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This year more than ever, the temptation to dye your hair at home has increased tenfold with the closing of salons and a raging pandemic outside. While there’s always the possibility for your hair dye endeavors to be successful, doing it yourself at home opens the door to an array of possible hair disasters. If you’re thinking about making the jump and breaking out the box dye for a new hair color in the new year, this is the biggest mistake to avoid according to a hair stylist.
A drastic hair change may be tempting if you’re itching for a fresh look without the salon, but skipping a color consultation with a hair stylist is the worst mistake you could make for your hair. Celeb hairstylist Kim Kimble explains, “Dyeing hair takes a lot of skill--you need to know what products work best with your hair, what undertones to use, and how to properly mix products.” You can still turn to box dye to make the final change, but a virtual consult will help decrease the possibilty of a mistake.
Dyeing your hair at home could cause damage to your strands if you don’t do it correctly, and Kimble warns not to overdo it on your first try. “It is very easy to overprocess the hair, so make sure you aren’t coloring your hair too often--if you make a mistake and need to re-dye the hair, wait at least 7 days.” While you can always add more pigment to your locks, it’s significantly more difficult to strip your hair of a color you hate while at home.
After you have a consultation with a hair professional (which you can even do virtually!) Kimble warns to choose your dye wisely so as not to fry your hair or get stuck with a color you hate. “I recommend using a semi-permanent color or color refreshers. These will be more gentle on the hair, leaving less room for error,” she says. If you do opt to go from blonde to brunette and the color comes out too brassy, Kimble says you can use a color shampoo to help tone the hair to a more natural shade. Worst comes to worst, use a temporary color to hide your mistakes until you can get to a salon to fix them.
While dyeing your hair at home can be risky, if you follow the proper steps and at least consult with a professional before you break out the dye, you could still create salon-level locks on your own! Apply color with caution, opt for a semi-permanent dye before going all in, and remember that you can always add more color, but it’s much more difficult to go back the other way.
