How to dye your hair- Your equipment
What do you need to dye hair at home? Well, for starters, you’ll need your hair dye. We went over how to choose hair dye in our ‘pre-dyeing’ guide, so make sure to read that first. You need to ensure that you have enough of your chosen dye, and do a patch-test and strand-test to check for any adverse reaction. You can find out how to do a patch/strand test in our ‘pre-dyeing’ guide here.
You should also have your hair pre-lightened to your desired level. Once you and your dye are ready, you can set up your home salon with the following equipment:
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Tint brush/bowl- you’ll need this to mix your colour. Our resealable pots make it easier to apply colour directly from the packaging, but if you’re using one of our 50ml pouches or squeeze containers, you’ll need your own bowl.
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Gloves- don’t risk staining your hands- use plastic or vinyl gloves to protect your skin. That way, you can use your hands to get really deep in the hair, without any worry that you’ll stain the skin.
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Old clothes/towels- our hair dye contains a lot of pigment, and no matter how hard you try, there’s always a chance that you’ll spill a little or get some on your clothes. Make sure to prep your space ahead of time, and only use clothes or towels that you don’t mind staining.
How can I avoid staining my skin with hair dye?
As we said, gloves are imperative when dyeing hair. But how can you avoid staining the skin on your head and face? It’s all well and good starting with good intentions, but once your gloves and hair are all saturated, it’ll become harder and harder to keep the colour away from your face. That’s why you need to prep ahead of time and protect your skin. You can use Vaseline to put a border around your hairline. Hair dye won’t be able to penetrate past the Vaseline, and therefore, you won’t be stained.
How to dye your hair- Step by step
Ready to dye? Let’s get started-
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First, make sure that your hair is dry. Our dye works best on dry, day-old hair, which absorbs the dye while protecting your hair follicles.
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Mix your desired colours/amounts in your mixing bowl.
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Section your hair with some clips, starting from the bottom.
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Working in small strips, use your brush and your fingers to paint the colour onto your hair.
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Make sure that each strand is completely saturated- you can comb the colour through or rub it in with your fingers until frothy. This indicates that the dye has been fully absorbed.
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Once all your hair is covered in dye, move it out of your face and leave it to sit. You can use a plastic cap to cover your head, although this isn’t compulsory.
How long do I leave hair dye for?
The recommended developing time for our semi-permanent hair dye is 30 minutes minimum. For harsher products like bleach, it’s important to only leave the product on for the recommended developing time shown on the packaging. Our hair dyes, however, contain a nourishing and conditioning formula, so you can leave them on your hair for up to a couple of hours without any damage.
How to dye your hair- After 30 minutes
Developing time over? It’s now time to rinse your colour out! Use cold water for the best results, as this will close your hair cuticles and seal in the colour. Run the water until you no longer see any colour running down the drain. You can use one of our nourishing shampoos and conditioners for the best results, but as we said, our dyes already contain nourishing ingredients, so your hair should be healthy and sleek after the dyeing process.
Hopefully, this guide helped you to dye your own hair! We love seeing all of your colour transformations, and can’t wait for more- tag us @manicpanic_uk with pics of your brand new colour. And now that your hair is vibrant and gorgeous, make sure to check out our guide on how to maintain hair colour- here. Read all of our Manic Panic care guides for perfect, colourful hair that looks and feels incredible!
