Things To Know Before Dyeing Your Hair At Home.

 

I admit, I have always dyed my hair at home, ever since I started going grey early.  I didn't want to be seen as "old" before I hit that time.  Unfortunately, many folks see women with grey hair as old but men with grey hair are distinguished.  I am not doing any wild colors, just something dark that matches the rest of my hair.  

Today, I'm looking at just dyeing your hair the same color rather than trying to go super blond so that you can turn it blue, green, rainbow, or stay blonde.  That is a topic, I'll handle another day.

So what things should you look for if you want to keep the same color or change it within a shade lighter or darker.  Some of what I'm covering is also applicable to any dye product you use at home.  First of all, don't believe the color of hair displayed by the model on the box since the color shown is never accurate.  Somewhere on the box, there should be a panel showing what you start with and what it should look at the end and those are more accurate. 

Now, if you are buying a permanent dye, took for a shade darker because the developer will leave you with a slightly lighter shade so you'll get the shade you want.  On the other hand, if you are using a semi-permanent dye, choose a shade lighter because they do not have a developer and they will get darker and darker, the longer you leave it on your hair.  Now if your hair is below your shoulders, buy two buys of box dye to ensure you have enough to do the job unless you are only doing the roots and then you can get by with one box.  Always mix the dye in a plastic or glass bowl because if it is mixed in a metal bowl may oxidize it and change the color.

Think about the type of hair you have.  If it is frizzy, coarse, or curly, it will absorb the color faster they tend to become cooler toned.  On the other hand, if you have fine or medium hair, the strands will not absorb the color as quickly and will become more warm toned. So choose the tone based on your type of hair. If you are targeting grey, you only need to color the part of the hair that is grey.

When dyeing your hair, section, section, section it so you don't end up with patchiness, lines of weird colors, or anything else.  You want to divide your hair up into four sections to begin with and then section each section into smaller units so you are able to soak or saturate all the hair.  For best results, you want the hair totally saturated.  

Finally, make sure you leave your hair down until the time has run out. If you put it up in a bun like you see the models on television, you will not get a nice even color.  In addition, just before you rinse your hair, sprinkle a bit of water on your head and mush it around for a few seconds.  This causes the dye to emulsify so you don't end up with any lines or streaks.  

Once you've rinse the dye out of your hair, you must condition it or the cuticles won't close so the dye will continue darkening.  Finally, if you don't like the color, you can tweak it by applying a deep conditioner to your hair while it is still wet.  Then cover it with plastic and top it with a warm wet towel for about 20 minutes.  If you want, at 10 minutes, you can use a blow dryer on it. Once time is up, shampoo and condition it again and hopefully you'll have a shade you like.  If not, you might have to head to the salon to get it taken care of.

Next time, I'll talk about bleaching your hair in a more safe way at home so hopefully, you don't have a fail and you don't kill your hair.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.