..That’s NOT what I meant..but I support you all the way if it falls into your lap. >_<

Since Comic-Con is a week away, I thought I’d help you step your Comic-Con Cosplay game up a notch. If you’re tired of wearing heavy, itchy wigs..or wanna show you are KING/QUEEN cosplayer of ALL cosplayers..I’ve got your back. Whether it’s just for the weekend or longer, you won’t regret this most awesome decision to have fun with this. I’m hooked.

For the past 8 months, I’ve been on this crazy neon hair journey. The past week I definitely stepped it up. I went from bleaching the bottom 2/3 of my hair and coloring it to going all out and finally bleaching EVERYTHING. This post will give you a starting point if this is something you ever consider doing..whether you decide to do it today or 10 months from now. Stop reading now if you have no intention of doing this..but if you’re interested, a lengthy post shall follow. The Evolution:

MOST important things people won’t tell you:

• COCONUT OIL: This will protect your hair in so many ways. Put 2-3TBS it in a plastic bowl and brush it onto your hair hours prior to bleaching. Leave it on when you apply the bleach.
• ORANGE HAIR is only good for Red and Bright Pink Hair Colors. Everything else: BLONDE. Trust me. I dyed purple over orange and ended up with…BROWN hair…
• MIX SOME WHITE CONDITIONER into your dye to make it stretch farther or lighten the color a bit. Get more for your money and condition your bleached hair all at once.

So, you’re ready for this journey? Now, where to start? What Brands? Help?!

Let me tell you, I’ve spent way too much money learning this on my own..so..just TRUST ME here, okay. Go walk your little self to Sally Beauty Supply or go order this stuff online. DO NOT think you’re going to find your blonde hair in a box. Unless you’re already a fortunate one with lighter hair. If you have dark hair, just skip it all together. If you try to do this from a box, you’ll need at least 3 or 4 boxes of Feria Extreme Platinum to get anywhere close..and that’s already 4 times more than you need to spend.

Step 1: Get some Loreal Quick Blue Bleach Powder! BEST I have tried. It’s about $5 for one packet or $15 for a bucket. You’ll need 2 packets if you’re doing your entire head and have long hair. An Alternative is getting a blonde hi-lift box dye and adding some bleach powder to it to intensify lift.

Step 2: Bottle of 30 Vol Peroxide Developer. Get the cream version. Nothing higher than 30 volume..your hair is already getting mistreated enough w/ the bleach. It’s about $4.

Step 3: Toning color, like Wella Color Charm Toner..or a cheap, boxed blonde dye to get the brass out. Or you can use some Purple shampoo to gradually tone it down!

Step 4: Pick your poison. This is probably the most irritating part of the journey. “What brand of color do I get..?!” Save yourself the trouble and please just DON’T buy the Beyond the Zone brand stuff..seriously. Stop. Right. Now.

• TEAL/TURQUOISE: For that BRIGHT Hatsune Miku teal, use NRage Twisted Teal. Manic Panic Atomic Turquoise falls closer to the greenish side.
• NEON PINK: for the BRIGHTEST of BRIGHT, HIGHLIGHTER PINK-bright hair..Manic Panic Hot Hot Pink. For a less intense bright pink, ION BRIGHTS in Magenta is awesome.
• FUCHSIA & PURPLES: the ION BRIGHTS in Fuchsia is pretty close to pink with a hint of purple. ION BRIGHTS in Purple is a fairly darker purple than other brands. Mix Hot Hot Pink and some Atomic Turquoise for a bright purple! That’s usually what I do.

NRage Demi-Permanent dyes last quite a while. Seriously. Taking all the teal out of my hair was a daunting task. Usually turquoise colors like the Manic Panic brand come out so easily (too easily) within a couple weeks. I did everything in the world to try to strip it from my hair and it just wouldn’t go. Took bleaching it to finally do this. So..that’s hot strong this color is.

Manic Panic: Best consistency overall and widest variety of colors if you don’t intend on mixing any colors yourself…but fades faster than any other color.

Ion Brights: Awesome color if you know how to manipulate the formula correctly. Straight from the tube, it seriously has the consistency of dried out acrylic paint. To solve this and get the most out of these colors, squeeze them out into a plastic container and add small amounts of conditioner into it and mix it with a small spoon until it get’s smooth. After that, it’s AMAZING to work with.

Once you bleached and have decided, work it into your hair however you want and leave it for a few hours or even overnight. Cover it with plastic or a plastic bag so it doesn’t dry out and apply some heat if you’d like. Wash it out w/ cold water, and don’t expect it to run completely clear. Dry your hair right away. I’d advise a designated “Color Towel” for your hair because it’s going to run every time you wash your hair. If you want to use warm water, wash it as fast you can, rinse the shampoo out, run it quickly under cold water then apply conditioner to stop the color from running further.

I wish you all the best of luck on your journey. Get creative. I used different gradients to have fun with. But most importantly, have fun. I love my hair–whether or not anyone else feels the same doesn’t matter to me at all.