So a lot of times, you could purchase hair whether Brazilian or otherwise and it turns out that it isn’t in your hair color and since you have no idea as to how to dye Brazilian hair, it could be a problem. Since a lot of people love their hair extensions in their hair color, you would be left with the option of dyeing or coloring the hair.
Now popular opinion is that you can’t possibly dye your hair on your own because let’s face it, there are a lot of things that could go wrong and so it’s a lot safer to get it to a hair stylist or just someone who knows their way around hair dyes.
All of these is true but we live in a time where everything could be learnt on the internet and there are a ton of DIY videos that will definitely show you the way. So you could say that dyeing your hair does not really seem like rocket science anymore as there are people to look up to.
So if you’re in the mood for a color splurge for the summer or you just want your extensions to look like your natural hair so no one can tell them apart, you could dye your hair yourself and we would show you how.
There are a lot of reasons why people would want to have their Brazilian hair dyed and it could range from summer vibes to just wanting a change of look. People also decide to dye their Brazilian Weaves so they look like their natural hair.
Whatever the reason for your decision, there are certain things you will need when looking to dye your Brazilian hair. While you would say it’s like having your own salon at home, you would appreciate why all these items are needful.
What To Use
Hand Gloves
Dyes are chemicals and have the capacity to change the color of your nails and also affect your skin generally which is why you would need a pair of plastic gloves to protect your hands. The ingredients used to effect the dyeing are very harsh and you ought to protect yourself against them.
Foil
Well, you aren’t going to place the Brazilian hair on the bare table while applying the dye so it is also necessary to get foils that the weave could be placed on. Now you don’t have to use the foil given to you at the grocery store but you could use hair dressing foils as those are more efficient.
Mixing Bowl and Applier
You’d need a mixing bowl that will contain the dye or bleach or color. You would also need an applier, this would help get the dye onto the hair.
Comb, Brushes
After the dye has been completely applied on to the hair, you would need a comb or brush to get it evenly spread out and onto every strand of hair.
Hair Products
So, you would need a shampoo and conditioner, you’d need the dye it self in whatever color you want and it’s developer. If you want to dye the hair to a lighter color, you’d need bleach too. Basically, you would need every hair care product you use for your natural hair.
Towels
You’d need towels too. After the whole process, if you’re looking to air dry the Brazilian hair overnight, you could do so on an old towel.
The Brazilian hair
You can’t dye a weave without the weave it self so you’d need the Brazilian hair too.
How To Dye Brazilian Hair
Since there are a lot of steps involved, let’s look at them one after the other.
Detangle and Wash
Of course this is the first step in whatever you want to do with a Brazilian hair so make sure to run a wide toothed comb through your Brazilian unit and be sure to remove all knots. Do this until you can run your fingers across without feeling a thing and then you’d know you are ready to go on with the process.
If the hair you intend to use is not a virgin hair, you may need to wash the hair just so you can remove every buildup from different products. You obviously cannot dye a hair which has the presence of hair products from previous uses as that would interfere with the dying process.
Mix it up
Since you have your dye and developer, the next point of call would be to mix them up and get them ready to be used. Now it is important to remember that whatever the size and quantity of your dye or bleach, that should also be the quantity of your developer. When the appropriate quantities have been taken, you could then begin to mix them up until the consistency is a lot light.
It basically depends on how much of your Brazilian hair you want to dye. If it’s a lot, your consistency should be light so it gets around all the hair.
You should note that the dye and developer when mixed can be potent for about 20 to 30 minutes after which the solution is just not as effective. So be sure everything is in place and ready to go before you even decide to mix the dye.
The quantity of the dye should be commensurate to the amount of dye you need to color a whole hair or just the tips. If you are keen on changing just the tips or maybe you’d like it to have a bit of ombre, you’d still need to measure it out to know exactly where you want the hair to start getting lighter.
Apply
Something worthy of note is the fact that if you want to dye your hair into bright colors, you’d need a bleaching step and this isn’t really difficult but it is a prerequisite.
If however you are looking to dye your Brazilian hair into darker colors, you have no need for the bleaching step. So here’s how to bleach the hair.
Bleaching
First of all, you’d have to mix bleaching powder with its Developer in a mixing bowl. The quantity you use will depend on the amount of hair you intend to bleach.
Since the bleach powder comes with a measuring spoon, use that to get it right. Whatever amount of bleaching powder you use, be sure to use the same amount of developer as well.
Make sure you mix it out and it is ready for use. Be sure to use hand gloves and make sure the environment is well ventilated as the smell of chemicals could be very harsh.
Spread the Brazilian hair out on the foil paper and make sure every aspect of the hair is clearly seen. If it has curls, loosen the curls and let it sit on the foil paper. With your applier, start applying generous amounts of the bleach onto the hair starting from the tips.
Make sure to get the bleach onto every strand of Brazilian hair before wrapping it in foil paper. You’d need to let it sit for sometime just so the bleach can set in.
Usually when bleaching hair, before you are through applying the bleach onto the hair, you’d notice that the color will start to change and this is definitely what you want.
Once you are satisfied as to the amount of time you’d like the bleach to sit, you could wash it out with shampoo and a lot of warm water. Be sure to wash out all the dye in the hair because you can’t apply a conditioner to the hair at this point.
You only bleached the hair to achieve a lighter base for your bright colored dye so be sure to rinse thoroughly until all the bleach is out then you can towel dry.
If however the color isn’t something you’re satisfied with and need to get it to a lighter shade, you could repeat the process and start mixing another portion of bleach. This could happen until you find the right shade for your hair.
Dyeing the Hair
This usually applies where you are through with the process of bleaching for a brightly colored dye or where you are keen on using a dull colored dye.
If you want to dye only the tips then you’d need to tie a rubber band on the spot that you’d like to start the dye application before you start to apply the dye. Otherwise you could take out your Brazilian hair and set it on the foil paper.
You should set it in a way that all of the hair is completely accommodated by the foil and none of it is left out.
With the use of an applier, get the dye from the mixing bowl and apply gently on the hair. Make sure to have it saturated before you decide to brush. So when the hair is completely immersed in the dye, you could use a comb or brush to make sure it gets to all the strands and then flip it over.
The reason why it is necessary to flip the hair to the opposite side is so that you get to apply the dye or bleach on the other side otherwise we’d have hair that has been colored only on one side.
It should also get onto all the strands evenly. If it’s bleach, you’d find that the color would begin to change almost immediately but with regular dyes, it may take a while and require you to leave it on for a longer period. So cover it up with foil and let the dye take effect.
So being that it is a dye, you could leave it on for about an hour or two or sometimes you could leave it on overnight. Some dyes really don’t have adverse effects on the hair but you’d need to be careful about this.
Where your hair has sat for sometime and you’re sure you have all the color you need you could then decide to take it out. Again, you’d need to wash it with shampoo and a lot of warm water.
Rinse thoroughly until all of the dye is washed out and if you think it’s not enough, you could go over and over with shampoo until you get everything out. You could use cold water to rinse it out so you close the hair cuticles and seal the color in.
Once you have washed the Brazilian hair, the next step would be to apply conditioner to the hair since you are through with the dyeing process. So, take a generous amount of conditioner and apply it thoroughly throughout the hair.
When this is done, use a wide toothed comb or a brush to Detangle the hair until you can run your fingers across without a knot. Naturally you could leave it in a plastic bag for sometime so the conditioner takes effect or you could even decide to get the hair steamed in the microwave.
Either way, you should let the conditioner sit for 30 to 45 minutes before washing it out. When you wash out the conditioner, you could decide to apply leave in conditioner and essential oils for styling before laying it out to dry. Remember to towel dry before letting it air dry.
Dyeing Brazilian hair weave and wig, are they any differences?
Naturally, there would be some differences associated with dyeing a weave and a wig since they are not exactly the same. However, if they’re both of the same hair quality like in this case the difference is minimal.
One of such would be the fact that with a wig, you’d have a wig cap to worry about when dyeing your hair. Under normal circumstances, you shouldn’t have a problem where you’re dyeing it to a darker shade or color but it usually poses a problem where you would need to bleach the hair.
Bleach affects everything, from your table if not properly protected to your fingers and nails to the hair itself. So you’d only need worry where bleaching the hair is inevitable because there is the possibility that the wig cap will be bleached alongside the rest of the hair.
If however this is not the case and you only want to dye it to a darker color, you may not notice any significant difference on the wig cap. Aside from this, the process of dyeing Brazilian Weave is pretty much the same with a wig.
How Often Should You Dye Your Brazilian Hair?
Since Brazilian hair isn’t like synthetic hair, you could say it has some level of immunity. Generally human hair has a lot of benefits that synthetic hair does not including the ability to take on dyeing and coloring and the use of heat styling and the rest of them.
Basically whatever you could do to your natural hair, you can do it to Brazilian hair. What you’d need to consider though is how often all of these are done and in what proportions.
Well this question is something worth asking considering the fact that dyeing is not necessarily healthy for your hair and extensions too. It’s one thing to change the color of your Brazilian hair to match your natural hair or to give you a totally different look but changing the color of your hair periodically has its pros and cons.
Generally, the rule is that if you must change your hair color, you should do it after about 4 to 6 weeks of your last coloring. What you don’t get told is that for every time you dye or color your hair, your hair deteriorates.
The reason is because you are constantly using chemicals on the hair that are dangerous or at the very least altering the tone and texture of the hair altogether.
While you are at liberty to change the color of your Brazilian hair every now and again, you should know it greatly affects the lifespan of the hair. Dyeing your hair to lighter or brighter colors are more dangerous because you’d need to bleach the hair.
Usually when you dye the hair to darker colors, you are adding color to the hair unlike when you decide to use brighter colors. Bleaching which is essential for brightly colored dyes strips the hair of color and nutrients and basically leaves it out to dry and this isn’t what you want.
Usually if you’re in the habit of dyeing your natural hair, you will be advised to dye only when the previous one is growing out. Unfortunately this cannot be said for Brazilian hair extensions because they do not grow.
If however you must change the color of your Brazilian hair every now and then, be sure to use products that can help retain moisture in the hair and also keep it looking good.
In all of these, you would need to make sure that you take proper care of your hair with the use of products that can only rejuvenate.