Tips on Colouring and Cutting Your Hair at Home

Cutting or colouring your own hair at home is a daunting task, to say the least. Many of us would prefer to leave our hair in the hands of professionals than attempt to tackle it ourselves. But sometimes a trip to the salon isn’t possible, so you have to take matters into your own hands – especially if you want to keep your colour looking fresh and split ends at bay. To help you avoid a hairdo disaster, we’ve come up with a list of top do’s and don’ts to help you on your way.

For Cutting Hair:

Close-up photo of a beautiful girl holds hair scissors and ready to change her hairstyle

Invest in a quality pair of scissors

Avoid kitchen or craft scissors at all costs. (The blunt blades can leave you with extra split ends.) Ordering a pair of razor-sharp, salon-standard scissors will ensure you get a precise, clean trim and do most of the hard work for you.

Try to avoid a full haircut

While you might just be able to trim split ends or a fringe with minimal mishaps, attempting a completely new haircut is a risky business and not a challenge worth taking on. For one thing, it will be very hard to cut the back of your head accurately. Plus, hairdressers are trained to work with the client’s face shape, whereas you may end up with a cut that makes your jaw look heavy, or your cheeks look round. If your current cut is growing out, you may want to resort to braiding, hair clips or styling it all back until you’re able to get to the salon!

Cut wet or dry depending on your hair texture

If you have poker-straight hair, it’s best to cut whilst it’s wet so you get the sharpest trim and prevent stray hairs escaping those scissors. Whilst for curly or wavy hair, you might be better off working with dry hair so you get a better idea of what the end result will be. You might also want to avoid trimming a fringe while your hair is wet, as hair tends to spring up as it dries – potentially leaving you with a shorter-looking cut than you intended!

For Colouring:

Always read the instructions!

If waiting until your next salon appointment isn't an option, then an at-home box dye is your next best option! If you currently have salon dyed hair, be warned - the likelihood of you finding an exact match is very slim, but there are lots of options out there so do some browsing before committing to a colour! Each dye will come with instructions, no matter how confident you think you are with application and development time - always check the instructions. After all, you don't want to be disappointed with the outcome if you missed a step or two! Fancy a change of colour? Check out our range here: Hair Colourants.

Get acquainted with toner

Using a semi-permanent gloss or toner can freshen up a faded colour and counteract any brassy tones. And because it’s not penetrating the hair shaft (it only sits on top), you don’t have to get the colour to exactly match your current shade. You’re just enhancing, not changing the colour completely, so the change will look a lot more natural and less drastic.

Use powders and sprays for your roots

If you’re dealing with grey roots and want to cover them quickly, opt for a powder or spray-on colour that you can use to touch them up (these are temporary and wash out – so don’t worry if you make a mistake!). And if you don’t have these products, a dusting of eyebrow powder with a makeup brush should do the trick!