Celebrities, TV guests, and your Starbucks barista all have one thing in common: you can find them sporting unique and extreme hair colors. An “extreme hair color” is usually defined as any color that someone wouldn’t have as a natural hair color—white hair or grey hair, especially for younger people, royal blue, fuchsia, and even gold or grey hair. If you’ve been seeing this gorgeous hair color and you’re thinking about trying it, here are some things to consider.

Give It a Trial Run

Fuchsia hair color might sound like a good idea, but what if you go all-out and decide it doesn’t fit quite how you thought with your eye color, skin tone or undertone, or wardrobe? Before you take the plunge and go for a drastic change from dark hair, consider trying out a temporary look. Hair mascara, clip-in extensions, spray-in color, and even wigs in the color you’re eyeing can help you get an idea of how it might look.

Pay Attention to Hair Health

To get extreme hair colors, you must strip your hair to a very light shade before applying the color. If you’re a natural blonde, you might be able to get extremely colorful hair without bleach, but if you have a brown hair tone or black hair, you won’t be able to get the bright hair dye look without bleach. Darker hair should be healthy and strong to avoid permanent damage and maintain a soft feeling. If you’re working with damaged hair, consider just dyeing in a few streaks of color.

Get Help From a Professional

To make the hair color identity switch, you’re going to want to work with a hair colorist. This process requires several different steps, and in all of them, doing a poor job with hair dyes can result in hair breakage or loss. You can get the dyed hair you really want by just going to an expert the first time. They can also give you product recommendations to add to your beauty routine to maintain the color of your hair longer, such as an acid-based or blue shampoo. This can be especially helpful if you’re trying to maintain soft hair with a dramatic change, such as moving from dark hair to platinum blonde.

After the Dyeing Process

Vibrant hair colors are going to experience hair color loss more quickly. Hair coloring products, even permanent hair coloring products, won’t maintain something like cotton-candy pink hair for too long. Once the color starts fading, you have three options. You can either go back to your natural color, let the color fade out naturally into a pastel version of the original color, or dye it again, either to the same color or a different one. Regardless of what you do, knowing what you’re planning before you start the journey is a good idea.

Get Started On Your Color Journey Today

Whether you’re looking for the most vibrant hair colors available, you just want discreet highlights, or you’re changing to a different natural hair color, an expert is an important part of coloring your hair. Hair stylists will be able to create truly vibrant hair colors without excess hair shedding or other issues. Visit an Ogle School salon today to check out what options are available, from natural colors to very unnatural ones.