Does anyone here have good experiences with home hair dye?

[Bohomovies]

If you have good experiences;

How often do you need to do your roots?

What kit and what colour do you use?

Do you get those orange roots when you touch up? (I see people with those orange roots, or "hot roots" and I wonder how it can be avoided)?

Fancy sharing a photo of your hair?

I am tempted to start colouring my hair at home but I don't want to make a mess of it.

I’ve always dyed my own. I’ve got mousy brown hair and dye it blonde. I do the roots every month, only the roots. It stays in good condition and covers the grey. I use Clairol mostly, but anything really will do.

@Newterm Do you find you get that orange look at the roots once you do them (a different colour to the rest of your hair) or does it blend it straight away?

I used to do mine all the time with clairol nice and easy.
I had short hair so never bothered with root touch up, just redid it every3 months or so.
Went on easily, looked natural.

I always dye the roots at home ( I‘m dark brown but use a 6 tone colour with no warmth at all) in between 8 weekly salon visits.

I buy the professional colour ( Inoa) from an online supplier my hairdresser uses and just do the roots. At my appointments she does a much more thorough root colour and drags it through the hair so that the rest of the hair which lightens in the sun acts as highlights.

It’s never orange at the roots, it looks the same as the rest of the hair- but I avoid any of the chestnut/mahogany/auburn tones.

Try using ashy shades ti avoid the brassy roots

Hi, OP -

Sorry I won’t be posting but my camera doesn’t do accurate colours anyway.

I eventually got frustrated at paying £££ for balyage and colour that never seemed right for my skin tones, esp now that I am going so grey that the roots need a touch up every 3-4 wks.

Here is what I do. It sounds more complicated than it is.

Step 1. Use No 6 Neutral all over, then comb through No 8 Neutral somewhat randomly. Use a very fine tooth comb. This creates subtle highlights

Then 2 root touch ups with No 6.

Then repeat the full cycle. But use No 7 for (very subtle) highlights. Because the comb is vey fine and the highlights are subtle, placement is not hugely important.

Then 2 more root touch ups.

Finally I tint my whole head with No 6, after using hot oil and a clarifying shampoo to remove some colour. Between that and the highlights that are being tinted, the single colour gives a good effect.

This entire cycle has taken 4-5 months, so I’ve had a couple of haircuts. That’s where I put the ££. I am sure my stylist would prefer to do my colour but I don’t think she’s bullshitting me when she says I do a decent job

@poetryandwine That is genius. When you comb the lighter shade through do you ever get patches or blotches? Do you use a particular brand of dye?

What colour is your natural hair OP and what colour are you trying for? If you want lighter, you would need a permanent colour. If you want similar, or are just trying some colours, then a semi might work. I've used casting creme semi's for years, because I hate the hard, grow out line that permanents give.

I'm naturally dark brown (now, I'd guess about 50% grey). Box dyes often come out darker than you'd expect, so I use light brown. If I went for a dark brown- it might look black! I've never noticed any orange roots at all, nor blotches etc. Do you have a friend/partner who could put the dye in, if you are worried about missing bits? Always do a patch test too.

Ive always dyed my own hair and its always been fine. The only exception was trying out an eco friendly vegan hair dye from a health shop, that was terrible.
Its not hard to colour hair, so i dont see the point in paying a fortune.
I like the age perfect dye , as it seems to last the best on my grey hair

I probably do mine every couple of months. Garnier. I have darkish blonde hair with plenty of grey and dye it lighter blond. Must be a good matched coz the regrowth blends in quite well.
I think wether it goes reddy depends on the colour dye and what you are starting with.

My hair is very porous, OP. The highlights might not take or might take differently on someone else.

I learnt that I need to keep it in good condition and make sure there are no tangles so I can comb the highlights through quickly. They are def more subtle than what you get in a salon, they just keep the colour looking natural.

I also forgot to say that I use hot oil and clarifying shampoo before Step 1. Just extra virgin olive oil, prob half a cup or a bit more.

I know it sounds complicated but it saves me a lot of time and, scarily, well over £1000/yr.

So, yes, if my hair tangles the highlights can be patchy or I can muss spots.

Miss not muss!

I use L’Oreal Excellence or Nutrisse. The only time I swap brands is after a go with the oil and clarifying shampoo

Sorry for the short answers - am on the train

@poetryandwine Thank you! When you comb the lighter shade through your hair, do you put the dye straight onto the comb, then pull it through the hair that way? Or does it get applied onto the hair and combed through?
I am going to try and do your technique.

I use esalon but only mix half the dye each time so I get 2 dyes out of every box for my roots. Every now and then they send you an extra bottle so you can do a full head. I find it looks pretty natural once I’ve washed it a couple of times. I’ll see if I can find a pic…

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Revlon-Filters-Permanent-Conditioner-Platinum/dp/B08JHTR5JK?pd_rd_w=uC6Qd&content-id=amzn1.sym.c0de6a15-9b4a-4a39-ade4-f130d404a77e&pf_rd_p=c0de6a15-9b4a-4a39-ade4-f130d404a77e&pf_rd_r=DXTJAEQD9J3YG1GYWFDR&pd_rd_wg=IAGhA&pd_rd_r=73c9128a-03f8-4924-ae55-2987b9d2c918&pd_rd_i=B08JHTR5JK&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_5_pr_i

I use this and it's excellent so many shades. I leave it on for an hour.

I am mousy, but my hair gets a lot lighter in the summer. It then looks quite dark and flat at all other times of year. I'm not looking to go all that much lighter - maybe a shade or two. I would ideally like that summer look all year round.

I hadn't really considered using a semi-permanent. It's an interesting idea.

I do but the colour is very close to my natural, I do it every 8 weeks or thereabouts (quite a dark brown).

My hair is ludicrously thick, I need two boxes to do all over and one box for roots but I buy in bulk on offer so it’s still cheap.

In order to lighten your hair you will need to use a high lift tint or bleach because colour doesn't lighten hair. You will then need to tone it to your desired colour.

The problem with box dye/bleach is that it's one size fits all and doesn't take into account your hair type, current colour etc.

Hi, again -

I use a fine tooth rat tail comb with a long handle. I mix up the box dye as usual and then empty it into an old plastic food storage container. You want something low and shallow. Not too big because it is easiest if there is a reasonable depth of the dye. As long as there is plenty of room to dip your comb.

I just dip the comb into the container and coat it thickly with the dye. I’ve found that you do need to wear the gloves because the dye inevitably drips.

I hope it works for you, OP. I am a bit nervous because we all have different hair.

I wasn’t clear that whenever I do a whole head in my base colour, I precede it with the hot oil and clarifying shampoo. I think that really keeps the colour from building up. If you don’t like the results of the experiment, I think you could do that periodically to fade the colour(s) without harming your hair.

Good luck!

I colour my own hair (I also cut it myself too thanks to the butterfly technique!). I use a semi-permanent all over one month and then do roots the next month etc. I use Clairol natural instincts.

@poetryandwine Thank you! I’m definitely going to try this!

@TrappedPotato I’ve been doing the butterfly cut too! It’s so easy and looks so good.