The Complete Guide To Dye Your Hair At Home (2021 Updated)

Dyeing your hair is a cool way to style your hair and express yourself or your true color to the world. However, not all of us want to take a trip to the hair salon, especially in the middle of an epidemic like this. But don’t worry. Even the epidemic won’t be able to stand between you and your beauty glow-up journey. Here is the complete guide to dye your hair at home so you can style it yourself!

Our guide will walk you through the basic steps of dying your hair, and provide you with a checklist of what you’ll need. Read on as it can prevent future disasters and help you to have beautifully dyed hair.

You can also consult another amazing hair restying method at home here: Overnight scarf curls.

What You Will Need To Dye Your Hair At Home.

This is the checklist for what items should you prepare to dye your hair at home:

Good quality boxed hair color: get the best quality dye you can buy. The higher the quality, the better the result will turn out.

Color brush and bowl: you can buy it as a kit or prepare it yourself. Whatever you choose, make sure you have enough bowl for each color and have both the brush and the bowl ready before you start the process.

Makeup removing wipes: This will help if you accidentally brush any color on your skin.

Disposable shower cap: this will prevent the color from dripping all over the place during the dying process. Simply put it on after you applied the dye and then you’re free to go and prepare dinner or watch some Netflix.

Handheld mirror: This is to make sure everything looks consistent both front and back. Don’t skip it.

Latex-free disposable gloves: You’ll need an extra of this to make sure nothing stains. A pair to protect your hands while putting on the dye, and you need to wear them while washing the dye out, too. Have a spare pair of disposable gloves on hand to protect your skin from staining when you rinse the color off as the one you used to apply the color can be too spoiled to use.

Clear solid lip balm: This is to further protect your skin from straining.

How To Dye Your Hair At Home.

Before you go and get yourself all the supplies you need, read through the steps first. Knowing what you’ll need to prepare will help you spend your money wisely, as well as prevent you from making a mess.

Step 1: Preparation.

You should start the drying process with dry hair. This is what many hair color experts advised, as well as the hair color packaging. The water can make the dye not take to the hair strands or become diluted, which will mess with your result.

Another note is don’t wash your hair two days prior to the dying process. “You want your scalp’s natural oils to act as a barrier against irritation,” shared celebrity colorist Kiyah Wright. For people with super sensitive skin, you can add a packet of Sweet’N Low to the dye to help stop the drying effects of ammonia.

Step 2: Make Sure You Get The Right Dye.

Don’t skip the strand test. The color on the packaging can be deceiving. It normally will be a shade lighter or can turn out completely, depending on different hair textures. Do a strand test first by applying color to a small section.

Not only will this show you how the color will look like with your hair, but it will also let you know how much time you’ll need for your hair to be completely dyed.  Your hair texture will factor in here: The finer it is, the faster it’ll lighten—you may need 5 to 10 minutes less than the box says.

And remember to always read and follow the box instructions. The only exception: Don’t apply color from roots to ends in one go.

Step 3: Apply The Color.

Like we’ve said, don’t apply color from roots to ends in one go. To evenly color your whole head, apply dye a half-inch away from your scalp and work toward the ends. The heat from your head makes the color develop faster at the root, so halfway through the processing time, you can go back and cover your roots. Use a color brush to apply your dye for more professional, beautiful results.

Step 4: Wait For The Dye To Work.

After you’ve finished applying the dye in all the sections you like, wait for the dye to work its magic. Leave it alone and don’t disturb it while it’s doing its job. This is where the disposable shower cap comes in handy. You can put one on your hair to keep the dye from going everywhere and proceed to go on and watch a movie or something to kill time. You can speed up the dyeing process by wrapping your head in a towel so that the cap retains the heat of your head.

You should also take this time to wipe the excess dye off of your neck and forehead with a paper towel or makeup-removing wipes so your skin won’t be stained.

Step 5: Rinsing Your Hair.

Rinse off your hair after the waiting time is up. You can use your shower or use a sink to rinse your hair out. Use warm water to rinse the dye out of your hair. Keep rinsing until the water runs clear.

Seeing the color run in the shower is totally natural and does not mean you’ve messed up the process. Keep in mind that if the dye is temporary, the dye will continue to run each time you wash it until it is completely gone.

Step 6: Take Care Of Your Hair.

Wait at least an hour before shampooing your hair. Waiting to wash allows the dye to penetrate your hair shaft more thoroughly. After you have shampooed your hair, use a conditioner to condition your hair. “If you skip the conditioner step, it leaves the cuticle open and the color keeps working,” says hairstylist Ionato. “So don’t be surprised if you end up with much darker hair than you wanted.” Don’t throw away the conditioner in the kit, and if your kit doesn’t have one, make sure to use a deep conditioner in the shower after you rinse out the dye.

Then simply dry your hair and style as usual. Voilà, you’re done. You can curl your hair with a flat iron to make it look more attractive.

Tips To Be Better At Trying To Dye Your Hair At Home.

Tip No.1: Wear easy to remove clothing

Nobody wants to stain their favorite tee with a dyeing color. To avoid that, put on an old robe or some shirt that you won’t feel too bad to sacrifice. You can also wrap yourself with a towel so you won’t have to lift a top over your head when it’s time to rinse. Cover surfaces (floor, sink) with disposable garbage bags or layers of newspaper you can toss out afterward for an effortless clean-up.

Tip No.2: Protect your skin from the dye.

Nobody wants telltale stripes of color on their forehead. You can easily avoid having stains against your skin by gliding a clear solid lip balm along your hairline, including around your ears, before applying color.

Tip No.3: Look into two mirrors.

We don’t have eyes behind our head, so of course, the coloring will get much harder when it comes to the back of your head. To prevent unevenness, use a handheld mirror to check the back of your head in the bathroom mirror as you color so you won’t miss any spot.

Tip No.4: Buy two boxes.

For longer hair, or shoulder-length and extremely coarse hair texture, you should get yourself two boxes of the same shade to ensure full coverage. Just make sure to mix the dyes in a glass or plastic bowl, as a metal one will oxidize the dye and cause it to change color.

Tip No.5: Consider your hair texture.

Speaking of hair texture, different textures will result in different hairstyles when dyed. “Coarse, curly, frizzy, or unruly hair sucks up color faster and will become cooler-toned when you dye it, so it will look ashier, or slightly bluish,” says Ionato. “Fine to medium hair textures don’t absorb color as easily and will become a slightly warmer tone when you add dye, meaning it will have orange, red, or copper undertones.”

For people with frizzy or curly hair, pick a color that’s warm (golden, copper, bronze), but a little lighter than your natural hair color; if your hair is fine and straight, choose cooler shades (champagne, beige) that are slightly darker than your natural color.

Tip No.6: Use proper hair care products for your dyed hair.

If you are not caring for your dyed hair correctly, then prepare to say goodbye to the color after a week or two. Each and every time you wash your hair or let it expose to UV, your hair color will get a little lighter until it’s completely off. To keep it staying longer, you’ll need to use proper hair care products for dyed or color-treated hair.

Start by looking at the shampoos and conditioners that might work best for your hair, as these are the most fundamental products you’ll use to care for your hair. Then you can take a look at the hair serums, hair masks, or other hair care products for dyed hair.