Hair colour removal disaster!

I decided it was time to get rid of my pink hair. I loved it for a little while but it was always meant to be temporary. My aim was going lilac so I decided I'd get the ball rolling and I had somewhat of a crisis.

I had always used either Scott Cornwall's colour b4 to rid my hair colours, even reds and blacks have came out fine. Then I found one by JoBaz which was much cheaper...

Despite how cheap you can find this for, I had used this on my hair before and it worked fine, so I thought I'd try it on my pink. To my surprise this time it turned my hair blue! I thought either it wouldn't work at all or it would work amazingly... I didn't realise there was a chance my pink hair would turn blue! But yes, I'll have you know there is a chance it turns pink hair blue and it looks truly awful.

On camera it doesn't look as bad, especially in that lighting. In real life through it was like a lilac/grey/blue wishy washy mess! Thank god for hats, I put mine on and nipped into town for a new colour removal dye. I will write about what happened with that in another post! But for now, please note colour removal kits are not great on bright pink hair! Unless you want blue, in that case go ahead!

Product review: Schwarzkopf LIVE Color XXL Ultra Brights Shocking Pink

So my hair was fading really badly recently. Pastel pink can be a chore and I had no dye left, so last minute before a party I took a trip to Boots and decided to try shocking pink which was a part of the XXL live range. I hate box dyes a lot because they never work correctly. I decided to water down the mixture with conditioner because it looked crazy bright and initially that wasn't what I wanted. I am never too fussy about hair colours though as I like to experiment.

The mixture in the tube is really thick and like the directions crazy colours, you don't have to mix anything yourself. It smells nice, a lot like fruit mixed with play doh? Strange but not a horrible smell. You get hardly any in the tube which is partly why I wanted to mix it with a LOT of conditioner. Conditioner not only waters down the colours of some semi permanent dyes but it can make them last longer too!

After I put it on I knew it was going to go quite bright but by then I was kind of excited for a change. I googled some photos of people in the colour and it looked lovely and a lot like directions flamingo pink which I have had before.

When it was ready to wash off I was really taken back by how bright it was! It really is shocking pink. I will be honest, I don't want to keep this colour as it doesn't suit me as much as others do but it is great for those who love bright pink shades. If you do not want to be dying it as much, then this is perfect.This pink is not budging at all!

Here is a picture of my hair before the party:

And here is a photo of my hair today:

Sorry to hide my face but my skin isn't looking great today! As you can see 5 washes later this pink is staying put, and it is still very bright! In some lights it is almost purpley pink.

Overall I would give this dye a straight 10/10 for staying power and my hair is so shiny. The conditioner you get with it smells great too. All I would say is do not get 2 boxes of this stuff, mix it with conditioner instead. You do not get enough in one tube for half my head without diluting, which I think is not worth the price. However, as you can see, diluting with conditioner will not effect your colour and you will save yourself some cash.

Winter Boots!

Everyone loves a new pair of boots and when I took a trip to a Liverpool market recently there were so many amazing styles to choose from. The boots it seems everyone is loving at the moment are the ones with the cut out sides. I had always noticed them on models and in Topshop but had wondered if they were worth the cash. At around £70, boots from Topshop weren't ever affordable enough for my student budget, so I decided to wait. When I recently saw a pair of cut out boots at the market for just £35, I couldn't help myself.

Now they do look super pretty! You can't see the cut out much here since I am wearing black socks underneath. Otherwise, I love the hole because it means I can show off all my cute socks in the winter months. I am absolutely addicted to buying socks.

In my honest opinion, even though I love these boots to bits, I wish I had waited and gotten some from Topshop! At half the price of Topshop boots they are a bargain, but it's totally not worth the pain. All the boots I have had from Topshop have been AMAZING comfort wise. These boots would be great for wearing once or twice but they are not a shoe made for walking a lot. My toes hurt at the front and the soles are very uncomfortable.

I know it sounds crazy but despite the pain, I am dying to wear them again. I might have to put them on whilst wearing a couple pairs of socks to baggy them out a little. If anyone has any other tips then please do write them to me. In future, I will probably just stick to paying out a little extra for my boots, it is super worth it and they last months.

Since I am such a fan of Topshop boots, here is my current lust list:

ARABEL2 Cut Out Boots, £70

Astrix Chunky Lace Up Boots, £42

Argo Heavy Strap Boots, £92

(These look insane but trust me in real life the holographic look makes you fall in love!)

Arvey Double Buckle Boots, £78

What boots are you lusting after this Winter? Let me know in the comments!

A non-professional's guide to obtaining and maintaining pastel pink hair.

Transforming your boring locks to a beautiful pastel hue is not an easy task. However, if you are committed to the color you want it isn't impossible. The information I will give you in this post could also be applied to other pastel colors such as lilac and peach.

I have been coloring my hair from a very young age and I am by no means a professional. I home color my hair very often because professionals aren't often willing to risk damaging your hair and ruining their reputation. Hair is easily damaged when going lighter, especially when you have naturally dark hair like myself. So please be advised, if you are going to follow my steps... No matter what, your hair is always going to get a little less healthy in the process. Post coloring, I would advise using a lot of conditioning treatments and maybe a trip to the hair dressers for a trim so your hair can grow back more healthily.

Step 1)

If your hair is already very light blonde you can skip this step. If your hair is dark then you are going to need to get yourself to Sally's or another local beauty supplier where you can pick up a sachet of my favorite 'Freeze Ice Lites Hi Lift Powder Lightner'. This is pretty much the same as any other powder lightener except it contains a silverising toner to help counteract the brassy/yellow tones that bleaching hair brings.

Step 2)

You will need to buy a creme developer to mix with the powder, I would recommend buying a large bottle of 30% if your hair is quite dark. I usually just buy the cheapest one Sally's has and it does the trick. The higher the developer the quicker it will lighten. Also, the higher you go the more damaging it can be so be sure to ask the supplier their advice too as it will depend on your natural shade.

This might sound obvious but you will need to get a pair of gloves to ensure the bleach doesn't burn your hands! Also get a mixing bowl and brush to help you apply the mixture to the hair. You might want to get somebody to help you check it is all over and even, so you don't get patches of brown hair you have missed. The mixture dries quickly so get a plastic bag and place it over your hair to lock in the heat. Keep checking your hair to keep an eye on the color, wash it off as soon as desired color is achieved.

You could get a cape or towel to protect your clothes too. I know it sounds like a lot of effort but it will be worth the money and time in the end.

You may need to bleach your hair more than once to achieve the light blonde you need for pastel hues. Please remember the health of your hair, I recently bleached my hair too many times in one day when I was being impatient but it wasn't worth it as I lost a lot of length. If your hair is looking like it needs a break, then please do so and condition it in between bleaching sessions. Condition, condition, condition! It is very important.

(Dumb Blonde Bed Head hair conditioner by TIGI)

Step 3)

Your hair may still have some brassy/yellow tones after bleaching is complete. If so get some 'Colour Restore Iced Platinum Toner' from Boots. If you don't live in the UK, any other toner that removes brassy/yellow tones will do the trick too! A quick search on google should leave you with plenty of choices. Leave it on overnight if you really want results. It might go gray or purple if you leave it on TOO long though, I don't mind this but I know some people do so be prepared.

Step 4)

Choose the colour you want! I personally wouldn't get a pastel colour that was premixed, I would get a pink such as 'Flamingo Pink' or 'Carnation Pink' from Directions and water the mixture down using a white colored conditioner. This means you get more colour for your money, once the colour looks a lovely pale pink in the mixing bowl it is time to apply the mixture. Leave it on your head for as long as you like, I usually leave mine on for about 30 minutes to an hour.

If you simply can't be bothered to water down your own pink then you can buy a lot of pinks that are already a lovely pastel color. The ones I have tried and love are 'Pastel Pink' from Directions and 'Candy Floss' from Crazy Colours.

Now you should have fantastic pastel hair! Congratulations. Now for maintaining that beautiful mane...

• CONDITION IT, a lot. Get some hot oil treatments, they work amazingly! My favorite is Miracle Growth Oil by a brand called 'African Pride' it is super amazing for fixing burnt ends, it smells delicious too. Click Here to be directed to their website.
  
• Pastel colors wash out very very quickly. Avoid having to color it often by pouring some of the pink mixture into your regular conditioner. If you apply it to your hair for even 5 minutes each time you shower, this will help to restore some of the color helping you save time and money.
  
• Get yourself a color friendly shampoo and conditioner set to stop the color washing out. For example, Alberto VO5 make one called 'Cherish my colour' that I would recommend.
  
• If you don't trim the burnt ends, your hair probably wont grow. If your ends are burnt, they are going to get worse with heat styling tools such as the hair dryer and straighter. As you brush your hair during blow drying, the ends will get caught in your hair brush and fall off.
  
• Personally I can't stop using my hot styling tools, if you're like me you will need to get a heat defense spray.

• Try not to be impatient when bleaching, if it wont go white or light blonde straight away then wait a while. Try not to bleach it too many times in a day or a week, it will be really bad condition and the color wont look nice. Good things come to those who wait!
  
• Bleach bathing your hair is another method of lightening with minimal damage. Google 'Bleach Bathing' and there will be plenty of advice. This involves mixing shampoo with a small amount of powder/developer to gradually lift the hair color. When I first realized this was an option, I started coloring my hair a lot more often as it is a lot less risky.

• REMEMBER: Do not color your hair if you have somewhere important to be that week. That way if you make a mess you have time to seek the help of a professional before your event.