How to Use Permanent Hair Dye at Home

Dyeing your hair at home can save a lot of money, but it can also be tricky and time-consuming if you aren’t sure what you’re doing. You might be a pro at temporary colors, but if you want a serious change or to cover up grays, you’ll need some tips for using permanent dyes at home. Here are our favorite tips:

1. Clear out your bathroom and wear old clothes to ensure that if you accidentally drip the dye, it won’t stain or ruin anything.
2. Don’t trust the box. The pictures, that is. Most of the time your color comes out differently than it looks on the model because of your specific hair color, skin type and even photoshopping on the box. Look at the chart on the side or back of the box that shows what the color will look like on different hair colors. It is a better way to pick a color. Keep in mind, coloring your hair at home usually comes out a little lighter than it shows on the box, especially after a few washes.
3. When you pick a permanent dye, choose a color that is slightly darker than what you want because the strong developer usually makes your color turn out lighter.
4. If you have long, thick or coarse hair, get two boxes of color. You don’t want to start coloring your hair and realize that you don’t have enough to cover your entire head.
5. Color can change depending on your hair texture as well. If your hair is curly or gets frizzy easily, try a warmer color. If your hair is fine and straight, try cooler shades.
6. If you just need to dye your roots, only dye your roots! So many people color their entire head when they just need to touch up their roots. If you are worried about getting color on the rest of your hair, use conditioner to prevent the dye from dripping down and staining your hair where you don’t need it colored.
7. To avoid missing patches, enlist a friend to help or section your hair a ton. Especially if you have a lot of hair, you’ll need a lot of sections and you’ll need to dye from back to front to ensure you don’t miss any spots.
8. Contrary to what you probably believe, don’t put your hair up when you are done and let it soak in. Leave it down until your timer goes off to ensure the color stays even.
9. Always condition when you’re done. Most dyes come with a conditioner or you can use a deep conditioner after you rinse out the dye. If you skip conditioner, the cuticle stays open and the color keeps working which means you could end up with a darker color than you expected.

Do you dye your hair at home? Do you use temporary or permanent dye? Share with us your experiences!