The Colors I've Been Through

I've been dying my hair myself since middle school, I started doing my hair myself when stylists would charge me double for having so much thick, curly hair.  And when I wanted to go from black to blonde I flat-out got all "no's".  So here are some photos of what I've done, used, love and hate and wont ever do again! (platinum)

My black colored hair:

Black is the easiest to match for extensions and it's what i always turn to when i don't like the current color, the only problem i have with black color is i look pale and end-up tanning like crazy (very tan in the pic!) and black absorbs light so it looks dull.
My fav. black hair dyes:

Dariya Palty a Japanese hair dye which is amazing!! the color is glossy and after going blonde it really repaired my hair, i've never gone back to any other hair dye after using Palty.  You can buy it on Ebay for like 10 dollars and it's worth it, smells amazing!

a blue-black hair color which is so dark! but it's fun :) can get dull quickly though and a pain to get out.

black leather color, a more natural color than the blue black above but i like Palty more this dye was good but not great, my hair just dulled out after a month

I've also dyed my hair brown in 2 shades that i always go back to: (don't mind the picture it's really all i could find!)

I use loreal hair expertisse (sp?) color in Biscotti and i think the other is Brioche

which both are amazing and when i'm not blonde or black i use the Loreal highlighting boxes, they work great and really fun!  That picture is so stupid! ugh sorry everyone haha! my old comp. broke and i found this on a friends Fbook page so yeah...it's terrible.

And i've had red hair, i also used a Loreal highlighting box in Cinnamon Stick and i loved it!

This was a much lighter red color i just went over the Cinnamon Stick color with an ash blonde after one color strip of course, but i still think it's red
 such a fun red color!

And then I've had blonde hair and platinum,

I'm on the right

this was about 2 years ago...me and my now Fiance mike! Platinum!

The blonde hair colors i've used:

For the more golden color i tried Loreal Dream Blonde in Sunflower Princess (love this color!):

And for platinum i used ION cream colors with 30 Vol. developer:

So those are the majority of hair colors i have gone though! all done by myself! i have hair color ADD i can never just keep one color for  year so i'm sure it will be changing soon:)

here are some hair dying products i have used, so i love, some i hate!

The best black hair dye i have ever used and i really want to try the other colors down below:

especially this color i'm really liking! 

the color is called Milk Tea Brown and it's so cute!

And when i bleach my hair i want to also try their bleach products:

Sparkling Blonde bleach, the highest lift.

The #1 best product I live by when changing my hair color either lighter or darker is Loreal Color Zap:

and the worst color remover i've tried and it smelled terrible and didn't remove enough color which is by ION:

The bleach and developer i've used and did the job but i want to try something better (palty!) Clairol in 30 Vol. never 40!! and Loreal bleach...worked but i dunno left my hair so dry:

I hope to be changing my hair color again hopefully the Palty colors!!  I have dark roots and dying my hair lighter colors Palty is made for, it works best for people who have naturally black or dark hair since it was designed for black hair.  It's really amazing :)

Which color??!! So hard to chose!!!!

This one is cute i like the ashy-ness of the color, i think it's like a shade darker the the milk tea brown..

This one i warmer and really does look like a maple doughnut!

the color i've always wanted to try! but i don't want to be blonde...it's a bit light so i don't know yet

such a cute red! i love it also! maybe if the other colors i don't like i'll use this as my back-up

this color to me has almost a pink hue to it which i think is called chiffon...it's really cute!

They are all so cute! any opinions??

Washing your Hair Extensions

Your hair extensions can be washed less then your natural hair.  I wash mine every two weeks or if i have styled them heavily for a special event.  If you have oily hair make sure to spray the roots of the extensions with hair powder lightly every couple of days to make sure the glue stays intact.  Maintaining your hair extensions properly will allow them to last years and years!
So general rule of thumb: no oil, no oil, no oil!

Remove all your hairies and tie them with a rubber band at the top:

Chose a generic shampoo for washing your hairies.  Like i said nothing with added oils.  And you don't need a shampoo made for extensions, just a plain, cheap-o one will do:

I use the same shampoo for my curly hair for this, Victoria Secrets So Sexy curl shampoo.  You can use one for straight or fine hair as well.  I just like the Victoria Secret hair products because they smell good and you can get a shampoo, conditioner and product for like 23 bux! And i have used so many damn shampoos so this brand i actually like.

Using cool water, not hot not freezing, fill your bathroom sink with enough water to fully submerged the hair:

And add about a quarter amount of shampoo into the water and mix it around to dilute it. Don't apply shampoo directly to the extensions!  this will make the extensions dry and with no natural oils being absorbed into the extensions they need to be gently shampooed.

place the extensions roots in the water first and swish the water around them. Do not rub them or scrunch the soapy water into the clips.  Like i said this will dry out the extensions so be gentle!  you just want to clean them so they don't smell like an oily head...you know the smell.

lifting the extensions roots up out of the water wash the middle and ends of the hair, again just gently swishing the water around them, gently cleansing them.  These ones have been partially died black so they bleed purple into the water ( yes you can dye hair extensions! like real hair...beacuse it is!)

dirty murky water! gross!
Let all the shampoo water drain out and rinse the sink out well and turn it on to wash the hair making sure the water is again cool in temperature

 Focusing on the roots of the extensions just let the water run over them, no rubbing or scrunching again until the water at the bottom is clear

lift hair up from the top and squeeze out access water.  (You do not condition extensions, conditioners have oil in them.  You can if you want find a silicon based anti tangle spray but i don't use it.  I once overly conditioned some extensions and from then on they constantly became tangled and knotted, it was terrible so don't do it!)

squeezed out hair.
now using a towel place the extensions in the towel and gently pat them dry

And now remove the rubber band and comb each piece with a wide toothed comb.  they can get pretty tangled so be patient combing them.  Combing the extensions prior to washing can help this if they're really tangled from styling.

tangled to not tangled!

Now when drying them i use like a clothes-line technique to let them naturally dry which i leave them overnight and in the morning they're dry. but if your in a rush you can blow them over with a hair dryer set on low

shower rods make great extension drying equipment! yes it will freak out you man or any other family member when they use the room and all this hair is hanging there, but the water from the hair drips into the tub so no clean up! really its amazing.

dry hairies! they will have a little wave from drying on the curtain rod but you can just flatiron it out.

How To Put In Clip-in Extensions!

After you have made your set of clip-in's you don't have to wash them right away, I wash mine after heavy styling or when I wash my hair which is every 2 weeks.

Style your hair to match the clip-in's (I will post about other styling techniques) these are straight so straighten your hair: (i will also post how to straighten very curly hair)

I dyed my "bangs" to match the tips of my new faded extensions.
So my hair is straight with no oil-based products in it, oil-based products break up the glue that binds extensions together! So read your hair product labels!

After washing the extensions, even if their straight, they will have some pouf to them so lightly straiten each piece to match the straitness of your hair:

Puffy hair!

CHI iron guard 44, no oil and no added hold and smells so good! my fav!

On a light setting, mine is at about 350 degrees, straighten away!

This type of teasing comb is great for extensions! Got it at Sally's. You will need a comb to tease and something to part your hair.

make a U shape right above your ear, you can't place extensions below this point

up and twist! (the part wont be perfect cuz you're using your fingers so no worries!)

select a hair spray or hair powder to "anchor" the extensions so they really wont budge! I like Victoria Secrets So Sexy natural hold hair spray (smells so good).  And spray only the roots of your hair.

Take one of the thicker back-hair pieces (this is only two strips sown together) and feel along your roots to clip them in starting with the middle clip to make sure it's centered and the the outer two clips.

can't even tell!

make another part in the back of the head, working your way up, about this thick to clip the next section of hair on (only working on the back the sides of the hair are last)

spray your roots again to anchor the extensions

the second 2 layered clip-in is in

section off another layer of hair for the last back clip-in to go on (if you are doing the shorter/thicker clip-ins just add another layer so don't make the layer too thick or they will show)

spray and clip the last back one in!

let the top-not of hair down to work on the sides! you will need an additional clip for this because i tease the roots for the side of the head clip in because the hair is finer then in the back.

You will be clipping 2 hair sections on each side so pick the longest part on the side of your head, mine is here.  (note: the closer your extensions are to your part the more camouflaged your natural hair will be and less-obvious)

make a clean part with the teasing comb, a clean part matters more on the sides then the back or it will pull on your hair and be annoying.

tease your roots to help the clip-ins stay in more

spray the teased roots with hair spray 

clip it in! yikes i need to dye my roots!

on the other side do the same thing, find the longest part of your hair and that's where you'll start. 

and your going to tease and hair spray like you did the other side

clip it in! 

find the second longest part of your hair to place the second clip-in

part the hair and tease and spray

clip in the last one on this side! (if you are doing the shorter/thicker clip-ins you will just need to make one more part above this close to your part, making sure it doesn't show)

again find the second longest place on the side of your head and part, tease and spray

yay last clip-in!

touch where the clip-in's are to make sure they're even or the length will be off at the bottom, you don't want one side longer than the other!

my natural hair length vs. the extension length! (these are 19" yaky in brown that i dyed the tops to match my hair color leaving the tips brown!)

yay for fun long hair with-out the expense!

ok, it can itch! but just bat the sides of your head with your palms! The extensions will "settle" down your hair shaft which will be more comfortable.  And you can sleep with them in but it does take some getting used too! But sleeping with clip-ins in is allot better than having the whole weft put in professionally because if it is uncomfy, just take them out! wallah!