How to Dye Your Hair Purple without Bleach
Everyone gets bored of their hairstyle or hair colour at some point and want to try something new. Dying your hair purple is such a fun way to change things up. However, doing this by bleaching your hair could cause serious hair damage.
If you're thinking of dying your hair purple but don't want to bleach it, you've come to the right place. In this oneHOWTO article we're going to explain how to dye your dark hair purple without bleach. Keep reading to learn more!
Do you have to bleach your hair to dye it purple?
To bleach or not to bleach. That is the question. The answer will be determined by how dark your hair is and how light you want the purple to be. If you have black or very dark hair, then ontaining a pastel purple colour will be difficult. Bleach works by removing the color from the hair in the first place. This requires oxidization, a permanent change to the chemical composition of the hair.
Many people can bleach their hair fairly regularly and not cause particular damage to their hair. Others are not so lucky and find their hair can be badly damaged after only one bleaching. Even if we keep the hair hydrated and try to look after it, it can still be difficult.
If you already have light hair, then it is possible you can dye your hair fairly easy without bleaching it first. The lighter the original hair, the easier it is to dye your hair purple. This is why dying dark hair purple without bleaching is tricky if you want a lighter purple hair color. In fact, if you have dark hair and you want to dye it a light purple color, you will have to bleach your hair first. Dark hair is best suited to warm purple colors if we want to dye it without bleaching.
Another thing to take into consideration when it comes to dying your hair purple, is matching it to your skin tone. There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to matching hair to skin tone. Even subtle changes in skin tone can make the difference when it comes to matching hair color. Find the closest match on a piece of material and choose the purple hair dye which comes closest to it.
Even with semi-permanent hair dye, you will want to ensure your hair is in the best health. Make sure you look after your hair before you dye it purple. Conditioning, moisturizing, using serum or whatever product works best on your hair are all important. Learn more in our article about how to treat damaged hair.
How to dye your hair purple with katam
Katam is a natural hair dye which is sometimes known as black henna. However, you need to be careful. There are many different products which claim to be black henna. Some of these contain unlisted chemicals which can be detrimental to your skin. Only purchase quality products which have good reviews (easier to do if you buy hair products online). Even with quality products, put a tester on a piece of your skin first and see if you have an allergic reaction.
Katam is similar to indigo hair dye. It has recently been rediscovered and is a great way to keep your hair natural while still changing its color. To make the most of katam, you will have to use a mixture of katam and henna.
Here is the method on how to dye your hair purple without bleach using katam hair dye:
Ingredients
- A box of henna powder
- A box of katam hair dye powder
- Water
Instructions
- Mix henna and water in a bowl to form a paste.
- Let sit 30 minutes.
- Apply to hair.
- Let sit 5 hours.
- Rinse with water and dry.
- Mix katam with water and apply to hair immediately.
- Let sit for 5 hours.
- Rinse with water only.
By dying your hair with katam you will achieve a purplish color. The exact shade will depend on your base color. If you have black hair you will only get a few warm purple shades. If you have dark brown or brunette hair you will be able to get a nice dark purple color without bleaching.
Henna helps enhance the purple color, and it is important to use it as a base if you really want to color hair purple without bleaching. Katam will fade over time, and you will achieve a stable color only after 3 applications. We recommend you apply katam once a month.
Katam is definitely the healthiest way to dye your hair purple without bleach. It is natural, it does not damage your hair, and it lasts long. If your hair is very dark, then the tone may only be changed slightly, but it can still give you a purple hue which we think makes all the difference, even it is is subtle. However, you can try another way to dye your hair purple without bleach. Read below.
As there is a lot of confusion between katam and indigo, we leave you with this video where you will learn the difference and which one to choose to get purple hair from katam.
How to dye your hair purple with semi-permanent hair dye
There are many different temporary or semi-permanent hair dyes on the market. Just as with the katam hair dye, you will need to ensure the product is quality. Punky Color, Crazy Color and Manic Panic are three options which are highly recommended and generally get good reviews. Manic Panic is a vegan hair dye product which is great for ethically minded.
Semi-permanent hair dyes are generally more effective than katam, but they are still not going to make dark hair turn light. They will work with your own natural hair color and change it according to its darkness. For light hair, these will work wonders and can give you violet or mauve colors if this is what you're looking for. Deeper purple colors will happen with darker hair.
As with katam, you will need to test the purple hair dye on a section of skin first. To dye your hair purple with temporary hair dyes such as Punky color and Crazy color you need to simply apply the dye to your hair:
- Pick a temporary hair dye you like (plum violet, pastel purple, etc.)
- Mix the content of a hair dye bottle with some conditioner to form a paste
- Apply to your hair
- Let sit for 1 hour
- Wash out the hair dye
Depending on your natural color, you might be able to achieve very fun and vibrant hair colors with this kind of dyes. The drawback is that they literally last one wash. You can have fun and try them without the fear of permanently dying your hair though. Although bleaching hair is recommended to get the exact color shown on the box of temporary hair dyes, you will be able to achieve pretty vibrant colors and dye your hair purple without bleach on any base color apart from black.
For something half way, you can try the many semi-permanent colors options available on the market. They dye your hair purple without bleach, will last up to 1 month, and give you an intense purple color, although not as vibrant as the temporary hair dyes.
You can also check out this video about dying your hair purple with semi-permanent hair dye without bleaching it.
Tips for dying dark hair purple without bleaching
As we have said, to dye dark hair purple without bleach, you will have to match it to your skin tone. If using a product which is new to you, there will be some trial and error. Seeing what result is part of the fun, but its unlikely you will do anything drastic if you have dark hair and aren't using bleach.
Still, if you have opted for one of the options we recommended for dying your hair purple without bleaching, keep in mind the following tips:
- Avoid direct sunlight
- Avoid frequent washes
- Avoid chlorinated water in the swimming pool
As you can see, there are a few ways to dye your hair purple without bleach. Avoiding bleach will help you to ensure you don't damage your hair. If in doubt, you can go to a professional hair salon to ask their advice on how to reach your color goals.
If you enjoyed this article, you may also want to learn how to dye your hair blue without bleach.
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