Disclaimer: I am not a professional or trained colorist. I have never been to a hair salon to have my hair colored/lightened. In fact, until six months ago, my hair has never been colored or lightened. I did it all myself after a lot of research, which involved watching hours and hours of Youtube videos. The two most helpful and applicable YT videos are at the bottom of this post. This is what worked for me and hopefully, will show you step-by-step how you can do it at home.
Warning: Because coloring/lightening is a chemical process, your hair WILL be damaged.
This post is going to be divided into two parts: I) How to lighten Asian black hair to brown and II) How to balayage highlights, as well as create an ombre effect. You can do this in one day, but you just have to be patient and invest about 4 hours (includes application, processing, and air-drying)
Balayage is a French term for painting on highlights.
Ombre is gradual lightening from from roots to ends. Mine is a subtle ombre (sombre) rather than a dip dye or high-contrast ombre.
I have the typical black, coarse, wavy Asian hair. Because of this, lightening without the proper tools will produce a reddish and/or brassy result.
There are two things I did to avoid or counteract this:
1. Use an ash blonde hair dye. Ash blonde (as opposed to any other kind of blonde) on black hair will result in a brown, caramel-like color.
2. Use Ardell red/gold corrector. This is a purple liquid which tones down the red/brassiness. I use it whenever I lighten my hair, in my shampoo, and in my conditioner.
PART I:
How to lighten Asian black hair to brown*
You're going to need (purchased at Sally's Beauty):
(Scroll below if you want to use box dye instead.)
- Ion Sensitive Scalp 20 volume developer**
- Ion Color Brilliance Hi Lift Ash Blonde HL/B-12.1***
- plastic dye bowl with a grid on the bottom & volume marks on the side
- hair clips
- pair of gloves
- tint brushes
- 3 packets of Ardell red/gold corrector plus
- a plastic kitchen garbage bag
1. Make sure your hair is unwashed and doesn't have any products such as hairspray or mousse.
2. Turn your garbage bag upside down so that the opening is at the bottom. Cut out a hole in the middle of the top and two holes on either side. Voila! You now have a large plastic T-shirt you can wear over your clothes to protect them. I also put large plastic trash bags on the floor of my bathroom for the inevitable spills and drips.
3. Using your hair clips, divide your hair into 4 sections.
4. Put on your gloves.
5. In your plastic bowl, thoroughly mix 2:1 developer and Ion Color Brilliance Hi Lift Ash Blonde HL/B-12.1 (the whole tube).
6. To your bowl, carefully add the 3 packets of Ardell red/gold corrector plus and mix thoroughly. Your mixture will be hot pink - but don't worry, your hair won't turn pink. I promise!
7. Concentrating on one section at a time, grab about 1/2 inch partings at a time. About one inch from your scalp, apply with your tint brush the mixture down the length to ends. Do this all over without touching the roots, making sure your hair is thoroughly saturated.
8. Process for 15 minutes.
9. Apply the rest of the mixture to your roots/scalp area.
10. I like to wind my hair up and close to my scalp then put a plastic bag over it and tie the straps so that all of it stays close to my head.
11. Process for an additional 40-45 minutes for a total of 1 hour.
12. Rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear but DO NOT shampoo.
13. Air dry.****
14. While waiting to do Part II, watch Jessie James Decker's highlighting video below since you'll be doing the same technique.
*Perform any allergy tests according to the dye instructions.
**I always use 20 vol. developer just to be on the safe side. If you want faster, more dramatic (even lighter) results use 30 vol. or 40 vol. Just adjust the processing time accordingly (30 vol. = 40-45 minutes; 40 vol. = 30-35 minutes).
***Ammonia-based so make sure your area is well-ventilated.
****If, after your hair has finished air-drying, it is not light enough to your satisfaction, then repeat the whole process over again. If so, I would advise waiting to highlight (Part II) until the next day or the following week to let your hair rest.
PART II
How to Balayage highlights/Ombre
You're going to need (purchased at Sally's Beauty):
(Scroll below if you want to use a box highlighting kit instead.)
- Ion Sensitive Scalp 20 volume developer
- 1 packet of L'oreal Quick Blue bleach powder
- plastic dye bowl with a grid on the bottom & volume marks on the side
- pair of gloves
- tint brushes
- 2 packets of Ardell red/gold corrector plus
- a plastic kitchen garbage bag
15. After your hair has completely dried naturally (wait at least an hour to two hours), make yourself another hand-dandy plastic T-shirt (see Part I, #2, above).
16. Put on your gloves. Very important as you will be using your fingers to apply highlights. You can use a tint brush but I've found that using my fingers allows me more control and gets the best results.
17. Mix thoroughly 1:1 (equal parts) one packet of L'oreal Quick Blue bleach powder to 20 volume developer.
18. To your bowl, carefully add 2 packets of Ardell red/gold corrector plus and mix thoroughly.
19. Starting from the back, select one very thin section of hair (top layer only) and apply bleach mixture from mid- or upper shaft with fingers down to the ends, blending in a back and forth motion. Do not blend to your roots. Stop between one to two inches from your scalp.
20. Select another very thin section of hair (top layer only) and repeat Step 19. Do not apply at the same spot; vary from mid to upper shaft and always blend so that it will appear natural. Do not apply all over your top layer, just certain areas. I save the sections framing my face until second-to-last.
21. For the last step, which is an ombre effect, apply the bleach mixture to the last 3-4 inches of ALL your hair so that it's saturated. By this time, the bleached sections will probably be stiff and straw-like.
22. Process for 30 minutes. 45 minutes to an hour if you want it even lighter.
23. Rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear. Use a color-safe, sulfate-free shampoo and deep cleansing purple conditioner.
24. Air dry and do not wash for at least one to two days.
PART I:
How to lighten Asian black hair to brown using box dye*^
 |
| L'Oreal Superior Preference Ash Blonde |
1. Make sure your hair is unwashed and doesn't have any products such as hairspray or mousse.
2. Turn your garbage bag upside down so that the opening is at the bottom. Cut out a hole in the middle of the top and two holes on either side. Voila! You now have a large plastic T-shirt you can wear over your clothes to protect them. I also put large plastic trash bags on the floor of my bathroom for the inevitable spills and drips.
3. Using your hair clips, divide your hair into 4 sections.
4. Put on your gloves.
5. Mix your box color & developer according to the manufacturer's directions.
6. To your bottle, carefully add 3 packets of Ardell red/gold corrector plus and shake thoroughly.
7. Apply and process according to the manufacturer's instructions.
8. Rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear but DO NOT shampoo.
9. Air dry.
10. While waiting to do Part II, watch Jessie James Decker's highlighting video below since you'll be doing the same technique using the same product.
PART II
How to Balayage highlights/Ombre using box dye
 |
| Revlon Frost & Glow Honey Highlighting Kit |
11. After your hair has completely dried naturally (wait at least an hour to two hours), make yourself another hand-dandy plastic T-shirt (see Part I, #2, above).
12. Put on your gloves. Very important as you will be using your fingers to apply highlights. You can use a tint brush but I've found that using my fingers allows me more control and gets the best results.
5. Mix your bleach & developer according to the manufacturer's directions.
6. To your bowl, carefully add 2 packets of Ardell red/gold corrector plus and mix thoroughly.
7. Starting from the back, select one very thin section of hair (top layer only) and apply bleach mixture from mid- or upper shaft with fingers down to the ends, blending in a back and forth motion. Do not blend to your roots. Stop between one to two inches from your scalp.
8. Select another very thin section of hair (top layer only) and repeat Step 19. Do not apply at the same spot; vary from mid to upper shaft and always blend so that it will appear natural. Do not apply all over your top layer, just certain areas. I save the sections framing my face until second-to-last.
9. For the last step, which is an ombre effect, apply the bleach mixture to the last 3-4 inches of ALL your hair so that it's saturated. By this time, the bleached sections will probably be stiff and straw-like.
10. Process according to the manufacturer's instructions.
11. Rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear. Use a color-safe, sulfate-free shampoo and deep cleansing purple conditioner.
12. Air dry and do not wash for at least one to two days.
