How to Dye a Weave

Getting Ready to Dye Hair

Wash your hair with shampoo to remove any product residue. Before you start, make sure your extensions are clean and free of product buildup. Gently wash them with shampoo and lukewarm water, then use a towel to dry off the excess water. Leave the hair slightly damp before you dye it. This will cause the hair cuticle to open, speeding up the dyeing process. If the hair is brand new, you don’t need to wash it. Just spray it with some clean water to dampen the strands.

Measure out where you want the dye to start. If you want to leave a section of roots, measure out about 1.5 to 2.5 inches (3.8 to 6.4 cm) of hair at the top of the extensions. Use a ruler as a reference while dyeing to keep the line fairly consistent. For an ombre effect, where the hair color gradually lightens partway down the head, measure out where you want the hair to start getting lighter.

Consider the color of your weave before you choose a dye color. Think about whether or not you’ll need to bleach hair first or multiple times in order to achieve the color you want. If you want to dye your weave a bright color like blue or pink, you’ll need to bleach it first. This will help the colors show up and have more brilliance. If you want to dye your hair darker, such as a jet black color, you won’t need a pre-bleaching step.

Put on latex gloves and open a window before you start dyeing. The products used to dye and bleach hair can be extremely harsh, so make sure to take some safety precautions before you get started. Wearing a pair of latex or rubber gloves will protect your hands from being dyed or bleached. Opening up some windows in the room will help ventilate the strong fumes. If the room you’re in doesn’t have proper ventilation, you should wear a mask over your mouth and nose to keep from inhaling the fumes. While dyeing, you should also wear some old clothes that you don’t care about, such as an old T-shirt and sweatpants, in case the products get on them.

Lay the extensions out on a sheet of hairdressing foil. Spread the damp strands out slightly so none of the hair is bunched up. If your wefts come packed in spirals, loosen the spiral and spread the hair out to make it easier to dye. Use a sheet that’s large enough to leave some extra foil on the sides, which you’ll use to wrap around the hair later. You can find hairdressing foil at a beauty supply store.

Use bundles of virgin hair for the best dye results. Synthetic hair doesn’t react to hair dye chemicals well, so make sure to invest in real hair that hasn’t been dyed or chemically treated. Quality human hair extensions generally come in a natural brown (1B) color, so dyeing it is the perfect way to customize your high-quality hair. It can be more expensive, with prices ranging from $80-$500, but natural hair will look more natural, last much longer, and be easier to style.

Dyeing a Weave Darker

Mix the hair color and developer according to the box instructions. Use a plastic mixing bowl and the applicator brush to stir the 2 ingredients together. Follow the directions on the back of the box when you measure out the dye and developer in order to get the best results.

Use the applicator brush to saturate the hair with dye. Paint the dye onto the hair, starting at the top and working your way down. Apply the mixture liberally to fully saturate the hair. Move the brush up and down and side to side to coat each strand fully.

Cover the hair with plastic wrap, then let it develop. The sheet of plastic wrap layer will help keep the dye from drying out while it develops. Generally, dark dye takes about 25 minutes to develop, but make sure to follow the instructions on the back of the box. While the color processes, check on the hair every 5 minutes or so, until it reaches the shade you want.

Rinse away the hair dye thoroughly with warm water. In a sink or bathtub, rinse the dye out of the extensions. Run your fingers through the hair and massage the excess color out. Keep rinsing water through the hair until it runs clean.

Lightly towel-dry and lay the weave on an old towel to air-dry. The hair may still contain a bit of excess color, so make sure to use an old towel. Gently squeeze out the excess water, leaving the strands lightly damp. Lay the extensions out to fully air-dry. Once the hair is completely dry, it’s ready to be worn!

Bleaching Hair Lighter

Mix 2 scoops of bleach powder with 2 scoops of developer in a bowl. Use the plastic scoop that comes with the bleach powder to measure out each ingredient. Mix the bleach and cream developer in a plastic bowl with a brush applicator until they’re completely combined. The cream developer will activate the bleach. Adjust the amounts depending on how much hair you want to dye, keeping a 1:1 ratio of bleach powder and developer. Check the directions on the bleach powder for the required strength of cream developer. Generally, you’ll be using 20V or 30V strength, which will bleach your hair quickly without being too harsh. You can also use a 40V cream developer if you need to speed up the bleaching process. However, be careful with this strength—because 40V is much harsher, it could damage your hair cuticle.

Use an applicator brush to saturate your hair with the bleach mixture. Load up the brush with the bleach mixture and paint it onto the extensions. Hold down the top of the extension with one hand and apply the bleach with the other. Move the brush up, down, and side to side to fully coat each strand.

Wrap the foil around the hair and let it sit for 15 minutes. Fold in the sides of the foil and cover the top with a second sheet if you need to. The foil will let the bleach soak as thoroughly and intensely as possible. Check the hair color progress every 5 minutes to see how it’s coming along.

Wash out the bleach and towel-dry your extensions. Once your hair reaches the desired color, you can take it out of the foil and wash it out with shampoo and warm water. Run your fingers through the hair, making sure to rub and rinse out any chemical residue. Towel-dry the hair lightly. At this point, the hair will probably look a little brassy. If that’s the look you’re going for, you’re all done with bleaching. Lay out the hair on an old towel and let it fully air-dry before wearing it.

Rinse and repeat the process for 40 minutes if you want a lighter shade. If the first round of bleaching leaves your hair brassier than you’d like, don’t worry! You can bleach the hair again by repeating the same process. This time, let the hair soak in the bleach mixture for up to 40 minutes, checking the color every 5 minutes. Once the hair reaches the color you like, unwrap the hair and wash out the bleach with some lukewarm water and shampoo. Towel-dry the extensions, then lay them out to air-dry fully before you wear them.

Applying Bright Colors

Bleach the hair before you apply a brightly-colored dye. Use bleach powder and creme developer to bleach the section you’ll be dyeing. Bleaching first will let the color show up in darker hair, creating a blank canvas for the color. Once you've rinsed out the bleach and the hair is lighter, you're ready to start applying the color dye.

Mix the dye and developer in according to the box’s instructions. Pour the color dye and cream developer into a plastic mixing bowl and mix them together with a clean applicator brush. Use the instructions on the box to measure out each product.

Start applying the color dye 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the bleached section. With your applicator brush, start brushing the dye onto the hair. Applying the color a little higher than before will create a more natural gradient, blending together the natural hair color and the bleached hair. Fully saturate the hair with the dye, so every strand is coated.

Cover the hair with plastic wrap and let it process for 30 minutes. The plastic wrap will help seal in the moisture and keep the dye from drying out. Check on the dye’s progress every 5 minutes. Once the hair reaches the color intensity that you want, it’s time to take off the plastic wrap and rinse out your extensions.

Shampoo and rinse out the dye until the water runs clear. This will help seal in the color. Rinse out the dye and shampoo with lukewarm or cool water. Keep running water over the extensions until it runs clean. Don’t use a hydrating shampoo or conditioner during this step—these products close up the hair cuticles and make it harder for the dye to absorb into the hair.

Soak your hair in a deep conditioning treatment for 15 minutes. It’s important to replenish the moisture in your hair after using 2 rounds of harsh chemicals to bleach and dye. Spread a deep conditioning treatment through the damp hair and lay it out on a new sheet of foil to soak.

Rinse out the conditioner and towel-dry the hair. Run cool or lukewarm water through the extensions again to remove all of the deep conditioning product. Brush your fingers through the hair to get rid of all the product residue. Towel-dry the hair with an old towel, then lay it out on a towel to air-dry completely before you wear and style it. Alternatively, you can use a sew-in lace front wig. It lasts for a few months. It is not advisable to keep it on longer than six to eight weeks, ten weeks maximum. Get your hair taken back down, comb through, condition properly, then put it back up.