Running low on cash and need to touch up your roots stat? Maybe you just had the bright idea to change your hair color and don’t want to wait for an appointment at the salon? Whatever the reason you are choosing to dye your hair at home, there are a few things you need to know before you start self coloring. Nothing is worse than rinsing your locks to see that the color you anticipated, is far from what you got. Not to mention, you will be spending more money fixing up your mistake than you would have if you went to the salon in the first place.
Let’s prevent the latter from happening with these few handy hair-dying tips…
Choose a color:
+ If you are looking for a drastic change, you should not be dying your hair at home. Going from dark to light or light to dark needs to be something you do gradually with the assistance of a certified hair dresser. For at home dye jobs stay within three shades of your current color.
+ If you are going a few shades lighter, expect the actual color to be warmer than what it says on the box. If you are going darker, expect the actual color to be cooler.
Test it out:
+ Once you have your color picked, your next step would be to do a strand test on a not noticeable piece of hair (under the head). It may take more time, yet it will be worth it if the color isn’t what you expected or if your hair reacts in a negative way.
Get Started:
+ It is better to dye your hair when it is like 1-2 days unwashed.
+ Start by rubbing vaseline on your ears and your hairline- it will block the dye from staining your skin & be sure to wear your gloves and an old t-shirt.
+ Separate your hair into 4 sections with either a rat tail comb or a wide toothed comb & alligator clips.
+ Box dye works fine, but application is much easier when using a mixing bowl and a hair “paint” brush instead of the squeeze bottle.
+ Rinse your hair with cool water as it will help seal the cuticle, and the color.
+ Immediately after you rinse out the color, use a color treated shampoo & a deep conditioner (which usually comes with your box). Let the conditioner set for a full 10 minutes.
Touch ups:
+ Instead of re-dying your hair every time your roots grow out a bit, try just doing root touch-ups instead. If you are constantly dying all of your hair, your hair will quickly become weak and brittle.
