Best Pink Hair Dye & Tips for DIY’ing Your Color | Glamour

When I moved to New York in 2014, the Tumblr “soft grunge” era was in full force. All the girls I wanted to be friends with had pink hair and wore American Apparel tennis skirts, so you can imagine the very first thing I did. I went to the drugstore and bought a bottle of Manic Panic. Like those friendships, the color faded out quickly, but the allure of pink hair (and tennis skirts, TBH) never left me.

Since then I’ve dyed my hair pink a few more times—and done the same for my friends and my little sister—huddled over bathtubs or bathroom sinks. And while I’ve always loved the results, there’s always been something a little off about it. It’s been patchy, faded quickly, or just looked kind of amateur. Not that I expect Technicolor hair to be perfect—that’s part of what makes it so cool—but there was definitely room for improvement.

My most recent attempt was last summer, and the results were enough of a surprise to make me swear off rainbow colors for a while. Instead of a dye, I used a tinted conditioner, which I expected would give me a pretty wash of color like old Kate Moss photos. Instead I somehow got a blinding magenta. It stayed in my hair for almost a month, which is considered a success, but it was a shock to me at first since I didn’t exactly love the color. (What it finally faded into, on the other hand, was perfect.)

My pink hair in college

Bella Cacciatore

Last summer’s pink-hair drama

Bella Cacciatore 

After that I promised myself I would leave my color to the pros, but ever since lockdown started, I’ve been itching to get my hands on a jar of Manic Panic again. And I’m not alone. Boxed dye has been flying off the shelf at record speed, celebrities like Hilary Duff and Dua Lipa are playing with cotton-candy colors, and hairstylist Riawna Capri started the hashtag #quarantint to encourage followers to share their quarantine color change of choice.

If, like me, you’ve been considering going pink, there’s no better time than the present. Not only is it a great time to experiment in case something goes wrong—no one will see the results except you and maybe your cat—but you’ll actually want the color faded out by the time your salon reopens. Plus, it’s a fun way to distract from your roots without trying to touch them up, which has a larger margin for error if you DIY.

Before I pull the trigger on yet another bottle of pastel hair dye (I might break tradition and go with a peachy orange), I decided to reach out to the pros for the basics. Read on for everything you need to know before dyeing your hair pink (or a similar pastel shade).

1. Take your base color into consideration.

The good news is it’s easier to DIY fun colors, especially pastels, than it is for any other at-home dye job. That said, pastels like baby pink and lavender aren’t for everyone. “If you have a light blond tone, pastels are a perfect way to keep your hair light and add in color. If your hair is more of a honey blond or darker, I’d recommend steering away from pastels, since the color won’t show up as well,” says Aura Friedman, master colorist at Sally Hershberger salon. “Instead, look for jewel tones, which will really pop, especially if your hair is highlighted. For dark hair, I would recommend rich winter colors. It won’t necessarily dye your hair completely but instead will give you a glow if you are in bright lights or natural sunlight.”