Learn From My Pain: How I Fixed My Hair Fiasco

So, I fucked up my hair about two weeks ago. I went for “unicorn hair” and decided I wanted a dusty lavender/silver shade. I already had platinum colored hair. I’d only needed to use a semi permanent dye, along with some conditioner. A new look without the hassle, damage or commitment. I was stoked. 

I ended up with periwinkle hair. Yup. I wish I had taken pictures. I looked like something out of a fucking Sesame Street episode. 

I’m a former hairdresser, so I know how to properly mix color and all that jazz. I was working with a color line I wasn’t too familiar with, as well as a shade I wasn’t familiar with either. I didn’t know the exact undertones in the color, and they obviously were more blue based than anything else. 

So, I go on YouTube to try and find some sort of DIY way to fade my hair color. You know, learn from their fuckups? Like the way you’ll learn from mine. Do I know techniques from my experience as a hairdresser? Absolutely. However, as someone who has very dark hair, I would prefer something more gentle. My hair is already very processed. I also didn’t want to be seen in the streets looking like Sully from Monsters Inc., so I was REALLY looking for a video with items I already had at home. 

I didn’t have vitamin c tablets, baking soda, and all those other remedy items people usually have. However, I came across a video that left me in awe. 

The lemon juice and conditioner technique!Apparently, the citric acids in lemons eat up the color in your hair. I knew this worked for highlights on natural blondes, I had no idea it removed color too! I had lemons, I had conditioner! I was ready. 3 parts lemon juice, one part conditioner. Leave it on as long as you need. Surprisingly enough, this actually worked! 

Now, this did sting. It might’ve been from the vigorous scrubbing I gave my scalp. It was little raw from the dishwashing liquid (Desperate times, I told you I looked like something from Sesame Street). After doing this three times, I got it from periwinkle (gag) shade to a light silver/gray. Not what I wanted, but I can live with it. 

Also, I saturated my hair in coconut oil before I did this as well. The molecules in coconut oil are so small, they can actually penetrate the hair and heal it from the inside out. I find that when I coat my hair in the oil before coloring, it protects my hair and cuts a lot of the damage out. I try applying it hours in advance, allowing the oil to soak in. Because I knew that the little concoction I made had the potential to dry my hair out, I did this before applying the mixture and it minimized a lot of the dryness. 

So, to all you adventurous people with “unicorn hair”, looking to change it up, try this. It worked amazingly well, and my hair is still intact. I have a bit of dryness, but that’s to be expected and are considered lucky if your hair is as as bleached as mine. I’m pretty sure this only works on semi permanent color, but it doesn’t hurt to try it if you’ve colored your hair with something permanent either. Hair will surprise you, clearly.