How do I Dye Hair Blonde?

There are many ways to dye hair blonde. Home hair coloring can be accomplished using hair color products purchased at most any local convenience store. Paying a salon stylist is generally the safest bet, though many people choose to dye hair blonde by highlighting or frosting their own hair at home. Regardless of who applies the hair dye, consumers should know that when you dye hair blonde, chemicals known to damage hair, such as bleach and alcohol, are typically applied to the head.

There are many shades of blondeness to choose from, from cool to warm. Cool shades are best for those with pale, pinkish skin, very dark brown, or natural olive-toned skin. Naturally dark brown, bluish-black, or medium ash, or golden blonde hair are associated with cool shades. Warm shades of hair dye are best left to those with pale, freckled skin or skin with butterscotch or copper tones. Men and women who need warm shades of blonde most likely have naturally strawberry blonde or reddish hair.

You can either dye hair blonde all-over or highlight it in pieces, strands, or chunks. Highlighting refers to the act of selecting only certain portions of hair to dye blonde or blonder. Foil highlights, selective hair painting, and chunky highlights are popular choices for highlighting. There are many retail products that sell highlighting kits in the hair color aisle.

When you dye hair blonde at home, the first step you must take is to head to the grocery or drug store to pick out your desired hair color. Just looking at the model on the box is not enough. First, find boxes that depict either a cool or warm color, whichever you’ve decided you need. The side or back panel of the box will generally contain hair tips which you should heed before deciding on a color.

There will typically be columns on the box portraying two shades of hair—the before and after looks. The first column is where you should compare your current hair color. The column next to that will portray the shade you can expect your hair to approximately look like after using that particular product correctly.

Once you’ve decided on and bought the right shade of blonde for you, prepare your hair-dying area. A bathroom or kitchen with a large mirror works best. Read the directions thoroughly before applying the product. Cautionary steps should be taken so as not to cause any more damage than necessary to either your hair or your surroundings. Once the product has been mixed and you’ve touched the bleach mixture, anything you touch — surfaces, fabrics, etc. — can be permanently discolored.

After you’ve applied the color according to the product’s directions, leave the product on your hair for as long as the directions suggest. When you dye hair blonde, the longer the blonding bleach is on your hair, the less brassy it is likely to become. Your scalp, however, is susceptible to burning the longer you leave the mixture on.

Rinse your hair afterward according to the directions. Most at-home hair coloring dye comes with conditioning treatments, which should be used to keep hair soft and manageable. If you are unsatisfied with your at-home highlighting or dye job, you may want to go to a professional in order to tweak what you’ve done.