Home hair colour is better than it’s ever been, but sometimes it just goes royally wrong. Meghan Markle has revealed she suffered a disaster with box dye soon after leaving the UK for California in 2020, managing to turn her glossy brunette hair an unflatteringly dark, goth-like colour.
The Duchess of Sussex talks about her self-inflicted hair mishap on the latest episode of her new podcast, Confessions Of A Female Founder, which features Highbrow Hippie hair brand creator Kadi Lee.
As Meghan explains: ‘So, my family had just moved to California and we were staying in our friend’s home and, because it was the pandemic, I kept ordering boxed hair dye.’
‘I thought, ‘I’m going to look just like she does on the box’, and instead, it was this very inky, almost Elvira-esque black hair.’
Fortunately for Meghan, her wedding hairdresser Serge Normant put her in touch with Kadi, who was able to help out – 'you came over, we were masked, I remember that day so well,' recalls Meghan – and the pair have been close friends ever since.
What causes hair dye to go too dark?
Overly dark hair dye isn’t a good look for anyone (see George’s Clooney’s current, much derided ‘Sharpie-coloured’ dye job for proof), but it’s a common rookie blunder with box dye, according to hairdresser and mdLondon founder Michael Douglas.
‘It’s very easy to make your hair darker with a box dye and that means going too dark can easily happen as well,’ he explains. ‘People often underestimate how dark the final result will look in real life.’ In short: the problem isn’t the dye itself being ‘dodgy’, it’s simply about the wrong choice of shade for you.
Use a virtual try-on to help you see how a colour will actually look on you before you commit.
The issue is compounded when – as Meghan possibly did – permanent dye is applied on top of dye. ‘It’s like painting dark coats of paint on top of a dark wall,’ says Michael. ‘The colour builds up and looks dense and heavy.’ For that reason, if you’re covering up grey regrowth, only apply dye to the roots. Don’t slather the dye on all over previously coloured hair or feel you ‘need’ to use up the whole pack.
To help you get it right (and honestly, it’s not that difficult), read our expert guide to home hair colour here.
What can I do about a box dye that’s gone too dark?
It’s easy to be wise after the event and while this is stating the obvious, prevention is better than cure. Most permanent box dyes use a universal colour-coding system with 1 being darkest and 10 the lightest. Even very dark natural brunette hair hovers at around a shade 3, so shades 1 and 2 will look dramatically dark.
Which can be great if that’s the look you’re going for (and we’ve found the best black hair dyes for you), but do be aware that those extreme, ultra-dark shades look more obviously dyed. To give you some context, picture Davina McCall. She’s what most of us would call a dark brunette, but she’s actually a shade 5, and is even the face on the Garnier Nutrisse box of that colour.
So rule number one is to be conservative if you're using brown hair dye. ‘If you’re wavering between two shades, go with the lighter one,’ says Michael. ‘If it’s too light, you can always use the darker one over the top.’
Too late for that advice? Your next step depends on the type of dye you’ve used. If you’ve used a semi-permanent dye, you’re in luck. It will naturally fade anyway over 20 or so washes, but you can speed that up. ‘If you’ve used a semi-permanent colour then wash it a few times with an anti-dandruff shampoo,’ says Michael. ‘Leave the shampoo in for 5 minutes before rinsing to help remove some of the colour and lighten the hair.’
If you’re dealing with overly-dark permanent colour, that’s a trickier issue. This sort of dye does what it says on the box and won’t wash out. ‘The colour will need to be professionally stripped out,’ says Michael. In some cases, this can be done in a single session, but it depends on your existing colour, your hair condition and where you want to end up.
Our top tip? Be like Meghan – and cultivate a friendship with a great hairdresser!
