It’s okay to ditch the salon in favour of a DIY at-home hair kit now and again. Indu Saksena Bedi speaks to the colour experts about getting the right shade without damaging your hair
Colouring your hair at home can be a mane minefield – fraught with colour and coverage concerns: Will I get even coverage? What will the colour be like? Will it damage my hair? While a salon hair colourist is trained to instinctively know if a shade will work or not on your hair, at at-home kit provides only the minute shade panels at the back of packs to help us visualise how our hair will turn out.
However, armed with some application know-how from the experts and the skills to help you choose the right shade and product, you can pull off some lovely locks. “Whether you are blonde, redhead or brunette, your most flattering hair shade – one that goes with your skin tone and eye colour – won’t be more than two levels lighter or darker than your natural hair colour,” says New York hair colourist, Kelly Van Gogh. To get to a foolproof flattering colour at home, Kelly advises staying within dark or light chocolate brown for brunettes; medium or light blonde or copper-orange for blondes; and deeper or lighter red for redheads.
And if you’re looking to switch to a brand-new colour, it’s advisable to change your hair colour in degrees, rather than in one go. This applies to both previously-coloured as well as natural hair. “Then it’s not as harsh as hair gets time to recover to its healthy self in between,” says Kelly.
Choosing the right shade
If you have dark hair…
The first thing to know is that a light shade on top of dark hair doesn’t work – only bleach does – so if you want your hair to be more than two levels lighter, visit a salon. If you’re looking for a slight change, try DIY highlights, which are easy to achieve with a home highlighting kit. “First create a few highlights around the face as that’s where they are most prominent and then on the rest of the hair,” says Kelly. “Once you see your hair, decide if you’re happy with just light streaks or if you want to apply a new full-on colour.” Those with medium olive skin should avoid orange-based shades and brassy tones, and opt for chocolate colours.
If you have light hair…
If you are natural blonde with light skin, opt for either dark blonde, bleached blonde, or go the orangey copper-red route, says Khaled Kahel, hair expert for Wella. Khaled advises paying particular attention to the tints and undertones in the shade description on the box. Tints that are red, gold, ash or natural can make a huge difference to the final outcome, especially when you have light hair. “As you age, avoid ashy undertones as these will make you look older,” advises Khaled. “Opt for shades with a warm golden undertone instead.”
If you want to go red…
Going red is tricky at home, says Khaled, as some shades of red won’t show on dark hair unless it’s bleached first. Also, red is a weaker pigment and fades out quickly so you’ll need touch-ups every few weeks. Finally, the pigment stains the hair shaft permanently so it’s difficult to get red out from light hair.
If you want to cover grey…
Only permanent colours provide effective grey coverage. “Dark shades are best with tough greys as the pigment is stronger,” says Khaled. If you have dark hair, give your grey roots extra time, otherwise they will end up lighter and fade out faster. Follow Khaled’s steps: Divide hair into small sections using a parting comb and apply the colour covering only the roots re-growth and the grey strands, leaving for 40 minutes, before applying the colour to the rest of your hair for the last 10 minutes. “For lasting colour, don’t expose hair to direct sunlight too much,” says Khaled. “Coloured hair also calls for frequent intensive conditioning so include regular treatment masks in your routine.”
How to apply
When doing an at-home application, Khaled advises not washing your hair the day before or on the day – instead wash it two days before. “When the scalp is greasy and unwashed, it is better protected against damage from the colour chemicals,” says Khaled. He also advises not using any styling gels or creams on your hair when you’re planning to colour it.
“Just before you begin, apply a layer of oily moisturiser all over the face and ears including the tiny baby hairs on the forehead – this prevents any chances of tinting your forehead or ear lobes,” says Christophe Robin, hair expert at L’Oréal. For an even shade all over, follow Christophe’s tip. “When going darker than your current shade, start with the front section as it tends to be lighter than the rest, which means you need to keep the colour on longer. However, if you’re going lighter, do the opposite – begin with the back section first and then cover the hair in the front.”
If you find that you’ve gone lighter than you had anticipated, you can restore your natural shade simply by colouring the hair darker again, explains Khaled. “However, if you’ve gone darker by mistake, leave it to the professionals to safely remove the dark pigment and colour to its original shade again,” says Khaled, who also advises against bleaching at home as it can cause severe hair damage.
Which type of kit?
With such a wide variety of home colour packs on the supermarket shelves, it’s easy to get confused. However, an understanding of the different grades can help narrow down your search, allowing you to choose how long you want your colour to last. “The most popular category, permanent colours, has intense results as the pigment penetrates the hair shaft and stains it permanently,” says Khaled who further explains that permanent colours are a good option for dramatic long-lasting colour change and grey coverage. Try Wella Koleston Color-Intense Foam, Dh41 and L’Oréal Excellence Crème Color, Dh45.
Demi-permanent colours only create a slight shift from your existing shade as they don’t contain ammonia, so they can’t lighten your natural colour. Many brands use the terms ‘semi-permanent’ and ‘demi-permanent’ synonymously, but one good way to pin-point what’s what is this: demi-permanent colours last longer than semi-permanent and if the pack says it lasts up to 20 washes, you know it’s a demi. Demis and semis are also ideal for first-timers as there’s little risk of mistakes, as well as being good options for those with damaged or over-processed hair. Try L’Oréal Casting Crème Gloss, Dh36. Semi-permanent colours are very mild and fade out very quickly, says Khaled. They only last around six to seven washes and are not an effective option for greys. You won’t find too many brands in this genre.
