AF Blog — Pro Tips

Pink hair is the hair right now. Whether it is the perfect spring pastel or Barbie dream house inspired, you can’t go wrong with choosing a pink shade as your next color. 

If you love pink but don’t want to bleach, we recommend sticking with Virgin Pink for a true, vibrant pink. Virgin Pink is a highly pigmented hot pink that shows up best on pre-lightened hair, but will give a light to deep magenta tint on most darker bases. If you want to have all of the fun with none of the bleach damage, Virgin Pink is it! If you want a richer magenta shade, add some Ritual or Purple AF to add some depth, just like this custom mixed @yeseniadavis.hair look.

If you are aiming for a striking pink, Electric Paradise is the perfect stand alone color. It’s vivid, neon pink with coral undertones, that appears best on a level 10 pre-lightened hair and is UV reactive. Add some Poison like @tamaracamps did and you will have the most brilliant shade of pink!

If pastel is what you’re after, make sure you are at a level 10 platinum base. Pastels won’t show up or last on hair that isn’t pre-lightened as much as possible before application. Achieve the ideal pastel pink with Bleach, Please to lighten and our favorite pastel pink, Frosé to color. Frosé is the perfect bubble gum pink that is gorgeous on its own or is great as a starting point for a custom pastel pink base! @Laura_lape looks pretty in pink showcasing Frosé as is. Cotton candy bubble gum dreams!

These are just some of the pink shades you can achieve with Arctic Fox! Check out our Instagram to learn more about other custom mixes to find your perfect pink 💓

The same way the seasons change is the same way some of us change our hair color. With the warm weather steadily approaching some of us might opt for some lighter or brighter tones. Thinking about switching up your color soon? Don’t worry we’ve got your back. Here are some of our favorite tips for fading your color safely!

Wash Your Hair More Often

Skip the dry shampoo this week if you’re trying to fade that color faster. You’ll want to turn up the volume on washing those beautiful tresses this week. Hot or cold water for these showers you ask? You’ll want to opt for some hotter showers this week as it will help the color you have fade faster. Get your hands on a clarifying shampoo as well. Clarifying shampoos help remove not only any buildup, but also help with removing product in your hair. Combine these tips to get the process started on fading your hair.

Take A Dip

Believe it or not a dip in the pool or ocean can help fade your color faster! It’s actually the chlorine in the pool that will bond with the hair dye and get it to come out faster. Although, warning to my copper hair girls, the chlorine in a pool can turn copper shades pale green. Unless your next hair choice will be close to green I would opt for those extra washes and not the pool. Saltwater can have the same effect as pool water. Be careful though, this can cause some extra dryness. If you’re planning on dyeing it soon after then going for that swim could be a good option!

Vitamin C Please

Here’s a little secret sauce for your next wash day! Let’s talk about mixing in some Vitamin C. The immune boosting vitamin can help with getting your color to fade away faster. You want to mix it into your clarifying shampoo and leave it in for about five minutes, then proceed to rinse. How does Vitamin C do this? The acid in the vitamin c is strong enough to break up semi permanent hair dye. You definitely want to follow up with a mask! This could be a good time to try out our game changing Pool Party Hair Mask. 



Color Wheel for the Win

If you’re not looking for a quick fix when it comes to getting your color to fade, then giving the color wheel some attention might be your best bet. You want to find your current color on the color wheel, whatever color is across from your current color you would want to use that color to help cancel out your current color. It can be a little technical but overall a slower process if you’re not in a hurry! You also want to be cautious with this step, as it is required for your hair to be faded! Adding the opposite color can create a muddy shade if your hair is not faded! So, with that, don’t fear the fade!

Now that you’re a pro at fading your hair color you’re ready to move on from your current look. Experiment and have some fun! After all that’s what hair dye is for.

Image Credit: chris0712

Pastel hues have had us all in a chokehold for as long as we can remember. And with summer right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to go for a shade that looks oh, so pretty even when it fades. From blues, to greens, to purples and pinks, the color options are truly endless! And don’t worry, Fox, we’re here to help you safely get your dream head of pastel from start to finish.

Image credit: @mynameislanes

Step 1: Bleach, Please

The first step to going pastel, is to completely strip your hair of any color. Pastel will only show up on a level 10 platinum blonde or lighter! Depending on your current shade, you might need a few bleach treatments to get your hair to the appropriate level. You can safely bleach at home with our Bleach, Please Lightening Kit, but if you don’t fully trust yourself, or your hair is already fairly damaged and contains previous color treatments, you’ll want to head to a salon first! We don’t recommend using Bleach, Please to remove color from hair - doing so can cause unexpected color results or permanent staining of the hair! If you do need to remove color, please use a color remover formulated for the type of hair color in your hair. 

Bleach, Please can lighten your hair up to 8 levels and includes a 35 Volume Developer. Its 3 oz tube of violet-toned bleach is packed with tons of ingredients that help protect and repair your hair during the bleaching process. Although we’ve formulated Bleach, Please to be as safe and healthy as possible, bleaching will still damage your hair to an extent. Bleach opens up the hair cuticle to remove pigment from the strand, which can result in a dry, rough feeling on your strands. Before and after treatment, nourish your hair with our Resurrected Shampoo and Conditioner, which is color-safe and sulfate-free, to keep your strands as moisturized as possible. 

Carefully follow the instructions on the Bleach, Please kit to safely color your hair, or read our Bleach, Please spotlight here, for more detailed instructions. Once you’ve let the bleach sit for 30-45 minutes, rinse it out and see if you’ve reached your desired result! If your hair is dark and you need several treatments to get to a level 10, make sure to space out your lightening sessions at least a week apart.

Image credit: alexis_hair__

Step 2: Do or Dye 

Now comes the fun part! 

Arctic Fox hair colors are formulated to be a bit thicker due to their conditioning properties, so you want to make sure that you divide your hair into small sections and fully saturate each with color to achieve your desired shade. 

Arctic Mist Diluter is your BFF when it comes to going pastel. Start with Arctic Mist as your base, then add in your shade little by little until you get the color of your dreams. The lighter you’d like to go, the less your color ratio will be to Arctic Mist. Remember, you can always add more Arctic Mist to lighten your mix to get that perfect pastel hue, so go slowly! 

If you want a one-step application to a pastel, check out our very own pastel formula favs, Frosé, Neverland, Periwinkle, and Girls Night! The best part about going pastel is how truly endless the possibilities are. You can mix, match, lighten, or darken, and as long as your base is at the appropriate level, you’ll see those light hues shine through! 

Image Credit: neutraljacqueline

Step 3: Color Care

Now that you’ve got the pretty pastel, hair care is a must! Care for your color in the shower with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner duo (try our Resurrected Formula for color-safe treatment), and cool water. 

One thing to note is that pastels are not as pigmented as other dyes, so in the coming weeks, give your locks a quick refresh by adding a few drops of dye to your conditioner in the shower, or giving your entire head of hair another coat of dye for a more pigmented look. Pastels fade in the most stunning way, so you can let it go or touch it up, depending on the look you’re going for. 

Shop our Perfect Pastel Starter Kit, find your next color, and show us those hues, pretty please!

Image Credit: princessmei        

Image Credit: ashleymarieblake

Image Credit: salemmooncosmetics     

Image Credit: la_main_d_argent

It’s spring time and more than just the weather is changing. We’re going brighter, bolder, and adding more color to our manes. Spring might scream pastels but this year you’ll find that we still want some red tones in the mix along with bold statements.  If you’re looking to switch up your look this upcoming season then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got 2023’s hottest and trendiest Spring hair looks!

It’s giving ~Grunge~! If you’re looking for the “grunge” look and want to opt out of the traditional black, then you can definitely opt for the Apricot hair trend. Still staying in the lane of fall’s hottest color -copper, the apricot shade brings you to a lighter peachy range. You can achieve this look by mixing our newest shade Ginger Flare with our Arctic Mist Diluter. This will bring Ginger flare to a lighter tone. It is a softer shade, a slight change compared to copper that took over 2022. 

Calling all air signs~ we love a playful Gemini. The gemini hair trend is a two tone dye job that leaves room for fun and creative looks. You can be subtle by adding in colorful tips to your hair or go bolder with a full on split down the center of your mane. This particular trend is great for those of us who just can’t pick one shade.  A great way to experiment with your hair this Spring.

Bring on the change with some money pieces! Blonde money pieces against dark hair are trending. A money piece is a twist on simple highlights where a bold color is used to create face framing pieces. This is also an easy look to achieve at home, so save yourself some. Take your favorite bleach, we of course recommend our AF Bleach, Please, and lighten up your front pieces at home. This is also a great way to have a low maintenance hairstyle while still looking like you’re giving the most effort. 

Sport all the hottest hair trends this summer with Arctic Fox semi permanent hair dyes. Sport a new take on falls hottest ginger shade by going peachy, or take a bold approach to a money piece with blonde contrasting face framers. This spring is about experimenting with your tresses!

By Thuy Pham

For those who love to change their hair color often like me, it’s important to understand how to prep and section your hair for bleach and color. Thank you to everyone who joined us for our IG live, I had such a great time showing y'all my best tips and tricks for balayage at home. For those who missed the live, here are my step by step instructions on “How to section and prep hair for bleach” at home.

Instructions:

1. Make sure to condition and deep treat your hair before and after bleaching.

2. Gather your tools - Here is what you will need: 

• (3) towels. One for laying down to protect your work surface, one for wrapping around your neck to protect your clothes and a third to use to wipe up messes.
• (2) applicator brushes
• Color bowl
• Small plastic whisk to mix product
• Gloves - please dont bleach or color without protecting your hands
• Comb to properly section your hair
• Hair clips to hold your sectioned hair
• Arctic Fox - Bleach, Please

3. Before mixing your bleach, make sure to section up your hair. When doing root touch ups or balayage, I section my hair into four sections. Starting down the middle and then right behind the ear. Clip each section back with a hair clip. 
4. Mix your bleach according to package instructions. If doing a balayage, mix a 1:1 ratio of bleach and developer. 
5. Using a small plastic whisk, gently mix bleach and developer until well blended. You want a paste like consistency (think toothpaste!). 
6. To balayage, take a small section of hair and  apply the bleach in a tapping motion, making sure to hold the section of hair tightly and taught. 
7. Do this until you have balayaged the desired amount of hair. 
8. Allow hair to process for 30 minutes or until desired lift (lightness) is achieved. 
9. Rinse hair until all bleach is removed. 
10. Wash and condition hair with Arctic Fox Resurrected shampoo and conditioner. 

Ready to try this at home yourself?!

Check out my balayage look reveal here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CpWlE1jjRhv/

Follow Thuy on Instagram!

Thuypdx

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