DIY Ombre

I have dyed my hair countless times at home, but I've never bleached it by myself. Bleach is scary - it damages your hair and often pulls a lot of red tones. And I've seen a lot of hair colorists work their butts off to get rid of those red tones in my hair (back when I used to get highlights).

Yesterday, my cousin asked me to do a bit of ombre on the ends of her hair. I surprisingly said yes and used my previous experience as knowledge. Well, it ended up being super easy and it turned out to be amazing! Very effortless and beachy and the tone is so pretty for this season! 

I couldn't help but share the final results with you! And share my process, too! 

Note: I am not a hair colorist. I have no training. This process will not guarantee anyone the same results as everyone's hair is different - tones, texture, damage, and all. Be careful with bleach and hair dye and consult a hair professional!

Now, let's move on to the fun stuff!

WHAT I USED:

• Plastic gloves
• Plastic bowl
• Hair dye brush/applicator
• Tin foil
• 20 & 30 volume developer (levels of developer depend on current hair color and hair color objective)
• Powder bleach
• Level 8 Ash hair color as a toner

THE PROCESS:

• STEP 1: With my gloves on, I combined 30 developer with bleach powder (according to the package) until it became like a whipped cream consistency.
• STEP 2: Taking a 1 inch piece of hair, I applied the bleach to the ends of my cousin's dry hair using the hair dye applicator.  I also made sure it wasn't perfect by somewhat brushing and teasing the hair upwards. 
• STEP 3: I wrapped the piece of hair in a piece of tin foil.
• STEP 4: I repeated steps 2 and 3 for the rest of the hair.
• STEP 5: I checked on the hair every few minutes and then rinsed it when it reached a desired level of brightness (the time it takes varies depending on hair type, color, and damage).
• STEP 6: Since her hair pulled lots of warm orange and yellow tones, I had to tone it with an ashy color. I mixed a level 8 ash color with a 20 developer (following package directions) and applied this mixture to the bleached ends.
• STEP 7: I checked the hair every few minutes and then rinsed it once it reached a desired tone that was not brassy (length of time varies depending on hair type, color, and damage).
• STEP 8: I rinsed (no shampoo!) and conditioned the hair and then styled it!

And voila! Lovely ombre ends!