As you all know, I recently returned to my beloved blonde locks. However, I was finding the bill and the amount of time spent at the salon to be excessive (as many bottle blondes eventually do!). Like a true DIY-er, I decided to take matters into my own hands, and I am quite pleased with the results.
I sort of documented the process on Instagram, but I thought the details might help some of you with a similar predicament. So, here goes!
First, I watched a bunch of free video tutorials by ellebangs on YouTube. I know from past experience that the stuff they sell at the drugstore is no good, and I wanted to do this the same as the professionals would do it. For a light blonde, that means double processing with bleach first and then toning. Silvia (ellebangs) has dozens of tutorials on everything from hairstyle trends to DIY balyage (ombre) to fixing brassy blonde. Once I felt like I had a good understanding of the process, off to Sally I went.
Here’s what I got:
I spent $38. I wanted a light, ash blonde, so I picked up Wella Color Charms T11 and T18. I was afraid of being toooo cool, so I used the T11 which has golden undertones. (It ended up being too gold as you’ll see shortly.)
And here’s how my hair looked before:
It was a bit brassy, and the roots were getting a little out-of-control.
I mixed up the bleach with 20-volume developer (equal parts), and I left that on for 30 minutes and rinsed. Then, I mixed the T11 and T18 toners with 20-volume developer (equal parts toner and developer, 1 part T11, 1 part T18 and 2 parts developer) and left that on for 30 minutes, too.
The result was a bit yellow:
But fear not! I didn’t freak out. After a little more research, I found that I could tone again with a violet toner to counteract the yellowness. (Consult the color wheel - purple counteracts yellow; blue counteracts orange, etc.). I had some orange in there, too, so I picked Wella Color Charm T14 Pale Ash Blonde which has violet and blue tones. It’s easy to determine the tones in each toner because they are noted on the shelf in the store. I also got some 10-volume developer this time to be easier on the hair. I spent an additional $8.
I mixed up the concoction and put it on the hair for 30 minutes. It actually had a very slight tinge of lavender when I was done (left it on too long, oops!), but that was fixed within a few washes. Now, I have a nice, cool blonde!
(Due to my ineptitude at white balance, it looks a bit green in these photos, I think! But I assure you it is not!)
I will definitely make some tweaks next time to get the perfect color, but I consider this a very successful first try! I’m feeling pretty confident now, so I might try some of Silvia’s balyage tutorials or something more daring (magenta?) next time. Haircolor is so much fun!!
As for cutting…meh…I find it too hard to get even in the back! Maybe when my hair is a little longer?
So there you have it, my $46 DIY dye job. And next time, I won’t have to buy many of the supplies since I can re-use a lot of it.
What do you think? Would you DIY your blonde?
