10 Informational Tips For Dyeing Your Hair Yourself

Since getting your hair done at a salon can be really expensive, it is super tempting to just dye your own hair at home – something I’ve been doing for the past 5 years. If you’ve never dyed your hair yourself, this can be intimidating, but here are my 10 tips for dyeing your hair yourself, so if you want to give it a try, you’ll be prepared.

1. Give Yourself Enough Time

I know it might be super tempting to try and dye your hair in the 3 hours you have before going out, but this is a really bad idea. If you’re dyeing your hair yourself, I recommend leaving at least 2 days where you won’t have to see anyone important after you do it so if you need to fix your hair, you have time, and to dye your hair on a day/evening where you don’t have anything else to do. This way you’ll be able to take all the time you need to do your hair, so you’re not trying to rush things and won’t make any mistakes with the tips for dyeing your hair.

2. Make Sure Your Hair Is In Its Best Condition

I like to deep condition overnight a day or two before I dye my hair, as this ensures that my hair and scalp are in good condition, thus meaning that if I’m using a dye with peroxide in (as all permanent dyes are) I will minimise the damage done to my hair. I also recommend cutting down your usage of heat on your hair (or stopping using heat completely) both before and after you dye your hair. This will also help keep your hair healthy even when you dye it.

3. Get All The Products Necessary

Dyeing your hair at home does increase the risk of you running out of product before your whole head is covered in dye, which is truly a disaster. If you have particularly long or thick hair, you will need at least two boxes of hair dye and even if you dont I would recommend buying two boxes anyway – you can always use the leftover one when your roots grow through. One of the other tips for dyeing your hair, you should also look at the other products you may need after you dye your hair – if you are dyeing your hair blonde/platinum, you will need some for of purple/blonde shampoo to stop it from going brassy, and if you are going any other colour, colour protectant shampoo and/or conditioner may be needed

4. Have A Backup Plan

Whilst doing a strand test 24hrs before you dye your hair (as hair dyes instruct you to do) can help give you an idea of what the dye will look like what it’s on, disasters do happen and if a disaster happens to you, it helps to have a backup plan. I usually buy a box of brown dye (my natural colour) or a box of colour remover so that if something ever happens to my hair, I can fix it. Nothing has yet, and touch wood it never will!

5. Look At The Colour Of Your Hair

If you have previously dyed your hair and are now dyeing both your grown-out roots and the rest of your hair, you will need to compensate for this. The heat from your head will help activate the dye quicker, and this can help if your roots are darker than the rest of your hair, so apply the dye to your roots first and wait ~10 minutes (depending on how long it takes the due itself to develop – if it takes longer, wait longer, if it takes shorter, then wait 5 mins and check your roots to see if they need to be dyed more. A strand test can help with this step) before applying the dye to the rest of your hair. If your roots are lighter than the rest of your hair, I would recommend using a colour remover first before you put dye on, to try and get rid of the darker colour buildup so you do not have a stark contrast between root and ends and is one of the important tips for dyeing your hair.

6. Get A Friend To Help You

Having a friend to apply dye to those hard-to-see areas at the back of your head is a absolute lifesaver, as it means they can see if you’ve missed anywhere, and it’s always nice to have company when dyeing your hair. If you don’t have anyone to help you, use a hand mirror to look at the back of your head in a main mirror and very carefully dye your hair this way.

7. Avoid Making Mess

When dyeing your hair, it helps to stick to one room like the bathroom, as your bathroom tends to have non-porous surfaces meaning any dye can be easily wiped up. Sticking to one room also means you avoid getting any dye anywhere else, like carpets. Wear old clothes, cover anything that you may drip dye on in an old towel and remember that nail varnish remover gets hair dye out of anything. Also, make sure the room you’re using is well-ventilated – no one wants to pass out because of hair dye fumes.

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8. Don’t Assume You’ll Look Like The Model On The Box

Firstly, the model has been super made up and has had her hair done. Secondly, often the hair on the model is actually a darker shade than the dye in the box as at-home dyes are actually stronger than dyes used in the salon. So, when you’re picking your perfect shade, it’s better to look on the back at the box at the ‘colour results’ swatches for a better idea of what your shade will look like.

9. Don’t Put Your Hair Up

When you dye hour hair, all your hair must be coated evenly for it to dye all the same colour. When you put your hair up, this can affect how the dye is distributed and therefore it won’t ve even when you wash your hair. To make sure your hair is as even as can be, leave your hair down the entire time the colour is developing and, before you rinse it out, put a little water on your head and massage your hair and scalp for a few moments. This will make sure that the dye has been moved around, so you won’t end up with any streaky bits and one of the huge tips for dyeing your hair .

10. Condition Your Hair Afterwards

When you dye your hair, you put some seriously strong chemicals on it. So a big tip on tips for dyeing your hair, when you’ve finished, it is essential that you treat you hair to a little TLC to stop it drying out and keep it healthy. In addition, if you don’t condition your hair, this can leave the cuticle of you hair open, which will actually mean the dye will continue to work even if you think you’ve rinsed it all out – leaving you with a much darker colour result than you may want.

What’s your top tips for dyeing your hair at home? Let us know in the comments!

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