What's the best, easiest home hair color product?

[annemariec]

I'm feeling somewhat adventurous. I'd like to try it again. It's scary though. I've tried it in the past and it was kinda like a box of chocolates --- you never know what you are going to get, as Forest Gump would say. (I have a few greys that I'd like to give a pink slip to...)

It's so expensive to have done at the salons and time consuming. I just wish I knew in advance that the color would be reasonably lasting and consistent. The home products always seemed to wash out rather quickly (long before the estimated time to last), even with the "color treated" shampoos. Anyone have a product to recommend?

I'd apply the savings towards a WDW vacation o'course! :)

Thanks,
Annemarie

[Melissamoo]

I've always had luck with L'Oreal products.

[tink2dw]

Herbal Essiance hair color works well. But you have to take in to a count your hair color now if you are Brown haired now,a blonde color will not go blonde on the first try.

So the Same color or a little darker should do well!!

[momof2boyz2girlz]

Are you trying to use a semi permanant color? If so I think L'oreal Castings lasts long and gives nice shine. I had to graduate to permanant color a few years ago, since the grays are taking over and I have the best luck with Loreal Excellance or Preference. It does save tons of money to color your own hair but what a pain it is getting old! LOL! Good Luck.

[DolphinBound]

You would probably get more responses on the Community Board, since not many people reading the Budget Board are interested in your hair coloring dilemma.:mad:

[patsal]

It saves a ton of money to do it yourself. I use Garnier and have always had great results. Try your current shade or a shade darker. To lighten is usually more than one step and you have to be careful. Good Luck!!:)

[Jen80370]

DolphinBound, did you wake up on the wrong side of the Mouse this morning? I've seen three posts by you today and all of them negative and flaming. The title of her post was not misleading. Why did you open it if you were not interested? This is a budget board and part of budgeting a trip to Disney is finding other ways to save money. Maybe you should only open the threads that directly interest you. It is a free country...and a free board.

[annemariec]

Thanks for your responses. :)

It is a pain getting older momof2boyz2girlz! hee hee

I think I need the permanent color for the straggling greys . I've been getting my hair cut shorter to cut out the "heavy foiling" --- (aka blonde), in order to get ready to do it on my own. My hair is naturally medium brown. I'd love to have a highlighting effect like golden brown highlights w/ my medium brown hair. So we'll see.

The funny thing is so often I'll tell the beauticans what color I'd like and I walk away afterwards with something different than I wanted. Oh well I guess color isn't an exact science. Might as well save the money!

DolphinBound, that wasn't very nice. I have to agree with Jen80370 (Thank you Jen, couldn't have said it better myself!). If I wasn't such a southern lady, I'd give you a raspberry (ie; :p).

Annemarie

[tw1nsmom]

After twice spending $120 to have my hair professionally dyed (and being unhappy with the results) I started doing it myself. Overall, I've been very pleased with the results of the home kits. However, if you have any questions about what color to use for your hair, you should definitely call the 800 number of the brand you want to use. I made a slight error in judgement (didn't read the directions on a new color) and Ithought that I would have to spend a lot of money to have it fixed. The people at the 800 number told me how to fix it at home, and everything turned out fine.

[ceecee]

Here's another vote for Garnier.........I save a ot of time and money doing it myself.

[zurgswife]

I'm early gray....I have had it done in salons and at home...I've stuck with at home over the past year because I'm not doing anything fancy....but I did learn this year that L'Oreal is worth the extra few dollars....I've tried many different products and with my gray they all have faded quickly(I use the permenent color)...I tried L'Oreal and it has lasted longer then any of the others......

[punkin]

not preference (don't like it). But the colors are good and don't wash out or become brassy too quickly.

[Kendallkat2]

I use Revlon "Colorsilk" and have gotten compliments from hairdressers! Cost $2.97 at Wal-mart! The color on the box pretty much matches the color I get and I have a lot of gray to cover. :p Beth

[SlightlyGoofy]

Hi there!

I would go in another direction and go lighter instead of darker. IMHO it looks more natural. The lighter color makes the 'grey' look like highlights while going darker it is all one color and not quite so natural looking. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder though and you should do whatever you like the best. I have been coloring my hair since my kids were teens, wonder if that had anything to do with all the grey? LOL

Slighty Goofy

[tink2dw]

Blonde highlights in medium Brown hair wouldn't really show up very well. How do you feel about Red highlights??

As for going lighter to hide the gray,Have been watching Barbra Walters hair?? It didn't work very well even after multiply trys,She had pink hair!! Now they have darkened Barbra's hair and it look SO much Better.

Save yourself agravation and use your color,or a little darker,with added auburn highlights!!

You will look great!!

[shamrock30]

I have had the best results with Garnier. I would go one shade lighter than your natural color, such as dark blonde instead of light brown. Most haircolor kits seem to run dark.

[DisTwix]

Here is a vote for L'oreal Feria!!!

I have literally used almost every brand of haircolor out there, and completely believe in Feria - over and above the other L'oreal products.

I actually bleach foil (take small chunks for highlights) my hair (AT HOME!!!) and color over it --- the bleached sections end up being a highlight. And, I have bleached in blonde streaks over colored hair - a tricky process, I assure you. I have made plenty of mistakes, including a 2am run to a 24 hour place to get color to RECOLOR splotchy pink hair!!!! (My hair is naturally medium brown.) The pink hair incident was using red color and bleach at the same time -- don't try that at home!!!

I save a TON of money doing it at home, because a two part color process at the salon costs upwards of $100-$120.

If you have a lot of grey, the grey will come out slightly lighter than the rest of the color - which is a good thing. Grey hair also tends to be harder to color - so be prepared to leave the color in the maximum time. Check it while its processing by wiping a strip of hair free of color - you should be able to tell, even wet, how well the color is taking. The third thing about the grey hair is that it will be the first to fade the color - darn those greys!!!

As far as color goes.... blonde highlights actually show up great in brown hair - it's what I have now (very natural). As well as copper highlights in red hair, red highlights in almost black hair... I have tried them all!!! :o)

For you, it will all depend on your natural color, and how well your hair absorbs color - something that you'll have to discover for yourself. The safest bet is to stick very close to your natural color and tone (golden or red).

There ya go --- my two cents worth!!!!!!

[Carrieberry]

Another vote for Feria! I have been coloring my hair for ten years now. I have used expensive products when I had the money, and cheap one's when I didn't and this is what I have found: Darker colors will always fade quickly no matter what if you are coloring pre-lightened hair, whether it is done at a salon or at home. Blonds become brassy if you expose them to too much sunlight without using a shampoo with a sunblocking agent in it, or you swim. I have gotten the best, most even and consistant results from Feria (about $10 a box) with the most natural looking color because of it's "multi faceting" color. It makes my dark brown roots blond on the first application (the only brand I have found to do this) and one box does all of my hair which is long and thick. It also makes it look highlighted which I really like. It is more expensive than some of the other brands, but I really think it is worth the extra money. The conditoner it comes with is great too.

[funnygarcia]

What's the best?? FREE haircoloring!!!

Try these out and see if you get lucky they only give out so many sdamples per day- keep trying - I got in once - chestnut brown here I come!!
www.herbalessencescolor.com click on free sample

this one might not work- never did for me but at least it gives you ideas on what colors are available
Free Garnier hair coloring at www.startsampling.com

they have other samples at this site too- *** can only pick ONE sample per day ****

ENJOY!! and Good Luck!!!

[funnygarcia]

The start sampling free hair color is no longer being offered- sorry-- here is the link to Garnier web site that can help you pick a shade
www.garnierlumia.com/home.html

I think there are other links there for other garnier products as well....

[Biyanna]

I hate coloring my hair myself. I like to go to the beauty school. Coloring cost less than what a salon would charge. Mine only cost 22.00 I get a great coloring, the student gets a much needed hair color credit to graduate and it is all supervised by an instructor. :( The price of being a woman!

[musicfan]

I have to put another vote in for L'Oreal Castings if you are going the semipermanent route. It is VERY easy, VERY longlasting and looks great. I'm a natural auburn with a fair amount of grey coming in. Unlike the Nice 'n Easy, which was a rinse and faded in about two shampoos, the Castings lasts about two and a half or three months in my hair, which is resistant to taking color -- especially the grey hair! I was amazed because I shampoo every day and the color just lasts and lasts. I'm too chicken to do a permanent color yet, so the Castings works great.

[Steffi]

L'oreal Feria or L'oreal Open products have my vote. If you pick a good shade for yourself, you can get very natural-looking & long-lasting results:)

[annemariec]

I started greying early too Zurgswife. My mother has told me to just let it go, it's too much trouble --- but I'm not ready for grey hair!

Carrieberry I know exactly what you mean about pre-lightened hair fading quickly after coloring it darker. And the blonde becoming brassy with sunlight or special shampoo.

I had quite a bit of my hair cut off to a chin length bob, with a little bit of a bang. It's a nice spring cut, but mainly I did it to cut out the blonde. Went back to the salon a few weeks later and added some layers to get more cut out. It looks kinda like a dirty blonde now. It has more body too. All that processing really takes it out of your hair! Don't know what I'll do once more of the medium brown starts really showing through the roots and all. (I've tried red highlights and blonde highlights) --- For now, I'll probably stay with the lighter color highlights. It's been highlighted so heavily it's had an almost all over color effect. Luckily, it's blended to look dirty blonde. Don't know long that will last though. So I'm just planning ahead for the next step, researching the products to try at home.

DH helped out the last time I tried it at home. It was so funny. I was surprised that he just jumped right in there! No complaints! I was lucky. It's no fun doing it by yourself. I have a hard time seeing the color changing.

Anyways, I'm averaging about $100 a month on highlighting (That's without a haircut!). $1200 a year --- Now that would be a good chunk of change for a Disney vacation!

Well, thanks again for all of your responses. It will help me to make a more informed decision.

Annemarie :)

[Muushka]

OK, I prefer L'oreal . But my budget tip is:

I have little less than shoulder length hair. I find that I can split the product in half and get 2 colorings out of 1 box! How cheap am I???? :D :D :D

[funnygarcia]

:confused: :confused: :confused: :smooth:

Has anyone tried for the free hair color? I luckily got the herbal essence one (try a few minutes after /before the hr more likely to get one) AND snagged the Garnier Lumia one (click on Haven't colored-- would like to try, answer the questions for the site to find your color- when they find your color it says " order free sample" underneath it) this one is not always open for some reason ... It 's worth the time to try to get this freebie instead of shelling out the cash for some - plus you get to try a new shade before anyone else!
I used the half the pkg trick too- the other half went for DH who wanted a little bit of color - lots of grey on him lol- and he's younger than me ! (28/31)

[Gillian]

The Garnier freebie is working tonight. It hasn't worked for me before, in lots of tries. I got the herbal essenses one at 6 am a few days ago! Now I just have to be brave enough to try them. I only have 1 gray hair & I just pulled it out :D

Here is a link to the rewards board, where they have a thread on the free samples:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=199160

Am I allowed to do that on the budget board? :rolleyes:

Good luck with your hair!

[jesdmill1]

I have naturally dark blonde hair and I dye it bright auburn (looks better with my pale skin - the blonde is washed out.) I go to the salon now because the products they use there have a higher peroxide content and the red doesn't fade as quickly (red fades sooo quick!)

I used to color my hair lighter blonde than natural at home all the time. I recommend Loreal Feria. It's the best home color out there, in my opinion. Some of the medium browns are really pretty, and the blondes are nice (except the irridescent ones - Bliss, Bloom, and blush - they have a pink cast!) Avoid anything with a red cast to it or it will fade quicker, and also probably be brighter than you want since your hair has already been lightened. The conditioner with the Feria is awesome, as someone above said. You can even buy the conditioner by itself at Sally Beauty!

Good luck - make sure to use plenty of color (2 boxes if you need to, although Feria is more generous than many brands). Do a strand test (I can't emphasize this enough - you can avoid some mistakes that way!), and get someone to help you if you can, to make sure you get the color applied evenly. Good luck - I'm sure it will be great, and think how much you will save! Since I have all over color rather than highlights now I pay about 70 a month, but I often wish I could do mine at home - I just love the look I get now at the salon and I'm chicken :)