Blonde From A Box: How To Highlight Your Hair At Home

As someone who has been highlighting their hair for as long as I can remember, seeing my roots for such an extended period of time due to quarantine was not making me feel put-together. While the idea of working from home in athleisure has its perks, watching my blonde fade was starting to get the best of me. I have always been blonde, but as I’ve gotten older my natural hair has gotten darker.

Unlike my sister, Ellen, who has experimented with so many different colors (and learned it can cause more damage than you realize), I’ve always left my hair to the professionals. I’ve had standard highlight appointments for as long as I can remember, and I always do my research to make sure I can find the best colorist!

That being said, I finally gave in. I colored my hair from a box.

HOW I CHOSE THE BLONDE BOX DYE

If you’ve never tried to buy a box of hair dye, let me tell you, it’s overwhelming. There are so many different types, colors, and brands – I had no clue how to choose! I called my sister, since she has been coloring her hair from a box for years, but we learned there’s a big difference between coloring your hair blonde vs. brunette.

Semi-Permanent vs Permanent

Unlike brunettes who can use a semi-permanent dye for a 28-day wash (read more here), blondes need a permanent color. Semi-permanent dyes are used to darken your hair with a temporary color, so unless you’re looking for a darker shade of blonde, this won’t work for you.

Permanent color is better for blondes, because it’s used to lighten your hair.

My colorists have always told me to NEVER color my hair from a box, but I was desperate. Plus I figured since I wasn’t going to see anyone for a while, I figured I’d give it a shot!

L’Oreal Feria

I narrowed the boxes down to L’Oreal Feria “Very Light Natural Blonde”, Garnier Nutrisse “Extra Light Natural Blonde”, and L’Oreal Excellence Creme “Lightest Natural Blonde”. Since two of the dyes were by L’Oreal, I figured they were a similar formula and chose Feria, because the box looked more modern – very professional way of choosing.

THE PROCESS

My mom stopped by around the same time I returned from the store, and she volunteered to help me color my hair – moms are the best! The process itself was surprisingly easy, and we followed the instructions (option B to focus on roots), applied it to my hair, and kept our fingers crossed while we waited.

Considering how long my highlight appointments take, it was exciting to see how quickly my hair brightened up!

THE RESULT: B++

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome! While it wasn’t salon-standard perfect, my roots blended naturally with my hair, and I was blonde again!

The only negative I had with the product was the under layers of my hair, which you can see below. The color does look a bit brassy and you can see the difference between my highlighted hair and my dyed roots, but I’m started to rinse with my favorite Clairol purple shampoo (the best for toning down brass) and it looks great! Purple shampoo is necessary for this project.

BEFORE

AFTER

The roots on the top of my head were my biggest concern, and since they now blend, I’m very satisfied with the results! Overall, I’d rate it a B++

While I don’t see myself coloring my hair like this routinely (I love my colorist!), I recommend this product to any blonde looking for a quarantine activity!