Dyeing on a Dime: Do-It-Yourself Hair Coloring

You can’t stop thinking that you would look fabulous as a brunette, but shelling out $75 to the hairdresser to test your theory isn’t practical, unless you want to eat Spaghetti-Os for a week. To the collegiettes™ on a tight budget, updating your look without breaking the bank is possible. Behold the beauty of hair dye in a box!
 
It seems so simple. If you follow the directions on the back of the box, you should get great color. Right? Right. So how come at-home hair dye gets such a bad rap?
 
Dyeing your hair at home is a meticulous task. People often leave out details and don’t do their research before they experiment, leaving them with undesired results.
 
With advice from celebrity stylists, hair experts, and collegiettes™ like you, Her Campus has created a guide to dispel the negative connotations about dying your hair at home, complete with helpful tips on how to get that color you’re lusting after. It can be done, ladies!
 
How To Choose a Color
The hair dye aisle can be intimidating with so many colors to choose from. Before taking the trip to your local drugstore, do some research so you don’t end up choosing the wrong color. Ally Nicholas, a junior at the University of Illinois, recalls a momentary lapse in judgment: “I dyed my friend’s hair and it was supposed to be blonde but her hair was too dark and it ended up turning orange.”
 
Most salons offer free consultation appointments where a stylist will let you know what she recommends for your hair. If you get your hair done professionally, don’t be afraid to ask your stylist what brand of dye she recommends and what color she suggests to match your current dye. After all, they are the experts.
 
Before beginning the dyeing process, visit a beauty supply store that has a color palette to define your natural color. Choose the color that best matches your roots (make sure to stand by a window with natural light.) The color that you dye your hair should never be more than two shades darker or two shades lighter than your natural hair. And don’t bet on the color of the hair on the box, read the description on the side and check out the chart that will predict how your current color will react to the box color.

Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind when picking a dye:
If you have fair skin: Avoid really dark colors that can wash you out. Instead, choose rich tones like honey blonde, or a warm, light brown that will compliment your skin tone.

If you have tan skin: Medium skin tends to look orange-y when paired with hair colors that are red or copper. Try different shades of brown or a dirty blonde and think about adding highlights to liven up your color.

If you have dark skin: People with dark skin are usually advised not to choose very light shades of color that can make their complexion look flat. Try adding red tones or dark brown low-lights to really dark hair to create dimension.