Tips For Dying Hair Fantasy Colours At Home

As you may or may not have guessed I'm a big fan of dying my hair. I regularly dye it every fortnight or so because I'm fickle and I like to change it up. Plus it's only hair. Dying your hair an unnatural colour is a big decision, be prepared for lots of stares as you walk down the street and for strangers to give their opinions on your hair, whether you asked for their opinion or not.

Over the past year my hair has been various shades of pink, purple, blue, and green. I'm often asked how (and why) I do my hair at home so I thought I'd write a few tips I've picked up over the past year to help anyone deciding to embark on a crazy hair journey. Be warned, unnatural hair requires a lot of time effort and money.

Is your hair light enough?

If your hair is dark you will need to lighten it as more than likely the colour won't show up on dark hair. I know the idea of bleach strikes fear into the heart of some people but you just have to do it. It's best to get it done professionally. I know it is more expensive but they know what they're doing. You'll get a better overall colour and you won't get any nasty surprises.

Make sure the dye is right for your hair.

Strand Test! Strand Test! Strand Test! I really can't stress this enough. This will give you an idea of how the colour will turn out and how long you need to leave it. Otherwise you may end up with a hair colour you never wanted like what happened to me in February.

Surprise green hair at 2 o'clock at night. I was not impressed.

Dilute your dye to save money.

Hair dye fades fast, especially pastel colours. You've been warned! You could buy pastel dye every time you need to dye your hair but that can work out to be quite expensive. Instead you can buy highly pigmented darker dyes and dilute them using silicone free conditioner. This works for creating pastel colours but also comes in handy when using bright colours. The picture below was my hair when I used La Riche Directions Cerise and Plum and both these dyes were diluted quite a bit with conditioner and still came out vibrant and bright.

Only around 2 teaspoons of pink dye and purple dye were mixed with conditioner for this dye.

Be organised. 

Before you attempt to start dying have all your tools there with you. You don't want to be running around the house with half dyed hair looking for something. Also be prepared for a mess, it's inevitable. Make sure to clean up any mess that happens quickly to avoid staining.

You'll need:

Hair dye. Make sure you've more than enough

Silicone free conditioner if you want to dilute your dyes

Brush applicator

Plastic mixing bowls

Spare towels and old t-shirt

Hair clips. 

Vaseline

Cling film/shower cap

Because you always look cool with your head wrapped in cling film.

Enlist the help of friends.

Dying your hair at home can be an adventure. Since we unfortunately don't have eyes at the back of our heads it can be easy to miss parts of your hair when applying dye. To avoid this you can either get a friend to help apply the dye at the back of your head or get a friend to check your hair after you’ve applied the dye to make sure you missed no bits of hair.

How long should you leave the dye?

Most dyes recommend leaving the dye on your hair for 15-20 minutes. Pffft! Forget that! Leave the dye on for as long as possible. Contrary to popular belief dying your hair with semi-permanent is not going to make your hair fall out! In fact the dye (especially if mixed with conditioner) is nourishing and acts as a hair mask for your hair. The longer the dye is left on the more vibrant and long lasting the colour will be. I normally dye my hair in the evening, cover my head in cling film, go to sleep and wash out my dye first thing in the morning.

Hair Dye Forums.

Sometimes, things go wrong and you need to go somewhere for advice. I've had my fair share of hair disasters over the year and as I've no friends who regularly dye their own hair I've had to go to the internet in search for advice. I've fund many different hair dye forums but my personal favourite is Hair Crazy. It contains lots of helpful advice on dying techniques, different dyes, stripping colour and so much more. You also can ask questions and get advice on anything hair dye related. 

Dying your hair at home can be scary but part of the fun is learning from your mistakes. After applying the dye comes the maintenance but that's for another post. It's a big step to take but totally worth it. So if anyone is on the fence about going a crazy colour......GO FOR IT. You'll figure it out as you go along.

If you've any hair dye questions or requests just let me know and I'd be happy to answer!