Light to Dark- Tips and Tricks

Not only am I a hairstylist, I'm also quite the self-dye enthusiast. I've been dying my own hair for a while now (Ok 8th grade) and I have a few tips that I'm going to share to help the process!

How to go from this:

 (Red Stiletto took some pictures of my family earlier this summer, we love them! She did such a great job) 

to this:

Things to keep in mind:

- Whether you're going from blonde to brown or brown to blonde, or whatever you're doing, it's probably not going to be instantaneous. Unless you want to fry your little hairs off and look like a character from Dr. Seuss, you have to be patient. I took two months to gradually, and safely, dye my hair as dark as it is now. It took even longer to get it as blonde as it is in the picture above. 

Tips for dying your hair:

- If you're not entirely sure you want to take the plunge, try adding in some highlights or lowlights. If you're wanting to go dark, add in some chunky brown pieces. If you're wanting to go light, weave in some blonder pieces.  That way you can get a general idea of what you will look like. It's much easier to fade out lowlights than it is to switch your hair back from black cherry to barbie blonde.

 - Use a 10 or 20 volume developer. 

This can be a little confusing, but let me try and explain. The developer is the white junk you add to the dye. It comes in different "volumes" from 10-40. Volume indicates the amount of peroxide in the mixture. The higher the number, the harsher it will be on your hair. By using a 10 or 20, tops, you are saving the health of your hair. You might have to leave the dye on longer, or dye it again sooner, but your hair will thank you. A 30 or 40 volume is really only necessary if your hair is super healthy, super stubborn, and your wanting a major lift (from brown to white blonde or something)

-Give in and get a haircut.

I HATE cutting my hair. I always feel like I'm just chopping off all of the progress I've made. But a cut really is necessary after dying your hair, especially from light to dark. All those little fuzzy ends will fade and look horrid. Give yourself a little trim and your hair will look much healthier.

Back when my hair was blonde, I wrote a post about how to keep your hair healthy.  Here are a few tips for brunettes:

- Make sure you're using a low sulfate or sulfate free shampoo. Sulfate will fade your color and its really harsh on your hair. There's a bajillion different kinds of sulfate free shampoo, just read the bottles and they usually say right on the front.

- Use a leave in conditioner to hydrate your ends. With blondes, it's easier to hide dead ends, but with brunettes the ends looks faded and nasty. I already mentioned trimming your ends, but you can also use a leave in conditioner to help protect your hair from heat damage. I love this one. 

- Don't wash your hair excessively. You can train your hair to only need washing about twice, maybe three times, a week. Dry Shampoo is your best friend. When  you do wash your hair, try to wash it in lukewarm-cool water. Heat will make your color fade.

I've been asked recently if any of my makeup or style changed when I dyed my hair. Not really. I did start coloring in my eyebrows more, to make them look more natural with my dark hair.  I was pale before I colored my hair, and I guess now it's even more evident how ghostly I am? Besides that, nothing really changed.

Hope this helps! If you have any other questions, let me know!