The subtleties of dyeing dark hair
Women, by their nature, always strive for novelty, love to try everything new and experiment with their appearance. Especially when it comes to hair color, because today it is as easy as possible to change it. There are so many dyes, care products and other hairdressing novelties that every girl can choose something to her taste and for her hair. It remains only to find out what subtleties you need to consider when choosing methods for dyeing your hair. Specifically, in this article we will tell you what is more suitable for owners of dark hair.
General principles
Brunettes and brown-haired women are attractive and interesting in themselves, it is not for nothing that many men prefer burning beauties to all other women. However, dark-haired women themselves often want to diversify their appearance, as they consider it somewhat boring. At the same time, getting the desired color is not so easy. Dyeing curls in dark shades has many nuances that you should know about.
Today there is a huge selection of different staining techniques: highlighting, bronzing, balayazh, shatush, ombre. At the same time, every now and then there are new fashionable chips that you want to try on your hair. Some are more suitable for long curls or medium lengths, others for short ones. We will find out which of them can be best played on dark hair and how to achieve the best results.
Color selection
Despite the fact that the main criterion in this matter is taste preferences, every woman wants to know how easy her wishes will be to realize.Let's find out which colors are easier to recreate on dark hair, and which ones should be treated with caution.
Natural dyes
Let's take a look at natural dyes first. Today they do not enjoy the same popularity, but they give hair not only a new shade, but also a healthy shine, since they do not require bleaching. These include:
- ground coffee;
- basma;
- strong tea;
- Walnut;
- sage.
At the same time, getting a really bright shade, of course, will not work, and it is worth waiting for the result after several procedures. By the way, after henna and basma, chemical dyes can behave unpredictably on the hair, so doing one dyeing soon after another is not recommended.
Tinting
Consider dyeing dark hair in a gentle way - toning. For this, a very small percentage of the oxidizing agent is used, which minimally affects the hair. However, the color applied in this way lasts from 2 to 4 weeks. Usually dark hair is tinted with the same shade or slightly darker. This is a good way to restore a rich color to your hair if it has faded in the sun or has become dull as a result of adverse environmental influences, stress, lack of vitamins, etc.
Persistent staining
For permanent staining, colors that are not too far in the color spectrum are most often recommended. These are chestnut, chocolate, dark cherry, burgundy, etc. They look noble, refreshing and adding a new touch to a woman's appearance, while maintaining her familiar image.
However, in most cases, such changes are few, because the temptation to at least once try yourself in the role of a glamorous blonde or a red-haired beast is so great. Especially often, dark-haired girls dream of getting a cool blonde shade like platinum.
It should be noted that the success of this event depends on the nature of the curls. For example, in oriental women or Italians, hair is so difficult to lighten that in most cases they do not even try to do it. But dark blond Slavs often get a completely successful result after lightening, close to natural.
When dyeing curls in a light color for the first time, they must be lightened with an oxidizing agent. After this procedure, a dye of the selected shade is applied to the hair. If you do everything right, then you can count on a decent result, that is, to get those very white curls.
There is a method of gradual coloring, which requires a lot of patience, because in this case, the lightening occurs in stages. In this case, you need to dye your hair several times, each time using a shade slightly lighter than the previous one. By taking the three shades step, you can gradually get closer to what you want to get. As a result, the hair will remain healthy and will not lose its natural shine, as can be the case with the usual coloring in one step.
Coloring options
Today, ordinary staining in one color is no longer popular. They were replaced by ultra-fashionable chips, and every year the number of new trends in the art of hairdressing is steadily growing. Let's take a look at the most trendy and long-loved dyeing techniques for dark hair.
"Airtach"
The "airtach" technique allows you to organically "combine" your own and colored hair. The master creates highlights of a different color on dark hair. They do not just make the hairstyle brighter and more unusual, thanks to a special method of applying dye, over time, colored strands naturally mix with the main hair, so even after regrowth, the hairstyle has a well-groomed look. This technique is suitable for hair of any length, except very short hair. Let's consider it step by step:
- hair from the crown is pre-divided into strands;
- then one of them is taken and raised at a right angle;
- it is blown with a stream of air so that it fluffs up a little;
- The “thinned” strand is colored on foil and wrapped, in the same way the master works with all the hair on the crown.
Coloring
All familiar coloring has many subspecies, but in the conventional sense, this word means coloring hair with strands in several colors. Here you should not limit yourself at all, since the choice of color is absolutely free. You can give preference to even the brightest tones, but for this, of course, you will have to lighten the curls with an oxidizer. At the same time, owners of multi-layer haircuts can limit themselves to coloring only the lower layer, and single-layer ones - choose a Californian technique.
It is believed that the owners of pale skin, close to white, are more suitable for lightening strands such cold colors as ash or platinum, and for creating a bright creative image - blue, green, purple, pink.
Only the fashionable gray color is better for them to exclude, so as not to overdo it with pallor. But "warm" skin tone will be closer to honey, red, nutty, cognac, vanilla, golden shades. Here is one of the methods for this staining.
- Strands are taken half a centimeter wide and smeared with a diluted oxidizer in the desired proportion, and then wrapped in foil. You need to keep the composition for about half an hour.
- After the preparation has been washed off and the hair has dried, different dyes can be applied. In order not to get confused in colors, it is recommended to sign the cups.
- Highlight the discolored areas and pin the curls with clips. Choose one strand of them, paint it in the desired color and wrap it in foil.
- Soak the dye as long as required in the annotation. Do not forget which strands you dyed before others, so as not to overexpose them.
Marble
Marble dyeing involves the use of two shades close to each other on all hair. Chestnut, chocolate, coffee are great for the base of such a color, and the second tone can be from a ginger scale and it will be mixed with an oxidizing agent. The main thing is not to allow too bright colors like purple, since "marble" excludes this. Paint application can be done in different ways: zigzag, darning, veil, etc.
Bronding
Compared to other painting methods, this one is quite gentle. The word itself combines two words - brown and blond, which can be understood as a compromise between two opposite shades. To obtain effective results, this technique requires high professionalism of the master. Best of all, this kind of painting suits brown-haired women and dark blond - then you don't need to darken your color. Darker hair has to be lightened a little.
- Two paints are prepared, one of which is a shade lighter, and the other is darker than the base.
- Several strands are pulled out (unlike highlighting, you do not need to take them symmetrically).
- Three centimeters from the root, they turn dark. In this case, the tips of 5 cm are covered with light paint. More light accents are made on the bangs and temples.
- After the strands are dyed, the master, with careful strokes, randomly applies the dye to the remaining hair. This is the most difficult part of creating a bronzing, but it is what allows you to achieve a natural result.
"Tiger's Eye"
Similar to the previous booking technique. It is a mixture of noble and “tasty” colors: chocolate and caramel. This is how it is done.
- Thin strands of hair are selected in no particular order.
- Lighten them by making an indent at a distance of 2 to 4 cm from the roots. The composition is left for about 20 minutes.
- The oxidizing agent is washed off, after which the bleached hair is selected with a thin brush and paints are applied to them in a chaotic manner. Wait 30 minutes and wash off.
Ombre
Ombre became popular before balayazh or shatush, so every girl has heard about it. It assumes that the dye is distributed throughout the hair and not in individual strands.A light tone usually falls on the tips to a height of 10 cm or to the cheekbones. Finish colors can be different - from blonde to cherry.
Balayazh
When doing it, the hairdresser applies the paint with light, careful strokes. In this case, the colored strands have a different degree of coloration, since the touch of the brush along the length of the hair has a different pressure. Thus, the hairstyle looks natural and it seems as if the curls themselves have slightly changed color in the sun. Usually, foil is not taken for this technique, the paint is aged just like that or under the film.
This coloring looks especially impressive on graduated hairstyles and curled curls.
Brunettes are usually advised to pay attention to such colors as shades of burgundy, caramel, cherry, copper, eggplant, dark and light chocolate, caramel, but of course everyone's favorite blond remains a hit.
Execution order:
- hair is divided into separate strands, immediately tightening each with an elastic band;
- all ends of the hair are lightened, for this purpose paint is applied to them and foil is applied on top;
- after about 20 minutes, the master lightly runs the brush along the strands in the direction from the tips up, not reaching the crown;
- after the same time, these smears are absorbed, and you can wash your hair.
Shatush
It is a dyeing of strands, as a rule, in natural colors. Looks beautiful on hair, and at the same time does not create an overly contrasting image. Usually, a shade is taken a couple of tones lighter than the base one, and this can be cognac, caramel, coffee with milk, etc.
- The hair is divided into parts and fixed. Thin strands are pulled out of them and combed.
- Vertical strokes are made on them. At the same time, due to combing, the paint touches the curls not along the entire length, but only slightly.
- After 40 minutes, the paint is washed off.
Stencil
This very unusual coloring will suit only the most creative people who try to stand out from the crowd and support fashion trends. It is suitable only for owners of smooth straight hair, on which the lines will look clear and expressive. Ideas for drawings can be any, among the popular options are geometric shapes, floral patterns, leopard spots, feathers, various symbols.
On dark hair, all these prints look bright and extraordinary, they allow you to make bright accents and express yourself. For all its seeming simplicity, dyeing your hair in this way is not at all easy, even if you draw on the side, so it is better to go to a salon.
Neon
The use of a relatively new technology of neon dyeing will help to make a dark hairstyle really bright. It does not last long, it will come off after seven washes, but the spectacular result is worth the money spent. The process of creating such a hairdressing masterpiece is pretty straightforward. First, the necessary strands are lightened with an oxidizer, and then a special gel is applied to them, which allows you to get not just colored, but literally emitting curls.
Looks especially impressive on completely smooth, undisturbed hair.
All of the above techniques and types of painting have their own options, which are constantly changing. In order to recreate one of them on your hair, it is better to contact qualified colorists. If you come to a hairdresser without special skills, then even with all his desire, he may not meet your expectations.
Which oxidizing agent should you choose?
Everyone knows that a brunette or even a brown-haired woman will not be able to noticeably change the color of her hair without lightening. This is done using a special oxidizing agent, which is kneaded in glass or ceramic dishes.
Ideally, the oxidizing agent should be from the same manufacturer as the paint itself. This will make it easier and faster to calculate the desired ratio, and the result will be more predictable.If these two funds belong to different companies, then the chemical process can proceed in an unexpected way, which makes the resulting color different, and the hair is injured. This is because the composition of drugs from different companies is also somewhat different.
When choosing an oxidizer, the base tone of the hair is taken into account. In the palette of natural shades, dark ones occupy the first six lines, where 1 is bluish black, and 6 is dark blond. So, an oxidizing agent of 1.5% is intended simply for toning and it will not change the color of the hair. If you take a 3% oxidizer for 3-6 colors, then lightening will occur by only one tone, and on the first three colors it is not recommended at all.
6% oxide is needed for permanent coloring, for color highlighting. 9% oxide can not only prepare hair for bright color, but also lighten dark hair. 12% oxidizer is able to highlight hair from 1 to 4 color, that is, even the darkest. Such a powerful concentrate discolors by 5-7 tones and is capable of severely damaging the hair structure, so not all masters use it in their work. It is best to dye your hair in light colors with a deviation from the base by 4 tones.
Also note that all of these oxides can be mixed to obtain a substance of a different concentration, for example, 7.5%. An experienced master always assesses the condition of the hair before starting work.
So, hair that is porous or already tired from chemical influences will require a lower concentration of the oxidizing agent. In general, a professional should prepare compositions for staining. The hair of each woman is individual, which means that the result in one or another case is unpredictable and only an experienced eye is able to determine how to change the formula of the oxidizer.
This information applies to natural hair, but if you apply the clarifier to dyed curls, then the resulting color can become a very unpleasant surprise.
How to dye your hair?
Coloring guidelines for dark curls are generally the same as for other hair. The main thing, as we wrote above, is to choose the right oxidizer.
- Staining begins in the occipital zone, because the reaction takes the longest time there. The curls on the temples and bangs, due to the peculiarities of the structure, absorb color very quickly.
- To obtain a brighter shade, the curls are wrapped in foil, and if your goal is the effect of sun glare, which is now very often used in modern techniques, then you need to leave it outdoors.
- Step back a little from the roots so as not to injure the hair follicles. Moreover, now many fashionable types of staining assume precisely the presence of dark roots.
- Usually, the paint is kept on the head from half an hour to 45 minutes, depending on the condition of the hair or the desired result.
Colored hair care
As we already wrote, most of the trendy hair dyes involve at least partial lightening, therefore, their daily care must be enhanced by restorative procedures.
- To wash your head immediately after the salon, use a specialized color fixative to neutralize the alkali.
- Do not neglect the toning agents that the master will recommend to you - they will keep the result obtained for a long time.
- Nourish your hair with a vitamin mask weekly to keep it from fading and shine.
- Limit thermal effects on curls. Leave the iron and styling products for special occasions, and if possible, use a hairdryer less often.
- The usual shampoo is really worth replacing with a shampoo for colored hair.
- As with any aggressive action, staining can lead to a more frequent appearance of split ends. Trim them regularly to keep your hair looking well-groomed.
- On the beach, hide your hair from the sun under a hat, and in the sea - under a plastic cap - this will help to maintain a rich color for a long time.
Beautiful examples
It is believed that the "tiger eye" technique is the choice of purposeful successful women who want to demonstrate their strength to everyone. Barely noticeable feline shades in the hair very gracefully complement this look.
From this example, you can see that creative designs really work best on black hair. A dark background provides contrast and clarity, making the hair look like a patterned canvas.
A pixie haircut is perfect for fashionable creative girls who choose dynamic and conceptual images. Dark clothes and makeup set the overall style, while a bold hairstyle adds personality. Despite the original dark hair, the master managed to achieve high-quality and rich hair color on the crown and bangs.
Partial dyeing is a great way to get pearly white curls without damaging the hair roots. In this photo, the color transition looks contrasting, but not too harsh. Such hairstyles look most impressive with a perm. For a special occasion, you can curl the curls with a curling iron, and in everyday life, wear straight hair, because black roots are still in trend.
Thick and beautiful dark hair looks spectacular and shiny, which is why many hairdressers discourage dyeing it. But if the craving for change turns out to be stronger, then with a competent approach of the master, you can achieve very impressive results.
Fashionable color styles and quality care products keep dark hair looking healthy even after being dyed in lighter colors. Make a choice in favor of professionals and the result will certainly delight you!
For information on how to dye dark hair in a bright and rich color, see the video below.