Unnatural Hair Colors (Does This Pin Even Work?!)

You see them all around the internet, the pictures of people who have dyed their hair an array of beautiful unnatural colors. They grace Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest day in and day out.
There's peekaboo color, mermaid hair, galaxy hair, fire hair, colored ombre, and the list could go on for the funky color trends that I've seen in the past few years.

But the real question is, can your average human being do this to their hair and have it look good? The answer is yes, but it's not easy.

I am no stranger to dying my hair; I started in fourth grade with chunky auburn low-lights. Since then I have dyed my hair every naturally occurring color, from the blackest black to the whitest blonde, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I took the long desired plunge into unnatural colored dye.

My own hair, dyed cherry red

Over the past few years I have learned a few things about having crazy colored hair.

1. Heat is not your friend!
The first thing I learned is that heat is in no way your friend. While this is true whenever you damage your hair with dye, it is especially true when dealing with rainbow colors.

Not only will you absolutely need to use heat protection when you blow dry/curl/straighten your hair, you also will want to wash it in the coldest water you can tolerate. Washing in hot water will make your colors fade disappointingly quickly. And if you have multiple colors, you will want to wash them separately to prevent the colors from bleeding into one another and creating a muddy icky mess.

2. Wash your hair less often.
I have learned to only wash my hair once a week. Yup, I only let my hair get wet one day a week. Dry shampoo is a staple on those last few days, but because I've been washing my hair only once a week for some time now, my hair is used to it, and I need to use the dry shampoo only if it has been hot and I've been sweating.

My own galaxy inspired hair.

Does that mean I only shower once a week? Nope, I still shower often, but I put my hair up in a shower cap.

Washing your hair as infrequently as possible keeps the colors from fading as quickly.

3. Use conditioning dye in your shampoo and conditioner.
Another way to prevent fading from washing is to put a little bit of conditioning dye in your shampoo and conditioner.  Manic Panic and Punky Color are both good conditioning dyes for this. You could purchase predyed color depositing shampoo and conditioner, but they tend to be expensive and not that great at getting your hair clean.

4. Plan to invest time and money in your hair.
Which brings me to my next point. Having hair that is an unnatural color is an investment of both time and money!

My own hair with a purple ombre.

Should you choose to dye your hair funky colors, you will need to bleach your hair (unless you already have pale blonde hair) before beginning any other coloring. If you were to go to the salon to get this done (which I recommend unless you are 110% confident in your or your friend's bleaching and dying abilities) it could easily cost hundreds of dollars to walk out with colored hair.

And then you have to factor in the cost of the colored shampoo/conditioner and the dry shampoo and shower cap and a swimming cap and it can all add up very quickly.

Should you choose to save a bit of cash and do it yourself at home, you run the risk of really damaging your hair with bleach and not getting the color or effect that you wanted.

5. Explore alternative options to dying.
Has all of this information made you second guess getting wild with your hair? No worries, there are other options for adding a bit of color to your mane without the headache of the upkeep.

My own hair using hair chalk.

If you are looking for a splash of color while not breaking bank, why not use some hair chalk? Fair warning, though, hair chalk may not show up very well on darker hair.

Another great way to add some bright color to your 'do is to get colored extensions. The internet is an awesome place where you can find hair extensions in just about any color you can think of.

This option can get expensive, especially if you want real human hair, but if you are ok with not using heat to style, synthetic hair extensions are an affordable option!

If your extensions are a bit too long for your style, you can always trim them up for a more seamless look.

Finally, if you are looking for color over your whole head, but aren't really up to the commitment of dying, I would really recommend trying out a wig. It's an easy way to try out new colors and cuts while still being able to go back to your normal hair at the end of the day.

Having crazy colors in your hair is a fun way to express yourself, and I really hope that this helps you figure out the best way to go about doing so!

Does this Pin even work? Yes! But with some extra work - if you don't mind that, the results can be well worth it!

Putting DIY Sharpie Mugs to the Test (Does This Pin Even Work?)

Like most people I know, I have found myself wandering down the rabbit hole of Pinterest and the DIY portion of the Internet. And, like most people I know, I have found myself saying “Yeah, they make it LOOK so easy; all you need to do is A B and C” and wondering if it ACTUALLY works.

So I've decided to try a few, and see how it goes, then share my experiences with all of you! I figure I'll potentially make a fool of myself and let the internet laugh with me, and you won't have to!

The first project I decided to take on is something I have seen about a bajillion times all over the internet. The DIY Sharpie mug.

The idea is simple: Buy an inexpensive coffee mug, doodle/write on it with Sharpie markers, and bake it in the oven at 350 for half an hour (twice if you really want to set it).

Considering that I am not a very arty person when it comes to drawing (seriously, my stick figures require labels!), I recruited a friend to help me out.

At Target, we found exactly what we were looking for, plain white mugs on sale! We picked up a traditional coffee mug, a cappuccino mug, and a square bowl for each of us and a pack of Sharpies! We got back to my place and started our art project, drawing all over our mugs and bowls. As I anticipated, her stuff looked way more awesome than mine did.

The next part was the easiest thing, putting the mugs in the oven. I put them on a baking sheet in the cold oven, heated it to 350 and then baked for half an hour, then I turned the oven off and let the mugs cool with it. I did it this way so as to not shock the mugs and maybe have them crack with the temperature changes. Is it necessary? I'm not sure. Did I do it anyway? Yup. I'm over cautious that way.

When we pulled them out, the ink was a little smudgy if you pushed hard on it, so we decided to bake them a second time.

After the second bake, the ink was still smudgy, but only if you really tried to smudge it.

So the next test was to wash it. I took the mug I had made to look like it had blood dripping down, and plunged it into hot, soapy water.

I have a general rule of thumb I live by when it comes to washing things: handmade = handwash. Usually I apply that to my knitting and crocheting, but I figured that it should be extended to dishes as well.

Upon inspection, I found many places where the ink had come off. Some along the lip, but most was around the cup. I used a soft cotton knit cloth to wash with, and I didn't think that much would have come off, but you can see for yourself. Just glad I didn't try it out on one of the pretty pieces!

Turning to the Internet to troubleshoot, I found that if you use an oil based marker, like the Sharpie Paint, you get much better results. I guess you live, you learn.

For the dishes we already made, though, I just put a few layers of Dishwasher Safe Mod Podge that I had around the house on over the art, and let it dry, which fixed our smudging and scratching issue.

Are there any DIYs or hacks you guys have been wanting to try, that you've been worried that it might not work out right? Let me know in the comments!