Can You Apply Hair Dye Without a Brush? 

Imagine: You are in the bathroom, ready to dye your hair and achieve the color you have been dreaming of. But suddenly, you realize that your hair dye kit is missing a brush. Do you really have to abandon everything and go buy a hair dye brush? Can you apply hair dye without a brush? Keep reading to find out!

Can You Apply Hair Dye Without a Brush?

Yes! You can spread hair dye without a brush. If you are in a bind, there are alternatives, including paintbrushes, toothbrushes, flat foam brushes, pastry brushes, hair brushes or combs, and dye gloves. In a later section, we will walk you through how to use them.

These items can substitute your hair dye brush because the brush is really just a type of applicator. It is meant to help you spread the dye more easily and evenly.

Can You Apply Hair Dye With Your Bare Hands? 

You should not. Even if you do not have a brush, you should put on gloves to coat the hair dye. This is because hair dye contains powerful colored pigments that can leave stains on your skin.

Then, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort trying to get rid of them. Plus, you might have to waste water and soap or other cleaning detergents. Simply put, it is best to avoid dyeing your hair using bare hands.

Applying Hair Dye Without a Brush

Using a Paintbrush 

Dyeing your hair is somewhat similar to painting it. Hence, it is possible to exchange the hair dye brush for a paintbrush. But some paintbrushes are better than others.

The best one is flat and broad. Brushes that are too thin or small will be inconvenient to use. You can only spread a bit of dye at a time, which prolongs your entire process. This might also make the “settling time” of your dye uneven. As a result, your hair can end up looking patchy. Then, you will have to spend even more time and, perhaps, money, to fix it. If you decided to dye your hair at home to save on expenses at the salon, it backfired.

Your brush should also have stiff and rigid bristles. If they are too soft, which is typically the case with paintbrushes, it will be a lot more difficult and time-consuming to spread the hair dye. Again, this can lead to less-than-desired hair color.

That being said, the most essential step in applying hair dye with a paintbrush is getting the appropriate paintbrush.

Using a Toothbrush 

Toothbrushes are seriously versatile. Aside from your teeth, you can use them for many other scenarios, including dyeing your hair. Who would have thought?

You can consider using it when you do not have a dye brush. But there is a disadvantage: the brush surface that it provides is a lot smaller.

What does this mean?

Well, it will be more tiring to actually spread the dye throughout your entire head. It will also take a lot more time. Besides giving you hand fatigue and draining your spirit, it can also affect how your hair turns out.

The time between the first few strands of hair that you cover with dye and the last ones will be drastic. And so, the former can appear darker than the latter. Perhaps you can let it slide, but as the eventual fading process occurs, it will look worse and worse.

While it would have been alright with the standard hair dye brush application, you will probably have to head to the salon earlier. This defeats the purpose of dyeing your hair on your own in the first place, right?

Note: We recommend using a toothbrush if you are touching up your roots or working a small part of your hair. For example, if you are highlighting just some strands.

Using a Flat Foam Brush 

This is another art supply that you can use in place of a hair dye brush. It has a quite big surface area, which you can use to pick up hair dye and spread it through your hair. But it is not very flexible and will not be able to contour your hair as effortlessly as a regular dye brush would.

It might be awkward to handle, and if you cannot familiarize yourself with it, your whole dyeing process will be extremely tedious. Hand fatigue and back pains are guaranteed!

Still, compared to the options we have gone through above, it is less likely to extend the time it takes for you to apply the hair dye. Thus, there is a lower chance of your colored hair turning out uneven and patchy.

Using a Pastry Brush 

Pastry brushes, handy in the kitchen, are generally used to coat oil or butter for baking. It is amazing that they can also help you with coloring hair! These brushes have a broad surface that makes it easy to load with hair dye and spread it.

They also have similar handles to a hair dye brush, so it is not too difficult to get used to them. On the spectrum of softness and stiffness for the bristles, pastry brushes strike a good balance. Therefore, they are excellent replacements for hair dye brushes.

However, the downside is that once you have used them for your hair, you might not be able to return them to the kitchen. Since they have been in contact with hair dye, which, more often than not, contains chemicals, they should not be used again to touch things that you will fill your stomach with. Plus, this is all the more unfortunate when you think about how pricey these types of brushes are!

Using a Hair Brush or Comb 

A hair brush or a comb is another option to consider when you do not have a dye brush. These are actually made for usage on hair, so in that sense, they are more suitable than the options that we have mentioned above.

Unlike brushes that coat the outside of your hair, a hair brush or a comb can go between your hair strands, making the application more even too.

Between a hair brush and comb, however, the former might be better. They tend to have a broader surface, which you can avail of to more easily and quickly spread hair dye.

In addition, they often have thick, round handles that are painless to grip. On the other hand, combs lack these. And thus, when hair dye enters the picture, slippery messes are unavoidable. You might have to spend more time picking up the comb you have dropped than dyeing your hair. This also means more floor scrubbing later and wasted hair dye!

Using Dye Gloves   

Last but not least, dye gloves. You might already have these on! Put them to good use by substituting them for your hair dye brush. You can pick up the hair dye with your gloved hands and apply it directly to your hair.

In fact, a lot of hair dyers prefer this because they can use their fingers to go through or comb through the hair and, in general, have more control. It might be more comfortable and less time-consuming too. As a result, you can shorten your entire process.

However, it is crucial to get suitable dye gloves. Donning the wrong pair means staining your hands! As mentioned earlier, this implies wasting time and effort cleaning them, as well as water and soap.

Other Things to Note When Using the Alternatives Above 

You should always choose alternatives that are in new conditions. They should definitely not have leftover chemical residues.

Moreover, brush items with stiff, rough bristles that are not naturally made can dissolve when coming into contact with chemicals, like those in your hair dye.

When you are finished using any of the alternatives above to apply dye to your hair, you must run them under water immediately. If you slug off and leave them coated in dye, it will be very hard to clean the dye off of them later. The dye can harden and stain, hence, leaving you with a ruined brush.

Exceptions can include a toothbrush, pastry brush, and dye gloves. These should just be thrown away.

Conclusion 

Now that you have finished reading this blog post, you should know that the answer to, “Can you apply hair dye without a brush?” is yes. There are six different items that can replace your missing hair dye. These are probably already lying around your house, so it will not be a hassle to reach for them when you are in a bind!