>>316610joining this topic because i have thick dark brown hair and i've been coloring for a while now.
most colors are more or less a paint; they will soak into the hair to color it but can easily be muted or not visually effective at all if the hair you're applying it to is too dark. my hair is like 2 shades from black, so I have to bleach it a lot. bleach (afaik) removes the melanin color from your hair and makes it more receptive to a color change you can see. bleach for your hair is just as bad as bleach for doing laundry/dishes - it makes your hair dry, brittle, and if you apply too much to your roots, will burn your scalp. you just have to be careful.
when you get hair bleach, it comes in 2 parts: powder and cream (at least the brands i get. not sure if there's a brand that sells as-is since its a chemical reaction and can explode if left mixed.) usually costs $30 per bleach kit, i need 2 boxes if im bleaching my whole head. that you mix in equal parts. you apply it to your hair - i try to take one small section at a time and brush the bleach down to the ends. the roots bleach the fastest, so work from bottom to top. when you've finished putting the bleach in, you ideally will wrap your hair in a plastic wrap/shower cap. this traps heat to work faster, but also prevents you from getting bleach on anything else. depending on the person, it can take from 30 mins to an hour to fully bleach. i often leave the bleach in my hair even longer, usually 80 mins just because my hair is somewhat resistant to it. my mom can't have it in that long though, her hair is very fine and will be ruined after 45 mins. shampoo and wash it all out.
if you have any red in your hair, natural or leftover dye, it can make the bleach result look orange. most people will do a second bleach right after (i usually do).
coloring!!! this is the fun part. best to be done on dry, dirty hair. i get the most colorfast results when done on my greasy days. you take your dye (my favorite is arctic fox, typically $15 for a 4oz bottle that lasts me about 2 years, and $23 for an 8oz bottle that lasts about 4 years) and paint the hairs you want to be painted. arctic fox is very gentle on hair and has some conditioner quality to it, so you can leave it in your hair as long as you want. longer time = harder dye, but i found the max effectiveness at around 45 mins. after that its just goop on your hair. rinse with shampoo until water runs clear. the next 5-8 hair washes will have extra dye run in the water, both from hair and washing off your scalp (depending on how close to the roots you got). i get arctic fox to last about 6 weeks of max color if i wash it in cooler water with more time between washes. i get full color gone after about 4-5 months depending on specific color (pink is the fastest to wash out, blue lasts the longest but turns to green about halfway through)
i've had every color of the rainbow on my head except for gray/white. it's very fun to go through colors and try different color combos, even placements. highly recommend it
