Lime Crime just released its own line of rainbow hair colors [1], and I decided it was high time I figure out how to do my very own unicorn look at home. I've had rainbow hair in the past, but I've always just done one all-over color because I'm just not very good at doing my own hair. I'm much more comfortable paying a professional to make it look amazing, however, the beauty of rainbow dye is that it's pretty hard to mess up. So armed with several videos from Lime Crime's Instagram [2] and the whole collection of semipermanent hair colors [3], I got to work, and I have to say, I think I basically killed it.
Before
I had previously tried Bunny [4] all over my head just to get a feel for how these dyes work, so to start, I had a faded shade of that over a dusty blond color. I did not bleach my hair before this coloring at all.
The colors
At the roots, I used Chocolate Cherry [5], in the middle I used Strawberry Jam [6], and on the ends, I blended Neon Peach [7] and Bunny. [8]
Processing
I really wanted to accomplish a cool pink ombré, so I started by using the darkest color on my roots and working down. I did all of the roots first, then I moved onto the second color for the middle. I painted that on everywhere and then used my fingers to blend the seam. Last, I painted on the blended color at the tips and went back and rubbed in the seams with my fingers. Once I had my whole head colored, I went back through with my fingers and rubbed the dye in some more just to ensure I had everything covered. I let it all process for about an hour.
After
I'm pretty pleased with how this color combination came out, especially considering I was a first timer with at-home dyeing with multiple colors. (I did have help, though, with the back of my head.) I can actually see the ombré, and I managed to get my whole head covered. I am also pleasantly surprised with how nicely the Chocolate Cherry blends with my dark roots. I could have done better with blending the colors into each other, but I'm still satisfied with the outcome.
After
The four colors I used go together really nicely and make for a supercool unicorn look. My only gripe about the dye is that it makes my hair tangle easier. I already have naturally tangly hair, so adding to it isn't fun, but that minor detail is not enough to deter me from the dyes.
After
Once this fades, I might get even more ambitious and try a multicolor look with shades not in the same color family. Who knows!