DIY COLOR, THE WHOLE STORY
If you’ve learned how to wash your wig and have been taking care of your wig successfully you may start thinking about other hair care services that you’d normally send to a professional.
After working at Freeda and watching the stylists work their magic I’ve come to learn enough tricks to wash and set my wigs on my own. I’ve always taken my wigs to be colored by a professional but after trying unsuccessfully to make an appointment to color my wig I decided to make the plunge on my own.
I was looking to add roots to my wig. I wanted to go from a shadow root to a long root. I was going to add about 3 inches of darker hair to the top of the wig.
I did my research.
I watched countless YouTube videos.
I watched the colorist work.
I asked tons of questions.
I felt confident to take on the task.
I purchased a dark ash brown color from the drug store. I read the instructions. I wanted the roots to slowly fade rather than a straight line. I added a step and teased the hair the way I had seen and been instructed by our colorist.
It was not as simple as it looked. Dye got EVERYWHERE, and the hair wasn’t dividing into the neat sections I had seen others do. It was a mess. I kept going, following the directions the best I could. Finally, when I had finished with all the hair, I waited 15 minutes, washed out the wig and let it air-dry.
When it was ready I was pleasantly surprised with the results. The color was close enough to what I wanted and I also got the red out which was what I was concerned with the most.
Win. Big time.
Later on I went through the wig more carefully. I had missed spots and there was places were color didn’t catch the way it should. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough.
Next I wanted to brighten up the highlights. I figured the second time would so smoothly because I had practice and planned to be much more precise and careful. The second time around I watched more YouTube videos , asked more questions, and tried to find out anything possible that might make this task more successful.
Round two was just as messy as round one, but all I cared about were the results. I followed the steps, I waited, I washed out the dye, air dried and….
Viola…
Nothing had changed. NOTHING! It was like I hadn’t done anything at all. Oh yes- the huge mess and staining from the dye, but that was it.
It was time to give up.
I spoke to a colorist who attempted to explain what had gone wrong. I couldn’t really understand what she was saying. How could I possibly learn in a conversation what took her hours of studying and practice?
All in all, the verdict is this; don’t do it.
You may be able get by without bringing your color to a professional, but I don’t recommend it. I ended up having a professional fix my mistakes anyway. I wasted time and money, and now my wig was going to go through yet another color process- something you really want to avoid.
Another reason to go to a professional is to get a tailored service just right for you. A box dye is a “one size fits all” option rather than a professional who mixes the colors perfectly for your wig, taking into consideration the color of your wig, the color you want to achieve, and the type of hair your wig has. Box dye can’t do that. Box dye also can’t recommend the length of time needed to change the color properly.
We’ve also seen some really awful wig disasters happen when people try dying their own wigs, sometimes irreversible.
- -We’ve seen pillowing in the multi
- -Wigs that have changed texture
- -Hair that is fried or damaged
- -Wigs that have changed to undesirable colors
- -Wefts that have unraveled
- -Bald spots
Don’t let this happen to your wig. Send your wig to a professional who specifically works with wigs. If you can’t find a colorist in your neighborhood, send it to our Freeda Salon where a Freeda specialist will give your wig the treatment it deserves.
Keep that Freeda wig beautiful!
See our beautiful highlighted wigs- none of which I did.
