If you find yourself thinking about your next beauty look and looking into magazines and bio’s for inspirations, then congratulations! You have survived the pandemic. What are the alternatives of getting your new hair colour popping and ready for that date or for the next day? This will depend on how far your DIY spirit extends. Other alternative is just calling in a hair colourist for a session and some lessons on what Blondy is best for you.
Even though you might find yourself eyeing boxed dye for a DIY session we recommend you drop it and leave this task to the professionals. There’s a lot of color alchemy going on, some pretty complicated techniques, and it’s difficult to right where you’ve wronged. Just ask your colorist—no, really, ask them. “First-time colorers should try to do a consultation with a professional to make sure you’re using the right color and technique,” says UK-based celebrity colourist, Wendy. Consider reaching out to your favorite colorist for a digital consultation and get their advice on how to move forward. It’s a good way to minimize the risk of a bad dye job, and paying them for their time on Oosyn.com lets you support your local beauty professionals at the same time of having a dye well done.
Of course, our inhouse expert has some thoughts of her own on how you should shop for the perfect blonde colour. “Triple check whether the dye you’re looking at is permanent or semi-permanent,” she says. Neither contains bleach, but semi-permanent is gentler and more transparent. If you’re going for permanent, she suggests choosing a formula that’s free of ammonia (which is harsh on strands) and PPD. “PPD is the most common allergen in hair dye, and there are lots of options without it.” Still, be sure to conduct an allergy test 24-hours before coloring to play it safe. Then, move on to coloring!
I Just Want To Highlight Some Strands
Your main goal is color matching. “Matching [dye] to your base color will give you a better blend than looking through old photographs.” To do it, look at the hair growing at the nape of your neck, where you don’t get much sun exposure. (Sunlight can lighten or oxidize your hair, and you’re trying to see what unaffected, fresh color would look like.) For better results, part your hair straight back from crown to nape, clip the hair out of the way on either side, and photograph the middle in natural light. You’ll get a much better match that way.
I Want To Color My Whole Head, From Roots To Tips
Instead of matching a box dye to your current color, you get to pick one. You might want to go for a ashy blonde or a golden look entirely. What are the odds you are surprised with the change?
Our hair colourist breaks down that process into two steps: shade (how light or dark a color is) and tone. Most people just think about the dye when thinking about colouring. I personally like to look at the shape of the face, the colour of the eyes when working with a client. You also might want to consider a semi-permanent gloss, which is a little translucent to mimic salon dimension while working from home.
The next step, tone, is where things get a little dicey. When a professional colorist accepts a job, they’ll try to assess whether they’d suit a warmer or cooler coolor tone. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but in general those who are mostly cool-toned should pick a cool hair color, and warm undertones look best with a warmer tone. To find out where you stand, flip your wrist up and look at the veins. Are they mostly blue? You’re probably cool-toned. Green? That’s a sign you’re warm-toned. And if they’re somewhere in between, you’re neutral.
You can look to the dye’s shade name to help determine its tone. A cool blonde might be called icy or ashy, whereas warm blondes are gold or wheat. A cool brunette might be called smoky, while warm browns can be chestnut (reddish) or caramel (golden).
Not A Bleachy Blonde?
If you want to make your hair lighter, you have to bleach it. You can’t just use a blonde box dye and call it a day, because without bleach, blonde color just won’t show up on darker hair. Most likely, you’d need to combine the product with an advanced technique such as highlights, balayage, or babylights, and I’m not whole-heartedly comfortable with people trying to recreate that at home.” Plus, the bleach you can buy over the counter is less powerful than the kind professionals use
If you are not quite sure of putting your hair through the bleaching process, try a gloss. These are sheer, semi-permanent, and will make your color look fresh without bleach. “A gloss, or even a pastel shade, can cover up patchiness, unevenness, and a million other sins.”
What Else Is Needed?
The tools and kit needed for the new look will be provided by your reliable hair colourist, without you worrying if that over the counter box provided it. You’re also going to need an old t-shirt and towel that you don’t mind getting color on, because at-home coloring can get pretty messy. Tangle Teezer, color-protecting shampoo and conditioner, and strengthening treatment are products the hair colourist will also come with. The coloring process damages hair by nature, but having extra hands and an intensive treatments to use afterwards can help limit damage and improve shine.
Congratulations! You survived your first hair color rodeo. How helpful was your hair colourist? Did he or she introduce you to new techniques?
