The arrival of spring calls for a change. After hiding under your North Face parka all winter, it’s time to seriously amp up your style. There’s nothing better than sporting a new shade on your hair to spruce up your look. Unfortunately, us college women can’t afford to pay salon prices to color our hair. Thankfully, we can achieve salon-worthy results by using a do-it-yourself dye kit. Never used a boxed kit before? No fear! This step-by-step tutorial will make you a pro!
1. Select a dye 2 or 3 shades lighter or darker than your natural hue. I don’t recommend straying farther than 3 shades because the color may not mesh well with your skin tone.
2. Do a strand test. Gather a section of hair ½ inch thick and coat it with dye. Let the dye process for half of the recommended time on the box (because it’s such a small section of hair) and then wipe off the color with a wet towel. **Make sure you wear clothes and use a towel that you don’t mind staining. Hair dyes stain permanently!
3. Rise strand with cool water and blow dry. This will allow you to see how the color appears on your hair and decide if you like it. If the shade is too light, you’ll want to leave the dye on for a longer duration of time to process. If the shade is too dark, either leave the dye on for a shorter duration of time or consider choosing a lighter shade of dye. If you are happy with the results of the color, proceed to cover the rest of your hair with the dye and follow the instructions to continue with the dying process.
To maintain your fabulous new ‘do, wash your hair with color safe shampoo and conditioner, use a protectant spray when exposed to sun, and soak hair in color-safe deep conditioning treatments weekly. When it’s time for a touch up, do NOT put dye on all your hair. Using the applicator brush, brush the color only on your roots, then let process and wash out. Dying already colored hair every 6 weeks will result in brittle, dry hair.
Good luck, and rock those new ‘dos, girls!