How to Do Tiger Eye Hair

Getting Ready to Dye

Purchase your hair dye. Take a trip to your local drug store or beauty supply store. Depending on the look you’re going for, you may want to keep it simple and just choose one color, or you may want to buy four. It’s totally up to you! You can buy a blonde highlighting kit that will lighten pieces of your brown hair, auburn dye, gorgeous golden hues, soft brown dyes – whichever dye you think will look good in your hair. The darker your hair is, the less of an effect you’ll notice. You’ll need products containing bleach to lighten up brown hair. If you don’t want to lighten but just create different shades, you can purchase a regular hair dye without bleach.

Brush up on your balayage knowledge. You will be creating your tiger eye hair through the balayage technique. Balayage is a very natural way to color hair, where the dye is gently painted throughout the hair for a natural, softer effect. The tips of the hair are saturated, but the rest of the hair is very delicately painted to avoid any harsh highlights. It is done freehand and there is no foil involved. The balayage technique is perfect to create tiger eye hair, because you can create a soft mixture of the colors you’ve chosen. You can gently paint a variety of dyes into your hair so that everything blends very naturally.

Prep your workstation. This process can get a bit messy, so it’s important to prepare the area you’ll be using. Put a few paper towels on the bathroom counter under the dyes to prevent them from getting on the counter. Make sure to put on an old t-shirt so that you don’t stain your nice clothes. Finally, grab a pair of gloves – these usually come in the boxed dyes. Prep all your dyes according to each box directions. Have every color ready to go before you start.

Preparing Your Dye and Hair

Mix your dyes according to the package instructions. After you’ve chosen your assorted colors, you’ll need to prep them all according to the instructions for each product. Because you’ll be using multiple colors, it may be helpful to label each mixing bowl with the name of the dye, like “caramel” or “auburn,” so that you don’t mix up the colors while you’re in the middle of the process.

Do a few test strands. Before you start painting strands all over your head, it’s important to make sure your hair reacts to the dye how you want it to. Grab a few small strands from your bottom layer of hair, where it is easily concealed. Then, do a little “test strand” for each dye you want to use. Let that process as the instructions indicate, and then rinse and dry the strands. This will allow you to see how the color will develop before you start applying it all over your hair. You can also determine if you need to leave dye on longer, you can practice applying the dye, and so on. A test run is always a good idea.

Section off your hair. Balayage is a very organic, freehanded way to apply the dye, but it’s important that you spread it throughout your hair. By applying the dye section by section, you can ensure that there is a bit of color everywhere. The amount of sections you’ll need to create depend on how thick your hair is. One bottom layer below your ears, one layer at your temples, and one top layer is usually a satisfactory method. You can purchase cheap plastic hair clips at your local pharmacy, and these are perfect for creating the sections.

Applying the Dye

Apply dye to small strands. Pick up one thin strand of hair at a time. You don’t want to dye large strands of hair – balayage is all about subtle hints of color throughout your hair, rather than chunky highlights. You can apply the dye with a coloring brush, but using your fingertips may be the easiest method. Make sure you clean your finger tips when you switch between different dyes.

Begin applying the dye at the bottom of your hair. The key to successful tiger eye balayage is to only apply it to the bottom half of your hair, not up towards the top. Pick up a bit of dye in your fingers, and then rub it onto the hair. The very tip of hair should be saturated with dye, and apply it lighter as you move up the strand. To ensure you don’t have an unsightly stark line where the dye ends, make sure to gently and lightly pull dye up slightly to create a blurred border.

Switch between dyes as you work through the layers. The unique thing about tiger eye balayage is the warm, dimensional mix of different hues. Make sure you alternate between your browns, reds, and golds as you paint strands throughout your layers. You don’t need to worry about following any sort of exact pattern or science – just make sure you put a little bit of every dye in every layer.

Rinse and dry your hair. After your dyes have set for the instructed amount of time, rinse the strands out fully with your favorite shampoo. Sometimes, lightening brown hair can result in orangey hues. If this occurs, you can fix or soften it by using a toner or purple shampoo.