Dye Hair Tips Blue

Brown hair with blue tips
Photo: Depositphotos
I’m planning on dyeing the very ends of my hair blue but I have a few questions I would like to know the answers to first.
 
1. Will dyeing the ends have any effect on the parts of my hair that I’m not dying?
 
2. What kind of hair damage can dyeing the ends lead to? If any is there a way to make it safe or avoid it?
 
3. What is the minimum length I should dye it if I want it to show? To be honest I want to have a very tiny dye, so will it be possible to only do 3-4 cm?
 
A: Let’s first look at the process itself. If your hair is currently black, red, brunette or dark blonde; the stylist will first bleach the ends of your hair to lighten this color to at least a pale-yellow blonde.
 
This is essential as the blue will obviously not show on dark hair, and will look washed out or faded on dark blonde hair. After the tips are lightened to a pale-yellow shade, the hair will be rinsed, washed and dried completely before the blue tint is applied to the tips.
 
If you hair is already very light, the stylist will only have to color the ends of your hair with a blue color. The afore-mentioned scenario is the best one. If you hair is very light blonde and only needs to be colored with a blue tint on the ends, it will not damage your hair.
 
1. Coloring the ends of the hair will initially have no impact on the rest of the hair’s structure that has not been colored. This being said; if your hair is already over-processed, very dry or damaged, the bleach may break or split the ends of your hair. This can potentially lead to progressive damage to the healthy upper-parts of the hair.
 
If your hair splits at the end, it can tear the structure of the hair into two or three parts. If this tearing/splitting is not stopped, the hair can split all the way up to your scalp, which will lead to significant, irreparable damage to the hair. I suggest that if you have damaged ends, to first cut this off before starting with the bleaching phase.
 
If your hair is already a light blonde, the blue tint will not damage your hair. In fact, because the blue tint adds artificial color particles to the hair’s structure, you’ll probably find that the hair looks and feels healthier than before.
 
2. The color isn’t really the problem here; it’s the bleach that can cause damage to the hair. Bleach is used to strip natural or artificial color pigments from the hair. It is a very intensive procedure, and if overdone it can lead to significant damage such as hair breakage, very dry hair, split ends, etc.
 
A professional stylist will probably not attempt this process if he/she thinks that your hair can’t handle it though, so you should be save if you go to a reputable salon.
 
3. Most people color at least 10 cm (4 inches) of their ends. If you color a too thin section, it can look strange. But this depends largely on how long your hair is and how you wear it.
 
If your hair is very long and you like to curl it at the ends with a large-barrel curling iron, I would suggest coloring at least 15 cm/6 inches of the tips. If your hair is shorter and you wear your hair straight most of the time, you could get away with only coloring 4 cm/1.5 inches of the tips. Ask your stylist’s opinion on this too.
 
©Hairfinder.com
 
See also:
 
How to color hair
 
Is it risky to color my hair blue?
 
Do you know of any permanent blue hair dye?
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