Ever since my love of fashion, hair, make-up, etc came to be a big part of my life, I have always been a "self taught" beautician. I don't like to spend loads of money on things I want so I achieve them in my own way. Today I am going to teach everyone how to Ombré their hair without going to a salon. *NOTE* it is much easier to Ombré extensions then it is your real hair unless your hair is a) long enough to do it by yourself or b) you have someone there.
Step 1
Deciding What's Best
First, you'll need to make sure you buy a lighter extension color then your hair or what you're planning on your hair color to be. It's much easier to go darker --> lighter then lighter --> light. It's possible to dye blonde to blonde but trickier. As you can see from the picture on the right I have medium blonde hair. The extensions I bought are 'honey blonde'. These extensions came from Foxy Locks Extensions (out of the UK) and are 160g (the higher the # of grams the thicker the hair will be). I have bought extensions from Pro Extensions as well but would not recommend them over Foxy Locks. [Begin opinion] Psttt- the price for foxy locks is cheaper than pro extensions and Foxy Locks are also longer and thicker [end opinion] Buying lighter extensions will help with the finished product.
Pre-steps to think about ...
1) Pick out the color of extensions you want: I would recommend them being lighter than your natural hair color for a more dramatic ombré look.
2) Decide how much color you want at the bottom before dying.
3) Make sure to dye them in the order of how you'll be clipping them in your hair. You don't want the color to be uneven at the bottom.
Step 2
Get Ready to Dye!
Prepare your hair dye and your extensions. There is always instructions on the box of how to blend your hair dye. Whether or not you buy it from a box or mix it yourself with professional supplies from Sally's, etc. this preparation will be done in the same manner. I use a box, so I'll put product 1 in product 2 and shake until blended. I use L'Oréal 7 1/2 A: Excellence Creme which is about $6.99 at any CVS, Walgreen's, etc.
You will need:
1) Your hair dye
2) A dye brush (I don't recommend using the provided bottle)
3) Foil
4) Gloves
Next, lay all of your extensions out on a strip of foil. It doesn't matter what side you start with, we'll be flipping them once the first side is complete. You're going to want to make sure that you put a lot of hair dye on the "root" of the extensions. This will ensure we cover up the blonde on the top. Displayed in the picture to the right, make sure to coat the top of the hair with a lot of hair dye - I ended up using two hair kits. When taking your brush and slowly moving the color down, make sure you're not putting too much near the bottom. To get the fade that the ombré hairstyle needs in order to look correct, lightly using your brush - take small strokes down into the blonde until the color fades naturally off of the brush. This will ensure a great transition of color. Now you're ready to flip the hair over to the other side and repeat step 2's coloring instructions. ***Make sure to fill any spots that are blonde near the top!!! If you do not do this, it will be splotchy***
I would also suggest leaving a little "left over dye." After you wash your extensions you may need a little bit to correct splotch spots, etc.
Step 3
Washing and Drying
This step is also very important. Never wash your extensions in a none balanced PH shampoo
[Why? .... Since the goal is to keep the shampoo slightly acid, the term "pH balanced" is actually a misnomer. We want the balance to be tipped slightly to the acidic side. read more]
Make sure to be gentle with the hair while washing it. Even if you can treat it like normal hair, you're washing hair that will never produce grease and chemicals to keep it from breaking and staying healthy so a little caution is suggested.
I do not blow dry my extensions. To avoid damage and tangle, I lay my extensions out on a towel and place a fan next to them to air dry. This ensures that I cause little to no damage to the wet hair.
Step 4
the Final Product
Ta-Da! See the picture below for the final product.
Hair Dye:L'Oréal 7 1/2 A: Excellence Creme. Medium Ash Blonde.
Extensions: Foxylockextensions.com: Color #22 "honey blonde" 160g 'Deluxe'
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