How to Dye Hair Properly

Take care to dye your hair properly.

Dyeing your hair can add dimension to your natural color or even give you a new look. Some individuals pay extra to achieve the color and look they want from professionals in salons. Prepackaged hair-dyeing kits provide a cheaper alternative that can be applied right at home. If you choose to dye your own hair, take note of precautions and considerations such as the condition and color of your hair.

Things You'll Need

• Applicator brush
• Hair clips
• Plastic cape
• Timer

Instructions

1. Make sure your hair is not damaged or suffering breakage before you begin applying dye to your hair. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's article "Hair Dye Products," chemicals like hydrogen peroxide and ammonia swell the hair shaft, allowing the dye to penetrate the hair. The cuticle layer of the hair weakens, and this can make breakage and other damage to the hair worse.

2. Do a skin test for allergic reactions at least two days before dyeing your hair. Apply the color directly to your skin behind your ear or in the crook of your elbow. Leave the dye on for about 30 minutes. If you experience irritation, itchiness, pain, redness or anything you feel might be unusual, then do not to use the product. Refer to "Resources" for additional information regarding allergy testing and hair color.

3. Read over the instructions before starting, to get an idea of the requirements for applying the dye.

4. Put the protective cape around your neck and shoulders to protect your clothing from dye stains.

   Put on the gloves to prevent your hands from getting stained.

5. Use the back end of the applicator brush to part the hair horizontally across the scalp starting in the back at nape of the neck. Pin the rest of the hair up and out of the way.

   Using an applicator brush helps to saturate the hair evenly and make the application more time efficient.

6. Pour the dye in a dish once it has been fully mixed with the developer to make applying the color to the applicator brush easier.

   Dip the bristles of the applicator brush into the dye and apply the dye to the parted section of hair close to the roots, but not on the scalp.

7. Part another horizontal section of hair and use the applicator brush to apply dye to the hair. Continue repeating this step until all the hair or desired sections of hair have been saturated with the dye.

8. Immediately set the timer to the time suggested by the instructions from your hair dye kit.

9. Rinse your hair out completely and follow with the conditioner from the kit. If your kit didn't come with conditioner, then apply a color-protecting conditioner and leave it on the hair for about 5 to 10 minutes for deep conditioning.

10. Thoroughly rinse the conditioner out of the hair and then style.

Tips & Warnings

• Use sulfate-free conditioner and shampoos, or color-protecting products to maintain the color of the hair. Some hair colors fade over a short period of time and color-protecting products help seal the cuticle layer of the hair to keep the color from turning dull.

• Do not apply dye to wet hair; dye will not penetrate a hair shaft already soaked with water.

References

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Hair Dye and Relaxers
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Hair Dye Products
• Hair Site: A Technical Lesson on Hair Color Products and Hair Dyes

Resources

• Virtual Hair Care: Patch Testing for Allergies to Hair Dye and Color
• Essortment: Tips on Dying Your Hair Yourself