DIY Ombre Hair Color Extensions Dip Dye Tutorial - Part 1

Hi guys and girls, I hope you all had a terrific 4th of July!

Today, I thought I would show you, how you can make your own Ombre, also known as a Dip-Dye, hair clip extensions at home.  Ombre hair is hot and it's everywhere in one form or another.

Clip-on extensions are  most particularly wonderful for the people who worry endlessly about damaging their hair with chemicals but still want to experiment with their looks - Which is practically everyone in the whole world.

I'm going to do this in 2 parts because the steps are far too many to do it all in a single blog. In addition, I'm going to see if I can Youtube it to make it easier on poeple (I just tried and I look like a complete hag on Youtube - yuck), so check back to see if I had uploaded a video.

Let's start, shall we! :-)

I'm wearing the Ombre, Dip Dye Clip-Ons that I made in this tutorial. :)



                                                                                                          


Part 1: Buying the hair, Cutting them up, and Dying/Ombre'ing it.  (If you already have hair clips extensions at home, then you can just use that)

Part 2: DIY: Making the Ombre Hair Clip Extensions

 Due to the flash or no flash, the color of the hair pieces, in almost every photo, do not show properly.  The hair is quite warm/copper/honey/strawberry blonde in real life and not at all mousy- like that you see in this photo.

 ~ PART 1~

What you will need:

One Pack of 100% Human Hair 

1 oz Dark Hair Dye(same or similar shade to your root color)

1 oz 20% Volume Peroxide 

Hair Coloring Brush

Peroxide Measuring Cup/Bottle

A Mixing Bowl

Gloves

Big Trash Bag to cover the floor with

Timer

And if you're messy = some Saran wrap, plastic or foils

Comb

shampoo

Conditioner
Scissors 

When buying the hair, order it in the shade that you want your ombre to be and  make sure that they are 100% human hair and not some POS fake that cost about $10.  I must warn you that a lot of these companies will lie straight to your face and  blatantly say it's real when it's NOT.  You know you've been majorly screwed if your hair melts when you try to curling iron it or if your color/dye won't absorb...If it's too good to be true, it's not true!

 If your hair is at least decent, then it will cost you at the bare minium $55+ depending on the length, no ifs or buts.  

 

Furthermore, make sure to order the hair in your own natural texture and not the texture that you wish you had.  Example, if you have pin-straight hair and wear it curly every single day, then you will still need to order a straight 100% human hair.  I know some of you're thinking..."but I straighten it everyday..I dont see the point of, bleh bleh..".... 

Well, what do you think will happen if you get caught out in the rain or if it gets really humid out? Your natural hair will frizz, curl or straighten...while your clip-ons remain the same.... this screams to everyone that, "I'm wearing FAKE" real loud, doesnt it?  So don't do it! :-)

The hair that you buy from the store will look all shiny, soft and slippery but that thing  is coated to high heavens with plastic. Consequently, it's going to be a real pain in the ass to color, and this is why we're using a 20% vol peroxide today instead of 10.   They will also take a lot longer to process and usually will not absorbs as much pigments as it would've your own natural hair.  Keep that in mind. 

What lengths to order:

 When you're picking out your hair, you will see that they come in all sorts of different lengths and density(weight).  I suggest that you get it a tad longer than what you think you want, because its human nature to want more... same goes for boob jobs (so I hear... hah - this is so off topic..).  *cough*

My hair is pretty long - not talking Kim Kardashian long here,  but mine is about 14inch.  If you want Kim's length then I'd suggest that you get em at 20~24inches, and at least 26" if you want it curly AND super long. 

Preparing the Hair - Cutting 

When you unpack the hair, it will come in 1 endless piece, and you will need to cut them .  We're gonna be making 6 clip-ons.  However, some people use more, especially if you want them thicker or  more striking and noticeable.  It is mostly up to you.  With 1 bundle you can make around 8 clip-ons so you decide how many you will make. :)

1) Measure the size of your hairline on your nape area.  It should be around 2~3 inches, if its 3 inches then you're going to cut 3 pieces that are 6 inches wide because we're going to fold over once to sew.   Measure your nape and make sure that it will fit and not stick out from the sides.  One piece will be used on your nape, little below the bottoms of your ears, and the other 2 small clip-ons will be used on your temple/side area.  

2)  You will then need to cut 3 more pieces that are twice as wide as the nape piece (as shown on the photo).  These will be used for your back.  (cut 1~2 more,  if you want the blonde to be more noticeable)

For clarity:  If your smallest pieces were cut 6 inches wide, then your big pieces should be cut 12 inches wide.  

 You should now have a total of 6 pieces in 2 different sizes.  Make sure that you fold them over once to measure it against your scalp.  

 What Hair Dye to Buy

You can buy ANY hair color to Ombre - green, orange, pink, purple, zebra, etc - but they must be permanent hair color. 

 The guide lines that  I'm going to list below are for the people who're looking for normal ombre hair in the color ranges that God gave them (yea, streaky California highlights were God given, I dont want to discuss it!).  

In my pic, I used a #27/30 mix Human Hair in 14".  If you buy shades that are mixed  like mine - 27&30, they tend to look more natural

 If you bought a   # 30  (this is quite warm) - then buy a Medium Chestnut Brown and mix it with some of Medium Brown , or you can use something like this to ombre.

 You could also use the Medium Brown straight on #30 extensions (that is the shade that I used on my pieces personally) but sometimes these are more of a headache to use on lighter hair because if you make the smallest mistake, it will leave a green cast on blondest pieces, so yes, you can use it but be cautious or just do not use this if your piece is very blonde...

If you bought the Light Blonde (#27), then you must stay away from any shades that says N, A, Beige, V.  It will turn your clip-ons too ashy = green/greyish/mousy =  yucky.  Ashy blondes are tough to carry off on most people..

N, stands for Neutral

A,  Ash

 B, Beige

V Violet 

If any of these words are used on your tube of color then don't buy them.  Reach for shades like Light Golden Brown/ 6G , Dark HONEY Blonde, Light Honey Brown, Med Chestnut Brown, etc.  You're gonna buy whatever is warm but about 4~5 ranges darker than the color of your hair and being mindful of the fact that the color will never be as dark as it says on the box because they never do on extension hair.

FINALLY Let's Color

1. Organize your work area, cover the floor with the trash bag.

2.  Put on gloves.

3. Mix 1 oz hair dye with 1 oz 20% Volume Peroxide, or if you bought the coloring kit/box, mix what's in it.

What we're going to do is dye the root area of the hair extensions one by one as if we're putting icing on a cake, layer by layer.  If you're messy (dripping dye all over the place) then cover the ends/tips of the hair with plastic/foil/saran wrap. 

Step 1.

 We're going to dye the first 4 inches and leave it on for a good 1 hr and 10mins.

Step 2.

 After an hr and 10mins,  comb the color down the hair shaft for another 2 inchs for additional 20mins so that the lightening effect is gradual.   You can add a bit of water to the dye to emulsify and to make it easier for you to push the dye down..

 Step 3. 

Wash out the dye - making sure that the COLOR DO NOT RUN INTO THE HAIR THAT WAS NOT COLORED.  We're trying to protect the lightest part of the extensions , flip the hair so that the water runs down, ---  AWAY from the uncolored hair.  

Step 4.

Give it a light shampoo and rinse thoroughly (of course use Conditioner as well).  The dye can get stuck in the threading, so do rinse well and make sure that you're being careful not to tangle the hair needlessly.  

Step 5.

Lay flat to dry or dry with a Blow Dryer .

If you bought the extensions with the clips already installed then you're done.  Dry and use it as you normally would.  

Hair extensions  I recommend:

For Blondes :
22" COLOR 613 (light blonde)
22" Another great shade for blondes
18" great for warm blondes, Red Heads

If you have very Dark Hair: (I couldnt find my brand/length/color- but it's Milkyway Pure Yaky 14" 27/30 if you want to check your local beauty supply)

18" #27/30 - this is the color of my own clips except by a different brand
 18" Slightly darker than my own clips but it's another 27/30
  14" 27/30 my color and in my hair length which is 14"  
22" great for dark hair if you want lots of contrast
18" Warm Caremel shade, great for dark hair

 ****  20 Inch - I wish I had bought this instead but they didnt sell it at the store.  I really love the color  ****

Fun Colors -

 18 Inch Blue Hair!
18 Inch Bright Pink Hair!

Just have a lot of fun!  :-)

Final Results:   Ombre Weaves are all dry and ready for part 2(clip-ons.).  The Ends are lighter than the roots.. 

 (I  need to do my nails, I mean seriously... )

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Thanks for reading! Take care!!

xo, Tina

Click Here for DIY Ombre Hair Color Extensions Dip Dye Tutoria Part 2