7 May 2013

Colour: Last Minute Change

Just a current update as my hair colouring trials continue. I'm totally amped for going red at fifteen months and I'm hoping the abrupt change will help me abstain from extensions.

You already know that last week I recoloured my test subject (baby loc in the back) but this time instead of Adore in Intense Red I opted for Crimson from the same band, hence the super bright results in my last post.

Side Note: It's been really annoying having randomly coloured locs coloured with differing shades of red for the past 9 months and so many times I've wanted to dye it all black just so it won't look so 'experimental' because I wear as it is so often. The lengths I go to eh?

But anyway having now tried three shades of red I found that they all had a very, very pink undertone meaning that in natural light it looks pink too. I've managed to avoid the orangey, fire red that I feared back in beginning but the pinky tones have bothered me so much I just had to give up and look for a different brand.

I researched all over again and settled on a handful of semi-permanent brands to try. They included Pravana, Ion, and Fudge Paintbox but non were easy get my hands on.

Now I've learnt that the simplest way to gauge what undertone a (red) dye has (if the bottle isn't clear plastic) is to either smear a drop onto a piece of white paper or mix a drop into a glass of water. If you hold either the paper or the glass up to the light it'll be clear whether you have a pink-red or an orange-red. It does mean having to buy a sample in order to test it but all hair colouring involves some risk. The good thing is that semi-permanent dyes are usually cheap.

So it's out with Adore and in with ... well, I've decided to keep the reveal until July, good or bad they'll be photos!

To find out click: Red Locs.
DREADLOCKS ARE...

3 May 2013

Month 13

My locs are at an incredibly awkward length now. In the back they've reached the base of my neck for the first time in seven years. Everywhere else seems, to me, shorter than it was at Christmas but I think it's because they don't hang as easily at this size. They seem to be quite rigid but still spongey and they still want to grow up and out. I imagine thicker locs need more time to get heavy enough to hang but it's not easy having 4" tentacles sprouting up every morning.



Speaking of mornings, my getup and go routine is a little more complicated now. The added length makes it just on the cusp of style-able but it's luck of the draw as to whether it'll co-operate two days in a row:

bantu knots

scarf bun

scarf headband

Loc extensions are still on my mind. I know my hair will get to ponytail length eventually but I need to get back to low maintenance sooner rather than later. When I become a student in the autumn I want the carefree hairstyle that allows me to spend time doing more important things. I've seen a ton of DIY extension videos but we'll see where we're at come September 1st.








This week I re-lightened and re-coloured the loc I experimented with in the back after it'd finally faded enough over the last five or so months. I just wanted to be sure of the shade I'd chosen before going all the way in July.

re-lightened

rough ponytail and re-coloured


DREADLOCKS ARE...

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