to dye for: tiktok inspired bleach trends
If a quarter in quarantine has led to you spending a worrying amount of time scrolling through the ‘For You’ page on TikTok (clearly not speaking from personal experience…), then you’ll be sure to have noticed that the DIY trends that are circulating the app. Obviously, reworking your old clothes and bleaching your own hair has been going on as long as teen existential crises have, but seeing as quarantine has freed up a lot of time (and angst) for many of us, it only makes sense that these trends are resurfacing. And while the risk of ruining one’s hair would usually be a deterrent for many to using bleach, the fact that we probably will be in isolation for a while means that if the finished look doesn’t cut it, you can just tell your Zoom class that your camera doesn’t work.
The hairstyles I’ve seen on TikTok seem somewhat inspired by the “e-girl” aesthetic - think cutesy (hair clips, fun hair colours), but grunge (dark clothes, heavy eyeliner, chains). Yet different creators have their different takes and I’ve seen some really creative and bold colour combinations as well as the mixing and matching of trends. Some of my favourite trends that have gotten really popular, and that I am debating damaging my virgin hair to try, are:
Half-and-half hair
I love this look and it’s so easy to personalise. It’s also great if you’re super indecisive like me: try two colours at once, and if one doesn’t work out, just dye over it. Some people have gone half dyed and half natural which has the same effect and if things go really wrong, at least you’ve salvaged 50% of your hair… Seriously though, two-coloured hair is great for styling too, since you have a more varied palette to match your outfits to.
Image via
Two strands
Again this allows you to dye your hair without making a huge commitment to a colour. Something I haven’t really seen but I think would look really cool would be dyed bangs (since everyone has them anyway now) paired with the rest of one’s hair being naturally coloured.
Bleached brows
Or dyed brows - some are matching these to their dyed hair, or adding to the half-half trend by dying their brows different colours. This one makes for really cool makeup looks too.
Image via
If you don’t want to be roasted by your hairdresser once quarantine ends, or you’ve already completed all of the above, don’t put the bleach away, grab an unloved pair of jeans or an old sweatshirt and get to work!
Tie dye
Tie dye. To get a tie dye effect using only bleach, people are tying up garments using rubber bands and then spraying bleach over. Leave out for a few hours and then untie and hope for the best.
Half-bleached denim
Apparently asymmetry is still really in. After attempting the half-and-half hairstyle, you can make yourself some jeans to match. Take a pair (preferably dark wash for maximal contrast), and paint bleach over one leg.
Image via
Featured image via
