Fall is here (although Evanston temperatures feel pretty wintry) and it is one of my favorite seasons. Fall fashion offers so many possibilities and the style-nerd in me gets a little too excited. Cozy sweaters, suede booties and infinity scarves help to transition your wardrobe from summer to fall. But what should you do about beauty? While a bold lip or some OPI Lincoln Park After Dark on your nails might do the trick, changing up your hair color is another way to adjust your look. I’m here to show you how to dye your locks at home on a budget.
1. Color me….
The most important step to dying your hair at home is choosing the color. For fall, some hair color trends for lighter hair are caramel, red or golden tones. With darker shades, adding shine, either with a chestnut brown or black, is in for the season, Gia Matthews, stylist at Ergo Salon, said. The ombre look is still trending, but there has been a change. Whereas ombre used to be a lighter shade on bottom and dark on top, the new ombre is now a darker shade with face-framing highlights.
I myself am blonde, and a pretty faded one after many days in the summer sun, so I couldn’t wait for a change. For this at-home dyeing experiment I chose to go just slightly darker and more golden a la Blake Lively. Maybe this hair color will even attract a cutie like Ryan Reynolds? A girl can dream.
2. Level of commitment
Permanent or non-permanent? No, I’m not talking tattoos; hair dye also comes in two formulas. Gia Matthews said she always recommends semi-permanent formulas to at-home customers, which are conditioning for the hair. Permanent dye is best for those trying to cover grays or looking for a drastic change.
Gia also recommends going to a store like Sally Beauty Supply to purchase your hair color.
“A lot of people want to do box color, but don’t do that. Go to Sally Beauty Supply and have someone pick out a professional color for you. Boxed products have so many chemicals that the color may not work for you. Sally can make a mix for you and it will last longer,” she said.
I personally did not go to a Sally Beauty Supply but went to CVS where they sell many semi-permanent formulations, like Clairol Natural Instincts and L’Oreal Healthy Look.
Drumroll please… my shade and formula is Natural Instincts Medium Golden Blonde.
3. Application 101
Application is obviously important, but try not to get intimidated or nervous. Each box comes with gloves, dye, conditioner and a very specific set of instructions. Follow the steps included and you should be fine, but here are some random tips I learned along the way:
A) Follow the rules.
Dampen your hair before using semi-permanent dye. The directions call for damp hair, and while I didn’t want to follow this step, it is necessary. Dry hair will suck all the dye right up and you won’t have enough to color your entire head. I started out the process with dry hair and panicked when I realized I used half the bottle on maybe 1/5 of my head.
B) Grunge is good.
Don’t shower before. It’s best to have some natural oils in your hair to protect your scalp, so on the day leading up use some dry shampoo instead of washing your hair.
C) Friends don’t let friends dye their hair alone.
Work the dye throughout evenly. This isn’t too tricky; use either a hairbrush or your hands. You can also have a roommate or friend check that you are covering your hair evenly.
D) Keep calm and color on.
Once the color is applied, wait the appropriate amount of minutes and don’t freak if the color looks weird. My supposedly medium blonde shade looked dark brown on my hair and I was so tempted to rinse it out early. But don’t! I kept it on for the recommended 10 minutes, although I was a bit nervous. When I rinsed it out, I wasn’t a brunette and my color was a medium golden blonde, just like the box had said.
4. Love your locks
The best part of changing your hair color is the excitement that comes with it. People will notice and hey, who doesn’t love a compliment? Use a color protecting shampoo to keep your new shade from fading. What’s even better than adoration and shiny hair? The satisfaction of knowing that while you could have spent $60.00 at a salon, you only spent $6.00 at CVS. Now all that’s left to do is decide where to spend the money you saved…. Urban Outfitters anyone?