Hair dye is a pretty nifty invention that has redefined the idea of coloring your hair. With boxed dyes, you can easily try hair color and highlights in the comfort of your own home. But, if you’re just starting with dyes or are apprehensive about it, then these tips are going to ease you into it.
Have Someone Help You
If you’re a beginner at dyeing your hair, then it’s best if you have someone help you on the first few tries. It can be really easy to miss a spot or two especially when you’re dyeing the hair at the back, because you can’t see where you’re applying the product.
So, having someone apply it for you is great. If you don’t have an extra pair of hands that can help you out, then you can stand between two mirrors and see where you need to apply the hair dye.
Prepare Everything First
The process of hair dye application, once started, can breeze by, and this is the main reason why you need to have everything within arm’s reach. So before even starting the application process, make sure that you have things like paper towels, gloves, combs, the hair dye mixing bowl, brushes, and everything set on the sink and ready to go, because once you start, you don’t want to rummage through things to find something.
Having The Right Tools
The right application of boxed hair dye at home is dependent on the tools that you use. A lot of people can use their hands to rub the dye into the hair, but that’s not the most efficient way to apply hair dye. It can lead to choppy results and the hair dye application won’t be smooth at all.
Try to get a plastic bowl with a wide hair dye applicator brush, like the ones people use in the salon. You’ll be more precise with the application and the whole process will be wrapped up quickly too.
Protect Your Skin
Protecting your skin and your body from the stains of hair dye is also something you need to do beforehand. For the areas around your temple and forehead, the best thing to use to prevent the hair dye from staining your skin is petroleum jelly. It’s not going to let the hair dye seep into the skin and you can easily remove it with a wet paper towel after the hair dye application is complete.
As for the neck, use cling film to wrap around your neck, and wear an old T-shirt that you don’t mind getting stains on. Wear some latex or plastic gloves provided in the box of the hair dye on your hands, and for protecting your floors, stand on top of a dark towel to catch any dribbles of hair dye.
Picking The Right Color
The next most important thing to consider when dyeing your hair at home, is to select the right color. Try to go for a color that you’ve already experimented with before because you’ll know the color payoff and the hair dye application will be relatively successful. If you want to try a completely new color, it’s better to get it from top rated hair salons Rockville.
Have An Idea About Developers
Developers are the white and creamy chemicals that are mixed in with the hair dye, to change the color to a specific shade. Having an idea about developers is important because you don’t want to select it on a whim. There are several percentages of hair developers. The first one is a 10% developer that gives a darker color payoff.
A 20% developer can lighten the dye just a bit. Whereas, a 30% developer lightens the color even further and brings the shade in the medium to light range. Lastly, a 40% developer lightens the color completely and it is used by women with extremely light hair colors.
Start From The Roots
This is a great tip for beginners who want to dye their hair at home. When you’re starting with the application process make sure to start from the roots of the hair. Usually, the roots need the most coverage and color, and you want to concentrate on an even application on this part of the hair.
Once you’re satisfied with the color application on the roots, you can move down towards the tips. This way of applying hair dye will lead to more professional and smooth results and there won’t be any choppiness or uneven patches in the hair either.
Work Quickly & Efficiently
This is a huge tip that a lot of people tend to forget about. You want to work fast and efficiently after you’ve mixed in the hair dye and the developer. You don’t want to let the mixture sit around for too long otherwise the color will be spoiled. As soon as you mix in the color and the developer, you need to apply it on your hair within 5 to 7 minutes, otherwise, you’re just wasting a perfectly good box of hair dye.
Also, you want to work quickly when applying the hair dye as well, because you want your entire head to be wet by the time you’re done so that the dye can have some time to develop on your head.
Don’t Mix Colors
Hair dyes are not paints that you can mix and make different colors. These dyes don’t work like that and you’ll probably not even notice a difference if you do follow through with this ridiculous idea. The best way to alter the hair dye color and its result on the hair is to use the right type and percentage of developer.
Do A Patch Test
Before covering your head in a hair dye that you’ve never used before, it is best if you do a strand test first. This is great to do if you want to experiment with a whole new color that you’ve never used before.
A strand test or patch test is the application of hair dye on a single section of hair just to figure out how the color is showing on your hair. This will show you whether you need to lighten or darken it with a different developer, and whether the brand of hair dye is irritating your scalp or not. Once you pass the strand test without any problems, you can proceed with the entire application.
Use A Toothbrush
If you want to achieve highlights at home but don’t want to fuss with the foiling of the hair, then keep this wonderful and practical tip in mind. You can use the good ole toothbrush and use it to streak the dye, once you’ve applied it on the hair.
The toothbrush bristles are going to spread the hair dye at a certain distance from other strands and you’ll be left with natural-looking highlights that are sporadically peeking out of your hair.
Conclusion
Boxed dyes are pretty easy to use and these tips are going to help you out even more. So, the next time you want to touch your roots up or cover a bit of gray, then you don’t need to head over to the salon. However, if you need perfect results, going to hair salons specializing in color Rockville would be the best move.
