Beauty
beauty and the beat: ms mr
lizzy shares the secret to her neon hair!
My Little Pony better watch her back-- because the original candy-colored hair icon's getting some serious competition. There's
, who's been charming the fashion industry the past several seasons with her traffic-stopping pink (and blue, and green...) locks. But when we're talking about the
music world, there's nobody who beats out Lizzy Plapinger for her insanely awesome, shape-shifting color palette. Considering the
frontwoman has been dyeing her hair since high school--
and
switches it up every tour cycle like the badass she is--there's really no better expert to school us on the art of the perfect highlighter hue.
Get the lowdown from Plapinger and prepare to start your own neon-athon below. C'mon, you know you want to....
Tell us about the background of your rainbow hair. When did you first dye it?
I actually first starting dying my hair in high school; I had two blue streaks on either side of my part. I immediately fell in love with having color in my hair and the sort of raised eye brow reactions that it brought out in people. It was immediately polarizing and I guess I sort of got off on that (typical 16-year-old reaction). The truth is, right from the get-go I wanted to dye my whole head but I think the streaks were a stepping stone. It wasn't until the summer I graduated from college that I was ready to take the plunge. I had been planning on going bright electric red and the salon told me they would have to bleach my hair to get it the color I wanted. Once I knew I was heading in that direction it just felt like I might as well have fun with it before I decided on a more natural color. I went with pink, and I never looked back.
Who dyes your hair? Do you guys work together every time?
Originally a woman named Lauren McCowan died my hair but unfortunately shortly after getting me hooked she moved back to Australia. Eventually I stumbled upon
at
and we instantly clicked. She understood my mentality for experimentation and when I came in with bizarre objects and color combinations she never judged or questioned it but was excited by the challenge! For the past year and a half I've been exclusively seeing her, going to her home where we do my hair in her sink and drink beers and watch movies and listen to new music. She's become one of my dearest friends but more than that, she is a true artist. I'll never trust anyone else with my locks again.
How often do you dye your hair? What inspires the different colors?
I change my hair color about every two or three months. More recently I've started to change it up based on tour cycles so that every time we're out I'm sportin' something new. I never really think about "what will suit me." Instead I just follow my gut and go for it. Inspiration can come from anywhere: favorite movies, city lights, marbles, My Little Ponies, but really I think it usually has something to do with clothes and what style I'm currently interested in. It's a fun way to help re-imagine my closet regularly (which evolves as much as my hair does, really).
Talk a little bit about your routine--which products do you use? Any secrets for making the color last, etc?
For anyone with crazy colored/bleached hair, these are rules to live by...
1. Buy black towels.
2. Don't wash it (but really...).
3. If you have to wash it, wash with ice cold water (it will help keep the color from running).
4. Use a very small amount of shampoo and a good amount of conditioner (bleach dries your hair out like crazy).
5. Embrace dry shampoo and Moroccan oil as your new best friend.
What's your trick for making it look good on the road?
The truth is, I just don't wash my hair that much, probably once every week and a half. I'm really lucky that I have curly hair because it's never gotten greasy and I personally prefer when my hair is pretty messy. Colored hair is not for everyone, but for a tour troll like me, it works.
