Dying my hair blue and maintaining the colour

If you’ve found your way here, you’re at least a little interested in dying your hair blue, right? Maybe you’re going to tackle it yourself with a home hair colour session or looking for details on how to maintain the blue hair. You’ve come to the right place; this is the second time I’ve worn my hair blue, and this time it’s been over six months. I’ve got your back, let’s get into it.

My first attempts; the home dye job

The first time I dyed my hair blue, I already had washed out purple hair. Which, had formally been a very light blonde. For blue, you’re going to want as close to white as you can get, don’t be afraid to overtone it because the purple will keep your blue colour from going green (it cancels out the yellow/orange in your hair).  To start, I added four small packs of wash out colours, a combination of BRITE and Live brands and a blonde toner (purple) into a bowl.

This combination of products was enough to get the job done, so I mixed them up and went for it. Thanks to a HEAP of purple undertones, I was lucky to pull off the colour you see in the Instagram post below. Phew. One of the significant problems with blue hair is that when you are lightening your hair for maximum impact (don’t try and dye your natural hair blue) if there’s any yellow there, it will turn green. Do not recommend.

Getting the perfect blue hair for me!

It was a year later that I decided I was bored with my hair colour (again!) and decided to go all out with the blue hair. This time, as I also needed my hair lightened, some old colour removed and general colour corrections from layers of random colours. It’s so important, trust me I’ve learned that the hard way, to start with a clean, white as you can get it, base. And in my opinion, the professionals do that best. Bonus, they also have access to the best colours that will hold way longer and be more predictable than anything you can buy in a supermarket or online.

So, I went to see my sister Amanda Claire at Codie & Crew Salon. The bleached my hair, doing some correcting of banding etc. as they went. The first time, I left my roots enlightened because I wasn’t sure if the blue would be a permanent colour for me. After that, my hair was toned, given a purple shampoo, and they added the Delorenzo colour. This blue colour is from the NovaFusion range and is in Mystic Blue. I’ve used a bunch of ‘bright’ hair colours over the years, and this is one of the best.

When we did the first consultation, I was pretty concerned that it would go green. I’ve had aqua coloured hair before, and while it was lots of fun, the fade-out colour was dingy, mermaid dragged through the swamp. Not a good look. But, I needn’t have worried, this blue has a powerful purple undertone that counteracts any of the green that is left in your hair, I think this is also why it fades so beautifully to a pale blue/blonde/purple colour with varying tones.

What I’m doing now to maintain my blue hair

The blue has been one of the easiest colours to maintain of any I’ve had. When you first have it coloured, even in a salon, the colour will transfer on to everything. Literally everything. But, that’s to be expected, make sure your hair is dry before heading to bed, and you’ll be okay. After a little while, the colour transfer is basically nothing, even when wet. But even then, the colour in your actual hair stays strong; even though it has technically ‘faded’.

With blue hair, the biggest issue is it going green as it fades and products build up. On blonde hair, I always use a clarifying shampoo, but on this kind of colour, it will just fade faster if you do that. So, instead, I use products targeted at blonde hair to keep putting the purple back into it. Right now I’m using a Nak brand Platinum Blonde shampoo and conditioner and a treatment mask (available here in a trio). Simple as that.

I’ve only been colouring my hair every 8 – 10 weeks or so. I purchase a tube of colour (or what’s left) from my salon to get that length of time out of it. Maybe your salon won’t give you that option, but there’s no harm in asking. If not, this is the colour I use, and they have it for sale on eBay. I haven’t bought from this seller, but do your research, and it could be an option.

Removing the blue

This week I went into the salon to have the blue removed and return to a light blonde/root stretch kind fo vibe. Thanks to some consistency with the products I’ve been using, including only salon colours and products, they were able to remove all traces of the blue with a very light bleach wash. Seriously. I was worried there would be some underlying colour that would grab or blue/purple hue, but it was entirely gone. To take my hair back to blonde (which it was under the blue) was a simple process of just applying an ash toner and doing some work around my roots.

Previously, when I dyed my hair a more aqua tone of blue, I had green residue in my hair that was SO stuck even bleach wouldn’t remove it. In the end, we had to cover it with red-based brown and start over for the blonde colour I want. That’s the cautionary tale here. There are a lot of blue dyes in the market. And when you don’t know what’s in them, you can never be guaranteed how they’ll behave in your hair. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t mind a green/aqua/mint hair moment. I’ve been there and done all of that.

But, I want it to be deliberate. Don’t let that happen to you. Test your colour, or buy something that’s someone has recommended to you. And always, always, prepare your ‘base’ before adding blue.

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This post was inspired by my other post, dying my hair grey and maintaining the colour. If after all this you think grey might be more your style, pop over to that post for the dow-low. It’s also a pretty helpful post if you’re looking to maintain an ash blonde or platinum colour thanks to the toning tips. What can I say? When it comes to hair colours, I find it pretty hard to stick to just one.

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Melissa Walker Horn

Hi! I’m Suger; Chief Blogger at Suger Coat It. Blogging since 1901; love a casual ootd, taking photos + writing about things that irk or inspire me. I love wine and cheese, long days in the sun at the beach and spending time with my family. I make stuff for the internet. Which means I take photos, create content, write copy and devise social media plans for personal brands, small businesses and bloggers. You know, living the sweet life.