The cheap hair saga continues. Last time I tried to skip the salon, I was attempting to bleach my hair with hydrogen peroxide and although there was a (very) slight difference in shades, my hair was parched after the process. If you want to see the results for yourself, you can here. This time, I decided to go in the opposite direction. I wanted darker, richer hair that wouldn't make my split ends any worse than they already were.
I had the idea one night when I was standing in front of the washing machine, trying to rub a coffee stain from my morning espresso out of my new white tee shirt. I had already been considering doing something to my hair for a week or so and then I thought, "I wonder if coffee could stain your hair too." So instead of running to CVS for at home hair dye, I ran straight to google to see if coffee hair dye was possible. It turns out, the drink you enjoy every morning can also give you rich coffee hair… apparently.
Without hesitation (or really any research), I jumped right in with the first instructions I found. At first glance, you might think this would be harmless endeavor. My hair is already brown, it's just coffee, seriously what could go wrong?
Well, let's watch.
Let's Break down a few things.
Before this process, I had no idea that I should be taking the chemical ingredients of coffee into consideration before I rubbed the mixture into my scalp. Aka the CAFFEINE. That's essentially all coffee is, liquid caffeine. Pardon me for thinking your skin could be a protective layer against getting contact high. Turns out, if you let coffee soak into your skin, the caffeine will have the same effect on you as if you drank it, it could even have an increased effect because your body isn't metabolizing it. As you saw, I LET THE COFEE SOAK INTO MY BRAIN FOR A WHOLE HOUR.
The effects? I laid in my bed all night with my eyes open, debating on whether or not I should just start my day at 3 a.m. because I had this undying urge to be productive. I showed up to work earlier than normal and was hyper all day long. It literally felt like I was screaming at people when I tried to hold a conversation. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I hardly got any sleep ALL week and I genuinely think it was because of the coffee in my hair.
If you are prepping for an all-nighter I definitely recommend this technique. It probably won't do much to your hair but it will definitely have an effect on your week. But if you are only trying to make your hair darker, try at your own risk, I will not be held liable for your peers' concern for your well-being.