Hair color at home

[deenass]

My stylist has been bugging me for YEARS to color my hair, and the other day, my 3 year old told me I should let "Darcy paint your hair and then you can sit in the chair and let it dry", so I'm thinking maybe it's time, but the cost to have it done professionally is what is holding me back.

So, if you color your hair at home, what do you use, and how did you pick it?

Any reason I shouldn't (horror stories are welcome!)

[elephantmeg]

If you're looking for an all over haircolor then it's not too hard. I tried highlights once and lets just leave it that I ended up dying my whole head bright red. A few tips:
old towels
old clothes
be careful what you drip on. Hair dye does not come out of cupboard doors.
I think finding the right shade is the hard part. Take someone with you and look very carefully at the part of the box that says "if your hair is x color than the dye will turn it y color". The further you go from your root color the more often you will need to re-dye. You may want to have your stylist do it once if she will then suggest a do it at home color/brand for you. Mine would totally do that for me, but I also babysit for her, so...

it's been so long ago that I can't remember what brand I used, but it was probably crappy, I was a poor college student.

have fun :)

[dules]

ITA, and would suggest trying one of the ones that is good for 28 shampoos the first time, just to be sure you like the shade. Then once you feel like you've chosen the right color family, venture into permanent colors.

I've had the best luck using shades that are relatively close to my own but that take it back a bit towards where it was when I was younger - i.e. more red than brown, but I don't try to lighten it much.

Good luck and have fun! :)

Best,
Mary

[JustMe]

I just started a few months ago, and use Naturtint. I like it because it does not have ammonia and is not tested on animals.

One piece of advice I would give is if you have any gray, do not use a copper or mahogany color...it will make your hair too orange or pink..

Good luck!

Robyn

[mamato1]

I am glad others have had good experiences, but could I steer your towards spending the bucks for professional color. During college I was a receptionist at a large hair salon. I can not even count the number of panic calls I got from people who tried to color their own hair and then desperately needed to get in to have the disaster fixed.

If you truly can not afford it (and this I understand, you should see my roots right now since I can't afford to get in for a highlight!) then go with a temporary type color and do not stray too far from your natural color.

Good luck either way. :)

Chris

Mama to Brendan (aka Boomer) 01/16/04


http://b3.lilypie.com/FnI6m5/.png

[bostonsmama]

You'll be most disappointed if you try to select a color too drastically different from your base shade. FTR, I have lots of stray gray hair and no matter what permanent hair color brand I use, it never seems to cover it for very long. I'm sure it has something to do with the structure of gray hair....or maybe I just keep growing new grays!! LOL! Anyways, I like L'oreal the best. I consistently use L'Oreal Excellence Creme (in 5RB or 6G) and L'Oreal Preference (in 6AM-amber brown). Now, L'Oreal Superior Preference Les True Brunettes in UL61 is my new favorite lightening color. It turned out surprisingly beautiful, but it needs to be upkept every 6 wks. Here's a link: http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100661&navAction=jump&navCount=0&skuid=sku849794&id=prod849808P .

My mom uses the L'Oreal shade of Heather Locklear and dyes her white hair blonde. It always covers it very well, but it's not gray, it's WHITE! She just uses the toner part since she doesn't need to lighten.

HTH! It's really not so hard. There's always rescue coloring at a salon, and everything fades over time! Trust me! Even permanent color! Give it a week and you might just like it. My last advice is to not try any crazy, out-there shades like from Feria or the highlight and dye kits (Garnier or L'Oreal). I think the semi-permanent idea sounds nice but the color hardly ever correspond to the permanent shades. But that's just my experience.

Good luck.

Larissa

Baseline appt July 25th! Tentative retrieval ~Aug 10th, transfer ~8/13 or 15

Proud Aunt to Jack Dorian, born to my bro & SIL 3/06
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/32719.jpg

[Queensgirl]

Okay, I've been coloring my hair for 10 years (basically to cover those *&^$*@% grays)
and I've tried them all. I really like L'Oreal Natural Match haircolor. You can't dramatically change your color but it covers gray really well and leaves hair in good condition (has no ammonia). First you figure out your natural base color and then you chose their options in that range (I go with the neutrals since I hate anything brassy).
I retouch every 6 weeks (have lots of gray, though).

I'm very impressed with this product- L'Oreal tends to have good choices when it comes to coloring hair at home. If you want to completely change your natural color or do highlights (especially if you have darker hair) then try a salon. The home coloring kits aren't up to that job, IMO. You can see if any salons have specials and some well do it for free when they need models.

If you just need to cover gray then then the home coloring kits do a more than adequate job (I actually prefer them to a salon).

Remember, though, if you'll be lightening your hair it will cause some damage, so make sure to adequately condition (especially in the summer when it can turn quite brassy). Good Luck.

[shilo]

hi,
i just tried covering my 'stray greys' for the first time last week. i used a #2 (washes out in 28 shampoos/no amonia) one to start. i am a medium to dark brunette with warm highlights (gold to red tones). although i have always wanted to play up the red, my sister and girlfriend have both had disasters going the 'mahogany/copper/cinnamon' route, so i stuck with the golden tones. i've also heard to be _very_ careful witht he 'ash' brown tones because they can turn you green if your hair has the wrong chemistry or something (can you tell i'm new at this?? :). i think larissa is very correct... at least at first, stick as close as you can to your own color - you can always experiment later). i did it in the tub from start to finish to avoid getting it anywhere - we have a spot on one of our cabinets from the previous owner, which i am pretty sure is hair dye).

anyway, i went with clairol natural instincts in medium golden brown (i don't remember the 'pretty name' for the color, sorry). i think it did a pretty good job (i have a few greys that are still visible, but it covered about 90% - and those that are still visible seem very coarse, so probably just don't pick up dye that well). we'll see how it holds up over the next few weeks. i'll probably stick with the #2 semi permenant for a while - the permanent still scares me - lol.

hth, lori

[Bethann31]

Actually, I have had nearly totally gray hair since college (thanks genetics...) and I have used Clairol Hydrience's Tropic (#34) for several years. It is a beautiful Deep Burgundy, and I get tons of compliments.

Beth
mom to:

Josh 3/90
Mollie 4/92
Jeffrey 12/94
Katherine 6/03


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/lamlamsvi20030604_4_Katherine+Grace+is.png

[dules]

Hmm, I now use color to cover gray and return it more to my natural/childhood red/auburn color. I don't see it being pink or orange. Maybe my eyes are getting old too?! LMAO.

Best,
Mary

[pampamz]

I've used boxed colour since college, with the occasional (maybe 1 per year) trip to the salon for some all over highlights.

The boxed colours are pretty painless -- I lighten my *natural* blonde and haven't had many problems. I go for what shade I like that day, and am a Brand Sl_t in that I have no real loyalty to a specific brand.

I have also dabbled in the Highlight Kits. This is a bit trickier and is pretty obvious that it's not a salon job, IMHO. I recently tried a Low Light Kit on my blonde hair and it looks bad. If it were a few years earlier (pre-DC) I would have marched to the salon for emergency hair care but now my motto is OH WELL!

I am going to pick up a blonde all over colour today to try and mend it....

Have fun with it, I say. Just don't start off too drastic to make sure you like the colour range you are in.

[Lynnie]

I actually tried highlighting my hair at home for the first time about 4-6 weeks ago, and it turned out great. (really - I have friends who would tell me the truth !) I don't remember the brand, but it had the old fashioned cap, and no ammonia or anything. I actually liked the results better than some of the times I have had it done in the salon. I used to have very blond hair, so it is pretty easy to highlight it, but I was amazed at how well it turned out. I will probably go back and have it done professionally with some low lights added in eventually, but I am going to try it one more time on my own. I figure even if I mess it up, I can always go to a salon to fix it.

[bcky2]

ok, here is a total example of how we think of others on here that we have not seen in person. i always picture you in my mind as having a darker brownish/redish hair color(and fwiw super skinny). when i saw blond i got confused ;)

[aliceinwonderland]

I use hena now, but I've had good luck before with whatever the Garnier color brand is (the name escapes me now; I think Sarah jessica Parker does their ads). Their boxes are a particular vibrant green color. No horror stories, though one time long ago I helped my roomate color her hair, and despite my best efforts, it did not take **at all**. She had no gray hair, just very stubborn Irish curls I guess. :)

[Lynnie]

isn't that funny ?!

nope and nope !

I am definitely a dirty blonde/brownish (or I would be without my highlights :P ), but was blonde blonde blonde as a kid, and both my guys are blonds. And unfortunately, I am not super skinny - have always been athletic, but now I am just lucky because I should be much larger than I am.

It would be fun to do a matching names to faces game, but not everybody wants their photos up here, you know. Even I felt wierd posting the one pic I did of DS1 a week or so ago, and I don't know why. It was interesting looking at a pic a loong time ago from the retreat.

I picture you as having short darkish hair and a very cute face, with lots of energy. am I right ?

[bcky2]

i have a short angled bob cut and my hair color used to be very light blond but then i got older and it got darker so now i am a dirty blond like you :) as for a cute face, hmmmmm i have never thought about myself as being pretty or beautiful but cute maybe. i look alot younger then i am. i used to have alot more energy(i would work 3-11 and then party till 7 in the morning, take a nap and start all over) but i do like to keep busy and tend to be very animated about alot of things i do :)

i would say that you guessed very well :)