Hair Dye

When red headed people are above a certain social grade their hair is auburn.

Last night Brenda dyed my hair red for me. And I LOVE IT! It's a very very subtle red, which matches alarmingly with my eyes. I've been a redhead many times before, and it's my favourite way to be. There aren't many people in my school here with red hair - it's definitely a personal taste thing. A reason for it not being particularly popular is that it fades pretty quickly, even if you go fully permanent.
Here are a few hints and tips for DIY red hair, courtesy of Miss Emily Jane and Mummy Emily Jane (who is also a faux-redhead!):

• Consider the colour your hair is currently. If your hair is black, you're not going to get anywhere; consult a hair-dresser. If you're blonde (especially if the blonde is not natural) the red is going to be really bright, but will fade really quickly. Mid to light brown is a good starting place. If you're dyeing on top of dye, you'll need to 'up the redness'.
• Think about what kind of red you want to be. Redheads range from anywhere near strawberry blonde until practically purple. Obviously, same rules apply, if your hair is dark and you want to go for a light red, this isn't going to work as well as a light haired person wanting dark red. If you want a pillarbox red, you're going to have to bleach it before hand. If you're just doing a section of hair, this is safe to do with a trusted friend. However, if you're feeling brave and want to go all over, definitely go to a hairdresser (at least for the first time).
• Wrap your head in cling film. If you want a really intense red, wrap your head in cling film (saran wrap!) whilst it's developing to preserve the heat of your head, and wait for longer than it tells you before you wash it off. Please bear in mind, with some darker reds this could easily encourage a hue closer to purple, so do this at your own discression.
• Never use white towels. Ever. Even after a couple of washes, it's more than likely that your head will still be leaking red. Use an old towel, or at least one with a very dark colour (I use navy blue). It's important to remember that your head will leak if you go swimming too. I went swimming with Mummy E.J one time after she home dyed her hair red - it looked like she'd smacked her head on the wall or something - the red was pouring out of her hair.
• Same goes for pillowcases. Cover your pretty white pillowcases with something - absolutely obligatory if you go to sleep with your hair wet. Please note red hair also enjoys rubbing off onto your clothes, so you might want to forgo the white shirts for a while.
• Turn down the heat. Having really hot showers will make your red fade quicker, so pump up the cold and preserve your colour!
• Use colour protection hair products. These will add weeks to your colour, and they needn't be expensive. You can buy some that are specifically designed for red hair, but I (Mummy E.J!) tend to find this will make your bathroom look like there was some sort of massacre.
• Don't go in the sun without hair protection. You shouldn't be doing this anyway, as we all know how bad the sun can be for your hair. But red hair will go orange in the sun, as I learnt a couple of years ago in Africa. I actually really liked the colour that it went, but there's no way of knowing what it's going to do.

Apart from that, it's easy peasy! I love wearing blue or green shirts and headbands, as they really pop with my red hair.

I also feel like Ariel from The Little Mermaid.

And that's always cool.