How much does it cost to dye your hair?

By the time you are done reading this article, you will know the factors determining the cost of dyeing your hair and what it means to dye your hair. You will also know if it is advisable to dye your hair yourself or if it is better to pay a professional stylist/colorist to dye your hair.

How much does it cost to dye your hair?

Hair Dye Item

Cost Range
Bold color dye with Bleach (full head, medium hair)	$ 300-$500
Bold color with no Bleach (full head, medium hair)	$ 150-$300
Simple Highlights on medium hair or long hair (partial)	$ 150-$175
Ombre, Balayage or Babylights on medium or long hair	$ 255-$300
Simple Highlights on medium hair or long hair (full)	$150-$250
Bleach	$80-$120
Hair coloring (no technique)	$50-$150
Additional color for maintenance	$ 30-$80

Hair dyeing or hair coloring comes with a fee. Even if you want to dye your hair by yourself, you still need to purchase the dye kit you will be using at home and some equipment to get the desired result.

However, dyeing of hair will range from 50 dollars to 1000 dollars depending on the following factors:

• Location
• The length and thickness of your hair
• The type of coloring you want to do
• Condition of your hair
• Previous chemical treatments
• Your natural hair color
• The techniques used.

Location

A salon’s location can be either in a rural or urban area. An urban area is more civilized, well developed, and populated compared to rural areas. So, if you go and dye your hair in a rural area, it will be way cheaper than the cost of dying in an urban area.

Regardless of how more civilized an urban area is, places in an urban area are classified as “poor zone” while some are classified as “rich zone.”

If you go to a location inhabited by wealthy people, you will pay more for hair dyeing. If the reverse is the case, you will pay less.

Imagine you go to a salon well frequented by celebrities in either the music, movie, sport, or political world; the cost of dying at that place will be very expensive. The salon will certainly charge for fame and because of the caliber of people that patronize them. Also, note that because their service is expensive, they would most likely use expensive hair care products.

So location indeed plays a big role in determining the cost of dye.

The Techniques Used

The cost of hair dyeing will also vary depending on the technique used. The cost for partial highlights is different from that of full-head highlights. The former will be cheaper.

What are some of the various hair dyeing techniques?

Balayage Technique

This is a French word. It means hair painting. In this hair coloring technique, color is applied to your hair by hand rather than by foil. This technique creates a graduated effect of darker to lighter strands. This technique is more expensive than traditional highlights. Not all colorists are skilled in this technique.

Root Touch Up Technique

In this technique, your colorist/stylist applies dye to the roots to blend your natural hair with colored hair. In essence, your colorist uses the natural shade of your root to color the rest of your hair.  You can color your roots to blend or contrast nicely with your ombre or blue color.

Single Process Technique

In this single process technique, your colorist applies color only at the roots or all over, from roots to ends, to ensure the roots blend with the rest of the hair. This technique can also be more than one-dimensional. Your colorist can mix a few shades to create added dimension and depth in color.

This technique is time-saving and affordable because less color is used compared to an all-over process.

Double Process Technique

The Double Process Technique is a two-step technique. This technique is achieved by lightening the hair all over (or in sections) before applying the primary color to the lightened hair. This technique gives you a lighter shade than your current hair color. If your dye is lighter than your current shade, you will need a double-process color. This technique is time-consuming and more expensive compared to the single process.

Tip color Technique

In this technique, color is applied at the tip/ ends of your hair to create contrast between the rest of your hair and the dyed tips. This will be inexpensive compared to the full application of dye on the hair.

Hair condition

This is another factor that will determine the cost of dyeing your hair. You are likely to be charged more by your stylist if the current condition of your hair requires more product and takes more time to dye.

For instance, if your hair is damaged due to cheap,  counterfeit, outdated dye or hair care products, there would be a need for treatment or color correction. Your hair has to be lightened before dyeing to make your hair come out good. The extra money is for the use of extra time and additional products.

Previous chemical treatment

If the previous treatment you used causes hair damage, the stylist will require you to buy some hair care products first for treatment.

The length and thickness of your hair

Thick hair, which is like coarse hair with a large diameter, would consume more dye, especially when it has to be applied evenly to the entire hair. In essence, the more dye you use, the more time-consuming it would be. Your colorist will have to charge you more on this basis.

On the other hand, fine hair, which is small in diameter and absorbs color quickly, would save time, and this would not be as expensive as thick hair.

Dark natural hair color will require more dye to get the desired result, while light-colored hair will require a lesser amount of dye than the former.

Also, long hair is more time-consuming compared to short hair. Long hair requires more dye, especially if you are dyeing the entire hair, while short hair requires less dye. Hence, it will cost more to dye long hair.

The type of coloring you want to do

If you want different tones on your hair, or several colors and shades, this will require more time, and therefore, it will cost more. You will be charged per color.

In essence, the type of dye,  the number of dye colors, high lights, low lights, Balayage, full balayage, whole head coloring, double process, single process, and so on will determine the cost of dyeing your hair. Highlights are cheaper compared to full head coverage.

Expertise

Some stylists are exceptionally skilled. You need someone who is well trained in hair dying to dye your hair. These are people who are trained in mixing and applying hair dye. It costs more for an experienced stylist to dye your hair. You are paying for expertise.

Color of dye.

The cost of dye will also determine the cost of hair dyeing. High-quality dye colors are more expensive than normal dye colors.

 What is the average cost to get your hair dyed at the salon?

How does hair coloring work?

Hair coloring is the act of applying dye to your hair to change the natural color of your hair. You can dye your hair with a permanent or non-permanent dye.

Non-permanent dyes wear off after some time, especially after constant hair wash and exposure to sunlight. Permanent dyes, on the other hand, can’t be washed out. They don’t wear off, except you did not use the original. It penetrates each hair cuticle into the hair cortex, bonding firmly and permanently altering the natural color.

What are the various types of dye?

• Temporary hair dye
• Semi-permanent hair dye
• Demi-permanent hair dye
• Permanent hair dye.

Temporary Hair Dye

• This is a short-term dye.
• This wears off after the first to sixth wash.
• This should not be used on porous or damaged hair.
• It doesn’t penetrate the hair but covers it

Semi-Permanent Hair Dye

• This wears off after the eighth to tenth wash.
• This is more tender than semi-permanent and permanent.
• This doesn’t contain ammonia.
• It can be used to cover grays and do root touch-ups
• It doesn’t penetrate the hair but covers it

Demi-Permanent Hair Dye

• This wears off after the twentieth to twenty-fourth wash.
• This dye doesn’t contain ammonia.
• It is mixed with a little developer (peroxide). The developer allows the color to penetrate the hair cuticle and to last longer.

Permanent Hair Dye

• This wears off after the sixth to eighth weeks.
• It will technically stay on your hair until it’s cut off.
• To keep it shiny and vibrant, do regular touch-ups.
• This dye contains ammonia. It is mixed with a developer to allow the color to penetrate the hair cuticle for long-lasting color.
• This offers the highest level of gray coverage.

 How long does it take to dye your hair at the salon?

The time it will take to dye your hair at a salon will vary depending on the factors mentioned earlier.

The dyeing process can tape up to 1 hour to three hours. Single process dyeing or tip dyeing, or if you want to dye your hair in a color that would easily cover your original shade, would not take more than an hour.

Dyeing your hair in complex shades will require you to stay longer than one hour in the salon.

If you want to bleach your hair and change your hair color completely, you may stay longer than three hours at the salon. Bleaching takes time, and your hair will need to be washed several times. Balayage will also take up to 3 hours of your time.

FAQ

Can you dye your hair yourself?

Yes, you certainly can change the color of your hair yourself.  This would even save you loads of money and save you from the stress of going to a salon.

You can buy the dye kit package from over the counter. Ensure you buy sufficient dye for your hair so you are not stranded when you start applying. Also, ensure you follow the manufacturer’s directions when applying. Before applying the product to your whole hair, you can place a small portion of the dye on your skin, maybe close to your ear(patch test). If after 24 hours there is redness or swelling or you don’t react to it, you can then go-ahead to use it.

However, note that you can’t compare a “do it yourself” hair dye to that done at a salon. The former is better than the latter. Doing it yourself may leave you with damage, especially if you don’t get it right.

Also, note that you are not to lighten your hair or use multiple colors, so you will not have a messy hair appearance.