We understand if you’d rather shave your head than dye your own hair at home — colouring your hair takes time and money. Furthermore, there is so much room for error (especially if this is your first time) that you could spend months trying to fix it. To say the least, it’s intimidating. On the other hand, salons can be expensive, so the desire to save your money and pick up a dye brush yourself is completely understandable.
When dying your own hair, there are a lot of factors to consider: choosing the right colour, placing the colour in the right places, and using the right tools for the job. Don’t even get us started on the after-care.
Hair dye is a great way to change up your look and express yourself. Dip dyes, as opposed to standard dye jobs, allow you to show off a new colour while keeping your roots intact. Dip dyes, when done correctly, can produce beautiful gradients and interesting colour contrasts.
Choose a colour that flatters you. Allow yourself some time before beginning this process to figure out the look you want to achieve. Look for ideas online and read reviews for various types of lightening and colouring products. Your results may be permanent depending on the path you take, so make sure you plan carefully!
You could match your eyes or use a colour that complements your skin.
Alternatively, if you’ve always loved a colour but it doesn’t suit you, a dip-dye can be a great way to enjoy it without using it to frame your face. Just keep it at the tips of your hair and don’t go too deep.
Invest in a bleaching or lightening product. This is a necessary step if you have dark hair and want light-colored tips. To get the coloured dye to take later in the process, you’ll need to bleach the dark colour out of your hair. You can skip this step if you already have very light hair or don’t mind layering a colour over your natural hair colour.
Colored hair dyes are applied over your natural hair colour. If you use a pastel pink hair dye on very light blonde hair, it will appear pastel pink. When layered on top of dark hair, it becomes much more subtle and dark.
Choose your hair colour. You can find all sorts of unusual colours online, and most “normal” colours can be found at your local pharmacy or beauty supply store. You can also read reviews online to see what other people think about the product and how it looks on different hair colours and textures.
Purchase more hair dye than you believe you will require. You don’t want to leave with only half of your hair dyed.
Get some gloves as well. Because hair dye will stain your fingers, keep them covered during this process.
It is critical to blend the colour into your natural hair. To achieve a bold, solid colour, apply the dye thickly to the ends of your hair. When you get close to the area of hair where the dyed hair will blend into your natural hair, gently pull some of the dye up the strand without saturating it. This will allow the colour to gradually fade and avoid a stark contrast between the coloured and natural hair.
