I get asked this question fairly often but I’ll let you in on my secret. Usually, I do it myself.
There have been times when I’ve gone into a salon but I prefer to do it myself. Since I’ve been sporting the au naturale look a lot lately I finally decided that I needed a small boost of color. So here is my method.
Really, any highlighting kit will work. Revlon works really well with my hair type but I’ve also used L’Oreal’s highlighting kit so I’d recommend that as well.
The key to looking natural is to pull thin wispy strands of hair through only the large circles. The thicker the chunks of hair, the thicker the highlights and the more noticeable they’ll be. I like to keep mine subtle so I also only pull hair through the circles around my face and slightly back on the crown.
Mix the highlight powder with the developing cream and begin applying the color to your hair. I only put the color on my roots leaving out my ends because they are already blonde from previous bleaches and I don’t want to over process them.
When enough product is applied, cover the hair with the bag that is supplied with the kit. Leave on for the allotted time. I usually do about 30 minutes to ensure I don’t have a yellow tint and get a white blonde color instead.
After the time is up, rinse out the bleach from the pulled strands before pulling off the cap. Finish by washing and conditioning your hair with the supplied shampooing packet.
Voila! Subtle blonde highlights!
Do you dye your hair at home? I’d love to hear your methods and secrets for getting gorgeous color.
My suite mates and I used to dye each other’s hair in college. We’d take turns, where 3 girls would get their hair dyed at once (we had 3 sinks in the bathroom), and then while their hair was processing, 3 more girls would go for their turn. We had a cvs down the road so it worked really well, and none of us were doing the salon thing on work study salaries. I’m 32 now and no longer dye my hair – but I was in boot camp earlier this year, and I helped a few soldiers bring their hair back to its natural color. They have strict hair requirements, and I was able to use the time management from college to fit about 5 females into the 1.5 hour time frame we had til lights out. I didn’t end up making it in the Army, but for those who are enlisting, the PX sells hair dye so you can go back to your natural look.
I’ve colored my hair for about five years now, but have only done all over color. After reading your post I’m ready to try highlights myself. Question though. I need to color my hair right now so what do I do – do the all over color now and wait a week or so to do the highlights or does timing not matter?
i have always dyed my own hair unless i want something different. it’s so much cheaper and a lot of the time you can get the same results. that kit is a good one – i like it!
I use this same kit whenever I dye my sister’s hair. I am to lazy to mess with my own hair.
I think the last time i colored my own hair was about 15 years ago. That was before I got a bit over-obsessed with my hair =) Now I am too scared to ruin it. Actually I am rocking my natural color right now but for a while now I am thinking about going chocolate brown. Maybe next time I need a haircut I’ll go for it… maybe!
WOW, you do an amazing job with your own hair! I’d never be able to pull that off especially with the cap!
HOW ARE YOU SO AWESOME ALL THE TIME?!
This subject has been on my mind becuase I am WAY overdo for a color and cut and I don’t know what to do and don’t really want to shell out $150 to get it done. I have used that kit myself for years and you know what, it’s awesome. I felt like maybe I was dorky or out of style because it’s such an old looking box but it really does work just as well. To tell you the truth I am leaning toward going and doing some mint and lavender highlights!
Anyway, I just had to post that seeing that THIS is what you use totally made me feel MUCH cooler ! :D
Now, where do you get your hair cut? Pricey salon or no? Tell you the truth, some of my best cuts have been $9.95.