There’s really no stopping us – that is, until every single do-it-yourself beauty product is continually sold out at every online retailer. This is especially true of hair dye, which seems to have overtaken toilet paper as the hottest commodity of quarantine.
One of the unexpected perks of life in lockdown is that it has made us far more resourceful than ever before. We’re growing our own vegetables, baking our own bread and, perhaps most notably, we’ve taken all our beauty treatments in-house. We’re now aficionados at brow threading, we have a DIY face mask recipe for every skincare ailment and we’re dab hands at dyeing our own hair.
If you don’t fancy embracing your greys, or styling out outgrown roots, there may be another option. Just as it’s possible to whip up a nourishing face mask or a spot-zapping skin treatment using ingredients lying around your kitchen, it’s also possible to conjure up hair colour in the same way.
Here, we reveal the best hair colour concoctions you can make safely at home.
Make your own pink hair dye
Pastel pink hair has been a huge trend for the past few years, with everyone from Katy Perry to Cara Delevingne experimenting with the playful shade.
Luckily, the popular colour couldn’t be easier to recreate at home, using nothing but ingredients many of us already have in our kitchens. All you’ll need is some beetroot and a few scoops of coconut oil.
First, boil your beetroots until the water turns a deep purply red. Then melt three table spoons of coconut oil and add a teaspoon of the red beetroot water. Mix well and massage into your hair. Leave the mixture in for about half an hour before rinsing thoroughly.
Make your own blonde hair dye
While putting lemon juice in your hair is nothing novel (in fact, no teenage holiday would be complete without it), it shouldn’t be dismissed as an effective way to boost blonde tones and provide a natural lift in your hair colour.
All you’ll need is freshly-squeezed lemon juice, a little water and, ideally, a spray bottle. Spritz liberally into wet hair and sit in the sunshine to dry.
Make your own brown hair dye
As well as making great body scrubs and easy plant food, coffee can also be used to add vivacity and depth to brunette hair.
It couldn’t be easier; simply add one heaped tablespoon of coffee grounds into one cup of water, and boil in a pan until most of the water has evaporated. Let cool and save the mixture for your next hair wash.
After shampoo, massage the coffee sludge through hair before rinsing and applying your conditioner as usual.
Make your own red hair dye
One of the most popular at-home hair colour concoctions is henna, which gives a vibrant shade of deep red. Simply mix henna powder with water until you have formed a smooth paste. Apply to hair and leave for a few hours, depending on how strong you would like the shade to be.
