The night was like the surface of a black lagoon,
pierced with the light of the majestic moon.

Though dark and void, this world is dusted with stars.
Unfathomable numbers stretched far beyond Mars.

Midnight magic drew me to this ethereal land,
where our world is nothing more than a grain sand.

Celestial beings drift, like snow in the night.
Spirits illuminated by the Luna light.

But this world of magic is not what it seems
for this land beyond is reached only in dreams.

Hair, make up, photography and poem all by Anya Goy.

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To grab your copy of the ebook “ANY COLOUR OF THE RAINBOW- The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Hair Colour ” by Anya Goy, Vidal Sassoon trained hair stylist, click here: www.rainbowhaircolour.com

“Consumed by her own beauty, she thinks she has it all.
But as the old proverbs say; Pride comes before a fall!” – Anya Goy

This photo series was inspired by the meaning of the tiger lily: pride and prosperity. I wanted to create something of contrast, to show the beauty of prosperity but also the ugliness of pride.

The spectrum of vibrant hair colours, and use of soft golden tones is to suggest abundance and fortune. But the dark harsh tiger lily make up and condescending expression are to show the darker side of egotism, greed and selfishness.

“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you’re looking down, you can’t see something that’s above you.” -  C.S. Lewis

“Human prosperity never rests but always craves more, till blown up with pride it totters and falls.” -  Aeschylus

“In prosperity let us most carefully avoid pride, disdain, and arrogance.” – Cicero

^“First pride, then the crash— the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. It’s better to live humbly among the poor than to live it up among the rich and famous.” – Proverbs 16:18-19 (The Message)

Tiger Lily Eye Make Up…

I use Bella Pierre mineral make up colour pigments. I have the 9 shades stack called “Iris”. It’s RRP is $99.95, but I paid about $65 by haggling! I bought them over a year ago and still have heaps left, and I use it everyday for work! Plus you can use these colour pigments in lots of different ways. (See here: http://www.bellapierre.com.au/shop/Eye-Shadow-Makeup-9-Stack/c26/p81/Iris/product_info.html)

"Kandy 31" by Recipe for haight

Hi Anya,

I have heard lots of things about hair colour not being safe to use when you are pregnant, but does this mean temporary unnatural colours as well? What do you think?

The Pregnant Punk

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Hi Pregnant Punk,

The idea of not dying your hair during pregnancy has been around for some time, however this is normally in relation to natural hair shades, not bright rainbow hair. So let me try and shed some light on this topic.

The reason people say you can’t dye you hair during pregnancy in the first place, comes from two issues. First is the theory that the dye chemicals may affect the development of the unborn baby. The second is that the hormones in your body during pregnancy can cause your hair to become resistant to the dye, and you may have problems with achieving the desired result. So lets look at both these issues…

The theory that the dye chemicals may affect the development of the unborn baby…

I believe this theory came about back in the 80′s when hair dyes where much harsher and contained chemicals (such as 4-MMPD) which was found to penetrate skin and cause cancer in laboratory animals. But today manufacturers have stopped using such chemicals, with some brands even producing ammonia free hair dyes such as L’Oreals INOA range.

In regards to hair dye and bleach products there hasn’t been much research in this area. The limited research that’s available is based on animal studies and suggests that it’s safe to dye your hair during pregnancy. As a hairdresser I know many of my customers choose to colour their hair during pregnancy, and I have yet to come across any one who has had problems.

Dr Miriam Stoppard (a parenting expert) said ‘The very powerful pigments in the darker shades of hair dye penetrate the scalp in a few minutes and can be detected in white blood cells in a few hours’ she goes on to say “…this means the body is dealing efficiently with the pigment. The white cells are mopping it up and getting rid of it so that it can’t do any harm.” Still most doctors suggest waiting to colour your hair until the second trimester, when the developing baby is less vulnerable.

However doctors do recommend you should stay away from chemical fumes when pregnant, and for this reason perms are not recommended.

'American Seduction' by Kandy-k

So what about temporary punky rainbow hair dyes?

Bright, funky alternative colours (such as Manic Panic, Special Effects, Raw, ‘N Rage… etc.) have no peroxide, no ammonia and no fumes. This type of dye is synthetic, so it simply stains the hair cuticles in the same way cloths dye stains the material. This means its not using harsh chemicals to penetrate the hair as standard hair dyes do. In fact some rainbow hair colours have some of the the same ingredients as found in conditioner. Although there is no research in this area, I think you’re probably safer using this type of punky temporary colour rather than standard permanent hair dyes, as it is much kinder to both hair and skin. But if you’re still unsure I suggest you talk to your doctor.

Now although you can use these kinds of alternative colours directly over your current hair colour, you will find they only give your hair a slight tone. This is because these dyes are designed to work on pre-bleached hair.

So if you are after vibrant, true colours, you do need to pre-bleached the hair. Lots of pregnant women will use bleach on their scalp with no problems, but if you’re still concerned there are lots of ways to bleach your hair without any skin contact. (Any chemicals absorbed into your system would come through your skin/scalp, not through your hair.) So rather than doing an all-over head bleach I’d suggest you try one of the following techniques as an ‘off scalp’ alternative:

• Foils (also know as ‘streaking’ or ‘highlighting’): Where small strands of hair are placed in foils with bleach.
• Balayage (also known as ‘freestyle painting’): Where bleach is painted on to random strips of hair.
• Shoe Shine (also know as ‘frosting’): Where bleach is brushed over the tips of short hair.
• Dip Dying: Where only the ends of long hair are bleached to appear ‘dipped’ in colour.

I recommend you go to a salon for this, but if you want to bleach your hair at home I suggest you ask a friend to help you mix and apply the bleach. The ammonia in bleach can give off some fume if you inhale directly while mixing the bleach powder with the peroxide. So work in a well-ventilated space to help minimise inhaling any fumes.

The theory that the hormones in your body during pregnancy can cause your hair to become resistant to hair dye…

Some women have reported hair dyes not taking to their hair during pregnancy, and hair colours turning out different to what was expected. This is possible due to the hormonal changes in your body, however this is a minority of cases. Most women have no problem with achieving their desired hair colour. Hormones do however have other effects on your hair during pregnancy, and even after giving birth. A number of women will experience their hair becoming fuller, stronger and more shiny during pregnancy, as the body retains more protein. But after giving birth and particularly during breast feeding some women find their hair becomes brittle and weak, some even experience hair loss. Hormones can do crazy things to your hair during pregnancy. Dry hair may become oilier, oily hair may become dry, curly hair may become straight or vice versa.

Also during pregnancy your immune responses changes so you may be more vulnerable to having an allergic reaction to hair dye, even if you’ve never had one before. So if you intend on colouring I suggest you do a skin test first, as recommended by most hair dye products anyway.

At the end of the day…

To the best of my knowledge and as my experience as a hairdresser I would say it’s safe to colour you hair during pregnancy. However there is no hard proof of this as yet and at the end of the day it’s your decision and your baby. I would always recommend you discuss this with both your husband/partner and your doctor before you make up your own mind.

I believe it’s important for women to feel good about themselves during pregnancy, be that natural hair colours, or rainbow Mohawk’s. But whether colouring your hair will make you feel good or cause you to worry needlessly for nine months is something for you to think about.

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To grab your copy of the ebook “ANY COLOUR OF THE RAINBOW- The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Hair Colour ” by Anya Goy, Vidal Sassoon trained hair stylist, click here: www.rainbowhaircolour.com

'Mathilda Kajlinger' by Robert Norgren

Photographer: Robert Norgren (http://www.robertnorgren.com/)
Model: Mathilda Kajlinger (~ourwickedgame)

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Hello Anya (:

I have a question for you…
I saw this girl with a pale pink hair color, would you by any chance know any color really similar to this? Or how I could accomplish this color?

Thanks,
Candy Cravings
xx

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Hi Candy Cravings,

Love that photo! Gorgeous.

To get this sort of shade I would use something like Special Effects – ‘Cupcake Pink’ on pre-bleached hair.

Special Effects Hair Dye -Cupcake Pink The cream conditioning formula is made from the finest ingredients on the planet and is never tested on animals. Made in the USA. This shade glows under UV/black light. Cost: $13.99

However that photo looks like its had the colour tones muted a little, so it won’t look exactly the same, and I think that photo was probably taken after a few shampoos, so the colour is a bit softer than when freshly dyed.

One more thing, because this shade is quite pale already, you may find it will fade from the hair faster than a deep pink.

Hope this helps!
peace,
Anya

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To grab your copy of the ebook “ANY COLOUR OF THE RAINBOW- The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Hair Colour ” by Anya Goy, Vidal Sassoon trained hair stylist, click here: www.rainbowhaircolour.com

Wishing you all a wonderful new year filled with peace, love and rainbows. The best it yet to come!

Merry Christmas to all you lovely people! Thank you for following me and my work this year, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas of colour. Love you all ♥

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE to all on whom His favor rests.”
- Luke 2:14

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This Christmas I’m donating 50% of the profit from each eBook sold throughout December to the Salvation Army Christmas appeal. So click here to grab your copy today and help make someone’s Christmas that bit brighter ♥

Rainbow cake recipe…

Ingredients:

• 1 and a half cups of raindrops
• 1 cup sunshine
• a couple of drops of unicorn tears
• 2 butterflies
• 125g (4 oz) flower power (sifted)
• 1 tsp of  fairy dust.

Directions:

In medium bowl, pour the raindrops and sunshine, and whisk with your wand until smooth. Sift together flower power and fairy dust, then add to mix. Remember to sing ‘Yellow Submarine ‘ as you sift. Then beat in butterflies one at a time.

Finally add in the unicorn tears and whisk until smooth. Spread mixture evenly in pan. Bake in preheated dreams for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool by clapping over cake and saying ‘I believe in fairys!’

Cake made by Nicole Traynor, check out her other cakes here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=339984&id=691110231

For real rainbow cake recipe click here: http://whisk-kid.blogspot.com/2009/08/say-it-with-cake.html

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This Christmas I’m donating 50% of the profit from each eBook sold throughout December to the Salvation Army Christmas appeal. So click here to grab your copy today and help make someone’s Christmas that bit brighter ♥

“Remember, Remember,
The Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot!
I see no reason,
Why Gunpowder and Treason,
Should ever be forgot!”

"Mohawk" by Drama Druid

Welcome to a bonfire night special! Lets bring out the sparklers, and light up the night with some explosive hair styles and fiery colours…

For a classic ‘Fire’ effect most people would jump for a bottle of red dye, but for a more true flaming combo try a burning orange and a glowing yellow. This blend of colours is more true to creating a flaming head of hair. Dyes like Special Effects “Napalm Orange” and Manic Panic’s “Electric Banana” also glow under UV light and can look totally mad when your hair is all lit up.

If you have long, layered hair and want to styling your hair straight and down I suggest your do these colours in foils, (you can also add some red to the combo). This will give you steaks of fiery colours running through your hair. This look is best shown off when head banging and hair whipping!!

"Karelle's hair II" by Sifu (http://www.benheys.com)

However for truly flaming hair that mimics the movement, twist and flicker of fire, pull out your curling tongs and hairspray! For this style I suggest you blend your orange/yellow/red from roots to tips, rather than do foiled streaks. Let the colours mix a bit, so they blend into each other.

Then go curl crazy with your curling tongs… or for bigger/loser curls do twists with your GHD. Back comb the roots to give as much hight and body as you like. Flip your head upside down and hairspray it all to give hold and volume. You can leave it down and wild, with movement and bounce, so it’s like flames licking around your face and falling around your shoulders. Alternatively you can pin it all up on your head to look like fire flickering up into the night sky.

Her Hair Is On Fire by *looooo

And of course, as with any colourful look, you have to go all the way and do the make up to match! Check out this wonderful You Tube clip by Eva Di Martino (www.pureblacklove.com) …

Hope you have an awesome bonfire night!

Note: Thanks to JellyFish Queen for suggesting a blog post on fiery hair for bonfire night!

Anya Goy |

Inspired by this quote:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

- Marianne Williamson

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To grab your copy of the ebook “ANY COLOUR OF THE RAINBOW- The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Hair Colour ” by Anya Goy, Vidal Sassoon trained hair stylist, click here: www.rainbowhaircolour.com

Anya Goy |

Hi Anya,

I was wondering if you have any recommendations for bleach-abused/generally exhausted hair. For a year and a half I had my hair professionally dyed a permanent brown and had my fringe and sides bleached blonde. Not understanding the damage or process of bleach, I had it repeatedly bleached over every 6 weeks or so, and am unfortunately now paying for it!

(This photo is an example of how much and how thoroughly I used to get my hair bleached.)

The bleached sections are completely dead, they feel like straw, and even conditioning dyes don’t touch the damaged areas. The purple I use comes out rich everywhere but the dead areas, where it only goes a very pale lilac, but is washed back to the stark white it was before dyeing. I had a lot of hair bleached, so getting it slowly cut out will take an awfully long time, is there any way I can save my hair or must I abandon hair colouring to let it all grow out?

(This is a shot of my hair after two washes, where you can see the drastic change between healthy hair that has grown through since I stopped getting it bleached, and the dead hair. You can see how the remaining purple sits nicely, yet the damaged is all fluffy and impossible to do anything with.)

I attempted to straighten it once to see if I could at least control it, but the hairs snapped as I did so, so I stopped using straighteners at all. This damage has been done to both the sides of my head, to my fringe (although the fringe isn’t quite so badly damaged, it can remain a pale lilac longer than anywhere else) and to various areas round the back.

I do use anti-dandruff shampoos and conditioners, which I know strip colour out a bit more than normal, but even a months worth of Tresemme deep recovery shampoo and conditioner did nothing to help it. The colour lasted maybe one extra wash than normal but was still dry and brittle and white.

If I am to abandon colouring, would it be an alright idea to get all of the dyed brown hair (never touched by bleach, and in very good condition) bleached the once, so that the white damaged hair won’t look such a stark and noticeable contrast? Also I was hoping in future to go electric blue, so bleaching the permanent brown out would be a must, if it wouldn’t obliterate my hair? I’m wary that bleaching permanent brown may make it go a funny colour and/or cause the same damage that the rest of my hair is currently suffering.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Damaged Damsel in dis-Tress.

P.S. The ebook is brilliant. I recently purchased it, and this is what made me realize that I need some serious SOS on my hair.

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Dear Damaged Damsel in dis-Tress,

Thank you for your message and photos.

Ok, so lets start with the bleach damaged hair…

What upsets me the most about your situation is that you said you had it professionally bleached and dyed! Your hairdresser should know better than to bleach the hair over and over again, rather that just touching up the roots! And its your hairdressers responsibility to say ‘No I won’t bleach your hair any more’ if they think bleaching is causing to much damage, how are you to know when enough is enough? You can only tell when it is to late.

You said: “Not understanding the damage or process of bleach, I had it repeatedly bleached over every 6 weeks or so, and am unfortunately now paying for it!”.

You, as a customer, shouldn’t have to understand the damage or process of bleach, that’s why you go to a salon to get a professional to do it! You shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s negligence. If I were you I would go back and complain, they at least should compensate you with a free hair cut or treatment to help the condition they have left your hair in. And in future I would find a new hairdresser!

Ok, sorry for the rant, it just upsets me to hear things like that. Lets get on to how we can redeem the situation…

“…is there any way I can save my hair or must I abandon hair colouring to let it all grow out?”

Not at all, you can still colour, but you must colour correctly so as not to damage your hair any more. Here’s how to colour correctly for your hair:

1. Maintain the bleached areas by ONLY touching up the roots. NEVER bleach hair that is already bleached, its unnecessary and simply causes more damage (as you know). Also use the ammonia free bleach on your roots if you can. The roots of the bleached areas are natural hair and should lift well with this (Of course if your natural hair isn’t to dark and is a suitable shade, refer to the ebook for this.)
2. And the brown colour you are dyeing the rest, swap to a semi rather than a permanent. I suggest L’Oreal Richesse something on a level 6… like a 6.23.  These colours are ammonia free and are mixed with the Richesse developer, which is a low level of peroxide (10%) . This will make it easier for when you wish to lighten all of your hair in future, plus makes the brown hair super shiny and healthy.



3. You can continue with the purple (or whatever alternative colour you like) as they are synthetic dyes, so they have no peroxide or ammonia. You can colour you hair as much as you like with these semi-permanent funky colours, and never dry out or damage your hair. In fact they are quite conditioning!

“Tresemme deep recovery shampoo and conditioner did nothing to help it…”

You need to use the right products to improve the condition of the damaged bleached hair. I’ve used Tresemme and I’m not a fan. I actually feel like it dries the hair more! Here are my current favourite products for damaged hair:

1. Moroccan Oil  (Website: http://www.moroccanoil.com/)
2. L’Oreal, ‘Absolut Repair’ range (Website: http://www.lorealprofessionnel.co.uk)

These products are available online or at most salons. They are a bit pricey, but its good stuff.

“I had a lot of hair bleached, so getting it slowly cut out will take an awfully long time”

Of course growing out the healthy hair and cutting off the damaged ends will also get you hair back to a good state, and may not take as long as you think. Here are some tips:

1. I suggest you get your hair cut every 5-6 weeks to help improve the condition. You just need the ends trimmed but it will make all the difference. And no thinning scissors or razor blade cutting/slicing, these cause split ends and will not help the condition of your hair. Just have simple blunt cuts, and blunt layers (also know as club cutting). If you have a good hairdresser they will know how to create any style (including choppy layers) using this technique.
2. And for speeding up hair growth I hear Biotin works well (to buy: http://uk.shopping.com/nutrition/biotin/products). I haven’t personally used it but I’ve had customers who have and say it works for them. Also to help the hair growth, eat food with vitamin E, and do regular head rubs to stimulate blood flow to the scalp.

Hair grows on average about 1/2 an inch a month. So I reckon in about 6 months, maintaining your current length with regular cuts, you should have cut off a total of 3 inch’s off the damaged ends and have a fresh 3 inch’s of healthy hair growth (Or more if you use the Biotin). The condition should be massively improved by then, partiality with the use of good products/treatments.

“I attempted to straighten it once to see if I could at least control it, but the hairs snapped as I did so, so I stopped using straighteners at all.”

Glad to hear you are not straightening your hair. If you can lay off all heat styling for a while, even blow dryers, you will see a big difference! Of course once the condition has improved you can resume heat styling, but just give your hair a heat holiday for a little while. It will love you for it! And of course use heat protection when you do resume heat styling.

Now let me get on to answering your other question….

“Would it be an alright idea to get all of the dyed brown hair (never touched by bleach, and in very good condition) bleached the once, so that the white damaged hair won’t look such a stark and noticeable contrast?”

Yes this would be fine, the condition after just one bleach should be ok (of course it won’t feel as great as it does now, but it will hold out and be ok). The result may be more of a yellow blonde than if it was just natural hair, but if you intend on going over with an alternative colour you would be ok (although I wouldn’t colour over with light blue as it may come out more green. If you want blue all over, go for a dark blue).

But to be honest I wouldn’t do it if it was me, at least not yet. I would wait till the semi permanent brown was used a few times and the permanent had grown out a bit, as this would make it easier to bleach. And a few things to consider with a full head bleach is… it takes more time to do than streaks, causes some damage to all you hair (not just parts), cost’s more and is high maintenance for you (roots need doing every 3-4 weeks). Maybe don’t do it just yet, let the damaged hair get a bit better and then have another think about it.

And the mix of blonde and brown in the photo looks fine, I quite like it! And you can always play around with the funky colours you use if you want a change.

Peace,
Anya

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To grab your copy of  the ebook “ANY COLOUR OF THE RAINBOW- The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Hair Colour ” by Anya Goy, Vidal Sassoon trained hair stylist, click here:  www.rainbowhaircolour.com

Anya Goy |