Do U Dye Your Own Hair?

Updated on April 03, 2011
E.D. asks from North Reading, MA
22 answers

I have been getting highlights every 8-12 weeks for years. I don't get root color or have greys but my natural hair is sooo dark. It is just too expensive, so I am considering a box from CVS or is that just a bad idea?? Any success w doing it at home?

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

2 moms found this helpful

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

No, I get my hair professionally colored. It is not worth the risk of damaging my hair and then having to go get my screw up fixed or worse, have to cut my hair.

My hair and body are top priorities for me and I don't skimp on personal care.

I pay about $130 every 8 weeks or so for a trim and color.

1 mom found this helpful

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M.L.

answers from Houston on

I do, but I am also a hairstylist.

If I were not trained on the correct way to hold tension, foil and time color, then there is no way I would highlight my own hair, as I have learned lots of tricks of the trade and experience.

The vast majority of corrective colors I have done in the salon, are girls coming in who highlighted their own hair at home, only to come in crying because they look like a calico cat/tiger.

Now, if you are doing an all over color and staying within a close range, then there are ways to successfully color hair at home... but with putting in highlights... or even coloring over highlights... absolutely not.

I'm telling you, if you were to color over your highlights to try and get back to natural, they will either turn a murky/ashy green.... or you can overcompensate to avoid the green and it will turn a weird brassy coppery color. Neither is attractive.

Oh my gosh and do not do henna as previously suggested! You can and it can turn out pretty, but you are married to that color... you can't cover it with another color, you have to cut it out first!

I would go first to a stylist and get it professionally done... if you are going natural or doing an all over color (not highlights), after it is professionally done you can likely upkeep the color easily at home. Go to Sally's and consult to get the right color/developer mix to match what the stylist does.. Many high end salons offer low cost training days for apprentices (so call around) or even some beauty schools do pretty good highlights for less.

4 moms found this helpful
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T.S.

answers from Eugene on

Only with henna...and be sure it's REAL henna! You can find all kinds of things that SAY they're henna, but aren't really, and can damage your hair. But it is easy to do, covers the gray nicely--mix it with coffee as the liquid, and won't cause you any chemical problems.

3 moms found this helpful
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M.A.

answers from Houston on

Do not try and dye (actually, you should say color) your hair after highlights. You will ruin your look. Have a professional get your hair BACK to a state that CAN be colored.
Unlike MANY posts...I do have my hair professioanlly done every 9 weeks...(just had it highlighted today, as a matter of fact) Money is no object..like one person said...I would starve first!!!!
Seriously, hang in there just a time or two more and let your hairdresser "fix" your hair so that you can start coloring it yourself....hairdressers are usually nice folks....explain your situation to them and let them help!!!

1 mom found this helpful
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P.W.

answers from San Francisco on

Yes -- with henna. Henna nourishes the hair instead of stripping it. And regular henna does cover the grey. The downside is there aren't that many color options, but I mix them up a bit.

Oh yeah! And you can mix with coffee or tea, as Theresa says.

1 mom found this helpful

D.M.

answers from Denver on

Since you are going lighter...it's better to have a professional do it. I often dye my own, but am going darker so there's less risk (no stripping of natural color).

If you really want to try, I agree with the foks who suggested you try to add red. You can do that with henna or with a NON-permanent dye (no ammonia) that you can get at CVS. That way, if you don't like it, it will wash out on about a month. Henna can last a long time so I think I'd do that first.

I like Revlon's non-permanent color. Good luck!

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R.M.

answers from Cumberland on

you will be able to dye your own hair with a product from the drugstore and get great results.It might be easier to have a friend do it for you.

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L.W.

answers from Cincinnati on

My natural Hair is almost black...VERY dark. I just started to get some greys and they stick out like sore thumbs because my hair is dark...told my hairdresser I refuse to pay her $60 for her to dye my hair the same color...so I do my own...I go to Sallys and get the creme and then use Clairol Grey Busters 3N...cost is about $10 on average and I am SUPPOSE to do it every 8 or 10 weeks but I usually wait about 3 months.
DONT do a box...its expensive...look for a store that sells beauty supplys and go there.. the cream and the dye or equal parts...mix them in a bottle and leave on your head for 40 mins (YES 40)

A.G.

answers from Houston on

yes, and i have been since i was 12, most of the time its been blonde. highlighting your own hair is fairly simple, use foil and a paintbrush, start at the back and alternately work your way forward.....You dont have to get a highlighting kit, regular hair dye will do fine.

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T.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

I have been dying my hair with a CVS box since i was a teenager. I have never had it turn out badly. I am like you. My hair is so dark, i just want to lighten it a little. I splurge once in a while and have highlights done at the salon. I can't see spending all that money on my hair. To each their own :)

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S.B.

answers from Redding on

I know a lot of people who do their own hair quite successfully, but I personally have had some hair traumas. I have light blonde hair and love auburn. I tried it myself and ended up with pink. My husband nearly had a heart attack.
If you have a beauty supply store, they may be able to help you with what to mix up so you won't come out with some strange unanticipated color.
Once you know what works well, it's pretty simple to maintain.

I hope you get some great responses!

M.P.

answers from Provo on

I have only ever had my dyed professionally twice. My sister went to beauty school but then quit. We then quit with the boxes and went to Sally's Beauty Supply and bought the developer and the color. I highly suggest doing that. Professional dye has 7x less ammonia which of course is bad for your hair. Plus I can dye my hair three times for the price of one box.

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C.B.

answers from Boston on

To avoid the brassy get a box that has "ash" in it. I have very short hair and actually use one box and pour half the liquid in a cup and only add half the tube to the cup, so 1 box lasts me 2 colorings. I get Dark Blond Ash which is my own color and just wanted to cover the gray. I use Excellence by L'Oreal. There are also boxes for highlighting but then you have to pull the hair through some kind of cap I think, which might be hard to do to yourself. I just slather the whole mess over my whole head every 6 weeks since my hair is about 2" long I do not worry about it getting dry or brittle, since about 1/2" or more gets cut off every 6 weeks. I would give it a try, but perhaps start with semi permanent first incase you do not like it, it will wash out in about a month (but not if you wash it 30 times in 2 days!). A guy at work thought it would work that way for a play he was in and for a month had black hair and mustache!!

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T.W.

answers from Boston on

I say it's a bad idea but that's based on my experience. I highlighted my hair every few months and then tried to save some money by dying it myself, I ended up with a very unflattering brassy color that took more than one trip to the hairdresser to correct, costing me a lot of money. I say it's best to have a professional do it. My hair is darker as well so I now have my stylist just put a few face framing highlights in, it's easier to maintain and less expensive.

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P.G.

answers from Dallas on

I have medium brown hair and I get Natural Instincts Amber Shimmer and have been very happy with the color. I've got grey coming in and I always feel 5 years younger when I do it. I "treated" myself to a color and I really didn't see a difference. I think for darker colors there is less of a danger of wierd color matching. It's worth a try :)

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M.F.

answers from Houston on

Since you have dark hair dying it your natural color or maybe something with a little red in it should work. If you want to lighten your hair any or do highlights leave that to a pro. That's hard to do from a box and can leave you with brassy orange hair. I have natural dark hair and I love the natural instincts hair color, Demi permanent I think it's called, I don't have greys but I love how shiny it makes me hair.

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L.M.

answers from New York on

I've never done highlights either at a salon or at home.

I do color at home and I've had great results. I must admit the one time I did color at a salon it did look slightly better, but no way was it worth the extra $40 (it was many years ago).

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L.B.

answers from Boston on

I am also a licensed cosmetologist. I color my own hair at home, but would NEVER attempt highlights on my own hair. I concur completely with everything Momma L said.

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J.D.

answers from Boston on

I've been dying my hair myself for almost 20 years! My natural hair color is a dark blond- light brown. I've always used Nice and Easy and always recieved many compliments. But I've never had highlights so I'm not sure how careful you have to be but to be on the safe side I'd go and get your hair done professionally with an all over color and then keep it up yourself.

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R.C.

answers from Boston on

I've done my own hair for a long time. Never had a problem except for the time I did "strawberry blonde", because people always told me I was that color. I'm not!!! LOL! With a good conditioner following, your hair should be fine. Good luck with it!

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

I love henna! I just did my hair yesterday. You can't lighten your hair with henna but your own color shines through a bit making your results totally unique. There are more color options to go darker if you consider mixing your henna with indigo. Here's a place that has the most henna info I have ever found in one place:
http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes

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