Hair dye for curly very dry teen hair

[Anonymous]

My teen has wanted to dye her hair for a few years. I don't love the idea at all but at age 13 said we can revisit the topic when turning 16. That's now in a couple weeks and the desire hasn't died.

The problem is she has very very curly hair that breaks and frizzes very easily. We've had to cut out major tangles on multiple occasions. It's gotten much better with "the curly girl method." Fewer days of tears about hair that just won't cooperate. My concern is that trying to dye it now will just damage or dry it out and reverse all that progress.

She wants colors, either pink or blue. Any way to allow some freedom of expression without major hair damage?

[Anonymous]

First question -- what is her base natural color? If it is dark, then you will first have to bleach in order to have a blue or pink color be visible. I wouldn't recommend this for someone with already dry and fragile hair. If her hair is naturally blonde, then you can probably try any of the semi-permanent or temporary hair colors out there. These cause minimal damage, but do look fairly hideous as they fade. She's a teen, though. This is the time for her to learn her beauty lessons .

[Anonymous]

Teen Hair? No. It's a parenting decision. And it's no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First question -- what is her base natural color? If it is dark, then you will first have to bleach in order to have a blue or pink color be visible. I wouldn't recommend this for someone with already dry and fragile hair. If her hair is naturally blonde, then you can probably try any of the semi-permanent or temporary hair colors out there. These cause minimal damage, but do look fairly hideous as they fade. She's a teen, though. This is the time for her to learn her beauty lessons .

Natural base color is auburn.

[Anonymous]

My kid has been wanting to do this. She has dark brown curly, dry hair. I've suggested Manic Panic, because it isn't permanent and won't be as garish as it is on light hair. The site shows you how it works on different hair color: https://manicpanic.com/collections/amplified-hair-dye/products/rockabilly-blue-hair-color-amplified

They also have color depositing conditioners, which might be a good first experimental step.

[Anonymous]

Arctic fox is pretty tame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teen Hair? No. It's a parenting decision. And it's no.

🙄

[Anonymous]

I've used Celeb Luxury and it can be the in-between. Not as harsh as stripping to blonde and dying. It is a shampoo (trick is to keep in on long to deposit more color and last - say 45 minutes wrapped) and wash.

Depending on what color she wants, it can be a yes without going all out. She would then use it once a week to refreshen. If she doesn't like it, it eventually fades/washes out.

Purple and blue work well on brunettes, they even have purple specifically for brunettes.

The other option is to take her to a salon and don't do all the hair - just do some highlights and/or tip ends. Isn't as harsh and only effects the colored pieces.

Yes, dyeing hair can dry hair out so with curly hair, we have to condition a lot more. Even on days I don't wash, I usually condition.

[Anonymous]

See if she'll do a streak/strand first to see how her hair does with dye. If it ends up damaged and straight, she'll know that her hair won't do well with dye.

[Anonymous]

Or color the bottom two inches. It will look terrible, she’ll cut it off before senior year. She’ll have time to grow it out to her regular length before college. Seriously, if you don’t let her now with guardrails, she’ll do it later without your input.