DIY Reverse Ombre blonde to black

So about six months ago I had bought some hair extensions from Mini house 8888. They were the taping of time and the main reason why I got them was because I don't don my own hair. I thought that trying out a new trend but using extensions instead of my own hair would be a great way.

They lasted me anywhere between 2 to 3 months and they really weren't high maintenance compared to other hair extensions I have used. So I made a tutorial, then gave a review on them. Decided that I love them but I would like to be able to take them in and out whenever the mood strikes me to have different hair. 

So I ordered a 26 inch, straight, Remi clip and set in the lightest blonde that they had. I understand that my hair is not blonde. But this was for the sake of dying it. It's real human hair, quality stuff, doesn't fit out at the ends, and matches the thickness of my hair.


Just some quick background information. I actually do happen to know quite a bit about hair because I got my cosmetology license when I was in high school. This was just a back up plan and a way to make money during the summers and when I was away in college. That was a really long time ago I haven't done hair professionally in at least a decade. However I do remember fundamental things that I learned in vocational school. 

So how to figure out how to get the perfect ombre? Just like any other hair dying technique this requires simple math. 

There are 10 levels of hair color. The blackest hair would be a level one the lightest blonde would be a level 10. The blond that I bought from www.Minihouse8888.com was a level 8. 

My hair is a level 1 and I am trying to make it look as natural as possible fading into a level 8. So the middle part of the ombre would have to be the half way point  of 1 and 8.
 8÷2 = 4. 

For example if you were a level threehair color,  which is a medium to dark brown and the extensions are a level eight then we would need to subtract 8-3 = 5. What you were looking for for a natural and successful gradient is to find the halfway point and blend it out.

I am looking for a level 4 hair color to bring it all together (warm, cool, neutral tone is a preference).


Since the entire extension from root to tip is already a level 8 I do not need to buy level 8 hair color.

I do need to buy level 1 and level 4 hair colors. Level 1 as I said is black which is my natural hair color so that the extensions seem to look like they are part of my head and so that it can gradually fade into the level 4 for the gradient effect. 

The level 4 hair color is a light to medium brown. That can be a warm Caramel Brown, a cool Ash Brown, or a neutral understated brown. That's based on your preference. I chose a neutral medium brown.
I didn't use anything fancy. The only things I may have used that were not bought at CVS were the medical gloves and my hair color brush.

For this look I am using to Revlon color silk boxed hair dye. I chose black and if you look in the right-hand corner it says 10. I also chose Revlon color silk medium brown and if you look in the right-hand corner of that it says 41.

What you'll need for this:
 
Latex gloves that do not come in the box dye 

brush or comb

Hair color brush

A towel

Your favorite conditioner

A sink or bathtub

Plastic wrap or aluminum foil to protect your work surface

Scotch tape to tape down the plastic wrap or a aluminum foil



1. Tape down your plastic wrap or aluminum foil on your work surface. Make sure to have good coverage so you don't stain your counter or floor or table.

2. Brush out the extensions and lay them out side-by-side. Making sure that all tangles are gone and that it's laying perfectly flat.

3. Follow the directions for whichever box dye  you chose and mix up your color.

4. Starting with the middle color, which for me would be the medium brown, I put it directly in the middle of where I thought the ombre should start and brushed out the gradient using sweeping motions of up and down instead of left to right. I don't want it to be a perfect line I want there to be a gradient so I use a technique where it is being feathered in to the bottom half of the blonde so that may be the coverage on the lower half of the brown is not so perfect. You don't want it to be perfect or there will be a line  of demarcation. You want to blended in softly so the color should be more concentrated in the middle and you start pulling it down feathering it towards the bottom of the blonde so that the border of the brown is hazy.

5. After you have made sure that there is enough brown or whatever color you chose for you and that it's concentrated mostly in the middle and fades slightly by using a lighter hand towards the bottom. You move onto the next color. So now the top half, where the clips are of the hair extensions should still be blonde. That's good because that's where the darkest haircolor will be and it will process the fastest. 

6. I now will take the darkest color, which for me is black, and concentrated mostly by the top of the extensions where the clips are an blend downwards into the brown hair dye if you need to add more that's fine but make sure that it's concentrated mostly on the top. There should be an overlap of the black and brown dye. That's really good because that's what the gradient effect is. There should be overlap between the dyes you're doing it right. With the darker colors you can be a little more heavy-handed with them coming together because they are having to process over each other.

7. Because this is such a light blond hair and should process between 20 to 25 minutes. You will then want to rent out in the sink with cold water. You can also do this in your top but whichever is more comfortable for you. Don't forget to have a towel right there handy. 

8.Once the water rinses clear add conditioner leave it in for a few minutes and then rinse again.

9. Blot your extensions with a towel. Do not rub them dry. You should not even rub your own hair dry. That leads to permanent frizz. Let them dry overnight don't use a blow dryer.

10. The next morning they should be dry. You can then flat iron them or style them however you would like. Remember you do not want to wash extensions as much as you wash your own hair. You don't want to constantly expose them to heat if you don't have to.





Here they are the next morning dry, about to be put in and flat ironed. You see how the black and brown melt into each other and then the brown and blonde melt into each other? That is what you were going for. A natural looking gradient without lines of demarcation.





I love the way they turned out because it looks so natural but I can even add fun colors to the blonde with hair chalk if I felt like it. Which easily washes out and is good for just the day or night or whatever location I'm using it for. I did love my purple hair but I had that in every day. That was not chalk! and it was a little harder to get dressed or put on makeup bc I was conscious of making it not clash.

I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions or comments I'm always happy to answer back. Maybe you even have suggestions for me or your own experience with ombre!