some nights I was shivering in my bed with my 5 blankets though... Anyway, I thought it was time for a change and wanted to go a bit darker to match the cold weather of December. When at Pacific Mall the next time, I got a box of, again, Palty's "Ganache Tarte." I saw one or two before and afters with this and thought it looked really nice.
However, it turned out waaaaay darker than I thought! I walked into our kitchen and my mom says, "Hey! It looks like your natural hair colour!" Yeah, it almost did; just a bit lighter. I was really disappointed, I wanted to be darker but not that dark. So, I got another dye...which I completely lost all of the pictures I took and then I forgot the name...UNTIL NOW! I just remembered! I got "Sakura Creamy" (again, Palty brand). I dyed it this colour in January. (See, I REALLY didn't like how dark it was from Ganache Tarte.)
Old picture! Not from when I did it! Like I said, I lost all of my picutres! ):
It was really nice. A LOT more orange than I expected, however. Eventually in late June it started getting washed out and REALLY orange/brassy and I couldn't stand it. So for a quick fix I decided to use any cheap red based hair dye I could find at Shopper's Drug Mart. I found Garnier's "Intense Red" hair dye to be on sale for about $9, so I scooped it up quickly!
Just a little tangent -> IT SMELLED HORRID! Instead of using the little teeny tiny nozzle to apply it (which looked like I should apply strand by strand!) I poured everything into a bowl and mixed it with a dye brush applicator thingy my mom uses. At first it was alright but as I mixed, but OMG! I had to turn the air on in the bathroom and open the window! I thought I'd pass out from inhaling it!!! It was terrible. And I heard people complaining about Palty's smell. In comparison, Palty smells like a bed of roses! Palty's smell is really subdued. Seriously. <-
Anyway, as I applied, the colour kept changing because I didn't wait for it to completely change in the bowl (I thought it was already done). It was yellow as I mixed but then as the activator started in, it went from orange to a pinky-red, to red, to pretty much blood coloured.
As I rinsed it, it looked like I was bleeding profusely from my skull into the tub! Gross.
When it was all done, my hair felt reallly bad! I thought it would be the same as it is after Palty but it felt really dry and slightly straw like. Major disappointment! Luckily the damage was quite minimal and it seems my hair is just fine. The next day I washed it again. Usually I wait another day to let my hair grease up again but I really wanted to wash and condition. Well, as I dried my hair, it seems I didn't get all of the dye out and I stained my towel! ARG! And as this week went by, my hair seems to have lose the brightness to it. And I have been using shampoo for colour treated hair. Actually I'm using the same brand as the hair dye! It's still red...just not bright and fun looking. More...dull and lifeless. ):
I think that in conclution, I would have to say I love Palty hair dye. It works really well and keeps my hair really healthy. It's sooo much better than Garnier's hair dye is in terms of the health of my hair and the colour lasting power. Especially since Palty has, as far as I'm aware, quite the amount of bleach in it to get such dark, virgin black hair so light! I also really like the leave in condition that comes with Palty. It leaves the hair moisturized and also good smelling!~ Very nice!
