Prettia hair dye - some SERIOUS tips.

YAY laptop is back. First post I wanted to write was about my hair....again. LOL XD

For those who read this blog, you should know that...
1) I dye my hair a lot.
2) I am quite fond of Prettia hair dye (Japanese hair dye in foam)

I've used Prettia six times now over the past 2 years (roughly), and after MUCH experimentation with technique and what not, I think I've come up with a list of things that others should know when using it themselves. Of course, this might not work for you but it worked for me, so it may help for you to read through this if you're just starting out and experimenting with this brand.

Let's start by talking about the very last two times I've used it. I didn't document them because I used Chiffon Beige again for both times so I thought it wasn't necessary to review it again. I DID do some very different stuff this time around which changed my results drastically...

Chiffon Beige - used in end of July 2011

When I used it here, I decided to try and put the dye in for a shorter amount of time. Some people were saying you really shouldn't leave it in for that long....that the box says it should only stay in for 30 minutes, or else it "won't look right"...blah blah blah. Soooo, I went ahead and smeared the foam in my hair the usual way:
1) starting from roots of my usual divided hair line
2) worked foam into middle then tips of the "top layer" of hair that shows from usual hair line
3) worked foam into rest of hair underneath this top layer
4) wrapped tin foil around head

WHAT WAS DIFFERENT?
1) I never used tin foil. Before, I only used an old shower cap to keep the hair up but people said the tin foil traps heat better and it makes the dye process better
2) I left the dye on for 40 minutes from when I wrapped the tin foil. Before, I have it on for an hour.

RESULTS?
Hair had usual "two tones" that happened in my previous dye jobs. I had Prettia Natural Ash before this, so my roots were lighter than the bottom ones of course. Nothing new here
What was WEIRD was that the Chiffon Beige did not cover the Natural Ash!! I could clearly see the darker ashy brown near the middle to bottom of my hair, even on the top layer!
Also, when I grab my hair and checked the layers underneath my top layer of hair, I saw BLACK ROOTS, and barely any Chiffon Beige down there. Hair was still mainly Natural Ash colour.

It looks very ashy...but it's a dark brownish ash tone. It's clearly NOT Chiffon Beige -_-" By the way, these were taken after my hair grew out for about a month because I didn't bother to take pictures after I dyed it in July.

THIS. Come on, that shade is sooooo Natural Ash!

Lol these pictures are so terrible. Who knew taking a picture without looking in that direction was SO HARD? =( Anyway, you can see SO MUCH black roots underneath the top layer. Even though my roots grew out, you shouldn't be seeing black all the way down to my ears, so clearly it didn't dye so well the first time around...

Chiffon Beige - used in mid October 2011

Okay so fast forward to the time I dyed it this month. I really wanted that light ashy tone of Chiffon Beige so I bought another box. Changed my technique after doing some more research online:
1) starting from regular hair line, applied foam to roots ONLY
2) top layer, section hair and do roots only, from every layer to the bottom (er, that would be the back of my neck since I have short hair)
3) let hair process for roughly 5-10 minutes, then apply to middle (not the tips!) for each layer
4) after another 5-10 minutes, put rest of dye on hair tips and smother any leftover foam onto whole head
5) LIGHTLY massage foam into hair
6) used shower cap on hair, left it on for a bit over an hour

WHAT WAS DIFFERENT?
1) letting the dye process roots first, tips last. THIS IS SOOO important, especially if you have previously dyed hair! It helps to reduce the damage to the already dyed hair, especially your tips. Don't want to fry them now, do we?
2) I really took the time to gently massage the dye into my hair. I mean REALLY massage it. I dug my fingers into each layer underneath the top one and *massaged* lol.
3) left it on for over an hour (err...I forgot how long exactly but it was definitely less than 1.5 hours)

RESULTS?
Fabulous. Never saw true Chiffon Beige on my hair until now! Also, the "two toned" thing that always happens with this dye was barely noticeable.

Now that is Chiffon Beige. See the yellowish ash tone? Woohoo, success!

 

L'Oreal red + Prettia Chiffon Beige (last year) vs Prettia Natural Ash/Chiffon Beige + Chiffon Beige again (most recent)

This looks a bit weird, but the hair underneath is all completely dyed this time.

Sooo....what to conclude?

1) Leaving it on for the 30-40 minutes or whatever it said on the box? It really depends on your hair. Mine clearly is hard to dye, so leaving it on for longer is necessary for the dye to even show. I know it's risky, but you'll just have to experiment!
2) True-to-the-box colour really doesn't happen the first time from using the dye. You may get fairly close to it, but if you want that lightest shade (usually the one on the bottom of the three pictures they show on the side), which is also most likely the colour they show on the models on the cover...well, second time dying it is more likely to get you there.
3) Not so sure if there's a difference between the tin foil or the shower cap. I think both work equally well because I've used tin foil on others and it turned out good. I think time the dye stays on is more important than this.

Honestly, if you really don't mind waiting a bit like me and you really really want a certain colour, dye it twice with the same colour. Not only does the colour come out more like "what it's suppose to", it also helps to know how well your hair takes the foam dye. I didn't know my hair doesn't take the foam dye for less than an hour until I tried 40 minutes in July o.O!
Also, I dye my hair no less than 10 weeks apart to prevent damaging my hair too much, so I patiently waited 2.5 months before I got a true Chiffon Beige colour. But if you do some serious conditioning and stuff, then you can probably dye it two times in less than 10 weeks. Again, depends on your hair and its current condition.

Oh, and for people who are wondering if your hair changes if you use the same colour twice, YES IT DOES. It will get lighter! It happened for Chiffon Beige, and it also happened for Natural Ash. If you want to sort of maintain the darker tone you get from dying it the first time, you might want to alternate with a darker brown.

Whoa, what a long and tiring post x_x. Ok if you have anymore questions, feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for reading ;)