How to dye your hair without bleaching or lightening it first.
By Madelyn Knecht
June 10, 2022
Lightening your hair at home with bleach can be intimidating and deters a lot of people from coloring their hair themselves. But you don't always have to bleach your hair in order to color it.
Depending on how light or dark your hair is, you could apply color without any lightening at all. Just know that if you're wanting to go lighter, generally hair dye both box and professional will only be able to lighten your hair 1-2 levels without the need for pre-lightening, aka bleaching.
So if you're looking to go from dark brown to blonde, this most likely won't be possible. However, if you're looking to go from dark brown to light brown or dark blonde to light blonde, this may be possible with dye alone.
There are few things to consider before deciding whether to just dye your hair or if you need to bleach it to achieve your desired result.
In this article
- Is Your Hair its Natural Color?
- What Level is Your Hair?
- What Color are You Going for?
- Extra Tip: Hair Care
- Frequently Asked Questions
Is Your Hair its Natural Color?
Dyeing natural hair is very different from dyeing hair that is damaged or compromised. If you have virgin hair, you could have more difficulty placing dye on your hair. This is because virgin hair is typically less porous than hair that has been lightened.
This doesn't mean that you can't dye your virgin hair, though. If your hair is a light color, you may be fine trying out a dark or vibrant demi permanent or semi permanent hair dye at home without any lightening.
You can use professional dye or box dye, but we usually recommend professional dye if you're looking to avoid damaging your hair.
What Level is Your Hair?
The level of your hair refers to how dark or light it is. A high level (such as level 10) is the lightest and referred to often as bleach blonde where a low level (1-4) is extremely dark. Lighter hair is much easier to cover with hair dye without a high lift. Unfortunately, if you have dark brown hair or black hair, you may have trouble.
It is unlikely that you will get the color you want on your dark hair without bleach. Even a dark vibrant semi permanent color likely won't make a difference without some sort of lightening.
What Color are You Going for?
While it is important to know what point you're starting at, it also matters where you're going. Light and pastel colors won't show up on dark hair. In fact, you will have to lighten your hair significantly to get a true pastel color.
In case of pastels or platinum blonde, it could take more than one lighten process to get the desired color. You will also want purple shampoo on hand for maintenance and will most likely need a permanent toner to neutralize any brassy tones after bleaching.
You will need a toner because all hair, no matter what color in appearance, has warm undertones. After lightening, most hair lifts to a warm red, yellow or orange tone. The right toner will help cancel out these warm tones.
We recommend Wella. The most popular Wella toners are Wella t14 and Wella t18, but be careful about picking the right one! If you aren't sure what the difference is between these two toners, read more about it here.
For vibrant colors, it depends on how dark you want to go from where you are. Professional dyes like Manic Panic and Strawberry Leopard are highly pigmented, making it easier to color your hair.
Extra Tip: Hair Care
Beyond hair color, hair care is the most important consideration if you are wanting to dye or lighten your hair at home. If your hair is damaged, we don’t recommend lightening it until it is healthy again.
Dye on its own won't damage your hair, though, so you can experiment with highly pigmented semi-permanent colors until your hair is healthy enough to get the color you want. Any color that does not require a developer is semi-permanent and will only deposit pigment.
Keep reading for steps on how to dye your hair at home without bleach.
Semi-Permanent Vivids on Natural Color
Certain vivids can be easier to use on natural color than other natural colors. If you want to go dark, try a semi-permanent blue or purple!
Box or Professional Color
Box or professional color can lighten your hair 1-2 levels without the need for bleach. This is because you often use a developer along with these colors, which can lighten your hair even without the interaction with bleach.
Keep in mind that color matters even when using box dye or professional color, however. If you’re dyeing your hair a warm color like red and you have brown hair, you may still need to lighten your hair if you want the red to show.
However, you can use Loreal hi-color to lighten your hair 3-4 levels! If you are looking for non-red options, try a different hi-color option.
No matter what products you use to color your hair at home, be sure to follow the instructions carefully and have a hair mask on hand to rejuvenate or protect your hair from damage.
