Last year, I finally broke down and realized that my white hairs were really starting to age me, big time. I didn't have a ton of them, but enough where I noticed it. I used to say that I'd start dyeing my hair when someone looked at me and said, "Uhhhhh, I think it's time to color, honey." LOL! Looking back, no one could possibly be that rude.
So, one day, I just decided to do it. Maybe you already know how to color your own hair. Or maybe you've never done it or are afraid to. I was. But I did it and I'm really happy with the results! I'm going to show you how to do your roots. This will be different than if you were changing your hair color entirely. I have previously dyed my hair this color and my roots have grown out. I was very lucky to find a color strikingly close to my own, yeahhhh! (The flash from my camera makes it look a lot lighter/redder, but it is really close in real life) That makes it nice when it starts to grow out. You can barely notice it. It has what the lady at Sally calls "a nice fade". So, let's dye our roots! Whhheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
Here's what you'll need:
2oz Hair Dye of your choice (I used L'Oreal Chocolate from Sally Beauty Supply)
2oz Developer
A packet (or a bottle) of that really good after color treatment stuff by Ion (get at Sally)
(It's not pictured because it's in the shower upstairs. I use it every day though.)
Two skanky (25 year old) towels (no, really...they're that old)
One of your husband's pit-stained and torn ready for the trash t-shirts
(I'm currently wearing it, so it's not in the picture)
Rubber Gloves
Color Applicator Bottle
Long hair band to tie towel around neck/shoulders (clips never stay)
Color brush thingy dingy (the aqua colored thing, lol)
Vaseline (optional...I always forget it)
A few important things to know before coloring. At least this is my experience...
Start by gathering your supplies as shown in the picture above. You want everything together because you do NOT want to have to be searching around for something with dye all over your hands. Trust me on this one.
You will also want to start with combed or brushed DIRTY hair. Yes, dirty. I know, I know....all of the store-bought dyes say to start with clean hair nowadays. This is a mistake in my opinion. All it does is end up dyeing your SCALP the same color as your hair and doesn't wash away for a couple of weeks! If you start with dirty hair, the natural oil in your scalp will repel the dye from staining your scalp. Now, if you have insanely oily hair where you feel it will keep the dye from dyeing your roots properly, then you may want to wash and dry a few hours beforehand. I find it just makes my hair more dry and crispy, an undesirable side effect.
I buy all of my hair coloring products at Sally Beauty Supply. They have great sales and coupons, so take advantage of those. They also have a membership card that costs something like $5 a year, but they immediately give you the $5 back on your first purchase. A 2oz bottle of my hair dye (L'Oreal Chocolate), costs me about $5, if memory serves. I buy the big bottle of developer because it is insanely cheaper. I got this huge (24oz) bottle of developer for $2.99!!! That's the same price as the little ones! So, look for the sales. As for the little brush deal, the gloves and the applicator bottle, once you have those, you have those. You just keep using them over and over. And lastly, the after-color treatment conditioner (that I LOVE)...I think it's called Hair Restoration, but I know it's by Ion and has the red label...I got on sale for $7 (half off) for a HUGE 32oz bottle that will last me forever.
Once you designate your skanky hair dye t-shirt and old towels for hair coloring only, you never have to buy them again! I just wash mine either by themselves when I'm done, or with BLACK clothes only. If you are lightening or bleaching your hair rather than coloring darker, you would want to wash them together only. Okay....we ready? Let's go!
Start by putting on your skanky t-shirt and wrapping the towel around your neck and shoulders, like a shawl. Tie the hair band around the ends to hold in place. Trust me, clips NEVER stay. Besides, you look sexy this way! ;)
Add 2oz of your developer and the entire
2oz bottle of hair dye into your Applicator Bottle.
See that note on my bottle of developer? That tells me how long to leave on my roots
and how long to leave on the rest of my hair. It took lots of experimentation to get this equation
right. The lady at Sally told me the biggest mistake people do is to not leave the dye on their roots
long enough and leaving the dye on the ends too long. This makes them end up with orange-y
roots and dark brown/blackish ends. Been there, done that. Nothing worse than spending the time and money and not even have your greys covered, grrrrr! Sidebar: what works for me may not work for you. I just happen to have incredibly defiant white hairs, so it takes mine an hour and a half to get them covered.
I put this note on there because I can NEVER remember between colorings!
Put the lid on your color applicator tightly. Slip your gloves on and place your finger over the hole of the lid. Give it a good shake to mix it up well. The color of the goo will be much different than how it comes out on your hair, so don't let that scare you.
Starting at the front, middle of your scalp, gently squeeze the bottle and drag it back toward the nape of your neck. I go down one side, then the other. OMG! I can't believe how much hair I've lost! Arghhh!
Let's just ignore the box of Epsom salts behind me. My son plays with it in the tub. He's easily amused!
When you're done, your hair will be somewhat 'slicked back', but resist the urge to run your gloved hand over it, smoothing it down. Right now, we want to concentrate only on our roots. If you pat down that little bit of hair that is sticking up, it will get dyed much darker than your roots because it's more porous than the outgrowth. Keep your other towel handy should you have any drips on your face. Ohhh, I forgot. That optional Vaseline mentioned above? If you want, you can run some along your hairline to ward off staining of your skin. I always forget. And yes, I always stain my face somewhere, lol! It goes away in a couple of days..or if you scrub the crap out of it in the shower with a washcloth and shampoo. Set your timer for the minimum time indicated, or for the amount you know works for you. I'm setting mine for 90 minutes. Now, go do some relaxing, reading, post on your blog, etc....Just keep that towel on so you don't drip anywhere. Be careful if you sit on your couch or anywhere it can stain. I tend to go to my computer where I can do the least amount of damage. Oh...I also take any bathroom rugs and lay them over the tub. I have accidentally dripped on them before (they're cream colored...ugh!!), but if I drip on the floor, I can quickly clean that up with a wet tissue. Be sure to wipe up any spills/splatters immediately. Here's what I use that little brush thingy for. To smooth back the hairline, being sure the dye is covering those whispy little hairs that somehow escape being dyed if you're not careful. Although it may appear I am dragging the brush all the way back over my head, I'm only bringing it back about 1/2" to 3/4". It can also be used between 'rows' of dye should you let your outgrowth get out of control (i.e. anything over 3/4"). Be sure to wash your gloved hands, getting all the dye off of them. Dry them on your second skanky towel, pull them inside out and lay them on the skanky towel until later.
When your timer goes off, you will notice the color of the dye has changed significantly.
Mine looks kinda blackish purple in real life. Kinda scary the first time you do it. Now, we will dye the rest of our hair. You need to work quickly so it doesn't get too dark. Liberally squirt the rest of the dye all over your head. I could only take a picture of the front while doing it. Didn't want to take too much time and I had to take the pic before I got dye all over my gloves.
Make sure you get it all the way down to the ends. Squish, squash and mix around well.
Then pile on top of your head if you can.
Now, logic would say to set your timer for the remaining 5 minutes (or however long your hair requires), but I just wash my gloved hands really good, dry them off, take off the gloves and set in the sink with the used applicator bottle. Then I grab my 2nd skanky towel and head to the shower. Of course, I couldn't take pictures of that, nor does anyone want to see that, but I basically just take my shower while rinsing my head off at the same time. I am sure to tilt my head back toward the shower head, letting the dye run down the back of my head and not toward my eyes. When I'm fairly certain the majority of the dye is rinsed out, I continue on with my shower as normal, being sure to end with my after-color conditioner. That stuff makes your hair feel so silky and smooth. I use a tiny bit every single day because the dyeing process really hits my hair hard. Probably because I have to leave the stuff on so long to cover my grays!
Be sure to keep your 2nd skanky towel RIGHT NEXT to the shower. When you're done with your shower, grab the towel and quickly wrap up your hair. If you use one of your good towels, guaranteed, you'll stain it. Then use your good towel to dry your body. Man, this sure seems like a lot of explaining for hair dyeing, lol! Dry and style your hair as usual. Here's what mine looked like after blow-drying alone. The flash makes it look red and two-toned, but it's not. It's a nice deep brown with red undertones. I like it!
And here's another view that shows the color is more even. Can you say "Cousin It?!?" LOL!
I know it might look a little different in color closer to my chin, but that's just the layers in my hair.
Man, it's hard to take a picture of the side
of your head when you can't see! You don't get the full effect when
I take a pic from the front. Not to mention, I'm the world's most unphotogenic
person...aside from my mother in law and brother in law, Jim, LOL! Finally, someone worse than me!! Whoo hoo! Oh, the things that excite this old broad!
And finally, a pic to show that my grays (well, WHITES in my case) were covered well. It's amazing how different the color looks at different angles. I couldn't seem to get a good pic of my grays beforehand, sorry. The important thing is that there aren't any, right? I'll do this again in about 2 months. Not bad for about $6 bucks! That's about 90% (or more) savings from those who get it done professionally. (Damn fools. Okay, unless you're rich....my apologies) Oh, I also wanted to mention that the stuff from Sally is wayyyyy better than the store bought hair dye. I've tried both and can attest to the fact that a box damages my hair big time. It also came out very FLAT from a box whereas this stays shiny and vibrant longer. AND...best of all....it's cheaper!
So, hopefully I've helped you get the courage to try dyeing your own hair at home. It's cheap and it looks great if you use good products. My guess is that most people know how to do this already, but honestly...when I walked into Sally the first time, I had NO CLUE what to buy! I knew I'd need gloves and hair color, but had no idea about the developer, how much to use, etc...The little bottles you buy there just don't tell you. So maybe my trial and error will save you some grief should you delve into the DIY world!
Good tutorial Chanda!
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