Keep These Pro Tips In Mind If You Must Absolutely Color Your Hair At Home

While the pandemic has kept most of our go-to salons closed, and would-be clients committing to staying at home, maintaining dyed hair has become quite a challenge, and a DIY activity to many. But, as anyone who’s done it knows, there’s a reason salon appointments are so expensive—coloring your own hair requires skill and basic familiarity with the science!

For expert advice, the best first move is to schedule a virtual appointment with your colorist, but there are also some immediate answers for those who need to take matters into their own hands. And to make things easier for you, we talked to pro editorial & celebrity hairstylist Francis Guintu, and here, he shared some at-home hair coloring tips and tricks for achieving salon-worthy results! Read on.

Follow safety tips when dyeing your hair.

"Follow the safety instructions if you’ve never used a particular brand before. Take the time to do the patch test, mix a little bit of the formula and try it on the inner crook of your elbows, if you get any rashes or irritation, DON’T use it."

Apply dye a half-inch away if you want to go for a lighter hair color.

"If you’re working with a color to lighten your hair, apply the formula a half inch away from the scalp, start with the back sections then the front ones, wait 20-25 minutes then go back and apply the formula to the roots, you definitely would want to work fast here, it might be a bit messy, but commit to it."

Box color doesn’t always turn out like in the picture.

"Most box colors would only offer 1-2 levels of lift, so the color you see on the box is not an accurate depiction of what your hair would actually look at."

Prepare a space to do your color.

"It's best if you can prepare a wide space and lay down some newspapers on the immediate surfaces around you. If you’re working with dark dyes, you would most likely end up with a ton of stains that would take forever to remove."

Use dark clothes and towels to avoid staining.

"Use an old work shirt with dark colors, and dark towels you can drape around you to prevent stains on your skin."

Part and section your hair before coloring.

"Make sure you have some hair clips to put your hair away, and a tail comb (or a regular comb will do) so you can work your hair in sections. And as for dividing your hair, do it in four sections, two in the front and two in the back."

Lead photos via (hair color) cottonbro from Pexels, and (neon lights) Lauren Fleischmann from Unsplash