To determine your skin tone, look at the underside of your arm. If you have blue or purple veins, you have a cool skin tone. If you have more greenish veins, you have a warmer skin tone. Warm hair colors have words like “golden,” “bronze,” and “copper” in their names. Cool hair colors have words like “platinum,” “ash,” and “cherry” in their names.
If you really want to dye your dark hair a light color, it’s best to get it done at a professional salon to achieve good results with minimal damage to your hair.
If rejuvenating your gray hair for a more youthful look is your primary goal, look for dyes with labels that say things like “gray coverage” or “takes away gray. ”
For example, if you work in a bank and wear a suit and tie to work every day, natural colors like browns and blacks are probably best. If you work in a design agency and wear whatever you want to work every day, you could choose bleached blonde or pink hair.
If you’re about due for a haircut, now’s a good time to get cleaned up! That way, you can wait as long as possible to cut your hair after dyeing it. Avoid using hair products for a few days as well.
Dyeing kits typically come with 2 tubes of color, a mixing bowl, and a brush to use for mixing and applying the dye. Wear latex gloves to avoid staining your hands with dye by accident. Dyeing kits often come with a pair of gloves for you to use.
Before you do this, strip down to your boxers so you don’t get any lotion or dye on your clothes during the process. Cover your shoulders with an old towel to protect them from drips. Petroleum jelly also works if you don’t have any lotion. Work in a bathroom in front of a mirror and over the sink or in the shower to avoid making a mess. Cover any surfaces you don’t want to accidentally stain with plastic or a towel.
Use multiple mirrors or have someone help you get the back and sides of your head where it’s hard to see.
At this point, you can work the dye into the rest of your hair using gloved fingers if it’s easier. Just rub the dye in as if you’re lathering shampoo into your hair.
This is why it’s important to choose a shade slightly lighter than your natural color if you’re just targeting gray hairs. That way, it blends in more naturally than a darker color.
It’s normal for the dye to stain some of your surrounding skin at first. You can wipe it off with a cotton ball dipped in isopropyl alcohol.
Don’t use shampoo for this. Wait 72 hours after you dye your hair to shampoo it for the first time. This gives the color time to set.
If you feel like your hair needs a rinse between washes, that’s okay, just skip the shampoo. Washing your hair in cooler water helps the dye last longer, too.
If you bleached your hair blonde, choose a purple toning shampoo to prevent brassiness and yellow and orange tones.
Color treatments are a chemical process, so giving your hair a little extra TLC and hydration helps counteract the harsh chemicals.
If you absolutely have to use a blow dryer, use it on a low heat setting and apply a heat protectant spray or cream to your hair first.
If you absolutely must go in a pool, try coating your hair with a leave-in conditioner first to help reduce fading.
If the overall color is starting to fade, it’s better to start the process over and re-dye all your hair.
