Here's what you need to know when dyeing your hair at home

The Lunar New Year is right around the corner, and if you didn’t secure a booking with a salon or want to avoid the CNY price hike, you’ve come to the right place. Dyeing your hair at home is challenging, to say the least.

There are many things to consider even before you pick up that dye brush: picking the right colour (that will actually show up on your hair) and choosing the right tools to get the best colour payoff.

To help you out, we came up with five at-home hair colour hacks, tips and product recommendations to turn the once-laborious act of colouring your hair into a relaxing at-home spa day.

Buy more than you need

The worst mistake you could make when dyeing your hair is to run out of hair colour halfway. It’s always advisable to have at least two boxes of hair dye (depending on your hair length and thickness, you might need more).

Try: Gatsby Hair Colour EX Hi-Bleach, $11.30

Available at Guardian.

You also don’t need to wash your hair before colouring your hair

The oils on your hair and scalp actually act as a protective layer. Washing your hair before dyeing might irritate the scalp and cause pain.

Follow up with toner

After bleaching your hair, your hair might turn a little yellow or orange. This yellowing of bleached hair affects Asian hair more, because we have more yellow tones in our hair. To neutralise the brassiness, consider incorporating a purple shampoo in your hair routine.

Try: Kerastase Blond Absolu Anti-Brass Purple Shampoo, $43

Available at Sephora.

Load up on nourishing hair treatments

Hair masks and deep conditioners are important following a damaging bleaching or colouring process if you want smooth and healthy tresses. Simply apply to damp hair and let it sit for about 15 to 20 minutes before shampooing as you would normally.

Try: Lucido-L Argan Rich Oil Hair Treatment Mask (Deeply Nourish & Smoothen Hair), $18.90

Available at Guardian.

ALSO READ: The best affordable salons for hair colouring and highlights under $150

Do your homework

What you see isn’t always what you get, especially when it comes to box dyes. Typically, the developer in at-home dyes tend to be stronger than those used in the salon. This means that more colour is lifted and your hair is likely to be lighter than the model’s hair on the box.

Instead of referring to the model on the box of the hair dye, the little swatches on the sides of the box – is a better gauge of how the hair colour might actually look on your hair. And of course, you can also turn to social media and online reviews.

This article was first published in Her World Online.