At-Home Hair Color -- How to Choose a Color Shade

Have you ever thought about doing your own hair color at home? Many women consider the idea, but then decide against it because of a lack of confidence in their own skill. Some women are intimidated by the rows and rows of different boxes of hair color at the store-these women can't figure out how to choose the right color, so they just opt not to choose any at all. Instead, they head to the hair salon and pay a stylist to color their hair. This is usually a fairly expensive service at any salon-and quite time-consuming.

But, doing your own hair color at home doesn't have to be a nerve-racking experience; in fact, it can be quite fun! And, no matter which brand of hair color you buy, you will end up paying less than you would at the hair salon. As an added bonus, at-home hair color really takes a lot less time than salon hair color. So, by doing your own hair color, you will be saving money and time--sounds good, doesn't it?

The starting point is, obviously, choosing a hair color. It is best to head to a store that has a good selection of brands and shades of color-perhaps one of the larger chain drugstores like Walgreen's or CVS or a mass merchandiser like Target or Wal-Mart. The greater the selection a store has, the easier it will be for you to find a color that you like.

So, how do you choose a hair color? Looking at all of those boxes can be intimidating, but if you think about your choice logically it will be easier. Here are the two basics you need to consider:

Type of hair color you want: Do you want your hair color to last at least three months? Then you need to choose permanent color. If you want color that will wash out after a few shampoos, select a temporary or semi-permanent color. The various hair color brands are labeled differently, so read the box carefully to be sure which strength of color you have.

Degree of change you want: Do you want a small change in your hair color, such as going from dark blonde to golden blonde? Or perhaps you want something even more subtle, such as going from a medium brunette to a medium/dark brunette. You may decide that you would like a more drastic change, such as taking your blonde hair and turning it to a mahogany brown. Whatever you would like, decide that before heading to the store; that way, you will know which shades of hair color to look at in the store instead of trying to look at every box.

Now the type of hair color and the shade of hair color you want have narrowed down the choices some; but, how do you choose a brand to purchase? First of all, consider the formula of the hair color. You want to buy one that is a shampoo-in color because these are the easiest to use-most brands are shampoo-in, but make sure before you select one. The only other real consideration is the exact shade you want. Sure, all of the major brands do have differences in their formulas (some claim to be more conditioning or some say that they do not smell as bad, for example). But take it from me-I have been coloring my hair at home for several years now, and I have used various shades from each of the major brands. I have been equally pleased with the results I have gotten from the hair color I have used from Clairol, L'Oreal, Garnier, and Revlon. So don't worry too much about the brand name-concentrate on the shade that you want.

Many hair color boxes have a panel on the back or the side where they show how the color will affect various shades of hair. Or, you may find that some stores have swatches of hair next to each different shade of hair color. Use these, as well as the photo on the front of the box, as a general guide as to what your hair color will be if you use that particular hair color. Keep in mind that using hair color is not an exact science because everyone's hair is different-your hair may be starting out darker, so it may not get as light as the hair of the model on the box, for example. But you can trust that the hair color boxes are as accurate as possible in their photographs and descriptions of the color shade.

When you find a shade that you like, make sure to read the box carefully before purchasing it. Some hair colors are intended just for certain people to use--only for blondes, or only for those with gray hair, for example. If someone else tries to use one of those shades of hair color, the results could be undesirable. If a box has a warning on it about the hair color only being suitable for people with certain shades of hair, take that warning seriously.

If you are still a little nervous about doing your own hair color, perhaps this will allay your fears-each of the major brands of hair color has a toll-free number inside their hair color boxes that you can call to ask questions. So, if you have any kind of problem with coloring your hair at home, you can call that number and someone will be available to help you and give you advice. If you don't like how your hair has turned out, for instance, the customer service person will let you know if you can try again with a different shade of hair color or what you can try to fix it.

And remember, if worst comes to worst, you can always return to your stylist...though I doubt you will need to--or want to. Coloring your hair at home takes only about an hour, whereas getting color done at a salon is a process that can take several hours. Plus, since at-home hair color costs just a fraction of the price you would pay at a salon, why would you want to go back to your stylist for color?