[JujuFox]

I saw a few people here and there who dyed their hair for their cosplay. I am one of those people!

If you used a Box dye, Manic Panic, Raw, Pravana, or any other type of funky colored semi, demi, or permanent hair color then I have a tip for you!

BABY POWDER! You can keep your color bright and vivid all weekend, or for months by using baby powder.

How To:
You will still need to wash you hair once in a while, but you can have clean hair for days if you use baby powder instead of washing your hair. The day after you wash your hair use a wider bristled plastic brush, or comb (do not recommend bore bristled brushes) and spread baby powder throughout your hair. You don't need a lot, but you want to make sure it gets down to the scalp. Do this right before you get into the shower, and preferably in the nude so as not to get powder on your clothes. Then put on a shower cap and take your shower like normal. After the shower bend over the tub and brush out your hair to get all the powder out. You can now style your hair as usual!

If you don't use any hair products then this trick will work for a few days. I go 2 to 4 days without washing my hair, and it still looks and feels clean.

This works best if you have already gotten into this routine. The reason why is your pores are always creating oil, so when you are used to washing your hair every day your scalp is used to having to produce a lot of oil. Once you start washing your hair every other day your oil production should slow down. So if you have really greasy hair it might be because you are washing your hair too frequently. I know because this was me up until a few year ago!

NOTE: This will not work for all hair-types! If you have to moisturize and oil your hair daily then you have the opposite problem of greasy hair.

I wanted to post this before ACen, but I totally forgot! Hopefully this tip will help someone out next year.

[Voxx]

Also wash your hair in COLD water.

[The Forumcat]

Another method is to almost entirely cut out shampoo by using conditioner daily, assuming you don't have naturally greasy hair. Just gradually cut shampoo - or go a fast route by only shampooing once a week or so - and eventually you'll get to a point where you don't have to shampoo more than every week and a half ish. Use a light conditioner, not a heavy one.
The conditioner actually takes most of the gross stuff with it when you rinse, but preserves colour. It takes a few weeks for your hair to get used to it, so start it when you've nowhere to be for a little while. After the first week, your hair will stop being crazy greasy, and it'll take back volume after two or three. This works better for short hair than long hair, since long hair might not rinse wholly.

And yes, it actually works. It'll make your hair soft, too.

[Grimby]

Depending on the color you dyed your hair, you can also mix a small amount of dye into your conditioner every 2-3 days or so, and leave it in for about 5 minutes in the shower.
I once had bright blue hair, and mixing some dye into the conditioner every couple days made sure the color stayed vibrant and didn't fade as fast. When my color finally did start to fade, it happened much more gradually.

The baby powder trick is also a great option, too... but my hair is way too coarse and oily for doing that multiple days in a row. x_x
There are some really great dry shampoos that are on the market now too, and most of them are only around $4 at Walmart. I got a can of one that lasted me about three months--not too shabby in my opinion. I honestly think I prefer the dry shampoo to baby powder on my rushed days just because it's easier to apply since you spray it right on your roots.

This post has been edited by Grimby: 30 April 2012 - 09:14 PM

[Washu Takahashi]

Interesting stuff I didn't know about! I'm planning on dyeing my hair some undecided funky color in the next few months, so I'll keep all this in mind ^^

[Kii]

You could also look into dry shampoo.Baby powder does soak up grease but really shouldn't be used as a regimen....just a quick fix.
Another couple tips for people dying their hair unnatural colors:
-Don't just bleach your hair. Bleach and tone it with a blue or lavender toner. This will give you white/silver hair, and therefore a blank slate for the unnatural color. Just bleaching usually isn't enough. You're usually still left with that brassiness that interferes with the integrity of the color.
-Be prepared (especially in the case of reds and purples) to re-up your color every 2-3 weeks. Reds fade to a rosy color, and purples fade to a muddy gray.
-If you're going for silver or platinum blonde, then bleach and tone your hair. To maintain these colors without them getting stained from your scalp oils (yes, your hair will get stained yellow from this...), put some purple hair dye in your conditioner.
Most importantly, if you're trying to dye your hair back to a natural color after bleaching it:
Be it for work, school, you just aren't that fond of it....
You need to use a filler before you use the actual dye. If you don't....
A) Your hair will turn a funny color because only the base color of the dye will stick to your damaged hair. The rest will wash right off.
OrB ) If the color does manage to stick, it will wash out in a couple of days and turn your hair a funny color anyway, and you'll be angry and confused.
Also important: Try not to kill your hair. After you bleach and tone your hair, give it a few days of pampering. Deep condition, do not blow dry or straighten, etc. Hemp hair masks work wonders. If you don't take care of your hair while chemically screwing with it, it will have the texture of hay.
Happy hair ruining.