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DIY: How to get blue hair on a budget

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As some of you may have already seen thanks to Instagram and Twitter, I now have blue hair. Great, right? Who doesn’t love to look like a forest fairy/mermaid/Ramona Flowers?

I’ve had SO many people ask me about what I used, whether or not I went to a salon, how long did it take, etc. I decided to document the experience and show just how easy it is to have blue (or any colour really) hair.

Blue hair on a budget

I love being a little different, but I also enjoy being fairly frugal. Not that I don’t love to spend the money I earn but if I can do something for cheaper then I will.

I’ve enquired about going blue before at a salon and the quote was well over R500. I was not about that life, so I decided to wait until I could find a better/cheaper solution.

Recently, I stumbled upon Pretty Pandora on Facebook and this chick is awesome. She stocks nerdy jewellery, clothing, and backpacks. Plus I haven’t seen a single complaint about the hair dye she sells so I decided to give it a try.

DIY, budget, blue hair, trend

What you’ll need to achieve blue hair

1 Bleaching kit – I used the Nair Highlight Kit, but anything should do the trick

2 Pretty Pandora hair dye – I used ‘dark blue’

3 Conditioner – I used a super cheap conditioner I had on hand, but again, anything will work

4 Plastic gloves

5 Old towel and clothing

6 Free time

Step 1 – Bleach your hair

DIY, budget, blue hair, trend

Letting the highlight kit do its job

The thought of bleaching my hair always freaked me out, but it was actually super easy and painless. Because my hair is short I was able to do it by myself, but you may need an extra pair of hands to reach those tricky spots.

Let it do its job for about and hour and then wash it off and dry your hair completely.

My hair is really dark so it tends to turn orange after bleaching. I lovingly refer to this as my Weasley look.

DIY, budget, blue hair, trend

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

Step 2 -  Mix the dye  

The instructions with the dye tell you to mix three parts conditioner with one part dye. It’s up to you how you choose to mix the concoction though. Plus it’s super simple and you can’t mess it up.


I used an old mixing bowl, a measuring spoon and mixed about 6 tablespoons of conditioner with 3 tablespoons of dye. I wanted it quite dark so I played with it a little. Again, it can’t be screwed up so don’t be scared.

DIY, budget, blue hair, trend

Blue dye powder mixed with conditioner

Step 3 – Apply and wait

The only tricky part here is making sure that you get all of that dye on to every blonde bit of your hair. You don’t want any blonde bits sticking around so ask for help. Thankfully my amazing husband is used to playing hair dresser for me.

He donned the plastic gloves and made sure every inch of my hair was covered. 

Quite a bit of waiting happens at this point. I left mine on for a total of about 8 hours. It’s completely safe to sleep with this dye on your hair too as it’s basically just conditioner. Your hair is not harmed at all.

Plus the longer you leave it, the harder the outside of your hair will become. There’s no dripping, no mess, and no bad smell either!

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