No, I am not referring to the book. I’m referring to my hairline… and the fifty shades of grey include some yellow, beautiful silver, dirty grey and stark white hairs. I actually don’t have a problem with turning grey. Seriously, I dont. However, I do object to the greys congreting in the front inch of my hair line in three clumps. Why cant I have a supercool forelock… or be completely salt and pepper. Not to worry though, there is something about it. Hair dye.
There is LOTS of choice in this area. Whenever I take myself to the shop which specialises in hair supplies for women of colour and pick up a box of hair dye. the range seems to have increased. I have had locs for many years, I have tried many of them but, my brand of choice, at the moment, is Creme of Nature. Why? Because…
- The is a picture of a happy woman with locs on the front of the box – generally, hair products do not feature woman with locs unless it is a ‘specialist’ product – it is good to see a woman with locs on something as generic as hair dye.
- My natural hair colour is black, this dye results in a true black for me – not all shade of black are black, some are dark brown.
- It does not irritate my scalp – I always do a patch test as some brands an cause a reaction.
- It changes the colour of my pesky greys. I have tried brands, which do not change the colour of my pesky greys. Many of the natural/herbal colours just don’t take on my hair.
So the process – as I only want to get rid of the pesky greys at the front, I only use one box. for each brand the instructions are slightly different but there are some things that I do which are outside the instructions.
1. I use a butter/oil at my hairline and over my ears. I find that when I am dying my hair by yourself, I make a mess of your face.. and the bathroom. I use shea butter around my hairline and neck. I also put it over my ears prior to applying the dye. It means that if you do get dye on your face/ears, it is easier to remove it.
2. I use my own rubber gloves. The gloves you get in the box are rubbish. They are super wide, they are not hand shaped and they will come off half way through the process. You would be surprised how much gets dye past the wrist. ditch the gloves in the box – you will thank me later.
3. I use my own shampoo and conditioner afterwards. My hair reaches the small of my back. That is ALOT of hair to wash. The amount of shampoo and conditioner that is in the box is not sufficient to clean and condition my hair. In addition, the shampoo and conditioner are not the most effective or appropriate for my hair so I use my own products.
4. Stick to the timings in the instructions. It is really important not to keep the product on your hair too long. I am trying to cover the grey – not to lose my hairline
5. Rinse, rinse and rinse again… in the shower. When you have alot of hair, bending over the side of the bath for thirty to forty five minutes while you rinse, shampoo and condition your hair is going to give you back ache. Get in the shower – it is much easier. I rinse my hair for at least five minutes before I use my shampoo. Get in there with your fingers and agitate the area where the dye was till the colour starts to run clear.
6. Deep condition. Whether you use a hair mask, or a mixture oils, you hair will be grateful if you treat it to a deep conditioning treatment.
Of course, it is much more straightforward and less time consuming to go to the salon and get it done there, but it is cheaper to do it at home and in reality, it is a really easy process.
So what are you home hair dyeing tips?