Dyeing Horsehair using Salon Dyes

How to Dye Horsehair using Hair Salon Dyes

Hair salon dyes, made for human hair, can also be used on horsehair. Horsehair does not react the same way as human hair, so you'll have to play around with this method to achieve the results you're looking for. Some of the products used in hair salons remove color and others add color. I'll break this down into two sections, lightening hair and adding color to horsehair.

Lightening Horseahir

Here are some instructions on how to lighten horsehair. If you want to lighten darker horsehair pulls you can try this method. I've also used this method to brighten up white tail hair that is discolored from urine.

Step (1)		Start with a product made by Clairol Professional called Pure White 40. It is basically peroxide so you can substitute Peroxide if Pure White 40 is not available. It is a very strong solution for human hair and can bleach human hair to white in a few minutes. Horsehair on the other hand is much more resistant to bleaches.
		If you're trying to lighten dark tail hair submerge the horsehair pulls in a mixture of 50% water 50% peroxide (Pure White 40). Leave them in this solution over night or for 12 hours. This will produce a slightly lighter color. It won't hurt the horsehair to leave it in for an additional 12 hours if you want to try for a lighter color still but don't expect to get white, it never bleaches the color completely like human hair will. If you just want to brighten up white tail hair you can leave it in the 50/50 solution for a few hours, another option is to soak the tail hair in a solution of laundry bleach 1 cup bleach per gallon of water (warm water works best). Soak for 1/2 hour.
Step (2)		Rinse the horsehair pulls or bundled horsehair under warm water until the water runs clear. To make sure the horsehair is completely rinsed leave the hair in clean standing water for 10 minutes.
Step (3)		Lay the pulls out on a towel or hang them with plastic clips to dry.
		You can store the peroxide-water mixture for future use. Bleach and water I don't keep.

Adding Hair Salon Color to Horseahir
Here are some instructions on how to add color to horsehair. If you would like to make your horsehair have a human hair color you can try one of the Clairol products. These salon products are sold at salon wholesalers as well as most drug stores.
In the example shown I used Clairol Professional - Second Nature - No Lift Color #142 G Med. Golden Blonde from Clairol to create the color used in the braid shown below. I also used natural white so you could see the difference between the colors.

Step (1)		Start with a bottle of Clairol Professional hair color, this product comes in a small 2 fl.oz. bottle and is available in a wide variety of colors. You don't have to use Clairol, you can experiment with what ever is available at your local salon or drugstore.
Step (2)		Prepare the horsehair pulls by soaking them in a mixture of 25% Peroxide and 75% water for 30 min. ( You can save this mixture for future use )
Step (3)		Rinse the horsehair pulls in water and then lay them on a sheet of wax paper. You may want to put newspaper underneath because this can get messy.
Step (4)		While the hair is still wet pour the hair dye into a small glass bowl and apply the dye with a small 1/2 inch paint brush. Brush the dye over the entire length of the pulls. Allow the dye to set for approximately 30 min. ( you can test a few pulls first before you do the whole batch, to make sure your getting the right color)
Step (5)		Rinse the pulls under warm water until the water runs clear. To make sure the horsehair is completely rinsed leave the pulls in clean standing water for 10 minutes. If the water is clear after that time the hair is fully rinsed. With some darker colors you might need to do this step several times. If your pulls are not rinsed properly the colors can bleed later.
Step (6)		Lay the pulls out on a towel or hang them with plastic clips to dry.

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