The Dos & Don’ts of home dyeing – Read a hairdresser’s tips for coloring your hair at home!
Forget the unfortunate attempts during your teenage years and warnings of your hairdresser! It is possible to succeed in home dyeing. Read these tips on coloring your hair at home and only then go shopping for a hair color. When is home dyeing worthwhile, can an experiment gone wrong be saved and what does the expert think of dyeing tips in women’s magazines? Top hairdresser Elisa Cavén shares her best tips and tells you what not to do.
Dyeing your hair at home can be delightful, annoying, scary and interesting. It depends on who you talk to. Like hairdressers in general, Elisa does not recommend dyeing your hair at home as a primary option: “Sometimes, however, there are no other options. Others, on the other hand, enjoy being allowed to try different shades in their own bathroom, without asking permission from anyone. And in these cases, home dyeing is more than ok! Everyone has their own their style. That’s how I found my way into the world of hair and coloring: first trying out what could be found on store shelves.”
Avoid the most serious home dyeing mistakes
According to Elisa, the first rule of home dyeing is to stay in your comfort zone: “While I usually always encourage everyone to step out and boldly try something new, this advice doesn’t apply to coloring hair in a home bathroom. So forget about radical changes and demanding techniques if you care about the condition of your hair and the beautiful result. Big color changes and Balayage technology should definitely be left to the professionals.”
As a hairdresser specializing in blondes and bleaching, Elisa can also tell you that lightening your hair at home is not a good idea, whatever the magazines claim. It’s also important to learn the difference between lightening and bleaching: a bleach can bleach colored hair, while a light color only bleaches untreated hair. Thus, a normal home color can tone light hair, but not dark-colored hair.
“In my opinion, all bleaching should be left to professionals. As a bleach specialist, I know that bleaching hair is also difficult for hairdressers. So maybe it is best not to do it at home,” says Elisa.
Succeed with these tips
Remember at least these three things: color quality, color quantity, and color application. A successful end result is possible if you choose the right shade for you that is quite close to your current hair color. You should be careful with vegetable dyes: they are often thought to be safer than oxidative dyes, but not always. Brown vegetable dyes often contain indigo, which turns green when bleached – this unwanted color shade can only be removed with scissors. “When you need a gentle alternative to do your home dyeing, choose a hair-salon-quality and ammonia-free color,” says Elisa.
“Many need more than one packet of hair dye,” Elisa says. “So, always buy two packages at a time, because it’s better to be sure of these things. You don’t want the color to run out in the middle of the dyeing process, right?”
Last but not least: a nuanced and vibrant coloring result is ensured by the correct application of the color. When talking about home colors, do you think of colors that seem like wigs or colorful helmets? Let a professional tell you how to change this: “People who often dye with home colors always choose the same, proven color shade that is applied to all of their hair every couple of months. So it’s no wonder if the hair looks unnaturally even. If you want to stay in your favorite color, apply it first to the roots and then only to the rest of your hair – if the ends even need color! It’s always worth remembering that a hairdresser rarely uses exactly the same shade for both the roots and the ends.”
Oh, the joy of flying solo!
Sometimes, you achieve the best results by doing it yourself. As Elisa said, the best option for coloring your hair at home is a professional-quality and ammonia-free, gentle long-lasting tone, such as Four Reasons Original Takeaway Color. The range includes 23 shades, five of which are also perfect for covering up gray hair. No colorful helmets, only a soft, natural result.
With professional-quality hair dyes, you can also dye your hair reliably in your bathroom. Four Reasons Original Takeaway Color is vegan, ammonia-free and fragrance-free demi-permanent hair color that will give you a beautiful dyeing result at home, easily and reliably.
The range includes 23 shades, five of which are also perfect for covering up gray hair. No colorful helmets, only a soft, natural result.
