Dyeing your hair from home: the golden do's and don'ts

How to avoid those ‘maybe shaving my hair wouldn’t look THAT bad’ moments.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll know how easy it is to get excited about a new hair dye trend you’ve seen; you run to the store, buy the first cheap bleach and hair dye you see and throw it onto your hair with the hopes that you’ll come out salon styled.

WRONG.

To stop yourself from ending up with those dreaded streaky strands, flaky fails or disastrous dyes, here are some of the most important do’s and don’ts to bear in mind when attempting to dye your hair!

First things first- here are some things to always avoid:

1) DONT- start bleaching at the roots.

Never ever start at the roots when bleaching your hair at home- unless you want your hair to burn.

The warmth towards the top of your head means that the bleach will react more vigorously, and will lift a lot quicker at the top than at the bottom. You should always do the mid-bottom sections of your hair before tackling the roots, or you’ll end up having to pay even more to re-dye your hair.

2) DON’T- leave bleach in your hair for more than an hour.

You may hope this trick will lighten your hair more, but leaving bleach in your hair for too long won’t continue to lift your hair, it instead will heat up and burn your strands instead. And no-one wants cooked roots.

3) DON’T- underestimate how much dye you need.

Everyone knows the panic of realising they might not have enough dye to cover their hair, so don’t let this be you! Even if you’re almost certain you don't need that extra box of dye, it might be worth paying the extra pounds to ensure you don't unknowingly walk out with half a head of dyed hair!

Now, moving onto things you should do!

1) DO- watch Brad Mondos videos on YouTube

If you dye your hair and haven’t been watching Brad Mondo, you’re doing it all wrong. He has so many videos dedicated to reacting to peoples hair dye fails, and offers lots of tips through the videos concerning what to avoid and what to try. Watching his videos before you attempt to dye yours might save you from having hair bad enough to end up on his channel!

2) DO- make sure you have done research on your hair type

Different hair needs require different hair dyes - the thickness, length and porosity of your hair all might affect what formula of hair dye is best for you. Make sure to find out your hairs’ needs and stick to that.

And Lastly...

3) DO- look after your hair with colour safe products

It’s important that your hair dye process doesn’t end the second you wash it off- you need to continue to treat your hair delicately in order to keep your dye in for as long as possible. Purple shampoo for bleached hair is always a good start, and hydrating hair masks can help restore some of the damage from the bleach!

Of course everyone’s hair is different and will need different methods, but these are some of the most general tips which should keep you from wanting to pick up that hair razor or box-dye!

Edited by Madeleine Gill