Expectations for Unnatural Hair

I didn't originally plan to write this, but after having recently changed my hair again (I will post about that tomorrow!) a few things have come up in regards to people's expectations of bright hair. As anyone who has been following me on my blog, or on Instagram knows, I have very bright hair. I have got a lot of compliments on my hair, both in person and online, which has included a few people who have said they'd like to get their hair done similar to mine... I also know that a lot of people don't actually know how much work is involved, or that not all hair styles are really suitable for all hair types. As such, I want to write about what actually goes into having hair like mine, and what expectations for bright and creative/artistic hair styles are reasonable.

First of all, my new hair! I now have a multi-green-turquoise transition for the bulk of my hair, with a purple and fuchsia pointed fringe. 

Purple fringe was originally cut in by my friend Melody, and I was hoping to get her to trim it back as it had grown long, but I had an issue with my ID card, and needed a new photograph that was up-to-date and was going to reflect what I looked like all term, and I had let my colours fade out and my fringe grow, my roots grow in (sometimes I let my hair rest), etc. so I needed to get my hair done quickly before the start of term. I was going to just re-colour it, and wait until my friend was back at her hair-dressing course to cut my fringe back in, but as I've been basically tying my hair up and wearing bandanas for about 3 weeks I hadn't realised just how in my eyes and scraggly it had got, so made the terrible mistake of cutting it back myself quite harshly, not just merely trimming 5mm of the ends or whatnot, and so it's choppy/uneven and asymmetric. I have managed to fix it quite a bit since this photo, but now my fringe is shorter than I'd like... I will wait for it to grow a couple of centimetres and get Melody to trim it properly (and hope she doesn't crucify me for ruining her work!).

Damaging My Hair

First of all, while my hair looks nice at first glance, it is actually quite fried and unhealthy. I've had the worst of the over-bleached, badly damaged hair trimmed out back in May, and my stylist had to cut out a good 4½ inches more than I'd have liked because of how much was just chemically and heat ruined nastiness. I have done my own hair for years, and to begin with I did a lot of things that really weren't good for my hair - leaving bleach on too long (once FAR too long because an emergency involving my sister occurred in the middle of me bleaching it - that resulted in hair that snapped off and chemical burns!), trying to bleach it too many shades lighter in one go, using too much heat styling on my hair, and things like trying to make a sudden switch from a dark colour to a bright, etc. I have naturally very dark hair, and while (allergies aside) dyeing it black myself for years did it no real harm, wanting bright colours out of my hair probably isn't a long-term sustainable thing, because of the amount of bleaching required to get my hair to a light blonde, and the continued bleaching of my roots - which, when done on my own inevitably gets on already bleached hair, however hard I try to only bleach the roots -involved in the upkeep. In order to get it looking good day-to-day, I do a lot of conditioning treatments, use oils, etc, but once hair is damaged it doesn't repair itself along the existing length, as it is technically dead material, and repairing treatments only really temporarily put smoothing coatings on the hair strands.

If you have naturally light blonde hair, getting bright hair is much easier, and much less damaging for your hair. If it's light enough, it won't need bleaching - especially if you're putting a colour over it that is sympathetic to the undertones (eg. bright green hair dye over pale blonde hair will probably pick up some of the yellows and pale browns to end up leaf green) and if it does need bleaching, it won't need as much bleaching to get it pale. If, like me, you have very dark brown hair, it takes a lot of bleaching to get it pale enough, and honestly I don't think it's a good idea to do that to your hair, having done it myself repeatedly and damaged my hair. I don't bleach my hair to blonde in one session - I do it in two sessions spaced out, which means it doesn't get prolonged exposure to one long cumulative reaction, and I also don't bleach all my hair out at once - that means no sudden colour changes! - I try to only bleach the roots. Getting my hair bleached professionally is out of my budget, but would probably mean greater damage limitation again, but with bleaching all you can really achieve is damage limitation because the colour stripping process is inherently a damaging one. Bleach does not cover your hair a colour the way dye does, it strips colour, natural or otherwise, from hair. It has two main components - an alkali that makes your hair more porous, and a peroxide that chemically reacts with the melanin in hair, and it is a harsh chemical.

Edit: 
I personally think it's much better to get hair bleached professionally if you can. Even using bleach to the letter with the instruction, you can have different results and problems, especially in relation to how naturally porous your hair is, oils, and very importantly, whether or not you've used home colouring on it before, especially permanent box-dyes as they can react badly with the bleach, or be very resilient to bleaching. I had a lot of trouble getting light hair after I had dyed my hair black for years with cheap(ish) dyes and had to grow the ends out.  I have utterly fried bits of my hair, got very uneven bleach development leading to weird patchy hair, and even had chemical burns (as mentioned above).

Two-Person Job
Secondly, I used to try and do all of my hair on my own. That was a terrible idea - first of all, I am not a hair-stylist, I'm an amateur with unusual tastes, and secondly hair dye is really works best with a second person doing it, to get it nice without patches. If I am bleaching my hair at home, I get Raven to help me by doing the back parts that I can't see clearly even with two mirrors and when it comes to colouring, I get one of a few friends who are experienced with brightly coloured hair to help me. This means I get an even colour, most of the time. Sometimes even after all that, my hair ends up patchy and I have to go back and fix it. Ombre (or really, 'gradient' because I have transitions between colours over all my hair being lightened, not dark roots and bleached lighter coloured tips) hair usually takes me more than one session of dyeing to get the transitions smooth and even! It is very easy to make mistakes with doing your own hair, even if you research your plans first.

Edit: With bleach it is important to work fast as it starts to react immediately, and you can still be putting bleach on one part of your hair while a different part is done! With the application, trying to rush it doing it on yourself is a good way to get uneven application and patchy hair, and possibly even bleach-burning bits of your hair, or getting it on your scalp or ears and getting chemical burns on your skin. I really think that even if you're bleaching your hair at home, you should get a second person to apply it.

When I first started doing interesting things to my hair, there wasn't the explosion in popularity of bright colours, and brights were generally mostly available as DIY options - I'm sure most professionals could, and probably did, do vibrant colours before then, but your average hair salon didn't advertise that sort of thing as an option  and it seemed like the hair salons that did were a bit specialist, and only available in big cities with large alternative communities. Now, as brights have become fashionable, even a small city like Inverness has places that will professionally do bright colours, so I really recommend going to a professional to get your hair coloured if you can afford it. They also tend to use different dyes, including better quality, more permanent ones (although there isn't a great range of permanent brights yet).

Being very visibly alternative and walking into a spaces that were mainstream-fashion centred, and in areas that are in general less accepting of eccentric styles, was somewhat daunting, especially for someone like me who is actually quite shy and socially anxious in person. While I have the confidence to ignore mean comments, and disregard other's opinions on my appearance in general, trying to persuade a hair professional that doesn't like alternative designs that yes, I really do want bright green hair, a pointed fringe, whatever else, is not something I really wanted to have to do. This isn't about ignoring professional advice on what my hair can and can't take (which, to be honest, I wish I had been given a long time ago, when I first started dying my hair vibrant colours!), but specifically about those who just think that the sort of things I want are weird, unfashionable, ugly, etc. Trying to find someone willing to do a pointed fringe was interesting, to say the least - the lassie that currently cuts my hair is an Goth studying hair at the same college building as I study architectural technology, and she put my pointy fringe in (and I couldn't make an appointment with her to get it tidied up before the start of university, so I did it myself this time... I regret it!). However, times have changed, and the availability of people willing to do more creative things has increased - especially if you find someone who likes having the opportunity to do something artistic and different once in a while!

Also, if you do things yourself, remember that there's actually a lot of skills and techniques in styling hair - for many it's the difference between able to do DIY home improvements and being a qualified tradesperson, but for hair. Just as you might be able to fix a ding in a wall with some filler and sandpaper, but maybe not plaster a whole wall in a way that is smooth and even, sometimes more complicated tasks are better left to someone who is trained and practiced, and if you do end up doing yourself, do realise that it might not work out right the first time. I've been regularly dyeing my own hair -with help!- for years (I started as a teenager, and I'm now nearly 30...) and I still can't get it as perfect and amazing as some of the salon-done examples I've seen. I've learned to trim my fringe, but on my fifth time keeping my fringe out of my eyes, I've still got a HUGE skill difference between how much better it looked the first time Melody (my friend who is a hair-dressing student) ever did a pointy fringe, just because Melody had a lot of experience and tutoring in cutting hair and fringes prior to the pointy one.

Internet Vs. Reality
Thirdly, there are definitely people who are only exposed to what my hair looks like on Instagram, here, Facebook, etc. and only see it in photographs. Even before the photograph is taken, I'll have probably spent a substantial amount of time getting my hair just right, brushing and combing it, styling my fringe, etc. etc. I also tend to take selfies within a week of my hair having been recoloured, so it is at its most vibrant. When I'm actually taking the photographs for my selfies, I make sure I'm well lit, against a white cloth background (actually a lined curtain turned inside out, so the pretty side is hidden and the shiny white lining cloth is visible behind me!) and in a mixture of natural light, reflected natural light (an array of mirrors out of shot!) and sometimes some artificial light. Usually selfies are a document of my latest make-up, so everything is carefully posed to flatter my face, too! After all that, I then make digital edits to photos to adjust saturation, contrast, colour balance, etc. Sometimes I do more substantial colour corrections - especially if I've not had the opportunity to take a selfie in optimal lighting conditions. What people see in a photograph is my hair at an ideal moment. It does not look like that two weeks after being coloured, when humidity is making it fluffy and weird, when the wind has blown my fringe all out of shape, in some terrible lighting that makes it look blue when it's not, etc. etc. This isn't just me, this is what goes on behind the scenes of a LOT of people who put their hair on Tumblr, Instagram, whatever. It was only recently that Ursula Goth went viral for posting their lovely pink, purple and blue ombre hair before styling for a selfie, and then after styling and ::writing about:: the need for honesty and knowing that there's a difference between social media highlights and real life.

Upkeep
Fourthly, unnatural hair colours take a lot of work to maintain. Solid colour permanent dark dye over unbleached hair is the easiest to maintain. When I dyed my hair black, all I had to do was re-dye my roots when they grew long enough to be obvious (that will depend on how your natural hair colour contrasts with what colour you have dyed it) and every now and again re-tone the whole thing as it started to fade back to brown - which took a very long time compared to bright hair, and with cumulative layers of black it became more and more permanent. Solid colour bright/light colours over bleached hair take more work, as first of all the roots need dyeing before re-colouring, and secondly, depending on the colour and brand of hair-dye, and whether it is permanent or semi-permanent (most bright dyes are semi-permanent), and other factors like sun exposure, how often you wash it, and with what shampoos, etc. it can fade in anything from a mere week and a half to much longer, but they usually fade in a few weeks, and to the point where it is very obvious in about a month. Gradient brights are even more work because of recolouring the length with several, but because it's a smooth gradient, it can be redone in a distribution that isn't an exact match to where the colours where before and still look good. Layered, sectioned, or any other hair colouring that involves lots of different sections of solid colour hair is really difficult to maintain the way it was done. 

Sectional multicolour hair, with ombre.

I gave up on multi-colour hair done in layered sections because the upkeep was just too time-consuming. The amount of time I spent trying to section my hair in all the same places as when I first did my multicolour hair, because getting green over purple or whatever would result in muddy colours and browning, was inordinate - I would go through my hair with a rat-tail comb and lots of hair ties and very patiently over about 2 hours, try and part my hair exactly into all the individual locks I had initially put it into, made even more complicated when I re-bleached the roots, because then the first inch-and-a-half to two inches of my hair were blonde, so tracking back to my roots where the sections previously were became much, much harder! It also faded very unevenly, and when I tried to re-colour it it became harder and harder to get it looking good like it had before, especially as some colours fade to quite strong tones - hence why I ended up eventually with mostly turquoise hair with neon green bits that didn't look the best. 

Weird green top to blue after fading and ineffective touchups

Some styles are also a lot of upkeep, too, regardless of what colour. A fringe needs to be regularly styled to maintain its shape, especially my pointy one that is easily re-arranged to be oddly asymmetric by the wind! Both V or 'vamp fringes and 'Vintage Pin-Up' fringes, and other fringes that require a crisp style and curving under usually involve fringe straighteners, a hair-dryer, a comb, and hair-spray or product to keep them in place (I am allergic to hair-spray!). Back-combing can go from deliberately ratted to plain ratty and matted if not taken out and re-done at the right frequency - too often and you snap and damage the hair, too infrequently and the build up of product, natural oils, and anything that gets trapped in that sort of style can become a bit gross. Under-cuts need to be re-shorn otherwise they grow out oddly, and anything with styled ringlets or waves also requires work (although I haven't got personal experience with the last two, but I have friends that do). I like my long hair loose, but often put braids in my hair just either side of my face to keep those bits from getting in my way, and those get re-done each morning. If you want to have 'mermaid hair', that usually requires both curling/waves and far more complex braids to get the full effect, etc. and some styles if not re-styled in full just turn into a fluffy explosion or stick up at weird angles, or flop down oddly, etc. so to look nice, you're bound into doing something with it each day that's more than just brushing it and/or tying it back, even if it's not putting it back into the full style. 

Edit: Dyeing your hair at home is also likely to stain your shower/bath, as well as anything you spill it on, and many home semi-permanent hair-dyes are not colour-fast in rain/dampness! I live somewhere pretty rainy, and the collars of so many of my clothes have ended up green because I've been rained on and colour has transferred. Your towels will get stained too.

✯✵✯✵✯

I am not saying this to dissuade people from brightly coloured hair or from having interesting styles, or to try and show off how hard I've worked on my hair, but to give people realistic expectations of what having some of the more colourful and complex styles entail. Also, if you do go to a stylist, and want something done, please be aware that if they're trying to dissuade you on the grounds that it might damage your hair, or inform you it could be quite expensive and take several sessions, they aren't necessarily judging your style, or trying to scam you for unnecessary extra work - as I mentioned above, bleaching dark hair can take several sessions, and dyeing is usually a separate session, not to mention any cuts/styles to be done, and hair-dressing is a skilled trade that requires decent compensation. 

Multicolour Hair... Again!

My hair is once again a mixture of cool-tone colours, but this time a slightly different selection. My friend Catastrophe Plague helped me with the dyeing.

Selfies taken on Raven's phone.

I started off with bleaching my regrowth and the under layers of my hair, which with my length of hair and how dark my natural hair colour is (dark cool-toned brown), means I have to bleach it in two sessions with several boxes of bleach. I left a lot of my hair jade-green, especially near the tips, as several years of bleaching my hair every few months mean it isn't as healthy as it could be (and the tips definitely need trimming as some are a bit fried) so I try not to over-bleach it if I can avoid it. If the gradient with the bleaching had been smoother, and if I felt that blonde suited me, I might have kept it with the green ombre effect, but alas I am so pale that blonde makes me look the wrong sort of ghostly.

That's not mould by the radiator, that's wallpaper remnants.

Catastrophe took the photo above, and Catastrophe was the one who dyed most of my hair. They separated my hair into horizontal layers, with a rat-tail comb and some hair-tyes, and then started sectioning the lower layer of hair, by the nape of my neck, into locks of about an inch of hair at a time, and tied each of those up with a hair-tie. Catastrophe then went systematically through my hair, dyeing each lock separately. Each lock of hair received its own blend of colours, with the lowest layer being mixtures of fuschia and purple, the next layer being violet and blue, the next layer being blue and turquoise and the top layer being turquoise and green. 

I left my make-up on... Oops.

I ended up sitting around a while with my hair in about 30 tiny pony-tails, all looped back on themselves, looking rather silly, and with dye all over my face, but it worked out really well in the end, and I think Catastrophe did an amazing job on my hair! This is my favourite multi-colour hair look so far, the colours are just the sorts that I love, and the 

Taken in the dimming light, but hopefully the colours show

Dyes Used

A variety of dyes got used, a few being left over from the last time I dyed my hair multiple colours. I have all the left over dyes stored in plastic clip-lid tubs for when I need to touch this up. The dyes used were:

Stargazer Magenta

Directions Violet

Directions Lagoon Blue

Stargazer Tropical Green

Directions Apple Green

Stargazer African Green
As you can probably tell from the results, the magenta was mostly mixed in with the violet, and the African green used quite sparingly this time. I really love the vibrant emerald green of the Directions Apple Green layered over both the very bleached and jade sections of my hair. 

For comparison, here are the previous times I have had multicolour hair:

This was the first time I dyed my hair multiple colours, even if it was just a variety of greens in a vertical gradient "ombre" effect. I only had this style temporarily as it wasn't work suitable, and I did it for Hallowe'en. I blogged about it ::here:: when I did it. I liked how it turned out, and was sad that I could not keep it in my hair. I think this was the first time I had a really luminous, vibrant lime green in my hair, too. I like the colour, but in retrospect I think that the cooler green tones suit me better than the warmer ones.

The next time I tried multicolour hair was last summer, when I did it for my friend's wedding - to match the colourful outfit I wore, which involved an emerald green dress and a violet jacket. I used quite a few more colours than I had before, and this was the first time I used blues and purples with green. I did my hair mostly on my own, with some assistance from Raven, and realised that hair this complicatedly coloured was really a two-person task. The purple did NOT stay in my hair well, and I used magenta over it for the first time to make it more vibrant. I blogged about that half-spectrum of colours ::here::.

This was the time after that... it had actually started fading in this set of selfies, but there was definitely more turquoise and blue than previous times. These pictures were tweaked slightly to counteract bad lighting, but give a pretty good example of what my hair was like. I did put purple in initially, but again, it washed out pretty rapidly. I have only had the latest dyes in one week, and I hope they last a bit better than before. I have learnt to use less shampoo with vibrant hair, as it is the shampoo that washes the colour out the fastest. Washing it without shampoo at all would just leave my hair greasy, so I have to use some, but I try to use it mostly near the scalp where my hair gets greasiest, and to not use too much. 

Half A Spectrum In My Hair

My hair is currently a bit more faded than this. The purple, which ended up being neon pink over blue as the purple dye washed out with the first wash, washed out even after being pinked, and is now a royal blue. The hair at the top ended up less neon green, and more citrus yellow. I used several different dyes, mostly Stargazer, but also a Directions dye. For the greens I used Stargazer African Green and then Stargazer UV Green for another coat over that once the African Green faded. For the turquoise I used Stargazer Tropical Green and then Stargazer UV Turquoise over it.  For the blue I used Directions Lagoon Blue and Stargazer Royal Blue. The purple at the base started off as Stargazer Plume, but was then colored over with Stargazer Magenta because it faded to blue. I had to bleach my hair twice to get it pale enough, and to get enough of the existing turquoise/verdigris dye out. The UV Green washes out really quickly, and the African Green is more permanent. I find it really hard to get any purples to stay in my hair. 

Multiclour Hair. Selfies by HouseCat

This is a very, VERY, high-maintenance thing to have done to my hair. Because of how vividly bright and light the top is, my nearly-black regrowth shows very rapidly, and the colours all wash out and muddy together. I will have to re-do all the roots at some point, and touch up all the colours, but will need to get someone to help me separate my hair where I separated the first time around, so that the colours are all over wherever I had the same colour the last time. The purple just will not stay purple! Whenever it has been freshly touched up, and when I did it originally, the colours were stunning, but it is rather hard to keep it like that. I have also bleached my hair too many times, and will need to get all the hair at the ends trimmed out where it is fried.

It was also incredibly time consuming to do. It took two goes with bleach at its longest allowable leave-in time to get my hair pale. It then took a while per colour, with each colour separated with lots of clingfilm during the curing time, and then I had to wash it all out, and then touch it all up the next day during proper daylight because I'd missed bits trying to colour it in the poor artificial light of the bathroom. I think it was approximately a day's work, just to have multicolour hair.

I did it for my friend's wedding, and I am very happy with how it looked that day. I then re-did it for the start of university, and I think knowing my hair was looking awesome really boosted my confidence on my first day. As such, it was worth it.

Will I do it again?

Maybe, maybe not. It is a LOT of work! I may just try and maintain what I have until it gets unsustainable, and then start again with a more simple variation, with fewer colours, less of a gradient. I am also thinking of having my fringe reinstated, so that will probably alter what I want to do with my hair. But for now, I will enjoy the fruits of my labours. I did gradient hair with three shades of green once before, ranging from lime green through to emerald green. That was a bit less time consuming; maybe next time I will only pick three colours.

Pictures are selfies, and I tweaked the contrast and such a wee bit (mostly to make them all consistent), then made a collage of them, in ::PicMonkey::, which is free to use, although you have to subscribe to the paid-for Royale version for stuff like better bat clip-art. 

Gradient Green Hair

This time, on updating my green dye (it fades after a month or two, and the roots start to really show), I decided to do something different. 

I usually use a combination of Stargazer UV Green or African Green for the highlights and Stargazer UV Turquoise or Tropical Green for the lowlights, and thus get green hair with some dimension to it. This time, I decided to do something a lot more dramatic and give myself gradient hair. I've heard gradient hair called "ombre" but I'm pretty sure that only applies to where you've bleached the lower half of your hair and then maybe applied colour over that - a bit like how my hair dye goes after really growing it out! 

This was done by bleaching out my roots first. I hate trying to bleach my roots as they never quite bleach as pale as the neighbouring pre-bleached hair because it's almost impossible to not get bleach on the neighbouring sections, so the already-bleached hair becomes double-bleached, and the roots only once bleached, and then it still doesn't quite match... argh. I am generally not the best at bleaching my own hair. I have to bleach all my hair twice to get it from nearly black to blonde, too, so the second time I have to try and be extra-careful not to re-bleach what was bleached the previous time, because otherwise my hair will get all brittle at that point and is liable to snap, and while I quite like my hair short, an inch and a half long is shorter than I'm prepared to have right now. Sometimes this means I get a narrow stripe of slightly darker hair where I've strayed too far from the previously bleached hair and only double-bleached parts of my roots. If anyone knows how to make this an easier and less frustrating process, I'd LOVE the advice! 

(As long as the advice isn't "go to a hairdresser's salon" because I can't, due to aerosol allergies and cost issues.)

Once all my hair was as blonde as it was going to get, and I'd done my very best to not frazzle it, I started applying the dye. I love Stargazer because it's very cheap and very vibrant and stays quite vibrant for a while, and I used the UV Green for the top section. One of my friends suggested mixing conditioner in with my hair-dye to get softer hair and to help it after bleaching, so I did that, and combed a mixture of UV Green dye and conditioner down about four inches from my roots. The next section was a mixture of UV Green and UV Turquoise and conditioner, down another couple inches, and then UV Turquoise and conditioner for the rest down to the tips. Once I had washed out all the stargazer dye and conditioner, and dried my hair, I put another coat of UV Green over my roots for an extra vibrant neon green, and then got some Renbow Crazy Colour in Pine Green and rubbed it on the very tips of my hair. 

Of course, I can't have this for work, really. As I have had two weeks off from work on holiday, and this week coming is the Halloween week, and work are being quite permissive in the run up to Halloween (I work at a school, so they really get into the Halloween spirit for the children), it can stay until the weekend. After that, I am using up the remaining Pine Green and having dark green hair, but for now, I get to enjoy my fabulously bright gradient hair. At sunset, it literally glows in the UV twilight. 

I Have Purple Hair Again!

I had a long chat with some of the management team at work, and I was allowed to dye my hair purple, as long as it wasn't too vivid. So,  I went off and did that! I have been holding out because I didn't want to do anything that would be considered very unprofessional-looking, or go against dress code. I understand the need to look sensible and responsible for the parents at the school, but as vivid colours have become more fashionable and mainstream, and as several of the mothers have interesting colour hair (one has bright blue!), I think I am now in a better place to have purple hair, especially darker purple, as it is a lot more acceptable than it was a few years back. 

My eczema did not agree with my lipstick.
The skin around my lips is pink. I don't have giant lips. 

I get a rather itchy reaction to all dyes involving PPD, whether black, purple, blue or otherwise. As such, I've had to go away from permanent dyes and search for other ways to get my hair interesting colours. I've gone for semi-permanent dyes, which are more expensive as they require more maintenance and touch-ups, but which allow me to have a variety of colours without a sore and itchy head. I've tried henna and indigo, but would take so many applications just to get my hair black, that it wouldn't be financially viable. 

The first step in dyeing my hair was bleaching it. As I have previously experimented with henna, this didn't quite go to plan. As my hair was all back to the same dark brown, I had assumed that all the henna had washed out. Unfortunately, I was wrong, and it is just that the henna'd hair was about the same colour as my natural hair, and therefore I couldn't see it. The results from the first bleach treatment was hair that was blonde at the top, and copper from a few inches down to the tips. 

Not a pretty sight, but a work in progress.

This was not what was anticipated! I did this on Wednesday morning before an afternoon shift, and had to wear a wig to work! Oops. I then went back into town to buy more bleach to bleach the copper parts a second time. Even after a second bleaching, they went to a pale ginger (I don't have a picture) whereas the very top roots went blonde. Initially I panicked, but after advice from my friend Eilidh, I figured that my hair dyeing would probably result graduated plum effect, and that was something I could work with. 

After adding some Stargazer Plume, itself a blueish purple, I ended up with a good plummy colour that I was reasonably happy with, but it was a bit too red for my liking, almost a dark pink rather than a purple. As you can see, my natural hair is reasonably long. Anyway, in this photo the graduated effect is not very visible, but it is in real life. 

Purple!

I then bought some Stargazer True Blue to give a darker (and thus less vivid, as I felt that the plum was perhaps too bright on its own for work) and more obviously varied effect. I sectioned off the most vivid sections of my hair with hair-tyes and clipped them above the crown of my head (which, as it had previously been blonde, was a very vivid purple) and then set about adding blue to the browner and redder sections in order to make a deeper, more purple colour. The effect makes it look like I have plum highlights, purple as a main colour, and deep, almost indigo, lowlights. I'm really happy with it. 

Several purples - and frizzy hair! Oops. 

I am hoping that this photo demonstrates the variety of purples in my hair a bit better. My hair is a bit dry and frizzy from repeated bleaching and dyeing. I am delaying washing it so that some of the natural oils can return and bring it back to life a bit, and the next time I wash it, I will minimise shampoo and condition it thoroughly. Altogether, I am very happy with my hair, and will wear it out to dinner with friends on Friday with pride! 

All photos are webcam selfies taken on my MacBook. Please ask if you wish to repost anywhere, and if you do, please credit Domesticated Goth and link back here. 

Interview: Midnattsol - Alternative Model

I met Midnattsol not through photography or modelling, but as a friendly and terribly bouncy patron of the Goth club I used to frequent. I later found that she, along with another friend at the club Nitr0gene, was a model, and after having looked through her modelling portfolio was truly amazed at how good she is a model and how lucky she is to be photographed by some really good professional photographers. I asked her if she would be willing to be interviewed, and she was. She was very kind and got permission for me to use some of the professional photographs from her portfolio to illustrate this blog and showcase her amazing talent as a model. As per usual, text in bold is mine, and ordinary text is the response.

Midnattsol in ©Andy Proper Photography

⚜ About Midnattsoll:

Describe yourself!

Not sure what to say!! Im just a normal 25 year old girl who lives in Oxford, who dresses a little oddly, with brightly coloured hair!! I'm a total geek, who loves anything cute or twisted… sometimes both! Huge lover of anything fantasy, in fact most of the time I’m in my own little fantasy world (I daydream A LOT!!). I enjoy going out like any young girl, and love the industrial/metal scene, yet I love just as much to snuggle up at home with a book (I read waaaay too much), play computer games, or when I'm feeling particularly nerdy, cross-stitch!!! I love all forms of art, and although haven’t done so in a while now, I paint and draw. I also do a little bit of modelling here and there when I can squeeze it in between my Job in a lab, my degree in Biomedical Science and my personal life!!

I met you at Intrusion, Oxford's monthly Goth club night and a lot of the fashion you have modelled could be considered Gothic, but do you consider yourself a Goth? Ifso, what does Goth mean to you?
I’ve never really thought of myself as anything! I’m just me! I’ve always been interested and inclined more towards what people would describe as ‘gothic culture’, though I like a lot of normal things too. Goth is such a broad topic! To describe it would take me days. Initially what comes to mind when I hear the word is a sort of a dark, romantic beauty; from flowing gowns and beautiful castles to the more futuristic ‘Industrial’ take on goth!

How would you describe the clothes you wear in daily life?
I don’t think I could! My wardrobe contains such a huge variety!!! On a daily basis to work I wear 6 inch new rock platforms, skinny jeans or bondage pants with some kind of funky t-shirt! Generally all black. I currently love anything cute but dark such as Cupcake Cult and the Killer Panda clothes! If I’m feeling like dressing up a little more, I have all sorts, from Victorian gowns, to fetish wear!

What is your favourite food to cook yourself?
I love cooking when I have the time! I love experimenting with things and throwing bits together to see how it turns out.


⚜ About Modelling:

How long have you been modelling?

I’m not entirely sure! I guess on and off for about 4 or 5 years now,though photographic modelling I think only 3.

Is most of your modelling work professional?
Most of it is I guess, though I love it so much it always seems like a fun hobby to me! I’m registered by a few agencies, such as Dark Arts and Spirit Models which I get bits and pieces in from. I also work ;a lot on my portfolio, due to my continuously changing look which I love doing as I can be a lot more creative! I also do a lot for fun too! I’m constantly coming up with themes and ideas I want to create into an image. It’s a huge creative release for me!

How did you go from being an attractive young alternative lady to being a paid model?

I fell into it completely by accident. I never dreamed I’d be considered attractive enough to model, to be honest I still feel the same and am continuously amazed at it! I started off modelling at events. While out shopping and at events I’d get asked by the clothing designers to model for them at future events. I was also getting asked by event photographers to model for them, but I was so low in confidence it took me a couple of years to finally agree to give it a go! At my first shoot I had so much fun that I quickly became hooked!

What attracted you to modelling?
It was never really something I was particularly interested in doing, as I said I fell into it accidentally, though I always looked and admired with a distant envy at all the beautiful models! It was one of those dreams that every girl has, but never thought it was possible, so something I never actively pursued.

Midnattsol modelling for Alienskin Clothing, © Nick Parry Photography

Modelling for Alienskin Clothing
© Nick Parry Photography

How much does your modelling work reflect your personal fashion style?
Well a lot of my shoots involve clothing I wear out and about! My fashion style is so varied it does cover most of the styles I wear in my shoots! I use a lot of shoots as an excuse to wear clothing that I love but could never get away with wearing in real life!!

Which outfits from photo-shoots would you most like to take home with you?

Modelling for Alienskin Clothing
© Nick Parry Photography

A lot of clothing I’ve modelled that aren’t from my own wardrobe I’ve been allowed to keep, the only things I haven’t really have been are most of the latex outfits and I’d take all of them home if I could!

What outfits were your favourites to model?
A lot of my favourite outfits that I’ve modelled aren’t really ‘real’ outfits as such!! I’ve worn all sorts such as being wrapped in fairy lights with a dress made from cling film over so it glowed!! That was great fun to wear and be dressed in. I’ve also created a dress out of fishing netting, which I loved. I love anything creative!!

Part of the Fishing Net Dress, © Nick Parry Photography

The stereotype, in terms of appearance, for models is that they're all at least 5'10" and thin to the point of it being unhealthy - do you think you receive any negativity as a model for being 5'2" and a healthy shape?
Not at all!!! The only real negativity I get is from myself!! Most photographers I’ve worked with have been extremely impressed and I have worked with again and again! Due to being in proportion to my height, most people don’t actually realise how teeny I am! A few people have been shocked when meeting me in person!

Fishing Net Dress
© Nick Parry Photography

Do you get positivity for being outside the stereotype?
Not particularly! The people I’ve worked with have always been positive, but that’s because of my versatility and we’ve created images we love and have always got on well! My height and shape has never been an issue either way!


How does alternative modelling compare to mainstream modelling?
Mainstream seems to be stricter with what’s required to be a model, such as height and weight, whereas alt modelling is more accepting to a wider variety of people. Though I have been turned down for work for not having enough tattoos or piercings! The way you model seems to be different too; mainstream modelling is a lot of posing to get a perfect image, whereas alt modelling feels more like acting. I feel I can bring a character into the image which is what I love doing best. I love to be able to portray a lot of emotion and feeling into my work.

The Fishing Net Dress In Full
© Nick Parry Photography

I saw you got published in Devolution magazine! What was it like being published in a popular alternative magazine?
I feel very humbled and honoured by it! It’s a magazine I love and am now an official devo girl for which is extremely exciting!

What is it like coming across pictures of yourself on the internet? I still go "Ooo! That's my friend!" when I spot you at places like AlienSkin Clothing.
It’s extremely exciting!! It doesn’t always feel real and it’s hard to always think of that person in the photo as me!! I’m so normal in real life! I’m always coming across published bits of me that I didn’t even know existed, such as being on flyers for bodypainting events in Mexico!! It’s always a nice surprise, and I feel extremely honoured!

© Nick Parry Photography

Do you ever get insecurities about being visible on the internet?
Like everyone, I have bumps and flaws that I don’t like to be seen, and having them on full display to everyone is sometimes hard!! I also get quite embarrassed at times! There's a huge poster of me in ::Neo Hair::, and as proud as I am, I always get embarrassed when getting my hair done in case someone recognises me from the image and thinks "oh, she’s not so great in real life" I get so scared of disappointing people!!

What's it like modelling for alternative fashion makers/retailers such as Fetasia Latex and Alienskin Clothing? Do you own clothes by them?I’m always shocked they want me to model their clothing! But it really is amazing!! The clothing from everyone I’ve modelled for is just beautiful! I don’t own any from Alienskin yet, and Fetasia Latex I have my first piece coming within the next couple of weeks which is a custom piece based on Quorra from Tron. I do however own pieces from the likes of Emerald Angel, Rubber Monkey and Iron Fist all of which I have modelled for! There are more that I cannot think of right now!

© Nick Parry Photography

In the mainstream fashion industry, modelling and photography has come under attack for being unrealistic and over the extensive use of PhotoShop and similar digital re-touching tools. Digital re-touching plays a part in Alternative and Goth fashion photographs too. Do you think re-touching is a bad thing?
I think retouching has its good and bad points. I do think these images with models with flawless skin and perfect bodies can put a lot of pressure on people and too much emphasis on appearance and what it means to be beautiful. Even I get scared meeting a photographer for the first time as I know I don’t look as perfect as I do in my photos that made them want to work with me! But then I can understand the need for it too, just maybe not to the extent that it is used. I think it’s great for artistic purposes. A huge amount of alternative images are theme based, and so some manipulation may be required!

How obtainable do you think it is to look as fabulous as the photographs of Gothic and Alternative models one sees on the internet and in adverts and magazines?
It’s a hard question! Theres a few of my images, particularly a large proportion of the ones I’ve done with Nick Parry, where I’ve personally had no retouching done at all on me!! Though even then the perfect lighting and angles make a huge difference! I do think it’s important to always be aware that these people do look as good as they do because of skilled artists! The photographers know how to light a face to create/remove shadows to enhance, to take it from the right angle to flatter the models shape. Then there’s the fact that it’s a models job to look good; they work hard to learn what angles, expressions and poses flatter them most and enhance their looks!! Not to mention the makeup and perfectly styled clothing to suit!! And then there’s the PhotoShop and post-processing!!!

Do you think that people in the Gothic subculture tend to be more at home in their own skins than in the mainstream?
I do! I think that all cultures have their own pressures on what looks good and what beauty is, but due to the nature of Goth and how it see’s beauty in things that other people might consider ugly dark etc, it is much more open to the idea of what true beauty is and that its not all superficial!

⚜About Photography:
What's it like working with photographers? Are most of them rather pleasant, or do you get strange demands?
Most of the photographers I’ve worked with are lovely!! They are all just normal people who’s job is to create art with a camera! Luckily everyone I’ve worked with, I’ve kept in contact with and many I have ;become friends with! Not had any strange demands yet! Well not in a bad way anyway!

What do you think of photography as portraiture, and in comparison to drawn/painted portraiture?
I think photographers are not given enough credit for their work!! I think the talent needed to understand lighting, angles, cropping and what makes a good photograph is completely underestimated! And I believe that what they do is just as much art and contains just as much skill, when done right, as a painting

Do you think that people react differently to art portraiture of an actual, living non-celebrity person than they do to celebrity portraiture or historical portraits?
I don’t really follow celebrities so im not sure how to answer this. For me personally it’s the overall image that I fall in love with, not who is in it!! But I guess people tend to be drawn to what they know, so if its someone in the public eye it would make sense that they would get more attention!!

As a model, what is your advice to photographers for working with models?
Communication is essential!! Its always good as a model to know ;what the photographer’s looking for and if what your doing is right etc! we are human after all and want to get it right! Also be professional, yet friendly. To get the best performance out of a model they need to be comfortable!!

I see you work frequently with the rather amazing ::Nick Parry::! Can you tell us a little about that?
Nick Parry I met a couple of years ago, we started working together for bodypaint shoots. I think he really liked my versatility and emotion in my modelling, and how I acted rather than modelled, as he did a lot of acting for theatre! You only need to look at his pictures to see that he’s an incredible photographer! We very quickly developed not only a very good model-photographer relationship, but became really good friends! He is one of my favourite people to work with and shooting with him is always fun, and I tend to stay with him for several days. Once makeup and styling's done, I’m only in front of the camera about 10 minutes!! Its more like a mini holiday with a shoot here and there when working with him. He’s just an extremely talented and incredible person!

I've seen you in some rather lovely fantasy themed photo-manipulations? What do you think of mixed media digital-art and photography?
I love it! I have huge admiration for mixed media artists! I think it takes a huge amount of talent to be able to combine something real and something created and to make them match well enough to blend in and work as a whole image! It’s very exciting as a model to see what is a very basic image of you be made into something completely fantastical! I have spent many hours watching Kestrel manipulate some of our images in complete awe and fascination!

⚜ About Bodypainting:

© Nick Parry Photography

Who does the bodypainting?
I have worked with several bodypainters, the main one being the incredibly talented John Davis - another one of my favourite people to work with. I’ve also worked with world champion Alex Hansen, who worked on '300', Hollywood makeup artist and bodypainter Lyma Millot, and world bodypainting champion Raphaelle Fieldhouse! Also done some with my partner Rus, who was a special effects makeup artist and the owner of Awen Creations.


Can you give me a summary of the process?
There are 2 different methods of bodypainting, brush & sponge and airbrush. For a full bodypaint obviously you need to be nude, though many painters will paint over a thong, or you can get prosthetic thongs and nipple pasties to keep modesty while avoiding having underwear lines! If prosthetics are used they’ll be applied first. Usually a base layer is put on and layers of colour will be built up, with contouring and shading and eventually final details, either hand painted/airbrushed or by using stencils.

Photography © Nick Parry
Bodypainting © A. Hansen & L. Millot

Being painted up looks very time-consuming! Is it hard staying still while being painted? Is it cold?
My longest body paint was 10 hours for the Giger bodypaint with john Davis and Nick Parry! Think my shortest was about 4 hours! It can be exhausting standing for so long, but watching the process is completely fascinating! Standing still for that many hours can be realy difficult, and with the Giger, I was falling asleep while standing, and had to eat and drink while being painted! And when I did the paint with Lyma and Alex, I couldn’t stop shivering! They had to get a hairdryer on me to get me still enough for them to paint me! No matter how warm the room is, having high pressured air blown a you for hours does lower your body temperature, and with brush and sponge, obviously the paint is wet and cold!!!

Photography © Nick Parry
Bodypainting © A. Hansen & L. Millot

What do you think of body-paint as an artistic medium?
I have a huge appreciation for bodyart! The skill to be able to turn the body into a canvas and art form is incredible! Its hard enough to paint on a flat surface, let alone work on something as complex as the human figure, with all its shapes and textures!! There is a lot of technicality and understanding of the human body needed to be able to do it well! And seeing a piece of art that can really come to life at the end is incredible to watch!

Is it always something paired with a photographic final image or as part of a dance or other performance?
Not at all! I have also modelled at bodypainting festivals in competitions! It's also used for walking promotional purposes at events, in clubs, people get it done for fancy dress, then as I said, Alex Hansen bodypainted the warriors in the movie '300' to give them (and enhance) their six packs!

How do you feel about participating in an art form that must take a lot of time and effort to accomplish, but is transient and will ultimately be washed off you?
I always enjoy the process of watching it grow, but you do become attached to the art on your body, and I always feel guilty and hate washing all their hard work off! Afterwards I always feel so plain! But I think for the result you get, it’s well worth the hours of waiting, even if you only experience the final result for a short while. This is why I always do it for shoots! I hate the thought that all that hard work will be washed down the drain and forgotten! At least with a shoot you have a record of the artwork to be able to remember it!

Giger inspired body paint © John Davis
 Photography © Nick Parry Photography

Do you think it is under-appreciated and under-represented?
Definitely!!! They are all so talented and work so hard! Like I said before, theres so many technical aspects, and its not just about being a good artist, but being able to understand the human form and how it moves and how it affects the shape of an image; to be able to work it to the shape of a body!

Most of the body-paint work I've seen you model has been horror, science-fiction or fantasy based - how does it feel to be temporarily transformed into a fabulous creature?
Its amazing!! As I stated earlier, I love bringing out a character in my work and I act more, rather than pose for shoots, so this is ideal for me! Its crazy, but as the artwork grows you really do start becoming the character you're being turned into!! You naturally start moving the way the creature would! I love the energy you can put in! Its just such an incredible feeling!

Are you a fan of these genres outside of your modelling work?
Definitely!! In fact im obsessed with fantasy! I read a lot of fantasy novels and have lots of books on fantasy art. When I had the time to draw and paint it would be of a mythical/fantasy nature. I collect dragon statues, fairies and elves - anything magical, weird or beautiful! I love being transported to another world

In the bio-mechanical set photographed by Nick Parry, how much of that was physical costuming and how much was painted?
All of it was painted!! There was a couple of bits of prosthetics that were glued onto my skin to enhance and add texture, but these were painted too!

Are you approached by the body-painters as a model, or do you approach them?
I first got into it as I had seen it on TV, and, being into different art forms, fell in love with it, so I messaged John Davis for advice on how to start learning, what paints are best etc, and he said he’d teach me if I came to be painted! Its all grown from their! It has always been a mutual thing with John. We got on well and enjoyed working together so we’d be casually chatting and would come up with incredible ideas that we’d then put into practice! Everyone else approached me!

How involved are you in the creative process beyond being a living canvas?
With John, all ideas were discussed and created together beforehand, and the things with Awen Creations I had a large design part in the prosthetics. The work with Alex, Raph and Lyma was designed by them.

⚜ About Latex:
You have stated your desire on your Model Mayhem profile to work with latex designers, why do you especially like latex?
Well at the time it was something I was missing from my portfolio! I still don’t have enough. Latex shots seem to be really good for portfolios. Its always so flattering and shows off your figure amazingly, without the need to be nude! Plus its shiny and beautiful, sexy without being slutty.

© Nick Parry Photography

What do you think of latex's potential as a fashion fabric outside of fetish-wear?
I think latex is great as fetish wear, but I think it’s a beautiful form-fitting fabric that is great as fashion wear! Personally, if I could afford it, I’d have a huge wardrobe full! I think now though, a lot of Latex designers are creating more vintage styles in latex, rather than the traditional fetish wear, which I think is great! Like a futuristic take on traditional vintage styles!

Do you think it has become more popular to wear latex and PVC to club nights?
Definitely. I think its becoming a more accepted medium of fabric to wear, I think that people are beginning to open up to the idea of it and so are loosing their prejudices on it being a purely fetish thing and seeing it for the beauty it can be!

What sort of impact does latex's position as a material favoured by pin-ups and fetishists have on you modelling it?
Not a lot really! I was into latex before I got into the whole modelling thing, as more of a shiny futuristic industrial look rather than fetish. Only back then I couldn’t afford it so had to make do with PVC as a substitute!!

⚜ About Hair:

© Nick Parry Photography  

Your hair is always so fabulous! I can't think of a colour it hasn't been. Who does your hair?
My hair is done at ::Neo Hair Design:: by the extremely talented Owen Roberts in Cardiff! They are such a brilliant salon with an incredible team! Could never go anywhere else now!

How does having such vivid and brightly coloured hair go down in your everyday life?
I love it!! I get stopped most days when im out by complete strangers telling me they love my hair! It has never given me any problems!

© Nick Parry Photography  

You have a rather professional day-job of working in biosciences - what is it like being visibly alternative in that sort of work environment?
Its not been a problem at all! In fact they all love it! In general I have fitted in pretty well, though I have been told some of them were nervous of me when I first started! I’ve had one doctor disapprove of my appearance, being concerned of the affect it will have on the donors, but in general everyone has got used to me and find my ever-changing vibrant look refreshing!

How do you keep your hair healthy despite repeatedly dyeing it?
I always get top products from the salon to keep it in good condition. It really is worth paying the extra money for it! Also Owen, my stylist, looks after my hair, does deep treatments when needed etc. I also keep heat styling to a minimum, things like that!

© Nick Parry Photography

You seem quite unafraid to try new hair designs - do you have any dream hair-style at the moment?

I don’t have any in particular! Though I'm always seeing colours and hair I love! I’m currently really happy letting Owen decide my colour and style as he really is amazing and knows what will suit me!

Where do you get inspiration for the hair-styles from?
I don't! I let Owen design my hair! The most input I have is occasionally telling him the theme of a shoot I need it for! Otherwise I give him free reign and love seeing what he comes up with! It's become like a bit of an addiction!!

© Nick Parry Photography

Your hair is really quite something, very colourful and creative - do you think hair design can be seen as art as well as fashion?

Definitely!! Watching Owen do my hair has proved so! You need to understand how hair will hang and fall, peoples face shapes and how the hair will change that, so knowing what to do to suit,& understanding colours, what will suit different skin tones, how it will fade so it will always look good. And the dyeing process - he literally does paint my hair! He gets an image in his head of how I'm going to look and the colour, cuts and sculpts 'til it gets there! He completely transforms my appearance, so yes, hair, when done properly is definitely an art form!


A big "Thank-you" to Midnattsol for being interviewed, and to all the photographers involved for letting me illustrate this blog with their pictures of her.


⚜ Links:

Midnattsol's Modelling Profiles
❧ Her own website
❧ Her Facebook Page
❧ At Model Mayhem
❧ At Spirit Models
❧ At Dark Arts
Photographers
❧ Nick Parry's Website
❧ Nick Parry's Facebook
❧ Andy Proper's Website
Bodypainters
❧ John Davis' Website
❧ Alex Hansen's Website
❧ Lyma Millot's Website
❧ Raphaelle Fieldhouse's Website