Hair dying virgin 101

When it comes to colouring my hair, I was a complete virgin. 100% natural, right until 4 days ago. I used to be a natural blonde but recently have been noticing a very clear 'bronde' colour being adopted by my hair. And that's why I dyed my hair... my great desire to be a, not so natural, blonde again. Getting professional highlights would cost over £90 as my hair is long and thick. As a student whose struggling to buy even one pair of Topshop jeans, I  could not justify spending £90 on my hair. So I box dyed it, I thought, why not? For those of you thinking of doing the same thing, I learnt a few things from the whole experience so I thought I'd share my tips for beginners here.

Do your research

Whether you're looking for highlights, whole head dye, ombre or low lights, there's a box for you. Before going into the shop to buy your dye, try looking online first so you know what ranges/brands/prices they have. Try reading some reviews before buying your hair dye, they are useful as they give an unbiased view on how the product actually works rather than trying to sell the product to you.

Don't just buy what is cheap

I made this mistake. It didn't end up too badly, it could've gone a lot worse though. I saw a blonde John Frieda dye was on offer so picked it up. I originally thought I would get a highlight kit but ended up with a whole head dye and had some weird plan to DIY highlights. In the end, I did whole head dye which worked out well. However in future, buy what you want and not what's cheap.

Read the instructions

I followed my own advice with this one luckily. Inside the box you should have a colour, developer, container, gloves/equipment, possibly conditioner and thankfully, instructions. It should tell you how much you need, safety guides and how long it should be developed for. The instructions should also tell you how to rinse it out and when you can next wash your hair. READ THEM. Please! If you need some more information, look online at either the companies website or a detailed blog post from someone that has already written about it.

Get help

Doing a whole head dye on your own is pretty simple. But highlights, lowlights and ombre are all a little more complicated. Whether you ask a friend that dyes her hair a lot or your bff whose just as clueless as you are. A little help is always useful, even if it's to help clip your hair up or as moral support whilst you potentially wreck your hair... Joking!!

Buy a toner

 

If you are going lighter, there's a possibility that your hair might finish with a brassy (gingerish) tint. Don't be put off though. It's actually quite nice but if you're looking for a more platinum blonde, don't panic. To fix this, buy a hair toner. I bought this one. It is a less complicated process than dying and should help counteract the brassy tones.

 

Toners that counteract brassiness are often purple/lilac coloured as it is supposed to be opposite on the colour chart. Basically, what I'm trying to say is don't be alarmed if purple slime emerges from the bottle... It's all normal.

Buy colour protect shampoo/conditioner before

This is a bit of an organisational tip (yep, gotta love them!) So you won't be able to wash your hair for a day or two after dying it. But it's a good idea to buy a colour protect shampoo/conditioner so when you do wash your newly dyed hair, the colour won't be stripped by damaging shampoo/conditioner.

 

Enhancing products

 

If you're worried about your colour fading, buy a shampoo/conditioner that enhances your colour. I bought this shampoo which is a similar idea to the toner. It brightens blondes and is purple to counteract brassiness. You can also find shampoo and conditioners catered specifically towards brunette, red or black hair. I think it's a good idea because it keeps your colour looking fresher for longer. However I haven't actually tried this shampoo yet, I will do a review once I have if that's something any of you are interested in? 

 

Hope you enjoyed that and it helped some of you planning to colour your hair yourself! Have you got any tips beginner hair dyers? Leave a comment down below :)

 

Thanks for reading and see you next time,

Laura Stone x