Forget the T-Shirt: Here's How to Tie-Dye Your *Hair*

If only they'd had this at summer camp when you were 12.

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(Image credit: Courtesy of Pravana)

Even if you haven't gone to a tie-dye party since the '90s, or worn the trippy print since the last time you stole your dad's perfectly worn-in Grateful Dead T-shirt, the latest psychedelic hair trend still has plenty of cool-girl appeal.

The brainchild of Pravana hair colorist Rickey Zito, the treatment doesn't stray far from the classic approach in terms of technique. He begins by separating pre-bleached hair into 2-4 inch sections securing them at the base, then loosely tying rubber bands at 3-4 inch intervals.

After the hair is set, he covers the elastics with pieces of fabric that provide an extra layer of protection from the dye. The final step is applying the color, which involves painting two different shades in each section, then blending them together. 

The prism-like results are nothing short of mind-blowing and reminiscent of Gwen Stefani's edgy hair pattern look. And what we love most is that you can go extreme à la the model in the video below, or you could even do it on a single section of hair for a more pared-down pop of color.

Watch Zito work his magic below and watch very closely if you plan on giving it a go at home, because we all know the perils of a tie-dye gone wrong.

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Lauren Valenti
Beauty Editor

Lauren Valenti is Vogue’s former senior beauty editor. Her work has also appeared on ELLE.com, MarieClaire.com, and in In Style. She graduated with a liberal arts degree from Eugene Lang College, The New School for Liberal Arts, with a concentration on Culture and Media Studies and a minor in Journalism.