With the huge leaps and bounds hair specialists have taken the past few years, you can now colour your hair at a fraction of salon prices, and get the same quality at home. Here are a few tips to help you colour your hair at home:
Only attempt to colour your hair at home if you want to cover greys or go two or three shades lighter or darker. For anything else, then it is best to go to a salon, as this will require harsher chemical treatment. If your hair is damaged or has previous chemical treatment, then you should visit a salon as you do not want to overprocess and risk damaging your hair. L’Oreal Excellence Crème covers greys perfectly and gives a long lasting healthy colour.
There are three types of colour: temporary colour lasts for 6-12 shampoos, semi permanent fades after 28 washes and permanent hair colour grows out, and the regrowth usually needs to be re-coloured every 6 weeks. Do not expect your hair colour to turn out like the model on the box – it always comes out darker than the image, so make sure that you buy one or two shades lighter than your desired colour. The side of the box usually indicates what the colour will look like depending on your original hair colour. Garnier has interesting hair colour options – its Belle Colour range gives a multi-tonal natural looking colour, whilst Garnier Nutrisse gives long lasting rich colour.
The instructions included in the box tell you to test a few strands for allergic purposes – something that most of us skip. However, if you are trying the colour out for the first time, it is important to test a few strands out first – not only for safety issues – but also to make sure that the colour is suitable, and also to determine how long you need to wait for the right shade to appear.
Colouring hair at home is a messy task, so be prepared with an old shirt, old dark towel and rags to mop up any spills right away. It is best to ask a friend to help you out if possible to make sure that your whole hair is coloured properly. Apply vaseline on your hairline and your ears prior to colouring to prevent embarrassing dye stains all over.
Wait 24-48 hours after washing your hair before colouring it. Yes, that is right, do not wash your hair the day before colouring it, as freshly washed hair lacks natural oils that are needed to help absorb colour. After colouring your hair, simply rinse your hair and remove the colour, and then apply conditioner if provided. Do not wash hair with shampoo for 24-48 hours, as this will allow the colour to penetrate your hair properly. Once you do start washing your hair, it is wise to invest in a colour protective shampoo which will not strip your hair colour like normal shampoos will.
