Experimenting is inherent in human nature. We all love to apply our creativity to our beautiful hair too. Women turned their hair light in the 70s and 80s to get new locks. They dyed them back to darker shades later and experimented with a mix of dark and light tones too. Today, we have numerous techniques to dye our hair easily at home, whether you wish to highlight them or alter their color altogether. One such method involves mixing two colors of hair dyes to get a completely new look.
Can I mix two colors?
Of course! Why not?
Creating a new color out of existing ones is fun. It adds individuality to your personality and boosts your confidence to a new level. There are, however, some considerations to be kept in mind while mixing two-color hair dyes.
Mixing same colors of different brands
Different brands can deliver different results with the same color. This is because their formulations vary widely and they follow their own manufacturing processes. If you are short of color or are planning to shift to a new brand, you might be left with an option to mix the same color dye from different brands. While preparing the dye from different brands, you need to ensure that both the colors are of the same type, i.e. semi-permanent or permanent. Also, never add developers from different brands in one go. Take out the color from both but use the developer of any one brand while dyeing your hair.
Mixing different colors
Mixing two different colors helps us to derive the benefit of both the dyes. A simple example would include using one color to cover your gray hair and others to provide highlights to your hair. You just need to decide the outcome you desire for your hair before you make a choice of two colors.
You must mix the color and activator in equal amounts. Never keep the fully prepared dye to use for your next coloring session. You can, however, mix the two colors in a batch to maintain the same ratio every time and add activator only before applying the dye. Adding an activator in advance can explode the air-tight container you’ll store it in.
If you are trying a combination for the very first time, test it at the nape of your neck to see the resultant color. It will help you make the right decision for yourself.
Mixing different colors of the same brand
It is easier to mix two different colors of the same brand. Ensure that the activators of the colors chosen are at the same level so that you don’t encounter any issues in coloring. For a more dynamic tone, you can also try mixing more than two colors but make sure to perform the color-test first.
Mixing two colors of different brands
Creating a new color out of two different shades of totally different brands is trickier. Remember to use a single activator here too. Choose the colors at nearly the same level. Mixing a color with levels 5 and 8 would be fine but combining a color of level 1 with 7 would lead to disaster. Choose the color tones that are complementing each other rather than interfering. If you are unsure about your mixture, consider doing a few swatches until you achieve what you want.
Can I use 2 different colors on hair the same day?
Expert colorists are able to provide you with a good result by using two different colors on your hair the same day. But, since you are not a professional, you must avoid doing that at home.
The color you did first needs some time to settle down. Any dye will leave a color pigment in your hair which requires a while to get permanent in your hair. If you dye your hair again without waiting for a few days, the color pigment in the new dye might interfere with the earlier pigment in your hair. This will have a negative impact on your final hair color as you won’t get the benefit of any of the two colors.
If the need arises to mix two colors in your hair the same day, you must take the help of your hair specialist. They are experts in all this mixing stuff and can even lock the color faster into your hair.
Useful tips for mixing two-color hair dyes
Pick the colors that compliment your skin tone and your eye color. You can determine your skin tone from the veins inside your wrist. With warm skin, you’ll tend to have greenish veins while with cool skin, your veins will have a blue-ish tint. Go for warmer hair tones if you possess warm skin and a cooler tone in case of cool skin.
For better coverage, apply a half-shade darker dye to your roots from the shade you are applying to your hair strands. So, while mixing the two colors, separate some mixture for your roots. Add a little quantity of darker color out of the two into it and reach about a half-shade darker from the remaining mixture.
If you have coarse hair, consider making a darker shade out of two colors. With lighter shades, your hair will reflect more light and appear to be dull and dry.
Don’t try to mix black hair dye with other colors as black will anyway override all other colors of the color spectrum.
Final words
You have come up with a great idea of mixing up two colors of hair dyes. Just a bit of creativity and it can bring up a new hair color for you that you haven’t yet seen on anyone else, at least not in your friend circle. Everyone around you would be asking you as to how you achieved that color. So, don’t stop the artist in you and get going with your testing sessions to discover a new color!