A DIY Guide to Hair Dye

How to Do it Up Right, and Avoid Disaster

I had mixed up a lovely concoction of all-natural henna dyes from a package I'd purchased at a local organic store. The dye had worked before and turned my hair a lovely deep blackish-brown. I was bored one night, around 11 p.m., and had nothing better to do so I decided to color my hair. Big mistake.

Hennas are highly fickle, and very temperature sensitive. I had colored with this particular dye on a warm summer day several years ago. This time it was a drafty March evening and instead of deep black-brown, I removed the towel and my shoulder-length hair was transformed from mousy brown into a patchy navy blue.

I share this with you, brothers and sisters, as a cautionary tale. Hair dye can be a lot of fun- a quick and cheap way to change your look or appear younger by covering grays. Like most fun, though, it is not without an element of danger. However, by following a few clear steps and taking a few precautions, you should be able to color without fear.

There is a rainbow of perfectly good natural and chemical dyes out there for home colorists. But care- and strand tests- are the watchwords for a successful experience with any of them.

The first step in successful haircolor is simply picking the right color for you. This means that you will have to admit some truths to yourself about your own hair color. If you are blonde, be careful not to choose a deep, purply or burgundy color like eggplant or an orange-based color like setter red. These colors are designed to create color casts on darker hair. They will turn blonde hair into clownish shades of violet, orange and fire-engine red. Second, for you wistful brunettes out there, no off-the-shelf hair color will actually lighten hair, unless it is a bleach. So if you have medium-to-dark hair, all that a beautiful platinum Féria is going to do is give you some unfortunate highlights. Bleaching should really only be attempted by professionals- and to clarify, walking into Sally Beauty Supply and grabbing the "professional strength" bleach does not make you a professional.