The salon isn’t always the best place to get a dye-job. If you’re aiming for quick, cheap, and easy, it’s preferable to DIY your own color, rather than risking it at a cheapo salon or beauty school. But there are thousands of things that can go wrong with home dye jobs, from overdying (makes that cute auburn color you were going for into a fire truck red) to using the wrong dye, to accidentally dying your forehead. Galore learned the do’s and don’ts of home color from Skylar Mimuro: everything from the best brands to some drugstore hair rescues. Here’s to mermaid hair!
How long have you been dying your hair?
I’ve been dying my hair ever since I started high school. I used to be one of those teens that was into Japanese rock music and scene. We had colored hair and styled it before the hipsters took over the rainbow hair trend.
What’s your favorite color and style you’ve had?
My favorite color and style that I’ve done is my recent look, actually. My hair was washed out completely and back to being blonde, or as I call it, a blank canvas. I was stuck with deciding between going for all pink or teal. Finally I thought, if I can’t choose, why not do both?! I did a two-tone look by dying the top pink and the bottom half teal. Problem solved!
What’s the worst home-dye disaster you’ve ever had?
I was trying to go from blonde to black, and it failed. The black dye that I used didn’t stay in my hair and acted like a semi-permanent dye because every time I washed it, my hair would turn grayish blue. The washed-out color really wasn’t bad at all, but it was just not what I was expecting. The blue tone was way overpowering.
Whats an at home remedy for crunchy, frizzy hair?
What I love doing for my hair best is using a deep hair condition/ treatment and wrapping it up in a bun while taking a nice hot bath. Letting the treatment sit in your hair under the hot temperature allows it to deeply penetrate into your hair. I even like to use coconut oil in my hair as the treatment –it works amazingly.
What are three products to rescue and protect colored/damaged hair?
Trying to keep my hair healthy under these circumstances is a big part of my life now. My favorite shampoo/ conditioner is the L’Oreal Total Repair Extreme line. It just erases a lot of the damage done to my hair. After washing my hair, I never miss on applying the Dove Damage Therapy Leave-In Smoothing Cream on my damp hair. In terms of maintaining color, the third product that is vital to have is Clairol Professional Shimmer Lights.
What should girls have on hand when they dye their hair at home?
I would always recommend having some conditioner to mix/ dilute the color if they want a softer tone. Other essentials are obviously gloves for your hands and *pro tip* lotion to put over around your hairline to prevent getting color on your skin. I also use saran wrap to wrap my hair, which lets the color absorb quicker after I’m finished applying.
What are your favorite home color brands for both natural and rainbow colors?
The bleach that I use is a Japanese brand called Palty. At this point, it’s very easy for me to manage my blonde because all I do is use this same dye to touch-up my roots every month. For color brands, Manic Panic and Ion Color Brilliance are what I use all the time.
What’s the next hair color or style you want to try out?
I kind of want to chop my bangs because I haven’t done that in the past decade, so I think it would give me a complete change in look, which is cool. I’m just a little scared because I’m not sure if it will match my face shape, but you live and learn. As far as color goes, I’m thinking of either making my hair an icy turquoise blue or a pastel mint color. It all depends on what inspires me.
