Coloring your own hair??

[motocrossmom]

I have never colored my own hair, but with the tough times I am going to try. Does anyone have any suggestions, or help?? My hair is blonde with darkers streaks thru it, the underneath is all darker... I watched my hair girl last time she foiled it, but any ideas or help on how to do it and what products work best would be GREAT!!!

Thanks

 

[hmcfall711]

I had this same question the last time I had my hair done.

My stylist highly suggested against doing it myself. (Of coarse she would.) She said the two down sides of doing it yourself are that you will not get your natural highlights. It will be one solid color. Secondly, the color is darker than what you see on the box or sample.

My hair is very dark brown almost black. She said if I bought the box that was shown as that color, it would make my hair raven black. She said if you had to do a home color to pick a color that is at least one shade lighter than your own, if not two colors lighter. She said that would help also with loosing your natural highlights. The lighter color would cover the gray and your darker hair would stay close to the same.

I have not bitten the bullet to color my hair at all yet, salon or otherwise. I hope this helps you out.

 

[TSM1993]

I am going to school to be a hairstylist. The problem with using box color is it may contain metallic dye. Which is really harsh on your hair. If you need your hair colored why dont you check out a school that teaches future hairstylist. Like Empire Beauty School. The one I go to charges $20.00(*) for all over color and 37.00(*) for all over highlights. They are under supervision by the teachers. The teachers help mix the color keep an eye on the color and so on.

This maybe an option for you to try.It is only a little bit more expensive then some box color but then you dont have the clean up and the possibility of making a mistake to your own hair that may result on a corrective color needing to be done by your stylist which will result in more money coming out of your pocket.

*Depends on lenght of hair

 

[Lindamary123]

I have started to do this too because of cutting back. I used to get color and cut for about 80 or 90 dollars plus tip! It became too much. I was afraid mainly because I was not sure that I could get the color even; I didn't even worry about the highlights, although I do still see them in my hair. I used to get those about every 6 to 8 months too. I tried Preference by Loreal and my daughter helped me out at first. She did a great job and I really liked the color for $7 a box at Walmart! I have light brown hair with blonde highlights and I use color #8. I think it is medium ash blonde. Also after a few months, I tried to do this myself and it was easy; no problems covering my whole head.
Give it a try! You will be so happy you saved so much money! One thing though, do condition your hair because that is one thing I noticed when compared to the salon color. The salon color does condition your hair more. But no problem; just use a bit more conditioner for awhile right after the application.

Good luck!

 

[kaywoody]

I've been coloring my own for a couple of years now. I picked a similar color to the base color that the stylist was using. It has enough grey in it now so that I have "highlights" which I guess are the areas around my face where the color sticks to grey different I guess. Overall I really like it and it costs less than $10 and I can do it at 11:00 at night when everyone else is in bed since that's my only time to do anything for myself!!

I used the Nice and Easy kind at first, but have now switched to Garnier Nutrisse. I love the smell of it!

 

[motocrossmom]

Thank you I appreciate it, I will try it next weekend and hope it comes out ok!

 

[a1tinkfans]

I just saw you on another thread...too funny....

Anyhoo, a small HINT..put some vaseline around your hairline so that you don't stain your skin with the dye (been there done that )....its a pain to get out if you don't catch it right away.

OMG, motocrossmom:
My baby sis JUST moved to Indiana two mos ago...bloomington...miss her SO MUCH...she LOVES it there!!!!

 

[Inigo]

OMG, motocrossmom:
My baby sis JUST moved to Indiana two mos ago...bloomington...miss her SO MUCH...she LOVES it there!!!!

Did she come here (well, just up the road a little ways) for IU? It's a great school! Both my degrees are through there.

Glad she likes B'ton. The town has a lot of personality.

 

[Vivianne]

I don't get one solid color since I have gray underneath. Been doing it for years. I use Loreal Natural Instincts 12A and it works for me So many shades to choose from...decisions...decisions....

 

[paulasillars]

I've been dying my own hair for a couple of years now and have never paid a hairdresser to do it. I just get one that washes out after 28 washes - sure it gradually fades out but it doesn't leave any regrowth so if I need to leave it another week or so thats fine.

I guess it depends how "grey" you are though as I don't think the non-permanent ones work too well on grey hair.

Also as I've got short hair, I mix the dye and the toner(?) in a glass and then reseal the bottles so I get two dye lots out of the box.

As an aside, I never pay for my hair to be cut any more. I have had some truly awful cuts at salons, where they simply haven't listened to what I wanted or worse wasted my entire afternoon. I get my Mum to cut it - she's not a trained hairdresser but after the awful cuts I've actually had to pay good money for, I'm willing to risk her making a mistake.

In my opinion the only other hairdresser I would trust is one that works in the cheap $10 haircut bars (they are the cheapest in town) as they cut so many people's hair in one day that at least they have lots of experience! Not to mention being in and out the door in 15 minutes - my spare time is too precious to be sitting in a salon chair reading the most awful magazines on the planet and listening to inane drivel. LOL

As another aside, I also dye my own eyelashes - not with hair dye - but with an eyelash dying kit I got at a pharmacy. Takes about 10 minutes and the pack cost $20 and does approximately 12 lots - less than $2 a time - it costs more than $20 just to get eyelashes done at a salon.

 

[MissAndrea]

My 2 cents-

Be very careful if you are blonde. Your hair sounds exactly like mine...I have highlights and low lights. Last winter I decided to cut back and do it on my own. I bought one of the boxed highlight kits at walmart to put in streaks. It didn't look too great, so I bought a different box and did it again. There really isn't a great way to get highlights from the boxes so I said to hell with it, I'll just got all blonde and leave out the low lights. My hair was so yellow...it looked like a comic book characters hair. I did it for about 5 months and decided it was just not worth it anymore. When I went back to the salon, my hiar was so damaged, they had a hard time getting it back to the way I wanted it. It took a couple of times to get it back to normal and more healthy looking. I've went through that phase a few times...I get tired of paying SOOO much just for hair and do it myself...and every single time I regret it. I've decided I don't care how poor I am or what I have to give up, I will always go to a professional and will never do it myself.

Good luck on whatever you decide!!

 

[mckinley]

I personaly have had nothing but bad luck with dying & adding highlights to my hair myself. My hairs is a medium brown with auburn tones in it (with many sprigs of gray coming in). I have turned mine a bluish color and a orange red in the past. Every salon has told me that hair with any kind of red tones is hard to color. I have just vowed to never color my hair again. As long as i can keep up with pulling the grey sprigs out.

 

[wmharley]

my wife has colored her hair without issue for years... Now she's going to one of those beauty supply places and getting more pro-type stuff... The type where you buy the comb, buy the tray, etc all seperate.

She's done it 3 times without issue.

 

[Evi]

if your willing to experiment I used to have a light caramel colored hair with multiple shades of highlight granted this was costing me a small fortune to maintain and so one day I decided to try Loreal coloure expert. It actually came out nicely. What I did to maintain my color was I would alternate every other time I died with one lighter then one darker so I was getting both the high and lowlights. Its really important to be carefull with where and how you add highlights keep them framing your face small and thin and pay attention to how your stylist spaces them. If you have a friend willing to help that will make a huge differene also.

 

[HeatherC]

I'm actually the opposite of most people. I have never had my hair "professionally" colored. I've been coloring my own for years.

I just use Nice and Easy and it comes out great. I have had my last two hairdressers even tell me that for my hair it would be a waste of money to pay them to do it since it works so well. I was surprised that two people told me this because I assumed they would want me to pay them to do it. So I really appreciated them being honest and upfront.

I think this has to do with the fact that I am strawberry blonde to begin with and stay in the same color family. I use #102 and go a little lighter in the spring and summer and a little darker in the fall and winter.

I would certainly recommend giving it a try and if you don't like it, you could always go back to having your hairdresser do it.

I do love the fact that I pay like $6 for it. Can't beat that.

 

[ilovebassets]

I colored my own hair for about 10 yrs with Feria and was always pretty happy with the results. Feria is good for very long hair because it has way more product in it though is a bit more expensive as a result. cheaper than 2 boxes though which i used to do. My hair is naturally light black and i dyed it to a medium-dark auburn brown. Just a note--the first day or two the color will probably look darker than the box. But after a couple of shampoos, it seems to develop and change a bit and get to the color I actually wanted.

I stopped dying my hair eventually because it was taking a toll on the condition of my hair. With naturally very dry hair and long hair, the ends were being dyed over and over and over, and it was just too much. Plus I got lazy

 

[pezheadmeg]

I've colored my own since I was 18. Yes, I've had some disatrous results. But when I was in college, I had a habit of changing my hair color with just about every dye job. It was my time for rebellion.

Now that I have a color that works wonderfully, I've figured out the maintenance tricks so it's as natural as possible. I dye with a permanent every 6 weeks. But I've given up on shampoos for colored hair. I swear by the John Frieda color enhancing shampoos. They work wonders in upkeeping the hair. I just need to glaze in the shower twice a week, and my red undertones stay red.

Plus when I'm desperately in need of dying, my chin length bob gets simply pushed back with a wide headband. I'm trendy, and the roots are somewhat hidden.

 

[JimmyJr'sMom]

Don't do it yourself! I usuallu get a shad or two lighter base with foil highlights. $$$$$$$ Because of $$$$- I've tried every kind- Revlon with highlights, nutrisse, clairol, you name it. Can you say BRASSY? Only the salon dyes are capable of suppressing the red. On my own, I end up with pink, auburn, strawberry, you name it. This is even if I try to go light brown or blonde. Beware the Brass.

 

[Leigha]

I can't believe no one has listed Loreal Colour Experte yet! I love it! It sounds like what you need because I don't think you can recreate the light on top, dark on bottom look that is popular right now. First you put on an all over color. I have to do this because I have so much gray. The second step (in the same box) is the highlights. It shows and tells exactly how to do it. I will say I used to stress and stress about this part but the more I do it, the less I stress. I do what I want then call one of my daughters or even husband in to tell me where the "holes" are in the back as I try to keep a consistent look all over my head. I do get several compliments so I guess it is okay to good, right?! I go with Toasted Coconut but I will say my sister thought this color gave her a little too much red. She does quite a bit of home highlighting with bleach though and I don't so that may affect it. Don't hesitate to call the pros listed on the box if there is a problem and they'll tell you what you can do to fix it. It is a little higher than some of the others but I like the all over color AND the highlights and think it is worth it. I think it is the only product out there like it. The last time I looked, there was also a $2 off coupon on their website. You have to be brave and just go for it. Most likely the worst that can happen is you hate it and have to go get it fixed. On the other hand, if you like it - it can save you hundreds of dollars if not more over the rest of your life!

 

[Spacepest]

I used to color and highlight my own hair when I was younger. I bought all my dye, developer, foil,and brushes from the local beauty supply store. The only reason I stopped doing my own hair was because my vision has gotten worse as I have aged, so it is hard for me to judge color processing time with no glasses on.

I now pay to have a professional do my hair. To be honest, its worth every penny. I sit back and relax in a chair, she does my hair. No more worrying about messes in my house, color jobs over processing or not taking on my hair, etc.

I'll also give everyone one piece of advice...hairdressers secretly love it when you color your own hair, because they can charge three times as much to color correct it than the initial salon dye job would have cost. So if you color your hair at home, just keep in mind it becomes more expensive to fix if you mess it up or damage your hair.