A Guide To Dip Dye Hair


I have not braved it yet, but it's official Dip Dye hair is here to stay. Gone are the days when the only people you would see with coloured dyed hair, were grunge kids and scene girls and boys it's gone from being underground to going main stream and even becoming dare I say it trendy. So how do you go about achieving the look, it's actual really simple it depends if you want to dye your own hair or just fake it. Update: Also since writing this I have dip dyed my own hair, for a guide on how to dip dye pre dyed dark hair click here, as it's a lot harder and see my results.

Nicki Minaj uses a wig to get the look

Faking it, is really easy for those of you like me who are really unsure if it will suit you or just want colour to go for. 

Clip in extensions, you can pick up coloured extensions from fancy dress shops, Ebay or you could buy blonde extensions and dye them (with your colour of choice). This will be a great idea if you just want the look for festival season, or if you have pre dyed hair (refer below to see why). 

Spray In Colour, that washes out.  Stargazers Colour Spray in pink which you can buy via Amazon). At around £3 it's a bargain and can be completely removed in just one wash great for those of you who are not brave. First thing is to pop on some gloves, and make sure your not near walls as when you use the spray you don't want to dye them too.Take an old towel and place around your shoulders and brush hair out so it’s completely smooth and straight.  Start by sectioning the hair in half and bring it round to the front so you can see what you’re doing. You want to leave the strands flat against your shoulders and spray colour onto the ends. 

Dip Dying your own hair, I'm not a professional hairdresser but as I have a friend who is the first thing to consider is the colour of your hair at the moment (they told me my hair would need to be stripped first). For you natural people, you can go ahead and dye it if say like me you have dyed hair which is dark you may need to strip your hair first.
Note: Always do a strand test as dye instruct's you, as you can react to it.


Things you will need:

Brush, for sectioning your hair.
Gloves, these usual come with hair dye but if not make sure you wear some as you don't want dip dye hands. Plus bleach will irate the skin.
Bin bag, cut a whole in the top for your head to go through this why you won't get dye on yourself and you won't need to destroy your towel. Plus a small bag to bag your hair (you can use a small grip in hold the bag around your hair.
Pre lighter, Loreal & most other brands have heaps for blonde hair. Basically you need to bleach the ends of your hair first (as if you were just going to have Ombre hair), this will help the coloured dye take to your hair and also make it vibrate if you have really dark hair. If you have blonde hair, you can skip this. I have been told Garnier Nutrisse Truly Blonde Creme Pre-Lightener is really effective.
Cling film/foil, this will be to use once the dye is on to stop it from going everywhere.
Coloured Dye, alternative shops are great for picking up crazy colours like pinks, blues etc.
Here are some stores that sale great coloured dyes:
Manic Panic
Directions
Sallys

How To:
  1. Once you are covered with your bin bag or towel, put on your gloves and start to mix the bleach according to the instructions.
  2. Section your hair with your brush, and at the ends apply the bleach evenly (you can go as wide with the dip as you like, or just have a little at the ends of your hair).
  3. Bag your hair, this will stop mess and help dye develop. Wait for 40-45 mins to let the bleach work (double check instructions as it may vary), as dark hair takes a while. 
  4. Rinse out the bleach by shampooing lightly.
  5. Apply your coloured dye and wrap in foil. Start by taking a square of foil, fold both sides inwards than start folding the foil upwards to keep the dye covered and help it develop.
  6. Apply heat by blow drying. Or wait 10-20 minutes.
  7. Wipe off any excess dye, reapply and wait if needed (you can make the colour as strong or as faded as you desire) when your done just rinse. 



Ombre like the gorgeous Drew Barrymore
 If you don't fancy any colour, why not try just ombreing it. John Frieda's new Go Blonder Lightening Spray, £6.99, will brighten and lighten normal and highlighted hair. It's so easy to use, all you do is spray it onto towel-dried ends and comb through. It uses clever Thermo-Protectant technology, which means the colour will develop when you add heat from either a hairdryer or straighteners. (Again follow instructions on the box for times etc..) 


Why not try clip ins like Katy Perry
Images: Zimbio, Getty, 


So there is just a little inspiration, if you want the real thing but want to get it done by a hair dressers why not head over to Bleach London Salon or talk with your hairdresser about trying it out. If you do try it please share and I will link you, please if you are unsure than have a good think about it first. I'm not rushing into it, I'm going to have a good think and maybe do it for summer. I hope you enjoy this and hope you are all having a fab week.



Here's just a few of the colours I've had so far .........................
Updated: June 2012 here is a 'how to' for making dip dyed hair extensions.

61 comments

  1. ooooh, definately try dip dye hair, if done properly it can be so edgy and it just looks great! I've always wanted a pink streak in my hair! xx

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  2. Dip dye intrigues me. I would go for it, 'cept I've got extremely curly hair. It would suit you, but go for a wig first.

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    1. I've got curly hair, it looks great! Just go for it x

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    2. I have somewhat long hair and its curly. It's a medium shade of brown and i want to get it diy dyed blonde but how long with it last

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    3. The bleach will be permeant, the colour will all depend on how much you wash your hair and what shampoos. It's best to avoid anything that will strip your hair such as head and shoulders. I usually put the coloured dye on dry hair and leave it for a couple of hours than top it up every couple of weeks. Hope this helps.

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  3. I just re-dip dyed my hair yesterday! I love it! thinking of running some pastel colours through it soon too ;)
    http://effiesmakeupbox.blogspot.com/

    :)

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  4. the hair of first and the last one pics are so so so cool!

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  5. If anyone can pull it off, you can! I think it would look great on you. Do it!
    xx
    Alicia

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  6. I had my hair tips dyed years ago,in a bright red tone.It's an interesting hairstyle.

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  7. tip dyed hair looks great if its done properly *_*
    I like the one with the pink colour it look amazing =D
    Reaaly would like to that but I don't know how it will look on me and I don't think it will suit me xD

    xoxo

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  8. I like the look, but I don't think it would suit me.

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  9. I love this! The pictures look great i love unnatural colours in hair as long as they are done right.

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  10. I love dip dye hair when it's done well! It can look great!
    http://haveyoueverfalleninlove.blogspot.com/

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  11. I think you should totally try this. and post pictures on your blog if you do!

    ~ Em K

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  12. I love these, they are so cool!
    There are heaps more to see here you may like them too if you are into dip dyed hair

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  13. I only just found your blog by googling 'dip dying at home' did you do it? I'm totally trying to later!

    Amy xx

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  14. i woulld try if i could :/ i dont have long enough hair lol

    xx

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  16. I'm going to dip dye mine in purple/blue soon :)

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  17. I am definitely going to dip dye my hair but I don't know where I can buy it I live in the UK if that helps please does any one know ?
    :)

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  18. where can you buy it from I have no idea where to get hah please help I from the uk if that helps :D

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  19. Great post this is a trend that is coming back!

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  20. Channy if you want to dip dye your hair, you will need to bleach the ends first and than buy a coloured hair dye of your choice to add over it. If you email me I will send you a list of sites that sale brightly coloured hair dye :) also check out how to's on Youtube.
    Also Channy you could always go to Bleach Wah salon and get a professional to do it for you, they have a salon in Topshop Oxford circus. I hope this helps x

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  21. okay i have a dumb question if someone could answer that would be awsome. but i bought black dye from the supermarket and than thought about dip dying after, but i wanted the main hair colour (on the top half) to be black......is it possiible to do the oppisite of dip dye and just somehow leave the diped dyed part untouched? if that makes sence.
    THX

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  22. Hi anon, I think I know what you mean. You want dark roots with dip dye at the end, so bag (cover your ends, so they remain that colour) and just dye the top with the black hair dye. If your unsure why not have a chat to your local hairdresser :) Hope this helped.

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  23. I want to dip dye my hair from blue going into purple how would I do it?<3

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  24. Hi anon I would suggest going to you tube, their are a heap of how to videos for doing to colours. If you have long hair you plait it up to where you want to dye it and do one colour at a time. Check out a girl called AmberKatelynBeale she dyes her hair all the time, and shows how to do rainbow hair etc ...http://www.youtube.com/user/AmberKatelynBeale?feature=watch

    Hope this helps, if your really unsure than I would say go to your hair dresser to have it done x

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  25. im thinking about dip dying my hair, but im not sure what color. I have blond hair that's medium light. I was thinking about doing either white (I found a picture of a blond with white dip dye and it looks AMAZING) or purple or magenta or turquoise. Help?

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    1. Any colour will look great, have fun and go for what colour you love. It's your hair and you need to like it, forget about others. Plus it washes out and you can always change the colour I've had turquoise, pink, pink into purple, blue blue into purple, purple into blue and now I have purple :)

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  26. Just seen your post about you doing it to your own hair!
    YOUR'S IS SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL !!!!! !! Sorry but it is, thanks for this guide.

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  27. This is really helpful because I'm dip dyeing my sisters hair tonight!x She's blonde and the pink through her hair is really trendy! :)

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  29. WHERE CAN YOU GET THE DIP DYE FROM??????????? im still in school so i wan't one that can wash off in 12 washes or something so i can do it in the summer coz we get told off if we have bright colours in our hair. if you find out then plz plz plz tell us!!!!

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  30. Hey anon, you can't get dip dye so I would suggest either a spray on colour that you can get from Suderdrug, or try you tube for a chalk dip dye. They have step by step guides on how to use chalk for the effect (works best on blonde hair) or you could try dip dye clip in hair. Clip in hair with the effect would be perfect as you can put it in when you like. Maybe get someone to buy some off ebay, (sorry I don't know how old you are, if your old enough than of course you can buy it). you could always get blonde extensions and dye them to match your hair. If your blonde you only need to dye the end. If you have dark or red hair you will need to dye the top half to match your hair and the bottom half with your chosen dip dyed colour. Hope this helps :( sorry if it doesn't. You can always talk to me on twitter @law1sfab xx

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  31. I recently stumbled across your blog and I LOVE it! I love the layout to the content and everything in between! Your sense of style is just impeccable and your blog is simply the epitome of perfection! I was wondering what colour I should dipdye my hair? I have black hair and I'm not sure if any colour would suit! I am your newest, most avid follower, I look forward to reading your future posts. I would love it if you could perhaps follow me back too? Have a lovely day!

    Love from, MISSIFFA

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  32. me and my friends found it easier that when you dip die your hair, to braid sections of ur hair and dip the ends of the braid that was not braided so u know when to stop! it made it alot eaiser and made it look evener!:)xx

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  33. This is a good tip and thanks for your comment.The only thing is this won't work on short hair, plus if you have layers in your hair as I do I wanted more colour in the front and it won't be as even in braids. It all depends on if you want a small dip effect or a full on look. I think if you want to braid your hair it's up to you, I just found it easier to free hand it, to get more colour in my hair :)

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  34. i'm gna dye my hair light brown and then dip dye my ends a dark red tone, i have (dyed) bright blonde hair. (it looks awful) is there any tips you can give me so i dont mess up?

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    1. just read through the guid and take your time. Get someone to help you, if your unsure x

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  35. I've dip dyed my hair blue, yellow, red, pink, and purple already. It washes out pretty fast for me. It's a really fun, temporary thing and you're right. It's very mainstream now thanks to celebs with crazy hair.

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  36. This is awesome i cant wait to dip dye it... :)

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  37. This is a brilliant trend in my opinion maybe i will blog about it.

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  38. Helloo I want to dip dye my hair blue but I have dark brown hair (dyed) so if I strip it can I go ahead and dip dye it without bleaching it ?
    Amy,xx

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    Replies
    1. check out my guides tab for the guide on pre dyed hair, it has everything you need there x

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  39. I just dip dyed my hair and it looks awesome! this blog definitely helped, thanks :)

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    Replies
    1. so happy! I was so lost when I wanted to try it, and so I had to write a guide for it. Glad it actual helped you :)

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  40. wow i rely want to try this on my hair but im not sure how since idyed half of my hair red .. i was natural black would i need to do it all black then bleach the ends then dip dye it? .. and do u think blue and purple would look good for me i have rely tan skin (hispanic) coud u help?

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    1. I think blue and purple would look amazing! I would suggest working out where you what the dip dye from first (how far up) dying the roots of the red side back to match the other. Leave it a night than bleach the bottom of the hair than dry and add on your colours. Use a hair band to help you section off your half, so that the hair colour is the same on both sides. So if your doing blue, tie it off where you what the blue to finish and than add the purple to the ends :) hope this helped if you need any more help feel free to email me x

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  41. i just found your blog, love it :) definitely following it
    have a great day
    xx
    http://www.theothersideofwonderland.com/

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  42. Like your entry so much...I'm so into dip dye hair now...but I'm asian..I don't think it will looks nice on me... :(

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    1. Try Adore hair dye by Creative Image Systems. It is developed more for the Asian hair type.

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    2. I think it looks amazing on Asian hair, if your not sure, why not just go for a few coloured fake extensions plaited into your hair and now they even do hair chalks x

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  43. Great Blog. Also for those wanting to remove dye, try Colour B4 it removes colour back to your natural colour. Also Manic Panic do outrageous clip in hair colour extensions in really wacky colours. They do them in 8 inch and 18 inch lengths. Gives you the option of trying colours without a commitment before you dye.

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  44. if i dip dye my hair purple at the ends, my hair is currently blonde, but is naturally light brown. when my routes come back will i have to dye my whole hair blonde again, or can i just touch up the routes and leave the purple ends?

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    1. Just touch up your roots, it will be fine you can cover your dip dye with conditioner will not only help your ends but keep your colour for longer. I have a grey so I have to dye my roots dark, and dye my ends in colour. It's fine I just take time to make sure I don't get any dark dye on my dip dye. Get a friend to help if your worried x
      Hope this helps you

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  45. I have dip dyed the ends of my hair mahogany brown - it looked amazing! It has faded now and I am going to redo it today as I got the dye yesterday, I'm so excited! 😊

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  46. Helloo nice blog Your hair looks gorgeous this colour.

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Thank you for your comments, I really do love hearing from you x