Color the Tips of Dark Hair Blue

Long dark hair with blue tips
Photo: LightField Studios/Shutterstock
Q: I have shoulder length hair, and I have a dark color on it. I want to do the tips blue. Do I have to bleach the tips first and remove the black color and then put the blue color on? I want to do this myself.
 
I thought of putting my hair in a ponytail and then make a small ponytail on the ends. I would put the bleach on and when it reached the light yellow color stage I would rinse off the bleach and put the blue color on the tips. What do you think of that idea?

 
A: Well, if your hair is currently a dark color, you will need to lighten the hair you wish to make blue at least some measure in order to have the blue color show up on dark hair. Otherwise, you will simply end up with a blue sheen (a faint blue reflection when the light strikes the hair).
 
Your idea of using a ponytail to secure the area of hair you want to color is a good one, however, depending on how thick your hair is, you may want to separate your hair into several tails spaced around your head. This will help you insure even color changes since there will be less trouble caused by a single bulky tail and the lightener/color having to be evenly distributed through the ends of the hairs.
 
I also recommend VERY STRONGLY that you perform a color test first. Snip a swatch (or two or three) of hair from underneath your hair and perform the bleaching/tinting process on that swatch. This will allow you to witness the results and get an idea of the amount of processing time you will need to lighten your hair sufficiently as well as letting you see how the end resulting color will look, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, the effect these dramatic processes will have on the condition of your hair.
 
As a general rule, the lighter you make the hair, the brighter and bolder the color results of this type will be. However, the lighter you make the hair - particularly when starting from a very dark origin point - the more porous and damaged the hair will become in order to disperse sufficient amounts of color.
 
Pay close attention to the end results of your test swatch(es) and be sure to dry them fully to get an accurate idea of what the color process will do to your hair.
 
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See also:
 
How to dye hair
 
Bleaching or decolorizing hair and how it works
 
Can I do blue highlights on blue black hair without bleaching first?
 
Do you know of any permanent blue dye?