Have you ever thought about adding a splash of color to your hair, but without the commitment of permanent dye? Well, you’re in for a treat!
Dyeing your hair with tissue paper is becoming all the rage. It’s not just a creative and fun way to switch up your look, but it’s also super temporary – perfect for those who love to experiment without long-term stakes.
This trend is catching on fast, especially for those who enjoy DIY beauty hacks at home. Whether you’re looking for a subtle tint or a bold statement, tissue paper dyeing offers a palette of playful possibilities. From vibrant pinks to deep blues, the colors you can play with are as limitless as your imagination.
In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about this quirky hair dyeing method. It’s easy, it’s affordable, and best of all, it’s a blast.
So, if you’re ready to add some color to your life (and your hair!), let’s dive into the world of tissue paper hair dyeing. Stay tuned for some colorful fun!
Table of Contents
- Tissue paper hair dye is good for:
- How to Dye Your Hair With Tissue Paper
- What You Need
- Preparing the Dye
- How to Apply the Dye – Easy Methods
- Tissue Paper Hair Dye Style Gallery
- Watch and learn: How to color hair using paper!
- Maintaining the Hair Color
- Tissue paper Hair dye FAQs
- Can I dye my hair with tissue paper?
- Parting words
- Our Research & Review Process
Tissue paper hair dye is good for:
- Experimenting with wacky colour
- Unicorn and Mermaid looks
- Temporary styles
- Special occasions (Halloween and Christmas)
- A fun activity for kids!
How to Dye Your Hair With Tissue Paper
What You Need
Getting ready to transform your hair with some delightful colors? Great!
Before we jump into the how-to, let’s make sure you’ve got everything you need. The beauty of dyeing your hair with tissue paper is that it requires just a few simple items, most of which you probably already have at home.
Here’s your checklist:
- Colored Tissue or Crepe Paper: The star of the show. Choose your favorite colors. Remember, the brighter and more vibrant, the better the results. Feel free to mix and match!
- A Large Bowl: You’ll need this to mix your magical hair potion. Make sure it’s big enough to accommodate the amount of hair you plan to dye.
- Hot Water: This helps in releasing the dye from the tissue paper. The hotter, the better (but be careful not to burn yourself).
- Scissors: For cutting the tissue paper into strips. This step isn’t mandatory, but it helps in evenly soaking and extracting color from the paper.
- Disposable Gloves: Unless you want rainbow hands, these are a must. Tissue paper dye can be quite potent!
- Teaspoon of Salt: A little bit of chemistry magic! Salt acts as a mordant, helping the color fix onto your hair.
- Elastic Bands (Optional): If you’re going for the alternative ‘tie-dye’ method, these will come in handy to secure the tissue paper to your hair.
Now you have the essentials, you’re ready! Here’s how to get it right step-by-step!
Preparing the Dye
Now, the exciting part begins – creating your very own hair dye from tissue paper! It’s simpler than you might think. Just follow these steps to prepare your dye:
Step #1 : Cut up tissue paper
Start by cutting your chosen tissue or crepe paper into strips and place it in the bowl. This doesn’t have to be precise; rough strips are just fine.
Cutting the paper helps in two ways: it makes it easier to handle and increases the surface area, allowing more dye to release into the water.
Step #2: Add hot water
Fill your large bowl with boiling water. The hot water is crucial as it helps to extract the dye from the tissue paper effectively.
Be careful when handling the hot water to avoid any spills or burns.
A lot of the water will get absorbed. Cold water will not work!
Step #3: Add salt and let soak
Next, add a teaspoon of salt to the bowl and stir it well.
The salt acts as a fixative, which helps the color adhere to your hair fibers better. Give it a good stir to make sure the salt is dissolved and the paper is fully soaked.
Leave the paper in the bowl of warm salty water all to soak for around 5-10 mins to let the color run out from the paper.
Step #4: Remove tissue paper
Now remove all the wet strips of paper from the bowl. Keep them to one side to use in the dyeing process.
We squished the paper a little as we removed it to wring it out and release some more dye mixture. But be gentle – we don’t want the paper to disintegrate into the water.
You should be left with a strong colored liquid.
If it looks too watery, try adding more, fresh paper and leaving it to soak again.
Voila! You now have your homemade hair dye ready to go. Now we’ll move on to how you can apply this beautiful, vibrant dye to your hair. Get ready to color up!
How to Apply the Dye – Easy Methods
With your homemade tissue paper dye ready, it’s time to apply it to your hair. There are a couple of methods you can use, depending on the look you’re going for.
It’s best to do this with clean, dry hair and not wet hair to let the color really absorb. Here’s how to do it:
1. Dip-Dye Method:
Prepare Your Hair: Make sure your hair is clean and dry. Damp hair might not take the color as well.
Dip Your Hair: Lean over the bowl and dip your hair into the dye solution. If you’re just dyeing the ends, you can simply hold them in the bowl. For more coverage, you might need to scoop the solution onto your hair.
Timing: Leave your hair submerged in the dye for about 10 minutes. The longer you leave it, the more intense the color will be. But keep an eye on it to get the shade just right.
Rinsing: Once you’re satisfied with the color, rinse your hair with cold water. This helps set the color and stops the dyeing process.
2. Tissue Tie-Dye Method (Mermaid-Ombre Effect):
Prepare Your Hair: As with the dip-dye method, start with clean, dry hair.
Wrap Your Hair: Wet the tissue paper in the dye solution, then wrap sections of your hair with the colored paper. Secure the paper with elastic bands.
Wait for the Magic: Leave the tissue paper on your hair for about 30 minutes.
Unwrap and Rinse: Carefully remove the tissue paper and rinse your hair with cold water.
If you dye your hair regularly (like us!) your hair will probably take to it quickly as it will be more porous.
Dry and style!
Once you’re happy with the level of color, you can throw the mixture away and dry and style your hair.
DON’T SHAMPOO IT! It will wash the color away.
Now admire your new style!
Top Tips for Both Methods
- Protect Your Skin and Clothes: Wear an old T-shirt and use towels to protect your skin and surfaces from stains.
- Experiment with Colors: Don’t be afraid to mix colors for a unique look. You can even try multi-colored strands for a fun, playful effect.
- Strand Test: If you’re unsure how a color will turn out, test a small, inconspicuous section of hair first.
Tissue Paper Hair Dye Style Gallery
Watch and learn: How to color hair using paper!
Here’s an awesome video tutorial that guides you through how to dye your hair with tissue paper.
Maintaining the Hair Color
Now that you’ve successfully added a pop of color to your hair, let’s talk about how to keep it looking vibrant.
Tissue paper dye is temporary, but with a little care, you can enjoy your new look for a bit longer.
- Avoid Frequent Washing: The more you wash your hair, the quicker the color will fade. Try to extend the time between washes to maintain the intensity of the color.
- Cold Water is Key: When you do wash your hair, use cold water. Hot water can cause the color to fade faster. Cold water helps to seal your hair cuticles, keeping the color locked in for longer.
- Gentle Shampoo and Conditioner: Use color-safe or mild shampoo and conditioner. These products are designed to be gentle on dyed hair and can help preserve the color. Avoid harsh chemicals or heavy-duty cleansers.
- Limit Sun Exposure: Just like with regular hair dye, the sun can fade your tissue paper hair color. When you’re out and about, consider wearing a hat or scarf to protect your hair from direct sunlight.
- Touch-Ups: Since this dyeing method is so simple and safe, you can easily touch up your color as it starts to fade. This gives you the freedom to experiment with different shades and intensities as often as you like.
- Embrace the Fade: The fading process can actually result in beautiful pastel tones. So, don’t worry too much about keeping the color super vibrant – enjoy the journey of changing hues!
Remember, the beauty of dyeing your hair with tissue paper is its temporary nature. It’s all about having fun and experimenting without commitment. So, feel free to play around with colors and enjoy your vivid locks while they last!
TOP TIP! Speeding Up Color Fade
If you decide you’re ready to move on from the color (or going back to school!), washing your hair with a clarifying shampoo and warm water will help remove the color faster.
Tissue paper Hair dye FAQs
Can I dye my hair with tissue paper?
Yes you can! But the truth is, this hack is more about staining your hair than really dyeing it.
Unlike hair dyes and box dyes, it doesn’t contain any chemicals or alter your hair structure in any way.
It works by soaking the colored paper in water which draws out the color pigments from the paper, and then soaking the ends of your hair in the mixture until it’s absorbed all the color. Simple!
Because of this, it’s perfect for using on kids! And totally safe, much like dying your hair with Kool-Aid.
It works best on light blonde hair where you can dip-dye the ends of create colored highlights.
With a bit experimenting, you can create a whole new look with fantastical temporary colours, mermaid hair, unicorn hair or even a rainbow effect without causing any damage to your child’s hair. Yippee!
Is it safe to dye your hair with tissue paper?
Tissue paper is a safe and effective way of dyeing your hair at home. As long as you are aware that the results may not be that great, then it’s okay!
It will give your hair a tint of color. This method does not involve bleaching or putting harsh chemicals on your hair, which is usually the case when using boxed dye kits.
It is suggested that you do one small section at a time and don’t try to color all of your hair in one sitting.
This way you can make sure that the color has “taken” and that the tissue paper hair dye is not just sitting on top of your hair.
Since the results will only last for 1-2 washes, you’ll need to get used to doing this every week!
If this sounds like too much maintenance for you, then maybe dying your hair with tissue paper isn’t a good idea for you.
How long will tissue paper hair dye last?
Because coloring your hair with this method is just staining the outside of your hair, it won’t last more than two washes.
But this makes you free to try lots of different colours as often as you want! Tissue paper hair dye method is great for experimenting with radical colour.
We’ve found warm colors work and stay the best- so colors like pinks, purples and reds.
Blue and green are really hard colors to get our of your hair, especially if your hair is a lighter shade like blonde. So be warned!
Does tissue paper hair dye wash out?
The tissue paper ink should not be too difficult to get out of your hair and it should fade away after one wash.
Because you’re staining your hair with ink with this method, it doesn’t penetrate your hair shaft like regular box hair dyes. So a good wash will get it all off for sure.
Just make sure that you use shampoo and conditioner of a higher quality so that they can get the job done right!
Parting words
If you’re looking for a new way to experiment with your hair color, but don’t want to commit or spend too much money on permanent dye, tissue paper hair dyeing is the newest craze that’s perfect.
This method is perfect for those who love DIY beauty hacks, for parents looking for a safe way to allow their kids to experiment with hair color, or for anyone wanting to add a pop of color for a special occasion. With its simplicity, safety, and temporary results, tissue paper dyeing is an excellent way to explore your creative side.
You can get all of the benefits and fun without having to worry about it damaging your locks!
Go ahead and give tissue paper dyeing a try.
Found your perfect shade? We’d love to see it! Tag us on Instagram @colouredhaircare or Facebook and share your hair dye success stories. Looking for more hair care tips? Check out How to Look After Colored Hair: 11 Expert Secrets For Long-Lasting Color.
Our Research & Review Process
To ensure our recommendations are as comprehensive and reliable as possible, we’ve undertaken an extensive research effort.
We cite scientific evidence and journals, collect real user reviews and gather impartial perspectives from hair stylists, users, and experts in the field.
Additionally, we conduct hands-on testing by using products and applying hair dyes not only on our own locks but also on real human hair extensions and hair pieces of different hair type, textures and lengths.
This rigorous approach allows us to provide you with insights into which products genuinely live up to their promises.
As always – please consult with a professional hair colorist or stylist for advice on how to color your own hair at home. It’s different for everyone!
