How to dye your hair at home - tips and tricks

I would like to consider myself something of an expert when it comes to diy hair dyeing. I have been dyeing my hair at home since I was 14 years old - although back then, my mum helped me!

I've had all sorts of colours - reds, pink, blond, browns, blue, purple, ginger (by mistake).....you name it, I've probably tried it.

I thought I'd share with you some of the things I've learnt along the way!

How to do it well:

1) If possible, get someone to help. Make sure it's someone you trust though! It can be tricky to do the back of your hair or to do highlights evenly when you can't see which bits have been covered.

2) Don't go too cheap or too light. I have a prime example of this for you with some photographic evidence!!

Bad, ginger highlights!

This was my hair yesterday. It doesn't look too bad in the photo but believe me, it was uneven and it was ginger. The usual kit I use is only £5 and is the Garnier Multi Lights kit for brown hair. Unfortunately, I can't find this product any more so I bought a kit from Wilkinson's (of all places) for £2. It was supposed to be for brown hair. It was awful.

It's a good idea to only go one or two shades lighter or darker than your natural colour. You don't want your hair to look like it doesn't match your eyebrows!

3) It's not the end of the world if the colour goes wrong! Read the instructions and you will probably find that you can dye another colour over the top. That's what I did.

I used this:

Garnier Nutrisse in 4.3 Dark golden brown

It mostly worked. My hair now is a little bit red and a bit darker than I would have liked - meaning I won't be able to use my Headkandy hot toffee hair extensions for a while. Oh well.

My hair now:

I took this outside for a more realistic colour match..

4) Look for a dye that has a good conditioner in the box. Dyeing your hair is not good for it! And neither is bleaching....I like the Garnier Nutrisse products because you get a little bottle of conditioner that does 3 washes. It smells a bit fruity but I can live with that.

5) Wipe off any spills IMMEDIATELY from yourself and surfaces. You can put Vaseline around your hair line if you are using strong coloured dyes like the Directions range. I had a bad incident in my uni halls where the shower cubicle got stained red. (I still got my deposit back though - everyone was using the same dye so every body's showers probably looked the same!)

6) Take a risk! Most products these days are designed to be super easy to use by yourself. There are loads of crazy colours available or you can try dip dyeing (ombre) to get a faded look. Don't feel like you have to pay a fortune at a salon to get some colour in your hair.

I hope that helps all you virgin hair dye types! Any other questions, drop me a line!

John Frieda Full Repair Or Kerastase?

My poor hair has been feeling as frazzled as I have recently. After my last post on how I'm such a positive person, lots of things have been sent to try me this week! I think I dealt with them fairly well but the results are clear to see on my poor, picked at skin and my also picked at split ends.

I had my hair cut recently in an attempt to deal with the split ends and move to the next stage of long hair but I can still see them and they keep breaking higher and higher. My hairdresser was telling me about Kerastase products and I've always wanted to try them but had been put off by the price! I've had a quick look on line and to be honest, I wouldn't know where to start.....

I've also heard a LOT recently about John Frieda Full Repair and as the range is small and the prices manageable (2 for £7.50 in Superdrug I hear) I will probably take the budget option and try these. As I've said previously, I'm always looking for that "miracle" product that will change my hair and ultimately my life....but so far, all I have is a drawer full of unused products!

Yesterday, I succumbed to Tresemme's Smooth Memory Spray as it was reduced to £3 in Sainsburys. This is a prime example of me buying the budget version of what I actually wanted - Moroccan Oil. But I tried it last night and it did make some difference. Then again, I did spend more time on blow drying my hair, so that could have had something to do with it!

So, any advice? Should I bite the bullet and fork out all my money on something that might not work? Or buy another "cheaper" version which also might not work but has saved me money? Real life dilemmas people. Real Life.

Tresemme Salon Sleek Straightening Spray