'I grew up on Long Island, but I was born in California. Because of my name, a lot of people think I’m Scandinavian. I’m actually half Scandinavian—my dad is Danish.

I’ve been dyeing my hair like this for almost a year and a half. I used to dye it all different colors in high school, but I went blonde when I started modeling. Then, all of a sudden, I got really sick of the industry and everything. I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to be myself,’ and I dyed my hair blue. At first people were freaked out, but now they’re open to it, and I have fun with it. I change it a lot.

Right now it’s sort of like 'fire,' which I did myself three weeks ago—I always dye my hair myself. The yellow is Manic Panic Electric Bana na. The orange is some weird brand, and the red is Beyond the Zone. I just get gloves and get really messy. It’s like painting. I’ve fucked up so many towels and bathrooms. When I go to the beauty-supply store to shop for dye, I decide based on the colors available, not the brand. But I do like Manic Panic—some of their colors, like this yellow, glow in black lights. So when you’re out at night, your head is literally glowing, which is amazing.

My hair is naturally dark, so I bleach it before I dye it whatever color I want it to be, leaving the bleach in for a good while. Depending on the color I'm going for, I'll sometimes bleach it twice. For example, if I am going to cover it with orange and red, it doesn’t matter if I only bleach it once and have a brassy base. But, say I’m dying it blue or purple, I have to make my hair whiter first.

I don't really have any secrets to keeping it healthy—I always condition my hair with thick, leave-in conditioners, but I don’t have a particular brand I like. Sometimes I sleep with them in overnight. And I only wash it, at most, three times a week, because if you wash it everyday, your hair’s going to be screwed.”

—as told to ITG

Chloe Nørgaard photographed by Emily Weiss backstage at Rodarte Fall 2013 in New York on February 13, 2013.