35 Hair-Dye Fails That Make You Feel Glad You’re Not The ‘Victim’ In The Pictures

Peter Regan, a hairdresser in Manchester city center, UK, who specializes in permanent hair straightening, precision cutting, and natural-looking color, thinks people can face different challenges if they’re dyeing their hair for different reasons. “If the goal for coloring hair is to cover greys, then the main challenge is choosing the correct color,” he told Bored Panda. “Most domestic tints turn out darker than expected. For example, mid-brown which is a common color used at home, when looked at on a color chart looks to the untrained viewer very nearly black.”

“If the goal is to make a statement, then the appropriateness of color is the biggest challenge.”

Hairstylist and colorist Jahlesa Taylor thinks “the biggest challenges when coloring your hair yourself is being able to see your whole head, and timing things properly, especially when you’re doing touch-ups.”

“When I have clients who need me to correct a color that they did themselves, the majority of the damage/unevenness is in the back and I know it’s because we can’t see back there properly, even with a mirror,” the professional who works in Lauderhill, Florida, told Bored Panda. “Proper color application requires an understand of timing, as well as an understanding of tones and undertones, and many people think they can just spread the color or lightener all over their head and it will balance out in the end.”

Jahlesa has noticed that color blocking is super popular again. “Personally, I’m a huge fan! Sometimes you want a little pop of color in the front or a little peek of color in the back and the color blocking method allows you to have fun without the commitment or responsibility that comes with a total hair makeover.”

Regan, the author of The Hair Colour Book: A Practical Guide To The Theory Of Colouring Hair, noted that during the pandemic, the trends haven’t evolved like they usually do as salons have been closed in most places. The last thing that caught his attention was balayage which is a kind of freehand painting on the hair.

However, if you want to infuse your hair with color but can’t decide on the particulars, you might want to take it slow. “Whatever looks people are thinking about applying to their hair, they should understand a few things,” Regan said. “Firstly, domestic hair color will only lift about 2 levels and if they have artificial color on their hair then it cannot be made lighter using a tint, only bleach can lighten existing dye.”

“If it says lightener or something similar on the box, then it is most likely a bleach of some description and must be handled very carefully,” the hairdresser stressed. “If their hair is partially grown out then the dye will react differently on the virgin hair than it will on the previously colored hair.”

“Also, make sure that you do a skin compatibility test at least 2 days prior to applying hair dye – this is important as it is about safety.” Judging from the pics, many people, unfortunately, skip this step altogether.

When people want to use a semi-permanent color, Regan said they should check the following: are there two things to mix together? If the answer is yes then it is not a true semi-permanent color!

“One of the ingredients will be a developer (hydrogen peroxide). This will either be a permanent color or a quasi-color which is supposed to fade off the hair but in my experience is almost permanent,” the hairdresser said. “True semi-permanent hair color is pre-mixed in a single bottle and lasts about 6-8 washes.”

“There’s little point in looking at photographs showing a color that is a long way away from the person’s natural color as it would be too difficult for them to create at home.”

Lastly, if you really like your bathroom, Regan believes you should think twice about coloring your hair in it. Some of the people on this list would definitely agree. The whole thing is very likely to get messy.

“Always change your pillowcase for an old one for the first few days after coloring,” Regan added. “It’s likely that you haven’t washed all of the residues off the hair. Red is the worst color for this.”

Just make sure you’re comfortable (with unexpected results), have everything you need, and aren’t pressed for time. Good luck!