to think home dye kits are just as good as going to the hairdressers?

[papayasareyum]

I've always spent about £90 for a cut and colour and been happy with the results. The last time I came out and was chatting to a school mum who said she always dyes her own hair at home. Not highlights, just a mid reddish brown semi permanent dye kit. Her hair does always look lovely.
Can home dye jobs look as good and if so, can you recommend a nice mid brown colour?! When I think how much I'm spending at the hairdresser, it makes me cringe!

[SouperSal]

No, it's how hairdressers buy it.

[SouperSal]

Tubes of colour and you have to then get the right developer, mixing bowl etc

[bertsdinner]

Ive been colouring my hair since I first got a free Shaders and Toners in Jackie mag when I was 13 and dyed all my mums towells as well as my hair.
I think I do as good a job as the hairdresser. The only downside with home dyeing is the mess and faff.
I like the new foams you can buy, they're easy to apply and less messy. Home colour kits have got a lot better over the years.

[Atthebottomofthegarden]

I do mine at home now. I like it a dark strawberry blonde and despite repeated attempts with different hairdressers, have never got the right shade in a salon. I like L'oreals cinnamon semi perm - was widely available but I can now only get it on Amazon. I use a small paintbrush and a disposable coffee cup and mix half the dye each month to do the roots, and put any over on the rest of the hair.

Cost c £3 per month. Works for me.

[Tezza1]

f you have very little grey, henna is great and all natural. I used to use about 1/2 ordinary (which gives the red), 1/4 brown and 1/4 colourless (which is actually cassia) to bulk it out. Gave fabulous colour to my mousey brown hair, and left it in the best condition it's ever been in - bouncy, sleek, full of body with a great shine.

However,if you've got a fair amount of grey or chemically teated hair, it will go orange.

[CapsicumCat21]

Oh absolutely home dye kits can be just as god certainly if like me you stick to the auburn/reddish browns.

Even my hairdresser compliments me on my hair colouring techniques and the fact it costs me about a fiver rather than £120 which is what it was last time I had it done at the hairdressers shows it's really worth it.

If I do want something a bit more complicated I do dye my hair a base colour and then have a few low lights put in at the hairdresser but mostly I just do my own all over dye at home.

[SouperSal]

Henna and Live XXL last so long because they permanently change the structure of the hair (mineral salts). If you've ever tried getting the stuff out of your hair when you want to do something different, you'll know.

[WhenSheWasBadSheWasHorrid]

I do mine at home. Never had a professional dye (too stingy).

It seems to work well and I've had compliments about the colour - chestnut brown.

But my hair is quite fine, so it's easy to apply and so far I have no grey.

[septembersunshine]

I dye my hair at home. I like the element of control and once you start doing it yourself you soon get used to it. To learn how to do it properly I just watched video's on youtube and then bought a hair dye brush from Amazon. I have saved £££ by doing it myself! Never had a problem. I do three cycles of semi-perm and then permanent to keep the condition good. Dye it every 6 weeks or so. Nice n Easy are very good!

[SenecaFalls]

I used to pay up to $200 (I'm in the States) each time for salon color. To save money I started doing it at home and I am very pleased with the results. I use Nice n Easy Medium Golden Brown (not the foam). I have a lot of gray and the result is multi-dimensional on my hair. I use a bowl and a brush. DH helps me with the sides and back. I do the roots for the full processing time and then pull the color through for a shorter time. I have been very pleased with the results and my expensive hair dresser, who still cuts my hair, likes it too.

[pod100]

I dyed mine at home for about a year to save money but now I'm back at the hairdressers. I found loads of the brown colours (even dark browns) gave my hair a red tone and I ended up going almost black to lose it. It looked great for a week after dying but then I found it went full quite quickly and the condition of my hair (which has always been excellent) went really dry. The colour was also really flat with no tones. Been back at the hairdressers since February and my hair looks lovely again now

[ByTheSea]

DH does mine and we save loads.

[shrunkenhead]

Are you all dyeing your hair because you don't like your natural colour or because you're going grey? I sometimes dye mine different shades of red (at home) , just for fun and it doesnt last long if I dont like it anyway. I dont know what I'd do if going grey.... That's why I ask.

[AdoraKiora]

I agree with previous posters - all over brunette colours can be just as good at home.

I'm dark brunette and use a semi permanent box dye. I switch shades now and then, but usually go for a warm, deep brown. Currently Loreal Excellence Chocolate Brownie. Gives a lovely shiny colour.

If I was doing anything more complicated, though, I'd go to a salon. I've had balyage and a dip dye over the last 5 years and would never attempt at home!

[AdoraKiora]

Oh, and I dye my hair to give a richer colour and to cover grey.

[TapDancingPimp]

I've been dying my own recently and I hate it .

I'm very light blonde and even when I buy the absolute lightest shades it never works and I always look brassy, even when I use purple shampoos.

I think when you have blonde hair coloured professionally it's very hard to transition to home kits again.

But that's just my experience.

[TapDancingPimp]

In fact I recently found an older pic of myself from my salon-colouring days and I couldn't believe how shiny and bright my hair was. Now it looks like shit!

I can't justify the cost at the minute though.

[SenecaFalls]

To answer shrunkenhead's question, I dye mine to cover gray. I dye it close to its natural brunette color, but a couple of shades lighter.

[CrushedNinjas]

Home dye kits are fine for brunette tones but you're unlikely to get a natural look if you want to be blonde.
Most hairdressers only have basic colour knowledge so you need to find someone who has done advanced colour courses if you want a really good job doing.
Paying a lot of money in a fancy salon is no guarantee of competence.

If money's an issue, book in as a model at a hairdressing college/salon teaching advanced colour classes.

Sally's staff are notoriously ill-informed, by the way. I've overheard some appalling advice in the past such as 'mix peroxide into a direct dye and it turns it into a permanent colour...! Or 'you need to use 40vol peroxide with that bleach...

[Nivea101]

I have highlights and lowlights every couple of months and a cut it is far too expensive but I've had home hair dying disasters that take far more money to fix up in the long run!! The last time was about 6 years ago and my blonde attempt ended up more like the colour of an orangutan so I went to a local (cheaper) hairdresser and it was way too dark and looked like it had a greenish tinge so in the end I had to go to the expensive hairdresser I was trying to avoid going to in the first place.

[DizzyNorthernBird]

I used this one a week ago:

www.lloydspharmacy.com/en/vidal-sassoon-salonist-permanent-hair-colour-5-0-medium-neutral-brown?gclid=CNi_mPiBxs0CFcG6GwodHvYBEQ

Bought this one as I liked the idea of using a brush (included in the pack) to treat my roots first as they do in a salon. I'd been putting off using it for a while after buying as I thought it might be a faff, but it was actually really easy to use, and less messy than kits where you squirt dye from a bottle nozzle. So far I'm really pleased with the results but I only wash my hair twice a week so I can't comment yet on how long it'll last.

I'm very dark but have greys at the front of my hairline. I'm a bit fan of the Nice 'n' Easy root touch up kits. Very quick and easy to use and you can usually pick one up for a few quid.

[expatinscotland]

It's cheaper, but if I could afford it, I'd have a hairdresser do it.

[Ilovewillow]

I think the quality is probably pretty good but I think unless you are good with the application then a hairdresser is better!

I'm not very good with the application, hate the mess it makes and quite like the relaxation the hairdresser option provides.

[TapDancingPimp]

So does anyone actually believe that Holly Willoughby uses a box dye then?!

Given my recent experiences, I'm going with 'no fucking way'

Or maybe she's just really good at it!

Seriously though, any fellow light blondes - have you found a box colour that works well post-salon treatment?

[Nivea101]

Not me Tap which is why I'm getting more low lights each time so hopefully one day I can do it myself as I do think darker hair is easier to colour.

If I had Holly's money (and hair) I'd be going to the best in the land not doing it myself over the bathroom sink.