Despite the unimpressed looks I get from every hairdresser I go to when I mention this – I am a home hair dye-er. I don’t like the thought of spending $100 getting someone to do my hair every couple of months when I can spend just $15 at home whenever I like. Yes, my hair would probably be a little healthier and a little more evenly coloured, but to me, hair is hair. It gets cut off, it grows back and as long as it doesn’t look like a birds nest, I’m happy.
I’ve been dyeing my hair since around the age of 13. Starting with red, moving onto blue-black, back to regular brown, black with two purple streaks underneath, light brown, bleached blonde and breaking off, purple blonde, ashy blonde, chocolate brown and now, dark brown. I’ve had it all.
I wanted to share the products I use these days, not only to keep my hair the colour it is but to keep it looking as healthy as I can.
Hair Dye
Schwarzkopf Perfect Mousse – Dark Brown
I’ve been using this hair dye for years, for two reasons – the price (so affordable) as well as how easy it is to apply myself. It comes with a bottle of colour which you pour into the pump bottle. You tip it upside down a few times and then it’s ready to start applying.
I like to leave the bottom section of my hair down and tie up the rest on the top of my head, applying it in sections that way. There are gloves in the box as well, so I put them on and pump a bit of the foam into my hand then spread it out on my hair, usually just around the roots, as the ends of my hair are already dark from dye. Once I’m done I sit around for about 25 mins, then jump in the shower and rinse it out. There’s a conditioner in the box as well, so I apply about 2/3 or half of that (so I have some left for the next time I wash my hair).
Back when I first started dyeing my hair, I’d have to get someone else to do it as the thought of trying to use the liquid formula throughout my hair myself, I just knew the stuff would drip everywhere. I was so happy when I discovered the foam pump bottle dyes and I’ve used them ever since.
Another one I get, usually when it’s on sale, is the John Frieda Precision Foam Colour, which is just as good.
Shampoo + Conditioner
I’ve been trying lots of products by Essano this year, two being the shampoo and conditioner in their new Colour Protect range. They have several different shampoos and conditioners for different purposes but I thought I’d give these a go to see if they kept the colour in my hair for longer and surprisingly, they did.
I’ve used the shampoo much more than conditioner as the conditioner is quite rich and you only need the smallest amount. They both smell like berry cordial, a really nice berry scent. The shampoo foams up just enough to have that clean hair feeling once rinsed out, but not so much that you feel like every last strand has been stripped of everything in it (which is perfect for keeping the colour intact).
Brush
I have long, thick hair and I always like it to be quite straight, so I’ve found the best brush to tackle it while giving me the result I’m after is a paddle brush. I’ve used one by ghd for the past year and a half, it’s such good quality and goes straight through my hair. As the top of the brush is so large and square, it doesn’t take long at all to brush through all of my hair.
Treatment
Having a treatment handy is really helpful when you’ve run out of the intense conditioner that came in the hair dye box (why can’t they make that stuff an actual product?). I use this treatment every 3rd or 4th wash of my hair, not overly too often as I don’t want my hair to become reliant on it. It’s really intense, smells incredible and just pushes all the moisture and ingredients into my hair to hold the colour in place and condition in the best way.
Leave-In Treatment
Essano Coconut Milk Leave-In Conditioner and Marula Oil Treatment Light
A leave-in treatment is great when I start to feel the ends of my hair getting quite dry, either from straightening my hair or just the hair dye drying out my hair. I have two that I use – Essano’s Coconut Milk treatment and the Marula Oil Treatment in Light. Both of these products smell so good, especially the coconut one, and they leave my hair not only smelling nice but gently conditioned for the day as well.
I used to be a Moroccanoil girl back when I was blonde but with darker hair, I find I need something a bit lighter as I don’t want the ends of my hair looking darker than the roots. I find these two products give that hit of moisture I need without dragging down my hair or making it feel greasy.
Dry Shampoo
L’Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Clay
When I’ve just coloured my hair, the last thing I want to do is wash my hair so often that the colour disappears way earlier than necessary. I’ve just recently started using this dry shampoo as it’s part of L’Oreal’s new clay haircare range. I really like it as a bit of a change from my usual Batiste. The scent is amazing and as the whole purpose of this particular Clay range is to remove the oils from the roots of your hair, it does exactly what it’s meant to do. I have tried some dry shampoos that really don’t do much, which is why I always go back to Batiste. However I can see myself getting through this whole spray throughout summer.
Touch Ups
L’Oreal Paris Magic Retouch Spray – Dark Brown
This spray was a little life changer for me last year when L’Oreal sent it my way to try, and I’ve talked about the Magic Retouch in a previous post. I’ve bought several bottles since, as I just love how it keeps regrowth hidden and brings my hairline down a little. As my hair is so light at the roots at the front, when the dye fades and grows out I really need something to make it look a little better and to save me needing to re-dye my hair often. So I’ll spray this around my hair line and part before having a shower in the morning, as it splatters around a bit and I can just wash off any spots that get on my skin.
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