diy: at home hair dye!

Dying my hair at home is always a risk. Coming from a person with naturally black hair, no matter what box dye I use for my hair, the end result would always look the same. Although the results were always disappointing, I would always hope for a better look next time and pass on an expensive hair dye at a salon. This time, however, was a little better. :) 

Although it's hard to tell in the before and after picture above, my hair is noticeably browner! (Before it was more of a dark brown that looked browner in the sunlight). If you want to know how I got it that way for $25, please continue reading!

from left to right: plastic bowl and brush, hair dye, protein color filler, developer

All the products I used are pictured above and purchased at Sally's Beauty Store. The total was $25, but I know I could've gotten it for $20 with a coupon... The lady behind the counter wouldn't take the coupon I showed her on my phone. :(

If you have shorter hair, you'll only need one box dye. If it's longer than my hair, then you can try using three boxes. I actually think I could've used just one box because I had a lot left over, but I bought two just to be safe!

Anyways, the directions are as follow:

1. Wear a shirt you don't care about and protect the ground with old towels.
2. Pour the hair dye (shade: lightest red neutral brown) into the plastic bowl.
3. Pour the developer into the plastic bowl. For every box of hair dye you need 2 oz. of hair developer. Since I had 2 boxes of hair dye, I used 4 oz. of developer (I chose 30 volume. The higher the volume, the lighter it will lift your hair color. I bought 40 volume at first, but then read later that 40 volume can be very damaging for your hair, and since my hair is already damaged, I exchanged for the 30).
4. Pour the protein color filler (mine is in warm brown) into the plastic bowl. For every box you need half a bottle of the filler. Since I had 2 boxes of hair dye I poured one whole bottle into the plastic bowl. This helps in lessening the damaging effects of dying your hair.
5. Mix everything together with the brush and start applying evenly throughout your hair! Make sure you're wearing gloves! If your hair is already colored, start at the tips and start working your way up to the roots. Virgin hair absorbs the color quicker than already colored hair.
6. Once evenly coated throughout, cover your hair with a plastic bag/wrap. Wait about 30 minutes to 1 hour. The longer you wait, the lighter your hair will get, so make sure to check up on it by 30 minutes then decide whether or not you want to stop it there or wait longer.
7. Wash your hair and you're done! Don't use shampoo; use a conditioner for colored hair if you have one. The next time you wash your hair, you can shampoo and condition.

I know it's hard to tell in the cover photo, but my hair is finally brown! For $25 I think I did a pretty good job. :) I hope this helps and happy hair dying to you!