DIY Beauty: Colour Conditioner

Many colour conditioners promises the world, but don't really deliver, in my opinion.  Most contain very little colour, and so at best only enhance your colour if you use them frequently.  My previous favourite, Aveda Madder Root, was the only one I'd found that actually made a noticeable difference to my hair - unfortunately it also made a noticeable difference to my wallet!  I've been mixing my own colour conditioners for a fair old while now, and they are a fabulous way of refreshing colour between salon visits, brightening up an easily faded colour, or adding a tint to dark hair.

Read on for simple instructions and tips on making your own.




To make your own colour depositing conditioner, you will need:

• Thick conditioner
• Semi-permanent vegetable based colourant
• Mixing pot
• Tint brush
• Gloves
• Shower cap (optional)

Choosing a Conditioner

You will need something that's fairly thick.  If it's too thin, the resulting mix will drip off your hair, staining all and sundry.  Something that's billed as an intensive conditioner or treatment works well.  If it holds its shape when dolloped into your mixing pot, it's thick enough.  As you'll be leaving it on your hair for fifteen minutes (or more), try to choose something that's suitable for your hair type; if your hair is oily, a super-thick super-moisturising conditioner is going to weigh your hair down unless you wash your hair after use.

Choosing a Colour

There are a fair few semi-permanent vegetable based colours on the market.  Bear in mind that these products work mostly by staining the hair; they don't contain ammonia or hydrogen peroxide, so they can't lift your hair colour.  I've personally used Fudge Paintbox (the colours are significantly less unnatural than other brands) and LaRiche Directions, and found both to be pretty good.  HairCrazy is a good resource for comparing colours.  If you can't find your perfect shade, you can mix colours to create it (within the same brand!).

How To


Put a dollop of conditioner into your mixing pot. 




Add in some of your colour.  I tend to use a ratio of about 1 part colour to 3 parts conditioner; you can use more conditioner if you want a gentle tint, or are being cautious. 




Mix well with your tint brush.  This is LaRiche Directions Poppy Red, which is a pink-toned bright red.  It gives my hair a bit of a ruby glow while keeping my red non-coppery.



Apply the colour conditioner to your hair.  I do this upside down over the bath, on damp hair; you can apply to dry hair, but may need more conditioner to saturate the hair.  Concentrate on the mid lengths and ends first, and work slowly up into your roots.  Too much on your roots will result in a stained scalp, so be careful. 

Tie your hair out of the way (I put mine in a pineapple on top of my head) and rinse your bath/tiles/anything else you've accidentally splattered immediately.

If you want to, you can put a plastic shower cap on, and maybe wrap a towel around your head.  Heat helps the vegetable colour to stain effectively.  An added bonus is that unexpected drips are caught by the towel.

Leave on for fifteen minutes upwards.  Make sure that when you rinse, you massage the scalp well to help remove any staining.  Once dry, you shouldn't get any transfer provided that you've rinsed well enough; I'd still avoid wearing white for a couple of days though!  Your hair may bleed a little colour when you wash it after this treatment though, so be sure to catch drips in a towel so that they don't stain.

The result should be glossy, well conditioned hair with an injection of colour.