Our expert guide will help you prepare your hair to dye at home.
It’s a big commitment to have your hair colored professionally at a salon. You will spend countless hours as well as dollars. Try an at-home kit instead of paying for a professional’s time and money to get a new color. Professional colorists share tips for avoiding a dye disaster when coloring your hair.
Follow these color commands at home to get a flawless, glossy shade that looks like it just came from the salon.
Rule 1: Do not look at the photos on the box
Jet Rhys is a celebrity stylist in San Diego and the co-owner of Jet Rhys Salons. She says that many women only consider the box picture when shopping for hair dye at home. The model may be the perfect shade, but it’s only possible to know the model’s hair color after dyeing. Izabela Sabolski, color director at Salon Ziba, New York City, suggests using the numbers and letters printed on the packaging to determine your desired color. The shade scale is 1-10, where one is the darkest and ten is the lightest. She explains that the letters reveal the undertones of the dye — a is ash, g is gold, and c is Copper. n is neutral.
Rule 2: Use your coloring as a guide
Kyle White, the lead colorist of the Oscar Blandi Salon in New York City, says that women with light skin and eyes look more natural in lighter shades. However, women with darker hair or skin look better with darker shades. Avoid warm hair colors if you have a lot of pink in your complexion. It will make you appear flushed. Gold tones will warm up the skin and reduce its green color. White says that if your skin tone is neutral and contains no pink or green tones, you can choose between warm or cool shades of blond.
Rule 3: Keep your natural color within two shades
Experts say you shouldn’t dye your hair more than two shades lighter or darker. It is important to remember this for brunettes wanting to go blonde. Saboski says that if you have dark hair and want to lighten, you should make an appointment with a professional salon. At-home hair color won’t work.
At-home kits do not contain the powerful chemicals necessary to change your hair color drastically. White says that hair colorists must attend school, take a test and obtain a government license. The chemicals used to make complex hair color changes are known to cause severe damage to hair and scalp.
Rule 4: Test drive before committing to a permanent color
Saboski recommends demi-permanent colors for safe coloring. It will fade a little each time you shampoo. “Demi-permanent color minimizes damage, and enhances natural color.” Demi-permanent color is a mix of semi-permanent and permanent dyes. It can’t lighten dark hair but will match your current paint.
Semi-permanent colors, like demi-permanent colors, will not lighten your hair. Semi-permanent formulas do not penetrate deeply into the hair and wash out after 8 to 12 shampoos.
Rule 5: Do not skip the patch test
You should always test new colors on a small section of hair before applying them to the entire head. Otherwise, you risk a disaster. Saboski says that if the color is too ashy, your skin may look dull and aged. If your skin is not tolerant of the dye chemicals, you may also experience a reaction on your scalp.
Apply the dye to a small area of hair and check if it is too dark, light, or ashy.
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Rule 6: Repair Damage Before Dyeing
White says that a clarifying hair shampoo is a good idea the day before you color your hair. It will remove product buildup and help to even out the hair’s porosity so the color can be applied evenly. You should follow up with a deep conditioner to replenish any moisture lost while coloring.
Skip shampooing on the day that you dye your hair. Rhys says that shampooing doesn’t improve the color. By not shampooing your hair before coloring, you allow the natural oils to protect your scalp against the irritation caused by ammonia, which is found in many dyes.
Rule 7: Avoid Color Overkill
Good news: you don’t need to dye your entire head each time your color fades. White says doing so will cause “color buildup, discolored end, bands of lighter and darker color, and unnecessary damages.” You only want to color the new growth. If necessary, you can refresh faded ends in the last few minutes.