We all have a quirky side to us that we’ve tried to hide in the past. All so we can fit into society’s standard of ‘beauty’. But now, weird and unique are back in trend. It is time to embrace our inner quirkiness and let out all the weirdness we’ve been holding back! Get as many piercings as you want. Get that tattoo you’ve been wanting and dye your hair a million colours! So what if people stare? The most important thing is that you feel comfortable in your own skin and decisions. That is what Koh Qi Wen is trying to embrace with Qwerky Colour. 

If you’ve ever wanted to try a different hair colour every month but you’re afraid of the damage, Qwerky Colour is here to save the day. With semi-permanent hair dyes that are non-damaging, you can change your hair as many times as you want! But how did all this come together? Take a look with Beauty Insider down below!

Founder Koh Qi Wen

The founder of Qwerky Colour is none other than the bubbly Koh Qi Wen. Among friends, she is known as the girl with crazy coloured hair! But whether it is fashion, makeup or beauty-related things, Qi Wen is interested in them as well. Like most of us, Qi Wen’s love for dyeing her hair started young. Once she graduated from college at 18, her first course of action was to dye her hair. Born and raised in Singapore, Qi Wen mentions that schools never allowed her to colour her hair. Stating that having coloured hair was like forbidden fruit and once she had a taste, she couldn’t stop. Today, friends and families know her as “ the girl with colourful hair”. 

Being a big fan of colours, Qi Wen loves experimenting with new and bold colours through makeup and fashion. Thus, her hair was no exception. She also states that changing her hair colour makes her feel like a completely different person each time. Allowing her to better express herself, in ways words never could. Since loves playing around with different looks and sticking with one style in fashion or makeup was never her thing. So, having colourful hair has become part of her identity. 

Qwerky Colour

Koh Qi Wen started Qwerky Colour for the adventurous souls who enjoy experimenting with their hair just as much as she does. Qwerky Colour is also a great alternative for most of us as it also helps with maintaining the integrity of our hair. After bleaching our hair a million times, it can become damaged. Thus, it is important for us to keep it healthy and take care of it. Qwerky Colour is also for us who are on a budget. We know that salons in Singapore can be pricey and maintaining it can cost a fortune as well. So, here is an affordable, long-lasting and non-damaging hair dye to satisfy your Qwerky hair fantasies!

After trying out so many different semi-permanent dyes, Qi Wen was not able to find the perfect product. So, she created her own! Qi Wen wanted her brand to be unique, meaningful and to represent herself. After brainstorming a few ideas, Qi Wen came up with a word that best embodies her essence. “Quirky”, which describes interesting in a good way. Furthermore, “my name is Qi Wen with the initials being QW which happens to fit well with the pronunciation of Quirky”. So that is how the name Qwerky Colour came about! 

As quite a new and recent brand, Quirky Colour was conceptualised in April last year and officially launched on 30 Sept 2021. As founder, Qi Wen did a ton of market research to thoroughly understand her target audience. Therefore, Qwerky Colour was created with its customer’s best preferences and interests in mind. 

Challenges Faced

Of course, when it comes to any business, challenges and obstacles can arise. According to Qi Wen, “one of the biggest challenges personally is blocking out self-doubt”. Since Qi Wen is relatively new to adulting life and being self-employed, she mentions that “there are times when I doubt my decisions, or have signs of imposter syndrome where I question my own capabilities”. Which can lead to her feeling disappointed and unmotivated at times. But Qi Wen pulls through with her bubbly personality and go-getter mindset. Sharing that whenever she feels self-doubt creeping in, she makes sure to take a step back and look at all the progress she’s made, give herself a pat on the back, and move on. Furthermore, Qi Wen says that seeing all the feedback she’s received from customers has also motivated her to keep doing what she does. 

Qwerky Colour On The Market

Having tried many self-dyeing kits herself, Qi Wen says that they were always “either too dry, had an unpleasant smell, did not last long enough, or the packaging was just not user friendly”. So when creating Qwerky Colour, she made sure they were hydrating, non-damaging, vibrant, long-lasting, customisable and smelt good. Qwerky Colour features a tub packaging for easier use. Customers can just leave the tub on the counter and scoop out the dyes straight from the container! The tub packaging also helps minimise product waste as it ensures every last bit of dye is easily reached. Crafted with care and thought, the tubs are also repurposable after!

With Qwerky Colour, Qi Wen hopes that it continues to offer people a means to “ express and be their most unapologetic selves”. Hoping to break stereotypes of unrealistic beauty standards, she hopes Qwerky Colour pushes Singaporeans to break the mould and be more experimental. 

Qi Wen Shares Her Favourite Looks

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Like most of us, Qi Wen took the first opportunity she got to start dyeing her hair fresh out of junior college. Stating that she used to bleach her hair at salons, but has recently started bleaching her own hair. Some of the colours she’s tried so far are red, pink, orange, blue, turquoise, grey, purple and more! But, Qi Wen says that red is definitely one of her go-to colours, “but now I’m really loving how orange looks on me!” and these two definitely give her the most compliments too! Qi Wen also mentions that “my all-time favourite look is when I have a full head of Hey Tiger – our orange shade – on as it does not just compliment my skin tone, but I also feel the most like myself”. She’s also layered on a combination of Hey Tiger and Smoke which looked pretty awesome!

The Haircare Routine We All Want

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Contrary to popular belief, dyeing your hair doesn’t exactly mean damaging it. It actually depends on what type of dye and its ingredients. With Qwerky Colour’s Semi-Permanent Conditioning Colours, dyeing your hair is not damaging at all! Instead, it feels more like a treatment product that deposits colour. The best part about Qwerky Colour is that it doesn’t contain any ammonia, alcohols, lightening agents, PPD and peroxide. So according to Qi Wen, dyeing her hair is actually part of her haircare routine! Huh? Let’s let Qi Wen elaborate. 

“Since I have oily hair, I tend to wash my hair every day. I know it’s not the best for my hair so sometimes if my hair isn’t that oily, I wash it once every 2 days”. Aside from that, “I stay away from clarifying and anti-dandruff shampoos since those tend to strip the hair colour faster. I usually just use normal shampoos that boost hydration. After shampooing, I like to condition my hair using a hair mask 3-4 times a week and I’ll use a conditioner on the other days. I squeeze out as much water as I can from my hair before applying a generous amount of our new Suck It Up Colour Locking Hair Mask to give my hair a little treat. Since I need to wait around 5-7 minutes for the hair mask to do its magic, I like to wash my face, body and brush my teeth first before I wash off the hair mask. I try to avoid causing extra damage to my hair so I try to stay away from blow drying unless I have to. As for the last steps, I apply a hair serum when my hair is half dry, and a hair oil when my hair is fully dry.”

First Time Dyeing? Here’s Some Advice!

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If you’ve never dyed your hair before, here’s your chance to try with Qwerky Colour! Taking the words right out of our mouths, Qi Wen encourages you to “just go for it, you will never know if you never try!” and Qwerky Colour is the perfect choice. Their dyes are perfect if you want to temporarily switch up your hair colour. They are all non-damaging and washes off after a while, so you don’t have to worry! Qi Wen recommends trying either the shades Riot or Barbie if you have unbleached black hair for a dark reddish tint. For those with medium-dark brown hair, she recommends trying the shades Barbie or Scarlett for a reddish-orange tint. Hey Tiger is another great shade for those wanting a warm brown tint as well. If you have any concerns, feel free to reach out to Qwerky Colour for recommendations too!

When dyeing your hair a bright shade, there is no doubt that you may get a few stares here and there. Qi Wen is no stranger to these stares and says that she doesn’t mind, as long as there aren’t any ill intentions! Qi Wen says that “I would like to think that people are staring for a good reason because they like my hair. At times people do come up to me to compliment my hair and it makes me really happy”. She also states that “as long as you feel good and carry yourself with confidence, other people’s stares don’t really matter,” which is excellent advice. 

What’s Next For Qwerky Colour?

Currently, Qwerky Colour is busy restocking their best-seller shade, Riot! Furthermore, they are also preparing for their 1-year anniversary, which is coming up pretty soon on the 30th September! Qwerky Colour has opened pre-orders for their first-ever Bundle Box called Box of Qwerks which contains all the cult favourites and literally everything you need to dye your hair, so be sure to check that out if you’re looking to try their products! So stay tuned by following Qwerky Colour on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and especially YouTube for their anniversary video dropping at 9pm on 30th September! Be sure to check out their website to see if your favourite shade is in stock! 

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