hair chalking

Meet my new bff, hair chalking.

The process is really easy and cheap and the outcome is excellent. There are a ton of youtube videos explaining the details, but I'll share some basics and tips for those looking to try it.

1. This hair color method comes with basically no commitment. For those of us who have dropped some major cash to permanently alter the color of our hair, it's perfect.

2. I'm a blonde (obviously), but I didn't get it from my momma. This blonde spawns from many hours in a swivel chair and half a roll of aluminum foil. My hair is also fairly long (ie, I have a split end or two, or 5,000). With that, I thought my hair might be more susceptible to retaining the color a bit longer. Wrong. The color washed out the first time I washed it (I shampooed a few times to make sure).

Ready to get started?? 

3. I used Faber-Castell brand soft pastels (not oil pastels). I bought a 24 pack at Michael's for about $16. There was a cheaper option but it didn't have very good colors. I washed my hair the night before (only because I don't wash it every day).

4. Start with dry hair and a squirt bottle, cup of water, or a really wet paper towel. Take a small section of hair and get it fairly/very wet.

5. Choose a color and apply it to the wet section of hair in a downward motion. The wetter your hair is, the easier it applies. I did a two tone with lighter blue on the top and dark purple on the bottom. When your hair dries, the color looks lighter, so when selecting your colors, go a shade darker than you want it to turn out.

You'll probably want an old towel or something to cover your clothes during these steps. Do as many or few as you want. I ended up doing quite a bit.

6. As your hair dries, it will begin to seperate. I used a thick comb to separate the strands once they were dry to almost dry. Some of the color comes off, but that's okay.

7. When you feel confident that your hair is completely dry, set the color with a curling iron. I used the magical Remington curling wand. The color itself acts as a fairly strong hairspray, but I used a bit just in case.

The heat makes it not rub off very easily. I slept in it that night and didn't get any blue on my white quilt. I also wore a white shirt all day the next day (how better to show off my new blue hair??) and it didn't rub off on my clothes at all.

So, indulge your inner Katy Perry for the day! I'm really a fan of the two toned, though it's a bit hard to differentiate with two colors that are so close. Hot pink with purple tips next. Yes or yes??