Long-lasting Color

I love summer. Fresh lemonade, barefoot walks through the grass, long days at the beach...summer is definitely my favorite season.
There are only two problems I have with summer.
One is bugs.
The other is how fast hair dye fades.

This was my hair at the start of the summer:

A periwinkle color I got using diluted Special Effects Wildflower

 Aaaand here's my hair after two days spent at the beach:

Couple days in the sun and my hair's already bleached near-white

The bright summer sun can be brutal.

So what can you do to prevent your hair from fading so quickly? Here are several tips for long-lasting color!

Adore Hot Pink

I've heard good things about Adore hair dye, and for only $5 a bottle, I decided to give it a try!

Adore is a semi-permanent hair dye that comes in a variety of colors! You can find Adore on Amazon.com for about $5 a bottle.

The color I used was Adore's Hot Pink.

Bleaching Out Red

Red dye is infamous for bleaching out.

Full disclosure: I wasn't able to get from red to bleach blonde like I wanted.

I started out with a faded red color:

For bleach, I used Clairol Basic White Lightener , with Salon Care Volume 40 Clear Developer, both purchased from Sally's Beauty. A pound of bleach is usually around $20, but I got it on sale for $10. 40oz of developer is around $4. I use 40 volume developer because I have thick hair that's resistant to bleaching, but if your hair is finer, you should a 20 or 30 volume developer to avoid more damage.

Red!

I've been wanting to try red hair for a while, and finally got the courage to do it!

After silencing my fears of turning into Ronald McDonald, I bought Garnier Nutrisse Ultra Intense Red at Walmart for about $7. And I'm glad I did!

freshly dyed red!

I dyed it over previously dyed light brown hair, and it turned out this beautiful, deep shade of red! The lighter your hair, the brighter the red will be, so if you want a really bright red, bleach your hair first! If you want a less-intense shade, dye it over your natural color!