Dye Roots
You take pride in your appearance and want to look attractive. You dye your hair and, every few weeks, you--and the rest of the world--notice roots where the color has grown away from your scalp. Learn how to dye roots yourself so you can save yourself an expensive root-covering trip to the salon.
Steps
- Cover your roots as your natural hair color grows out.
- Buy a hair dye one shade or tone lighter than what you currently use. The hair dye formulas dye hair a little darker than what shows on the box.
- Read the directions on the box.
- Gather all the materials you need to dye your hair roots.
- Change from your regular clothing to an old t-shirt and jeans you don't mind staining.
- Materials should include your hair dye kit, a wide tooth comb, an old towel, a kitchen timer and a book.
- Mix the hair dye.
- Part your hair at the top of your head.
- Squeeze the dye onto the roots along your part.
- Part your hair about 1/8 of an inch away from the first part and squeeze dye along the part.
- Continue parting your hair and squeezing dye along the areas where your roots have begun to show.
- Time the dying process.
- Set the kitchen timer for the time recommended on the box and remove the dying gloves.
- Read your book as you wait for the dye to set and color your roots.
- Massage the dye fully into your roots after the timer goes off.
- Add another 5 minutes to the dying process, to ensure that the roots are completely covered.
- Remove the hair color.
- Strip your clothing off, taking care not to transfer too much color to your shirt.
- Get into a warm shower and wet your head.
- Work the color to the ends of your hair, then rinse the color completely out.
- Shampoo your hair with a gentle or color-maintaining shampoo.
- Rinse the dye and shampoo out until the water runs clear.
- Condition your hair with an after-dye conditioner.
- Rinse the conditioner out of your hair.
- Style your hair as usual.
- Towel-dry your hair gently.
- Dry your hair on a cool setting with your hair dryer and style it as you usually do.
Tips
- Maintain your hair color. Steer clear of elements that fade or strip the color. These include chlorine, sunlight and harsh shampoos.
- Allow the hair dye to stay on your roots 5 minutes longer than the box recommends if you have resistant gray.
- Perform an allergy skin test before dying your roots.
Warnings
- Do not dye your roots if you develop an allergic reaction to the dye after completing the skin test.
- Do not dye your eyebrows or eyelashes. The chemicals in hair dye are harsh and will cause damage to your eyes.
- If you get hair color on your skin, remove it immediately with a damp (old) cloth or a baby wipe.
Things You'll Need
- Box of hair dye
- Wide tooth comb
- Old clothing
- Old towel
- Kitchen timer
- Book
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
