DIY hair coloring?

[rnorwo1]

Hi,
I usually get my hair colored every 3 months or so, which is not often compared to most I know, but I have been wondering if I can still save money by doing it myself. I've looked at the available products and was completely overwhelmed. Can anyone who does their own color tell me: is it worth doing it? Which brand works the best? How much time does it take, and how long does it last? Seems like if it doesn't last that long, at $15 a box it may end up the same price as having it done professionally every 3 months??
Thanks for any advice!

 

[disneylove69]

I have been doing my hair for years. I use Clairol in the white box. I don't like the mousse type or the 10 minutes ones as they don't last. It's less then $7 a box at Wal-Mart or Target. I always get in store coupons for the product at target so when it's on sale it's less then $5. My hair is dark brown with gry so I leave it on for 45 minutes. Make sure that you do it on a non-carpeted area and have an old towel. If you spill any on the counter, floor, or yourself wipe with water right away. When your done if you find that you got some on your skin use nail polish remover to get off. Don't sit on furniture while your waiting so you don't stain it. When it is time to rinse do it in the shower as it's much easier and then dry when done or you could get some residue on the pillow case. After a few times your a pro.

 

[magicaddict]

I've been coloring my own hair for about 25 years so I've saved tons of money over the salon. It's not difficult at all and I've always had good results and I do red which is one of the more difficult colors to hold its intensity. I don't like the new foam formulations as I'm usually doing roots first then blending with the rest of my head and found the foam difficult for this. I use whatever brand has the color I'm looking for at a decent price. I almost always have a coupon. I've used Nice and Easy, garnier, L'Oreal and Olia (that I can think of). The only one I've had issues with is the Olia. I love the result but the dispenser is very awkward to hold and I have larger hands. Last time it shot out of my hand and landed on the throw rug in my bathroom. Luckily the bleach was nearby. I'd say give it a try and if it's too much of a pain for you then go back to the salon. I have to do mine at least every six weeks so the salon is way out of my budget. Good luck.

 

[Sandy321]

I go to Sally's supply - I buy the bottles separate, and I have better gloves, I bought a container that I clean after using... I buy the larger bottles of developer, then I buy a couple of bottles of color (I only need one, but inevitably when I notice I need a touch up, I like having that bottle on hand)

I read and talked to a couple of beauticians and ION was the favored product, and I've stuck with that line, shampoo, conditioner, developer, and color - -

its easier than I can imagine, and the color is $5 a bottle, the developer (I use app 2 ounces a coloring) I think is about the same (maybe around $10?) And I think its not only economical, but I love the highlights that I get without going through the trouble of doing highlights!

you can google - http://www.sallybeauty.com/hair-color/Hair05,default,sc.html

 

[rnorwo1]

Thanks for the info. I never thought about Sally, so I'll start there. I guess it's worth a shot since potential savings could be high. Hopefully if its a disaster it can be fixed easily!

 

[*pixie*dust*]

I go to Sally's supply - I buy the bottles separate, and I have better gloves, I bought a container that I clean after using... I buy the larger bottles of developer, then I buy a couple of bottles of color (I only need one, but inevitably when I notice I need a touch up, I like having that bottle on hand)

I read and talked to a couple of beauticians and ION was the favored product, and I've stuck with that line, shampoo, conditioner, developer, and color - -

its easier than I can imagine, and the color is $5 a bottle, the developer (I use app 2 ounces a coloring) I think is about the same (maybe around $10?) And I think its not only economical, but I love the highlights that I get without going through the trouble of doing highlights!

you can google - http://www.sallybeauty.com/hair-color/Hair05,default,sc.html

Totally agree with this post! The Sally near me has great staff that helped me select everything I needed -- with great results. My mom and several friends now do the same, since my results were so good and so inexpensive

 

[bettymae1121]

So far I only need to cover grey hairs around my hairline, so I've used Clairol root-touch up with great success (I just pick something close to my natural color, and you'd never know I color my hair at all. A friend of mine told me she was jealous that I hadn't started to go grey yet! ). If you are only covering greys around your face or along your part, that could be a good way to ease your way into home coloring.

I wait for a good sale/coupon combo and usually get it for less than $4 a box. I just stocked up last weekend and have enough for the end of the year. I should do it every 6 weeks (the color lasts but my hair keeps growing...) but I can usually get away with every 8 weeks.

 

[DizMe]

I, too, go to Sally's for my supplies. It's very easy to do your own coloring. I wanted to say one thing, though: if your hair has a lot of red in it and you don't want to end up with a brassy color, go with an ash (it has a blue base rather than a red base). I learned that the hard way. They can help you figure that out at Sally's/beauty supply shop, or if you feel comfortable doing it, ask your beautician what color base he/she has been using on your hair. You'll find a much broader selection of products at a place like Sally's than at Walmart etc, and I prefer not having a pre-measured kit as my needs for how much I use change often. I need to do my roots every couple of weeks and that's ALL I color, ever, so I don't want to waste a whole kit just to touch up the roots. If you keep coloring your whole head, the ends will end up darker and your hair won't look natural. That's what I discovered many years ago, anyway. Just doing the roots gives you a kind of natural highlight effect.

I used to use l'Oreal, but I've recently switched to Age Beautiful at the suggestion of the woman at Sally's. It holds the color much better for me. Sally's is always having sales and coupons, plus they have a club card.

It's pretty economical to do it yourself. My routine, using a cheap plastic squeeze bottle from the beauty supply: put in 1.5 oz of color (you can mix colors if you want, and the oz measurements are on the bottle), 1.5 oz of developer, shake and apply to roots. Wait 30-40 minutes and wash out. That's it! And, as a PP mentioned, watch out for your bathroom rugs. I also have a dedicated bathrobe I use for the purpose. It's covered in dye spots

 

[rnorwo1]

I used to highlight my hair two-three times a year and that was it, but my stylist recently told me I needed to start coloring it, too. I have 3-4 random, gray hairs is all. My natural hair color is a medium brown with a subtle red tinge, but since I started coloring its much lighter and even has a little blonde in it. I'll ask at Sally and just see what happens. We are getting extreme with our budget this summer, so it's worth the gamble for me. I can always go back to the salon if necessary. Thanks again for the encouragement and advice!

 

[okeydokey]

I use John Freida foam. I do it every 8 weeks or so when the grays grow out. Super easy to use and good results.

 

[Lucky4me]

I use John Freida foam. I do it every 8 weeks or so when the grays grow out. Super easy to use and good results.

I use John Frieda too. It has the best coverage and the after conditioner is incredible.
I only color about every 12-16 weeks.
Once or twice a year I get highlights at the salon.

 

[Corsetopia]

I've had some extreme mishaps when attempting to lighten my hair myself at home. But we're talking trying to go very blonde from dark blonde.

Every time I've gone from blonde to dark, however, I've had a huge success doing it at home with just using boxed Feria! Lately I've been doing it at home by myself to save myself a trip to the salon (I have a 6 month old), and it's been coming out just fine. I say go for it!

 

[SM101]

I've always colored my own hair...it's very easy to do. I usually use L'Oreal hair color - about $9 every few months but apparently I should go check out what Sally has. I was a blonde as a kid/teenager then started going darker, so I do a medium blond to light me up to where I was rather than a drastic color change.

Pick out an old Tshirt and towel to set aside to use when coloring your hair - you will get color on them - but if you have a dedicated use set, it really doesn't matter.

You'll want to make sure you get plenty of color along your hair line around your face, in the area over your ears and where you part your hair. If you make a mistake in those areas and miss a little, that's far more noticeably than anywhere else.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I've had some extreme mishaps when attempting to lighten my hair myself at home. But we're talking trying to go very blonde from dark blonde.

Every time I've gone from blonde to dark, however, I've had a huge success doing it at home with just using boxed Feria! Lately I've been doing it at home by myself to save myself a trip to the salon (I have a 6 month old), and it's been coming out just fine. I say go for it!

I was going to say the same thing. Blonde is difficult to do at home. Darker colors turn out much better. Years ago I stayed home with my kids and quit getting lite blonde highlights on my dark blonde hair. It just wasn't in the budget. I tried box blonde, but after a few months of orange-y colored hair my DH told me to go back to the salon!

 

[runsandjumps]

IME I can color my hair at home no problem with either box color with mixes at Sally's. However take it from me do not lighten at home. I have tried several times and each time u regret it but I always think that each time it may work out better. Darker, reds, a touch lighter, but more than a couple shades lighter and it never ends well. At least for me.

Give it a shot you may love it and it is a ton cheaper!

 

[secretpantssam]

I've been coloring my own hair for over 10 years now. I got it done once professionally and it was the worse dye job I've ever seen and cost way more!

I use Garnier Nutrisse. It seems to last longer than the others I've tried and I found a color I love. It takes about 25 minutes but you can watch TV or do whatever around the house while it's in, so it's no big deal.


Also I will note- it must look good because everyone thinks I'm a natural redhead

 

[JandJ]

I was going to say the same thing. Blonde is difficult to do at home. Darker colors turn out much better. Years ago I stayed home with my kids and quit getting lite blonde highlights on my dark blonde hair. It just wasn't in the budget. I tried box blonde, but after a few months of orange-y colored hair my DH told me to go back to the salon!

Exactly - blonde at home is tricky. At-home bleach is not something you want to mess with if you don't know what you're doing and not using bleach can lead to that organe-y mess. My hair is light brown naturally, with just a few greys on top, and when I was going red I did it at home with Clairol. It was easy and looked natural. Even my stylist complimented me on the color! Now that I've decided to go dark blonde, however, I get it professionally colored. Since it's short I have to get it done every 5 weeks. If the budget was to no longer allow for that, I'd go back to red.

 

[mistysue]

If you're nervous I would just pick a box with a model whose hair color you like.
It used to be true that you got better quality in a salon but in the last 10 years or so I honestly think boxed colors are better quality. (I have a cosmetology license and have tried tons of colors on my hair)
Many of the boxed colors also have a help line you can call if you have questions or if something didn't work correctly.

 

[DizMe]

One funny thing that has happened to me as I've gotten older.

I began coloring my hair to hide the gray about 15 years ago. I used a light ash brown. Fast forward several years and my light brown hair had become dark blonde. Fast forward a bit more and it's now a medium blonde with light blonde streaks. As my natural hair goes more and more gray, my colored hair lightens! I've begun mixing in a darker shade because so many people have commented on my blonde hair. I never meant to go blonde, LOL.

ETA: what I meant to say was that I was using the same color dye but as my hair got more and more gray, it didn't give me the same color result

 

[abmitch01]

I've been dyeing my short pixie cut for since college some 20 years ago. I won't pay to color such a small amount. I use Garnier Nutrisse and it's super easy. One mistake I made was to get it on the arms of a good pair of glasses. Really ruined them, now I wear an old pair. I think it would be a lot harder to dye think, longer hair but mine is a piece of cake. Good luck!