For all of who don’t know, I have purple hair. In some lights it looks more orchid (magenta, almost pinky). In others, it’s definitely more of a cool purple, on the more blue side. But either way: it’s purple. Getting my hair this color was along, arduous, expensive process, so I’m very into preserving this color as much as possible. It’s not always easy though- my hair is notorious for shedding dyes quickly, if it manages to hold onto it in the first place. Aside from washing less frequently and using warm or cool water instead of hot, there are other tips and tricks involves in maintaining a fantasy color- so let’s get ready with me!
Start off with hair your dirty hair in desperate need of a cleanse. For me, this is typically 5-7 days between washes; some people can definitely go longer, but as soon as my hair starts “separating” easily up at the roots and I’ve already dry-shampooed it once, I know it’s time for a wash.
Next, gather all your materials. For me, I use Ion Color Defense shampoo + conditioner. I also use a fitted hair towel (also called a twist or a turban towel), hair combs, ion dyes (purple and radiant orchid), a tinting bowl and brush, and a color defense mask/conditioner (this one is the Pantene brand)
Before I shower, I mix up my color-depositing conditioner. This is a blend of hair dye and conditioner. For this, I use 1 part purple to 3 parts radiant orchid, but I can adjust my tone if I want here, adding more orchid if I want a more magenta tone and more purple if I want a deeper, cooler tone. 1:2 purple to orchid works well, but I wanted a bit more orchid this time. I also add my Ion Color Defense conditioner here (NOT the color defending). It doesn’t matter exactly how much I use- I just need enough to coat my entire hair. I like to do enough for TWO conditions, so I usually will add about twice the amount of dye. Yes, I do weigh these out so I know it’s the right proportions 🙂 For me, 2-3 grams purple, 6-9 grams orchid, and then 16 to 24 grams conditioner.
Shower! Now, I’ve tried using cold water. I tried just washing my hair. It did NOT work for me. It was soooooo cold and I was miserably and I got water EVERYWHERE in the bathroom. Then I’ve tried warm water, and while it was okay, I usually like my showers very, very hot. So I turn it down to… medium hot 🙂 Here’s my typical hair-washing/shower routine- no pics; you definitely don’t need them!
- Using the coldest water I can stomach, I wet my hair thoroughly
- I add a generous amount of color-safe shampoo and scrub at the roots of my hair, all over my scalp, but I do not rub any into my tips. I only use shampoo where my hair is oily or greasy.
- Rinse the shampoo out thoroughly. The suds will run down my tips and cleanse the tips
- Take my conditioner/dye mix (essentially a color-depositing conditioner) and slather it all over my tips (half, if I mixed up a double-batch). I run my fingers through my hair, trying to coat each strand. I’ll also take a standard hair comb and comb through my tips and slightly into the brown above it (not too much), just to help soften it (underneath some of the brown is actually my bleached hair, but I don’t make a color-depositing conditioner for the brown, so this works well).
- After the conditioner is worked into my hair, I either clip it up or I just brush it to one side, and I go about the rest of the shower- at this point I like to turn the heat up more, as none of the water is going to touch my hair
- After I’m done washing my body, I adjust the water temp to be a little cooler, and rinse out the conditioner, using my comb to detangle a bit.
- Then, if I have more conditioner-dye, I re-apply and shave my legs
- Rinse again….
- Add in the color-defense mask and wash my face and scrub at any areas that the dye may have gotten on me (such as my shoulders and back)
- Rinse again… and then…
Hop out of the shower! I wrap my hair up in my fitted hair towel/turban/thing to get my hair as well-dried as I can
Once the turban is saturated with water… I take it off + inspect my color. I’ll spray some leave-in conditioner in spots that I know will need it, my hair oil on the tips, and then take my comb and my blow dryer and dry my hair. In the end…
My hair is nice and vibrant purple still (note the difference in light! It didn’t really change the tone of my hair that much).
Lucy Does Things 
