The Internet has brought us many wonderful things. Endless series of kitten videos. All sorts of food recipes. And enough hair-dying tutorials and successful examples of people dying their hair themselves to make you wonder… should I skip my next hairdresser appointment and do it myself?
Before you go and cancel that appointment, let's take a closer look at whether you can successfully dye your hair at home… or if you'd be better off going to a professional.
Let's start talking about the most important factor here: cost. Hairdresser visits are costly (or should be if you want a good result). You are paying an experienced professional to use that expertise to give you the hair of your dreams, and that has a price. Doing your hair yourself is, from that point of view, a great idea. Imagine all the money you can save!
Well, there is something more expensive than going to the hairdresser to get your hair colored. Fixing a DIY hair color disaster, usually known as color correction, can take a lot of hours, material, and expertise, and any competent hairdresser will price accordingly.
So if your hair looking a particular way is very important for you, and you aren't 100% sure you can manage at home… go to the hairdresser to start with. If you are more relaxed about this and are willing to risk having to learn through your mistakes…. Keep reading.
The next thing to consider is what techniques are involved in your hair transformation project. The more radical the hair transformation, the more likely you would benefit from a hairdresser’s experience. After all, nobody’s first set of highlights looked awesome, which is why hairdressers practice on mannequin heads so much.
This doesn’t mean you can’t do very complex hair processes at home, but doing your own hair following a complex YouTube tutorial is very difficult. Know your limits, and start small.
Maybe start with baby lights instead of a full head of highlights with a shadow root and balayage. Or dye your hair a couple of tones lighter using a semi-permanent dye instead of bleaching from brunette to platinum.
Another thing to consider is access to products. Hairdressers used to be the only ones able to get their hands on professional-grade hair dyes and lighteners, but that’s no longer necessarily the case. But don’t expect your hair to end up with a multi-dimensional hair color with just a box dye and a single-process application.
If you have the interest, have access to the right products and are willing to learn from your mistakes, and sometimes have less-than-ideal hair, doing hair yourself at home can be fun. If you like changing your hair often, it can save you a lot of money.
However, if you are uncomfortable with your hair not looking perfect, have damaged hair, or want a radical hair transformation, you will save money consulting a professional.
Remember, hair should be fun! If doing your hair at home causes stress and worries about what could go wrong, then don’t do it. If you enjoy experimenting, go for it… and keep all your hair coloring research handy, just in case.