DIY hair color

[Deleted]

I'm ready to step away from the salon color ($$$).

What do I need to know - any recommended products, techniques?  I need to cover grey and like ash blonde (from mousy brown).

I've always done highlights/lowlights but DIY requires a solid color, I presume?

[VillainV]

I did Madison-Reed for a while and really liked it. If you DIY, I strongly recommend that you get better quality than drug store brand (ie: Sally Beauty Supply or one of the mail order brands). Get a brush and bowl, and clips to section your hair. Practice helps.

I’ve never done highlights/lowlights, just sold color (on my roots).

[cherry1111]

I’ve been using eSalon since the pandemic started and have decided to keep doing it at home vs paying for it at the salon. I’ve been happy with the product and it’s easy to use.

[MixedBerryJam]

If you've never done it before use semipermanent a couple of times first.

[thedutchgirl]

I don’t do my own, but keep in mind that going lighter from brown to ash blonde will require bleaching and toning. Darker will require only color depositing

[al dente]

I lighten my brown hair and do a mix of balayage and some weaving highlights with foil. I use all wella products from sallys. I use their lightening powder, level 20 and 30 developer, and toner with a level 10 developer. I've been doing this for a few years now since COVID and haven't had any disasters. I do have very thick hair which I think helps because it doesn't fry easily. I can explain my whole process if your interested.

To get started I'd google what you want to do and watch a few YouTube videos. You can figure out what supplies you'll need and see if it looks like something you could handle.

[Deleted]

Feb 17, 2023 20:04:05 GMT -5 cherry1111 said:

I’ve been using eSalon since the pandemic started and have decided to keep doing it at home vs paying for it at the salon. I’ve been happy with the product and it’s easy to use.

Interesting. I think I'll give this a try. Thanks!

[katfco]

I really like Overtone. It’s easy to use and they have conditioner that helps with maintenance. It’s also cruelty-free.

[ksun]

I do an all over color and have used Madison Reed for a little over a year. It essentially saves me $125 every 6 weeks.

[regencygirl]

I tried a few at home colors during the pandemic, and found Madison Reed to be the best for my fine hair. I'd had highlights in the past but had been doing just overall coverage for the silver / white for about a year by then. I stick with them because their Luca Light Brown is the closest to what my hair as been for the last few years with salon dye and I gets shipped to my house every 8 weeks. You can also get it as Ulta (but they don't carry the full range of colors).

[Pilsy]

Is there a way to get the Madison Reed color without a new bowl and brush every time? I liked it the one time I used it, but I hate the idea of creating extra waste by getting supplies I don't need every time.

[georgeglass]

Another Madison Reed user. Definitely recommend.

Pilsy, maybe check your settings? I don't get a bowl or brush with mine.

[VillainV]

Feb 20, 2023 16:13:50 GMT -5 Pilsy said:

Is there a way to get the Madison Reed color without a new bowl and brush every time? I liked it the one time I used it, but I hate the idea of creating extra waste by getting supplies I don't need every time.

I only got the bowl and brush the first time I ordered, and not after that.

[letsgetweird]

Feb 17, 2023 23:41:35 GMT -5 al dente said:

I lighten my brown hair and do a mix of balayage and some weaving highlights with foil. I use all wella products from sallys. I use their lightening powder, level 20 and 30 developer, and toner with a level 10 developer. I've been doing this for a few years now since COVID and haven't had any disasters. I do have very thick hair which I think helps because it doesn't fry easily. I can explain my whole process if your interested.

To get started I'd google what you want to do and watch a few YouTube videos. You can figure out what supplies you'll need and see if it looks like something you could handle.

Please explain the process!

I'm considering lightening my dirty blonde hair on my own

[jordancatalano4ever]

I’ve been doing my own hair since I turned 30 so 10 years now. I started off with box dyes but found they all pulled red on me. For the last 6 or 7 years I’ve used the wella line at Sally’s. I’ve experimented with the different variations in the line but they’ve all been good quality IMO. My hairdressers have always commented that I have good color and my hair is in good shape. Be VERY careful with your levels though. I use a level 6 or 7 which feel light when looking at the sample hair but they are nice light browns for me. I’ve accidentally done a level 4 and it was essentially black on me. I also only use a level 10 developer because I have sensitive scalp. I haven’t found it to not work as well as the levels 20-30. I also only dye my roots and if you stay consistent with your tone and color it’s undetectable so I don’t have to do all over dye or anything. I can get away with using half of my color bottle each month and it covers all of my roots so I’m spending less per month too. Finally if you like having highlights I still get my highlights done but do my own root touch ups. When I had my highlights done I asked my colorist to make sure to do the highlights in such a way that I can do my roots without it looking obvious. I do highlights once every 6 months and it starts to look like a balyage after a could months. I just haven’t tried toning my hair yet which I might try one day cause even with purple shampoo I still get a bit brassy.

[al dente]

letsgetweird this will probably be long just to warn you lol. I take two separate days to do everything because I have so much hair. Like when I got partial highlights in a salon I would be there for 5-6 hours.

First I split ear to ear for my back section and do all of that hair first, so not the crown or front at all. I usually start with 20 developer. I do a super fine weave/foil at my hairline all around the back because I wear my hair up a lot. Then I do a V on each side and bayalage, and then a straight across section - bayalage, and follow that pattern all the way up. Towards the ends I fully saturate both the top and bottom (typically bayalage is just painting on the top layer) so it's more blonde. When my first bowl of bleach runs out I switch to the level 30 developer since that will be sitting for less time then the bottom layer.

For the top I followed this video ( m.youtube.com/watch?v=uH9_SschwZA&t=620s ) last time for placement and liked it a lot. I don't do the all weaving/foils, I just bayalage following her placement. Except all along my hairline I do 2-3 foils deep with a super fine baby weave. I use to not do the foils, but when my hair was up I felt like it didn't look very bright.

I like a warmer blonde, not ashy at all, so I do tone but haven't found anything I love yet. I do use a level 10 developer for that though because I found higher level was bleaching my hair and then all my hair was brassy looking. Let me know if you have any questions!