The beginner’s guide to Lilac Hair Colour - how to get it at home for under £5

The search for “Lilac Hair” rose over 1000% on Pinterest this year, and Instagram now has more than 200,000 posts with #lilachair hashtag. This pastel hue has set to be the most wanted hair colour of this year, so you better try it before 2019 is up!

Yet, many of those who are searching for it online either don’t know how to get pastel lilac at home or simply scared to damage their hair. That's why we created an Ultimate Beginner Guide to Lilac Hair Colour with answers to the most common questions we find on our email: “how to get lilac hair from brown?”, “is lilac hair hard to maintain?” and many more.

Will lilac hair suit me?

Since so many famous women have rocked the pastel lilac trend, it’s easy to notice that this hue suits any skin tone. Below, find the closest tone to yours, and see how the pastel purple colour works with your complexion.

Where to start with lilac hair?

You need to choose whether you want a permanent, a semi-permanent or temporary hair colour. A Semi-Permanent Lilac Hair Dye is a good option for newbies because it is vibrant, ammonia and PPD-free and lasts for 4-5 washes only.

On the contrary, a Permanent Lilac Dye is a commitment, so you’d probably want to get it if you already tried pastel purple before and you are sure it’s something you like. Also, it’s great for covering grey hair. A temporary colour is like a makeup for your hair that lasts for 1 night only.

How to get pastel purple hair at home?

Pastels look good on a cool/ashy blonde base but don't work when applied on yellow hair, so unless you are already a light cool blonde, you will need to lighten your hair first. Don’t let it stop you from getting the hair your dreams - you can lighten your hair at home too. After all, you can always call your friend or a neighbour and ask for help.

The DIY pastel lilac Pastel Hair is an easy job to do if your hair is very light blonde or bleached. All you need is a semi-permanent lilac Pastel Hair home dye kit that contains a colourant, a pair of gloves, an application brush and a leaflet that will guide you step-by-step.

How to get lilac hair from brown?

You'll have to bleach your hair first and then apply pastel purple hair colour. There’s a really good video on Refinery29 with brunette to purple hair transformation, worth watching and copying.

If you don't want to bleach your hair, try a beautiful Amethyst Purple hair colour instead, it will look gorgeous against brown strands.

Is lilac hair hard to maintain?

You do need an extra effort to maintain lilac pastel hair, but it’s not as hard as you may think. The biggest enemies of pastels are the sulphates, they contain salt that strips the colour. Always opt for sulphate-free hair products and purple or “silver” shampoos to boast violet pigment.

After you’ve coloured your hair, don’t wash it for 1-2 days to let the dye settle. Lower the temperature of your styling tools to 180 degrees to keep the moisture in. This whole routine may take some time, but your freshly coloured lilac pastel hair will thank you for that!

We hope that this Beginner Guide on Lilac pastel Hair has helped you make up your mind, and you’re good to go and give it a try! Got any questions? DM us on Facebook and we are happy to answer them!