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Home hair color is used by women for a variety of reasons such as to cover gray, look younger, or provide a fresh new look for the season. However, even experienced users find the process messy and sometimes unpredictable, and novices face a daunting learning curve with potentially embarrassing outcomes. This article provides general insights on techniques and then in-depth directions on the process by subject.

Top 10 Tips & Tricks

# When in doubt, use a lighter shade… you can always re-color darker, but it’s hard to go lighter!
# Going Blond? If your skin has yellow undertones, avoid golden blonds; if it has pink undertones, stay away from the strawberry shades.
# Browns and blacks can stain your skin, make sure you use a protective barrier like Vaseline or Repelle Hair Color Stain Shield made just for this purpose.
# Use eye and skin color to help decide warmer versus cooler tones. An ‘ashy’ cooler tone can help your gray hair appear to have natural blonde highlights.
# Don’t go by the picture on the box! The picture on the front of the box only shows the color dye you are adding to the hair color you already have. Look at the “starting” and “ending” colors on the back or side of the box to get a better idea which direction your hair color tone will end up.
# Don’t wash your hair on the day you will color, the natural hair oils provide a barrier to protect your scalp from color.
# Color with a friend to make the process more fun and get help with application and avoiding spills.
# It’s good to always have two boxes of color. You never know when you'll run out of the mix, have an unexpected spill, or somehow damage the bottle. If you’re comfortable with the possibility of coloring half your head if you spill, go ahead and buy just one box!
# Don’t wash your hair for 24 hours after you color. Use high quality, color-safe shampoos. Shampoo every other day if you can stand it, to make your color last longer!
# Most major hair color companies have an 800 number you can call for advice. If you need help, use it!

Pick the Right Type of Color
How long do you want your new color to last?
Temporary haircolor only lasts a day or two, then it washes out. This product would be good if you wanted to color your hair darker briefly or if you were thinking of covering your grey and wanted a preview. It cannot lighten.
Semi- or demi-permanent dyes are excellent to darken your color, add red or blend grey by turning it into tinted highlights. They last from four to six weeks and gently fade from the hair, usually without leaving a visible line along the roots. They cannot lighten your hair. A semi permanent contains no ammonia or peroxide and works by coating the hair. Too frequent use could build up on the hair making it dull and possibly darker than you originally wanted. A demi permanent is mixed with a small amount of peroxide. Demi's will last up to six weeks and are more permanent than semi permanent color because of the peroxide in it.
Permanent hair color lasts until it grows out. Permanent hair color generally has to be touched up every four to six weeks to cover the roots, where your natural color will start showing and you’ll see a visible line. Most permanent haircolor contains ammonia and peroxide and work by lightening the hair as well as coloring it. Because these two things happen during one process in home hair color they are referred to as single process hair color.
Coloring your hair without coloring your skin.
Concerned about hair color on your skin? No luck, any type of color—temporary, semi-permanent or permanent—has high concentrations of dye and other harsh chemicals that can stain or irritate your skin (whether from the chemicals themselves or scrubbing to remove the stain). Protect your skin from the stains and irritation with a product like Vaseline or Repelle Hair Color Stain Shield.

Pick the Right Color Shade/Level and Tone
Getting your color just the way you want is no easy task. It involves getting both the right darkness or level of color, and the right shade or tone of color.
Lighter, darker, or exactly the same level?
At home hair coloring is great for people who want to make a subtle change in color or color grey as long as you only want to go one or two shades lighter or darker than your original color. When in doubt, use the lighter shade… you can always re-color darker, but it’s hard to go lighter!
Going Blond? If your skin has yellow undertones it is best to avoid golden blonds. Stay away form the strawberry shades if your skin has pink undertones. Would you make a great blond? If you were blond as a child, the answer is probably yes!
Going Brown? Be careful going dark brown, even if your hair is naturally dark brown, to avoid over saturation of color making it too dark. Browns and blacks can stain your skin, make sure you use a protective barrier!
Going black? Sometimes people find the most natural looking results are achieved with a dark brown dye instead of black unless you have very dark skin or hair. Pure blacks can result in purple or red tones. Be careful of dark colors if your skin is very pale. The results can make you look very pale. If you do use black, be sure to use Repelle to avoid stains!
Covering Gray? Gray hair can be resilient to hair dye because of its coarse texture. If your hair is less than 15% gray, a semi-permanent color that’s a shade lighter than your natural color (or matches your color) will blend the gray right in. If your hair is more than 15% gray, permanent color is the only thing that will completely cover the gray. An ‘ashy’ cooler tone can help your gray hair appear to have natural blonde highlights.
Going Red? Reds can be tricky. You can sometimes end up with color that does not look natural. For best results, choose a level (light, medium, or dark) that’s close to your natural haircolor. If you want to try red, but it makes you a little nervous, try a semi-permanent color before you make a commitment or opt for a red glaze that will deposit red tones on top of your current shade, but will still wash out.
Warm or Cool?
Some women like it hot. Some like it cold. At a given level or darkness of color, there are shades that are warmer—with more gold, yellow or orange in them—and shades that are cooler—with more blue or red in them. Of course, no one wants blue hair, but cooler shades with some blue tones within the dye neutralize or reduce warm tones. Likewise, warmer tones “warm up” or brighten duller, drabber cooler tones.
Looking at your eye color and your skin tone will help determine which way to go. If your eyes are amber, green, blue-green, topaz, blue or hazel and you have warm skin tones like ivory, peach, creamy beige or golden brown, your best colors are golden with red highlights, golden brown, honey brown, chestnut, copper or mahogany.
If your coloring is more on the cool side; if your skin has rosy beige or pink, dark brown or olive, and your eyes are deep blue, grey blue, light blue, deep green, brown or black, your best hair color options are ash and platinum blonde, brown, dark brown, black, salt and pepper and pure white.
Of course there are always exceptions! Sometimes, those with warm tones who use a warm—golden color will pull too much gold and the result can be a “brassy” tone. This can be toned down with a neutral or cool/ash tone. Alternately, choose a warm shade (golden or copper for instance) if you want to add some warmth or brightness to hair that looks dull or drab.
You can also look at the colors that look best on you in clothing to figure out the best hair color tone for you. If you favor warm colored clothing, than warm tones are for you. If cool colors make you look your best, stick with cool hair color tones as well.
Special Tip!—Don't go by the picture on the box! The picture on the front of the box only shows the color dye you are adding to the hair color you already have. Look at the “starting” and “ending” colors on the back or side of the box to get a better idea which direction your hair color tone will end up.

Prepare Your Hair for Coloring
A few days before you color your hair, you should deep condition your hair, paying close attention to the ends. The ends of your hair are typically the most porous and have a tendency to absorb too much color. Do not wash your hair on the day you will color. Natural hair oils provide a natural barrier to help protect your scalp from the hair color and can assist in making the hair color application more effective.

Assemble Your Tools
Keeping all your supplies on one place will make the coloring process much more enjoyable. Your supply box should include:
* An old button down shirt—preferably without a collar.
* One or two old towels to catch excess color. White towels work well because they can be bleached afterwards.
* Hair clips for sectioning your hair when you do touchups
* A minute timer
* Hand mirror to check for dripping color on skin
* Vinyl or latex gloves. One pair will come in the box of color but it is always good to have extra on hand.
* It’s good to always have two boxes of color. You never know when you'll run out of the mix, have an unexpected spill, or somehow damage the bottle. If you’re comfortable with the possibility of coloring half your head if you spill, go ahead and buy just one box!
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== Do the Deed—Color Away! ==
Read and follow all product directions on the box. The time to ask for help is before you start… and before you end up looking like Bozo the clown! Most major hair color companies have an 800 number you can call for advice, use it!
# Before you color all over, always do a patch test and strand test according to the package instructions! The patch test checks for allergic reactions… nothing to sneeze about! The more years you use color, the more the risk. And the strand test is important because it is much easier to change your mind BEFORE you have a full head of the new color!
# Apply 2-3 strokes of Repelle around your hairline, ears and neck to protect your skin from stains, redness and irritation, before applying the color.
# Put on the button down shirt and the gloves to protect your clothing and skin from color stains.
# Some products recommend you dampen your hair just before coloring. Read/follow product directions.

Coloring your hair all over?
* The first time you will want to saturate your hair with the color product. Once the hair is completely saturated with color, throw out the remainder. Excess hair color that is mixed cannot be saved.
* Start the timer per the instructions on the box after you are finished applying the color.
* Check for dripping color with your hand mirror and remove with one of the towels in your supply kit.
* For experienced color users, some professionals recommend conducting mid-color strand tests starting halfway through the timing (others say “just stick with the time on the box to be safe!”). To try a mid-color strand test, remove the color from a small section of hair from the root to the end with a damp towel and dry the strand with a blow dryer. If the color needs more time, work the color back into the strand and try again in five more minutes. Repeat this process until you achieve the desired color or the time is up.
* Shampoo and condition following the directions on the box of color.
Just touching up hair color? A few weeks after you've colored your hair, you'll want to re-dye the roots.
* Part hair down the center, divide the hair into four sections and clip in place.
* Apply the color to the new growth close to the scalp (only), by taking small sections and applying the color to the hair as close to the scalp as possible.
* Save the remaining dye for refreshing the rest of your hair. Don’t throw away your gloves!
* To avoid over processing your ends, cover ends with conditioner to protect hair from dye. A few minutes before it’s time to rinse color out, work the dye over the rest of your hair, including the conditioned ends. This will add just enough process to refresh your overall color. Shampoo and condition following the directions on the box of color.

Protect Your Color
There are things you can do between applications to keep your color beautiful.
* Do not wash hair for at least 24 hours after you color. You want the pigment in the dye to fully settle into the hair.
* Don't wash your hair everyday if you don’t have oily hair. Washing strips color; unless you have oily hair, you should be able to skip a day. A bonus: day old hair generally holds styles better.
* Use shampoos that are safe for color treated hair. There are several color-depositing shampoo and conditioners on the market that are good choices too. Do not use clarifying shampoos.
* Apply a deep conditioner once a week. Otherwise, the color will dry hair. Clairol sells its hair color conditioner in the hair color section now, separate from the box.
* Avoid heavy protein conditioners and oil treatments after coloring. These can remove color.
* Shampoo and condition in warm water, not hot. You can put on a shower cap and crank up the heat when you are done with your hair!
* Avoid exposing hair to sun and chlorine. Before going out in the sun and water, wet hair with cool or warm water and apply a leave-in conditioner with sunscreen. Fill a spray bottle with one ounce of conditioner mixed with sunscreen, add water and apply as needed. Wear a hat. (And wear sunscreen!)
* Red hair can begin to fade after your first few washings! To end up with the color you want, color it a bit redder and apply a brown glaze. The glaze will wash out in a few days, leaving you with your desired color. Or, buy a red color-enhancing shampoo and use it regularly as instructed on the package to help brighten the color.

Hate Your Hair Color?
Darker than you wanted? Add a few drops of dish detergent to your shampoo before you use it and this can lift a bit of the color. Condition well afterwards because this can dry out your hair.
Wrong semi-permanent color? First, shampoo a couple of times with a clarifying shampoo. These are known to strip hair of color.
If that’s not enough, you can try a hot oil treatment to cause color—especially semi-permanent—to fade faster. Leave it on your hair for 15 minutes, then shampoo out. You can repeat this several times a day without damaging your hair.

Need More Help?
Call the 800 # on your hair color box. Or ask your local professional, many are trained to help correct most any hair color problem!