Thinking about dyeing your hair? Over the last few seasons, thanks to celebs like Nicole Richie, Kelly Osbourne, Kylie Jenner, and even Rachel McAdams (who would have thought?), we’re seeing more statement-making kooky coloured hair around — purple, green, pink, and even rainbow.

Colouring your hair at the salon is a huge commitment. But instead of investing all that time and money there to get a new colour, you can easily opt for a DIY hair colouring kit and dye your hair in your bathroom. To avoid a dye-saster, here’s some advice on how to get a shiny, flawless, salon-worthy dye hair job:

1. DON’T Trust the Photos on the Box

Many women believe that the picture on the box shows exactly how their hair colour would look. Thing is, the model’s natural hair colour may be different from yours, and that affects the end result.

Consult the letters and numbers on the box to estimate the shade you will get. On a scale of one to 10, one is the darkest and 10 is the lightest. The letters indicate the dye’s undertones: A refers to ash, G for gold, C for copper, and N for neutral.

2. DO Understand Your Natural Colour

Generally speaking, fair-skinned women are better suited for lighter shades while darker-skinned women look more natural with darker shades. For those with a natural flush (pink), avoid warm hair colours because then you’ll look even more flushed. For those with olive skin tones (green), your best bet is a colour with gold undertones, which helps bring warmth to your face. If your skin contains minimal pink or green undertones, congratulations — both warm and cool shades suit you.

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3. DO Damage Control before You Dye

The day before colouring your hair, use a clarifying shampoo to get rid of any product build-up. This also helps to even out the porosity of your hair so the dye can sit evenly on the shafts. Follow up with a deep conditioner to restore the moisture that is often lost during colouring.

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On the day you dye your hair, however, skip the shampoo. Not shampooing before you dye your hair will allow your hair’s natural oils to serve as a layer of protection for your scalp against the ammonia in many hair dyes, which can cause irritation.

4. DON’T Go More than Two Shades Lighter or Darker

If you’re thinking of going blonde when you have naturally dark hair, it’s best to get it done at the salon. For one thing, DIY hair dye won’t give you the colour you want because it doesn’t contain the chemicals required to drastically lighten your hair colour. And for another, certified hair colourists are licensed to perform complex hair-colouring procedures that can severely damage the scalp and hair, so best to leave these to the experts.

5. DO a Patch Test

Test out a new colour on a small section of your hair before applying it to your whole head — you don’t want a disaster on your hands if you’re unsatisfied with the colour! If you’re using a colour that is too ashy, your skin can look old and washed out. Worse, you may also risk triggering a scalp reaction if the dye chemicals don’t sit well on your skin.

6. DON’T Commit So Easily!

Not sure if this is the colour you really want? Go for a semi-permanent hair colour that fades a little every time you shampoo and wash. This also minimises hair damage while enhancing your natural colour. Semi-permanent dyes don’t penetrate the hair as deeply as permanent dyes and easily wash out after about eight to 12 shampoos. So while it isn’t strong enough to lighten your hair, it can still match or deepen your hair colour.

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7. Avoid Colour Overkill

You shouldn’t dye your entire head again every time your colour starts fading. Doing so will only result in a build-up of colour along your hair shaft, uneven bands of colour, discoloured ends, and unnecessary damage. What you want is just to dye the new hair growth, and perhaps refresh some faded ends, so only apply colour wherever necessary!

Planning to dye your hair on your own? What are some of your concerns? Share them — along with your disaster/success stories, if any — in the Comments section below!

And of course— healthy hair is the key to confidence! Shop at Zalora Singapore for top hair dye and hair care products!