It feels like only yesterday when I started experimenting with bleach and embarked on my Blonde Ambition journey, but it has been almost 3 years since and I've never looked back. People ask all the time how I do it and how I survive all the damage to my hair... what with all the bleaching and coloring. I'm gonna tell you how.


First of all, I don't get it done professionally, so I save up on costs. It's imperative to do your own research if you want to go the DIY route. I buy my own bleach powder (in tubs) and do all the processing at home. Honestly, I ask for help from people at home with the application because I don't have eyes at the back of my head and thank goodness they're more than willing to help me out in my hair projects.

Another thing I would like to point out (and this comes from experience!), do not ever try to bleach your hair consecutively. You're already killing it the first time, so you have to give it some time to rest like I said in my last Blonde Ambition post regarding how I bleach my hair. Previously I used to think having slow-growing hair was a curse, but now I count it as a blessing because my roots don't show up for some time, meaning it takes a while to warrant any touch-ups. So yay!

Again let's review... So usually after bleaching your hair, you get to a level 6, 7 or 8 depending on your hair color. You will be tempted to bleach it 1-3 more times to get to a 10. DON'T DO IT! I repeat, DON'T DO IT! Bleaching it again right away will damage your hair significantly. And I mean you'll get broken strands, itchy scalp, super dry hair... it's going to be a nightmare! So you need to wait at least 2 weeks to bleach it again in my opinion... and maybe do a 9% instead of a 12% developer. But then again, I'm no expert, just a hair color enthusiast. You can take my word for it... or not.

BUT WAIT... THERE'S A SHORTCUT!

If you can't wait to get to a 10... then by all means, go ahead and try to tone your hair!

Bleached Hair vs Toned Hair

How to do that? It's simple... just use a purple shampoo or a DIY hair toner. What I love about making my own is that I can treat my hair with KERATIN at the same time. It is very important to do so after bleaching. And I mean, it's a MUST!!! Now I'd like to share my most recent bleaching and toning experiment.

Available at Pretty Angel Shoppe

I used the CELLOshine Henna Wax Color as a treatment for my bleached hair then mixed with the purple semi-permanent color to create my own hair toner. Just like this:

Home-made purple hair toner

Apply this to newly bleached hair to tone down the brassiness (that yucky orange color!). Leave it there for a good while. How long? I don't know. I just leave it on 'til it hardens on my head. LOL! It's up to you really.

Do-It-Yourself Hair Toner by MyMaria

It's that easy!

But if you're like me and blonde doesn't excite you as much anymore, then it's time to level up to GREEN hair! With level 10 hair, you can even use food coloring and it works... for a day or two. But I want something more semi-permanent that would last a week or more. So onto the next step...

Available at Funky Streaks

So maybe it's not green-green but I wasn't planning on becoming Joker. I was aiming for a more mermaid-ish color and Manic Panic recently came out with this new refreshing minty green shade called Sea Nymph that was just perfect for what I wanted to achieve. So yeah... what do you think?

That moment when you take a mirror selfie and all you see is #Tatsumaki staring back at you... 💚 as always, don't be deceived by looks... I may look well, but there's nothing like receiving your x-ray results with a confirmed diagnosis of pneumonia on your birthday. 😌Still very thankful for another year of life and blessings because if there's anything that a disease will remind you, it's that life is precious and you got only one! Gotta take care of this vessel so I can live a looooong and good life. Happy double 3 to me! 🎉 #bastaigatsikat

A photo posted by ✨💖💜MyMaria💜💖✨ (@bastaigat_sikat) on Apr 18, 2016 at 7:25am PDT

Photos above were taken indoors. And here is how it looks under natural light.


When sporting colored hair, I find that shampooing hair will allow the color to fade quicker so instead, I use the Keratin Hair Reconstructor One-Minute Treatment for Sensitized Hair which I got from Pretty Angel Shoppe at every wash to keep it smooth and healthy. Only when my hair is super flat and sticky, then I would wash it with Pantene Pro-V Aqua Light Clean Rinse Shampoo followed by the CELLOshine Henna Wax reconstructive treatment.


After a week of vacationing with sun, sand, and saltwater, I wanted to turn my mermaid hair project up a notch. And so it's time to cool down with a nice BLUE shade, hence, my favorite Manic Panic Atomic Turquoise came to the rescue!


The outdoor photo in natural lighting (above) vs the photo taken indoors (below) seem to look the same and not much of a difference in color. What do you think?


What about you? Are you planning on changing hair colors for the summer or have you done so already? If you have (or haven't yet), don't forget that using Keratin and other reconstructive treatments for the hair is VERY IMPORTANT... or you'll end up with dry and damaged hair. There are many affordable products out in the market that you can buy and use at home. You don't even have to go to the parlor to maintain a healthy, shiny... and beautiful colored hair!

I've been getting a lot of questions about my dream hair that I am proud to have achieved. So to answer all of you, this is a blog post dedicated to just that. Let's get started because I know a lot of you are eager to know the details, assuming of course that's why you're here reading my blog, right?


I'll do a Q&A style for this post to try and be concise about how to do a colorful ombré / mermaid or unicorn hair / pastel or rainbow head style. I hope you'll find this informative and if you still have any questions, feel free to comment below and I'll do my best to update this blog regularly to answer your queries. Please do understand that I am no expert and you can take my advice with a grain of salt.


HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?

First of all, you'll need to bleach your hair. There are no shortcuts. If you want awesome colored hair, you have to get rid of the dark pigment first in order for the colors to show. I already wrote a post about going blonde and some instructions on how to bleach your hair at home. You can check that out by CLICKING HERE. If you're not confident to do it yourself, you can always get a pro to do it for you, but I must say this, why spend all that money when you can just do it yourself? Just remember one important thing: DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST!




WHAT HAIR DYE DO YOU USE?

Right now I'm all about semi-permanent hair dyes. It's safe to use and is actually made from vegetable dyes so the colors last only for a couple of weeks because it gradually fades. I like it that way because I can start with really dark colors and it eventually fades into pastel shades. It's awesome! TIP: Stay away from dandruff shampoo and hot water because it will fade the colors away faster than you'd want it to. I personally prefer the ones from Manic Panic because they have a million (okay, exag!) colors to choose from. There's also Punky Colour, Pravana, Adore, Sparks, Special Effects, and La Riche Directions. That's a multitude of semi-permanent hair colors if you ask me! For people in the Philippines, you can buy it from Funky Streaks or Rainbow Head.


HOW DO YOU DO IT, LIKE GET ALL THOSE COLORS IN YOUR HAIR?

It is actually the same concept as the DIY ombré hair that I did before when my hair was longer. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to do it. All it takes is guts... well, no guts, no glory! Anyhow, you have to do it by sections at a time. Do not mix all the colors! Depending on what style you're aiming for, you can do the dark colors first then the light ones or vice-versa. As for me, I did the tips of my hair first. Then slowly worked my way up. For more details, you can read about it in my previous blog post by going HERE.


CAN YOU LIST WHAT YOU *REALLY* NEED TO COLOR YOUR HAIR?

You'll need colorful dyes of course and you'll need conditioners (a lot of it!), keratin or any treatment oil (I still find Argan oil the best for my hair!), a mixing bowl and comb, gloves, an old shirt and towel, and a lot of guts. Tee hee! I think there are some semi-permanent hair dyes that don't require you to bleach your hair first, but those are some pretty dark colors. If you want to obtain a bright colorful hair, then bleached blonde hair is A MUST! (How do I even stress this enough?) Also these dyes can stain so be ready to do massive clean-up if you're not too careful. I personally like darker shades of colors because I can always mix it with a conditioner to make it lighter and it's more cost-effective that way. The conditioners and treatment oils keep your hair healthy. Also I refrain from shampooing my hair so the colors last longer. I only shampoo my hair when I really have to, i.e. when it's really dirty or when it stinks! Otherwise, just use conditioner every day and you're okay. It will be oily and heavy at first but your hair will understand and will adjust in time so it won't produce much oil to weigh down your crowning glory.


IS YOUR HAIR DEAD? HOW DO YOU TAKE CARE OF IT?

Bleached hair equals dead hair basically. But there are ways to revive it and even though it involves a lot of products, you don't have to sell an arm and a leg to keep your hair alive. It boils down to choosing the right hair products and finding the ones that work for your hair. Different folks, different strokes. In most cases, you'll only need a wee bit of hair product. You can find a list of products I use to maintain bleached hair and how to keep a healthy and shiny mane by clicking HERE.


WHAT IF YOU MESS IT UP?

The good news is you can just color it black or brown and forget it. But with perseverance, you can do... anything. It's just hair. It will grow, but if it doesn't then you're screwed. LOL. I'm just kidding! Of course, you can always run to the nearest hair salon to get it fixed or you can wear a hat. But what can possibly go wrong with trying to do a mermaid hair or a colorful ombré? If you follow instructions carefully, read blogs and reviews, then prepare yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally, you're gonna be okay. Di gani, pwede raka mo hilak ug colored! Hehe. Seriously though, don't think too much of it. Don't stress. Just have fun! Don't worry about your hair... for now. I mean, sooner or later we'll grow old and we'll lose our hair. That's for sure. So when will you play with it? When it's gone? Are you afraid of losing hair and getting bald? There are safe and natural solutions like a hair restoration surgery. Maxim Hair Restoration is a hair transplant clinic in the Philippines that provides proven and effective hair transplant surgeries. Check out their website at www.maximhairrestoration.com for more details.


HOW MUCH DO YOU SPEND FOR YOUR HAIR? WHERE TO BUY HAIR PRODUCTS?

Honestly, I don't know. I never counted and even if I did, I'd imagine I have saved a ton considering I do everything at our house and you know I always look for creative ways to save on products. All my hair experiments take place at home so I don't have to pay any professional fees. I buy hair products when they are on sale, some are gifts, and others are freebies. A lot of my hair products can be bought at department stores, drugstores, and online shops. It's just a matter of looking for ones with the best deals. Can you imagine if we had coupons here in the Philippines?!?


WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON HAIR CHALKS/SPRAYS AND FOOD COLORING OR CREPE PAPER (yes, FYI, you can use that for hair coloring too!)?

If it works for you, then why not, chocnut? In fact, I have used them before and it works for both dark and blonde hair. But the guarantee is pretty slim and if you're not mentally-prepared, you could be in for a disappointment. It is also VERY temporary, meaning it's gone in a day or two. You'll have to keep reapplying and I don't have the luxury of time to do that. Also you can take note that my home-made purple shampoo/DIY hair toner is actually made with food coloring and you can check that out HERE.


WHAT ABOUT ATTENTION? PEOPLE *WILL* LOOK AT YOU!

I'm an only child so there's nothing new with getting all the attention. Plus, my hair deserves it! Many people don't know what it takes to get it to look this way! When I see someone with colored hair, I don't stare. That's just rude. I would compliment that person and give my biggest and most genuine smile because I know the story... so, R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Also, my husband says I'm the most oblivious person in the world with absolutely no peripheral vision, so there. Most of the time, it's not that I don't care, but it's just that I don't see people looking at me. If you don't like the attention, sorry folks, but if you live here in the Philippines, you better get used to it! :)


WHAT DOES COLORED HAIR SAY ABOUT YOU?

If employment is what concerns you most then you'll have to take that up with management or your company's policies. Since I work at home, I just couldn't care less about the criticisms I get for being different. I mean, come on. Aren't people being judgmental idiots for thinking that just because your hair is different, you're automatically like a rebel or a bad person or something? It's friggin' 2015. Deviating from the norms is, well, normal. My hair does not define me as a person or affect my attitude in any way. It simply means I like colored hair because I'm bored of black and brown. End of story.


So go ahead! Spring is in the air and summer will be here in no time. This means that for students, now's a great time to do some hair experiments with reckless abandon! If you're someone who's been told to get a life, well, here's your solution! If you're bored beyond belief with the usual hair color offerings, now you have endless choices to make! But if you're simply looking for some change, then your hair is sitting right there on top of your head. Join me! A whole new world of colors awaits!

Press PLAY ▶️ for mermaid hair. I think the pink parts hardly show at all because I put too much purple. 😁 Still lovin' it though... 💙💜💗#bastaigatsikat #hair #instahair #manicpanic #AtomicTurquoise #CottonCandy #PurpleHaze #rainbowhead #hairstyle #unicornhair #colorful #mermaidhair #BeautyBloggersPh #beauty #instabeauty #instahair #bblogger #beautyblogger

A video posted by ✨✨✨✨💖💜MyMaria💜💖✨✨✨✨ (@bastaigat_sikat) on Feb 25, 2015 at 4:23am PST

Good luck, guys! Please do tag me when you've finally taken the colorful plunge! Follow me on Instagram: @bastaigat_sikat or use my hashtag (#bastaigatsikat) so I can find you wherever you are on social media. So excited to see all your creations!

Truth be told, going blonde wasn't one of the sporadic decisions I've made in my life because I had actually given it a lot of thought beforehand. It's not like dyeing your hair to a different shade of brown because as soon as your hair grows, those dark roots can be a tad ugly in contrast with your blonde mane. I'm blessed (cursed?) with hair that grows super slow, so that means it would take at least a month of growth before it looks obvious that it would call for a "retouch" of those roots.

It's 2015 and I'm still blonde!

You can read about my Blonde Ambition journey HERE, HERE, and HERE. First of all, you need to remember that it is a process. Blonde hair doesn't happen in one go, especially if you're a brunette. Because if you do that, you might as well shave your head since you'll be left with nothing but a mop of dead hair. Apparently, bleaching your hair is essentially killing it already.

TIP: Buying powder bleach in bulk comes out cheaper.

Because I'm all for DIY (do-it-yourself) projects, I found two ways to get rid of those dark roots without professional assistance. You can do these right at home. First, there's the typical bleach. I prefer using the powder one (the blue-colored powder) over any gel/cream/liquid/whatever is there. Some would add hydrogen peroxide to their mixture but I don't. I only use either a 30 vol. or 40 vol. (9% or 12%) developer/oxidation lotion for my solution. Bleach is the easier and fastest way to lighten your hair but know that you take the risk of damaging your hair.

Using powder bleach to touch up those dark roots.

Do remember to wear gloves when you apply this to your hair because bleach is pretty strong and it burns the skin. (It smells like pee, too!) Which is why it isn't really advisable to apply it on your scalp and you have to wash it off in just a matter of minutes. The results, however, are always satisfactory, at least for me since I have fine hair and it doesn't take much to get it colored.


Sometimes my hair gets too yellow or too brassy over time, so in order to get that particular shade of blonde which I like, either Pale Golden Blonde or Light Ash Blonde, I'd have to use my own homemade purple toner/shampoo/conditioner. (Read This!)


Another way to touch up those dark roots is by using the lightest hair color you can find such as the Palty Sparkling Blonde hair color or the above pictured super affordable Best Lure Joynna hair color in Fade/0.0 which costs only Php 40 from my local beauty supply store. Same drill as the bleach by mixing it with a 30 vol. or 40 vol. (9% or 12%) developer/oxidation lotion.

Using the lightest shade of hair coloring dye for dark roots.

For its price, you'd expect the cheap hair dye to smell like crap but not this one! I also tried the Best Lure Joynna hair color in Lightest Ash Blonde 11.1 and it really doesn't have any of that strong off-putting scent. In my experience, it doesn't leave hair dry but still don't forget to use conditioner or treatment when you wash it off. I like to use Cream Silk daily treatment + conditioner every day when I take a shower. But once a week I shampoo my hair and I reach out for my favorite shampoo/conditioner, which as of the moment is the white Palmolive one that's made for dull hair.


It gets my hair clean and doesn't leave it dry at all. It also seems to make my blonde hair shine all the more. And isn't that the whole point of having blonde hair?

Giving Rapunzel a run for her money.

One of the advantages of going blonde is that I can play with all sorts of temporary/semi-permanent  hair dyes, too. Bottomline is it's just more fun being blonde. Period.


Additionally, there are also a few more products that I use to keep it healthy and full of life. Devoid of its natural color, one would assume my hair is practically dead. But it doesn't have to be that way thanks to these products that I've discovered through SampleRoom and BDJ Box.


These are lightweight products that are suitable for fine hair. The Lucido-L hair supplements, the Curling Milk and the Treatment Oil, are products I never thought would do my hair any good. But I absolutely love them! For styling purposes, I needed just 2 drops of the Curling Milk to give my hair volume. I apply it on my damp hair then blow dry the heck out of it using nothing else but my hands. It's also a great setting lotion.

 
The same goes for the Vitress hair cuticle coats for times when I'm feeling glamorous and want a bit of wave/curl to my hair while protecting it from further damage with all the heat. The Cynos Moroccan Argan Oil is what I use after bleaching my hair because it does a superb job at preventing dryness. The rich argan oil easily brings it back to life and makes it shiny and soft, too! The Dove daily hair vitamins breathe life to my hair easily with no effort at all and leave my golden mane looking so naturally soft and shiny as you can see in the pic below.


As you can plainly see, for over a year now, I've been sporting this blonde hair and there's still no sign of brittleness nor split ends! (Or maybe it's too light that I can't hardly see it?) Can you believe it's been well over a year and a half since I got a pixie cut and my hair is still this short?!? So in conclusion, with the right products, one can get super shiny natural looking blonde hair that would make any Barbie jealous and without having to sell and arm or a leg, too. Tee hee.

French braids are so pretty.

Now that my crowning glory has grown a bit longer, I can start experimenting with different hairstyles again! Looking forward to more hair adventures this 2015 and also thinking of doing pastel hair soon. What do you think?

☞ CLICK HERE to read the first part of my Blonde Ambition and how it all started.☜

As you all observed by now, I change my hair color very, very often. And just this summer alone, I managed to get it colored twice! With no further ado, let me show you my summer 2014 hair color picks.

MONDES VERY LIGHT NATURAL ASH BLONDE

A tube of Mondes hair coloring dye costs more or less Php80 only!

When I dyed my hair this color, I still had some bleached hair left and was watching Game of Thrones. I ended up leaving it wayyyy longer than I should and my hair became BLUE/GRAY! It would have been great it if were Targaryen white hair. But NO! OMGWTFBBQSAUCENOMAYO!


I looked like LittleFinger's niece! So I had to wash it off with anti-dandruff shampoo a couple of times to get rid of the blue-gray tint. It looked like granny hair and seriously I wasn't really digging it. Eventually, the color became "normal" in a few days and I was happy with my hair.


But 40 days later, hair roots were showing like a mofo and the color didn't last very long so I had to dye it again with another shade that I highly recommend for those of you who want to lighten your hair to a golden shine. Think: "Rapunzel, Rapunzel. Let down your golden hair!" It may not look like it on the box though but scroll down to see the results.

LOLANE Z COOL 9.30 - VERY LIGHT INTENSE GOLDEN BLONDE

Lolane Z-cool costs approximate Php 239 at my local supermarket.

I love this dye because it smells nice compared to usual hair dyes since it's got strawberry and green tea extract. FYI: I left the dye to develop on my hair for over an hour. And I actually didn't expect my hair to end up looking like "Lannister" gold but yeah, you get the idea.



See what I mean? That photo above was taken indoors in fluorescent white lighting. When I took a pic in daylight and indoors, it looked pretty tame and actually very natural.


BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! 

I just had to get Le Husband Noodle Boy's hair colored, too. This is another highly recommended hair color for summer.

BEST LURE JOYNNA 11.1 - LIGHTEST ASH BLONDE

The cheapest but good quality hair dye I've come across at only Php 40 per tube!

What can I say? This is one way to spend quality time together. I love being married to my bestfriend. Tee hee! Anyways, this is really the best thing for color-treated hair that's been damaged with chlorine and one which looks extremely brassy. Take note: Colored/bleached hair does not do well with swimming pools that's been treated with chlorine. But with this lightest ash blonde shade, it kills the orange right off the bat! No need for toner!


I love it! What about you guys? What's your favorite summer hair color? Lemme know and also if there's any particular shade, do leave comments below so I can go check it out and perhaps try it the next time I change my hair color.

Until then! Thanks for reading and come back for more beauty blog posts!




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When a Kikay Kit is not enough for that overflowing beauty loot, it's time to get a Kikay Tower! But why buy it when you can build it? So that's exactly what I did with my BDJ BOXES that I've accumulated throughout the months. I was able to subscribe 5 x already this year so I got 5 boxes at my disposal.


My inspiration is no other than a desktop computer's chassis or ATX tower. I kinda miss it since I haven't turned on my desktop PC for 11 days now since the city lost its power. Currently using my MIL's notebook. Anyway, I made a Kikay Tower utilizing my BDJ BOXES, a cardboard box, some packaging tape, and a few sticks.


I have no blueprint or model to base this project on except for my imagination so it took some time for me to actually put the whole thing together. I'm no engineer or architect so it took me a good hour just to get the sticks aligned. You know I'm not very good at Math (or with sharp, pointed objects!!!) and measuring things isn't really my cup of tea.


It looks like I'm creating this for Hellraiser, a tribute to Pinhead. LOL! But note that I DID NOT SPEND A SINGLE CENTAVO in making this project. I simply gathered materials I had lying around the house. You can improve on this design if you want to build one for yourself to suit your taste and maybe even make it sturdier if you wish.


I had some BDJ BOX stickers I got left from previous boxes and stuck them on the side after I covered my Kikay Tower with plain bond paper. I am aware that I could make it prettier with an expensive stationery or wrapping paper, but as you know, my beloved city has been ravaged by super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) so I don't really have a choice right now.

And so without further ado... may I present my KIKAY TOWER!


Who knows how many more towers I will be making with my future BDJ BOX subscriptions!!? Anyway, since I still had the covers to deal with, I decided to create a cosmetic brush bouquet using
BDJ BOXES as well. The design concept was thanks to the ever supportive, Noodle Boy, and he came up with it while snapping photos of me tinkering with, according to him, my kikay stuffs.


I guess it helps the creative juices to flow when you've got nothing to do and when there's no electricity. Tee hee. Though I had to work double time, because I was losing light and it was going to get dark soon (which was why some of the photos I took afterwards needed flash).

Brush bouquet made with recycled BDJ BOXES.

I got a plastic canister and placed it in the middle to serve as my actual brush holder. Pardon the dirty brushes as I haven't had the time to clean them all. So ladies... there you have it! Not just your ordinary Kikay Kit but a TOWER, as well as a brush holder I lovingly dub as a "Brush Bouquet", both projects accomplished with recycled BDJ BOXES!


I wrote this blog today and thought my project looked a little too plain so I took some of my enamel nail art colors and drew some floral pattern on my Kikay Tower (sorry, it's all the artsy fartsy design I could come up with!) and added some labels on the boxes to easily categorize my kikay stuff. Then I placed a purple decorative wrap inside the brush holder as well as tied a ribbon to give my Brush Bouquet a more authentic feel.

Labeled for organization

BDJ BOX Kikay Tower and Brush Bouquet made and designed by MyMaria

With so many plastic bags being passed around here because of relief goods, I'm all about recycling these days. I've seen the worst that Mother Earth has to give, i.e. the 1991 flash flood here in Ormoc City and now 22 years later, this current calamity we are facing. I think the environment is trying to tell us something, don't you think?
 So how about you my fellow BDJ BOX Bellas? What do you do with your BDJ BOXES? :)



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