Dyeing your hair can take multiple tries and maybe even require professional work. Here are some tips to follow before you dye your hair.
Throughout much of my twenties, I have gotten the strong urge to dye my hair. The most significant of my hair changes has to be the time I went from dark hair to bleach blonde. I know, it is hard to believe if you look at my hair color now.
Ever since I was young I had always wished for a lighter hair color and I knew that eventually one day I would check that hair experiment off my list. Now that I am back to more of my original hair color (see my post on my current hair salon routine) I can officially say that while I am happy I got that desire to be blonde out of my system, I will never feel inclined to go lighter again.
Although I no longer have the desire to dye my hair a totally different color, I still think I’m a pretty good resource for those who still have the urge because going from one of the darkest shades of brunette to a bleach blonde required a lot of time and resources, and I picked up quite a lot of tips and tricks to share.
First and foremost, you will need money and you will need a salon.
This is ESPECIALLY important if it’s your first time dyeing your hair. I knooooow it’s cheaper to just DIY at home, but trust me, you’re going to want a professional guiding you through a major hair transformation. And as many boxed hair store horror stories have gone, they usually end up requiring a trip to the salon afterward to correct your hair.
Take into account your hairdresser’s opinion of what shade flatters your coloring.
I think most professionals are knowledgeable about what tone looks best with what coloring. Even if you are just doing a glaze, they can pick tones to compliment you whether you have warmer or cooler tones.
Go in with pictures of what you want, but be open to your hairdresser’s feedback.
Unfortunately, no matter how good your hairdresser is, your hair will not always look like the glammed-up celeb’s picture that you took with you to the salon.
Be real with yourself and how much maintenance you have time and money for.
Highlights will require a trip to the salon every two weeks if you are going for a significantly different color from your roots. I know I had to visit the salon once every two weeks to avoid a major dark brown to blonde contrast. While it didn’t require a full head of highlights every two weeks, it still takes up lots of time and money.
Account for additional costs such as your shampoos, conditioners and sprays.
As my hairdresser said, if you are spending all this money to change your hair, why would you not choose to use quality hair care products?! It doesn’t make sense to invest in hair and then not keep up and maintain it with cheap products. I had to start buying more products anyway to keep my hair from looking like the totally fried state that it was in from bleaching it.
Coconut oil is your friend.
If you are going to bleach your hair, you’ll need a natural moisturizer, which I found to be coconut oil. I have discussed the many ways I use coconut oil and one of those has been to restore my hair and help provide extra moisture to my ends in addition to my conditioners. Check out my blog on all of the uses of coconut oil here!
If you don’t have the time and means to blow bi-weekly on your hair, consider balayage.
I loveeeee balayage because it’s an effortless way to achieve change without fully committing. If you do it once and like it but don’t want to get it done again, it will grow out in a cute stylish way (think a much more subtle ombre look).
Recognize that the time and effort put into achieving the look will be required to get your hair back, if not more time.
We often think of how we will get our hair goals only to forget that our definition of hair goals may change. Say you begin to desire your original hair color after going a bleach blonde (much like I did), understand that it will take months if not years to finally get back to your natural state and have your natural healthy hair back.
No matter what the treatment is, it will strip your hair down, so you basically will have to do maintenance work to keep it looking healthy until you grow out and cut that last strand of hair off that was previously dyed. I think that process took two years until I finally had all of my previously dyed hair cut off. TWO years!!
Most importantly, think about why you are doing it and how it will help you feel happy.
Don’t impulsively go into the salon and change your hair dramatically. Sleep on it and think about why you want the change. If it is something that you have always just wanted to try and after lots of time you still want it, then of course by all means I would say it’s better to do it. But if it is just a current trend that you never really wanted to try before, you should wait on it and consider all the time and resources.
While my outlook may be a bit more apprehensive in recommending dyeing your hair a totally different color, don’t let that fool you into thinking that I regret it. I no longer have a desire to be anything but a brunette because I did fulfill that childhood/teen/early adult desire to be a blonde and was a blondie for a bit and enjoyed it at the time. It’s like we all say – you got to get it out of your system! But I would say, most importantly, make sure you have the time and finances for as dramatic of changes as you want.
