How to Color Your Hair with Clairol Loving Care

A few years ago, I saw an ad for Clairol Loving Care that said: "don't be afraid, it's just a little box of hair color." Many people want to color their own hair, but feel slightly intimidated by the process, or feel the only way to get great results is by going to a salon. This is so not true. Clairol Loving Care is one of the easiest, non threatening hair colors you will ever use, and you'll save a ton of money by coloring your hair at home.

I've been using Clairol Loving Care for almost a year now. I was disappointed by a trip to the salon for some highlights to perk up my dull winter hair. Not only was I let down by the salon highlights, I had to deal with an obvious root line, which I don't like. So I decided to take the plunge into home hair color.

I bought Clairol Loving Care and was thrilled with the results. The color smells good, feels non toxic, doesn't give me any allergic reaction or scalp irritation, and I get soft, natural, great looking color.

My Mom uses Clairol Loving Care to cover gray hair, and the product performs just as well for her. I feel that Clairol Loving Care is really a great choice for anyone, but it's especially good for those who have been curious about coloring their hair at home, but are reluctant to try drugstore hair color.

Clairol Loving Care Boosts Color and Adds Shine While It Gently Covers Gray Hair

I have medium brown hair that gets a little dark and lifeless in the winter. When I want to boost the gold or reddish tones in my hair, I use Clairol Loving Care 76 Light Golden Brown. Clairol Loving Care boosts my natural brown hair and gives me shimmery golden highlights without actually changing my hair color.

Clairol Loving Care contains no ammonia or peroxide, and washes away in 6 to 12 shampoos without leaving that tell tale root line. If you are not looking to cover gray, Clairol Loving Care can be left on your hair for about 20 minutes. I find I get longer lasting results if I leave the hair color on my hair for 30 minutes.

Clairol Loving Care is premixed in the applicator bottle so you can't make a mistake, and the hair color isn't thick, but it's not terribly runny either (the consistency reminds me of pudding.) Shampoo Clairol Loving Care into clean dry hair, and then rinse it out. A two minute conditioner is also provided that leaves hair smooth and silky.

Clairol Loving Care contains Vitamin E, Panthenol and Proteins, and my hair always feels in better condition after I color with Clairol Loving Care. I'm no expert, but this hair color strikes me as pretty fool proof. I always get compliments when I use Clairol Loving Care on my hair.

Clairol Loving Care was recently reformulated with Clairol Natural Instincts. I love the improvement, and feel that my hair is so natural looking using this product. The results don't announce to the world "I just colored my hair!" It's a very subtle, pleasing, totally natural effect. Also, if you are concerned about thinning hair, Clairol Loving Care now has a new volumizing effect, which is great for fine hair.

Tips for Covering Gray with Clairol Loving Care

If you are looking to cover your gray by using Clairol Loving Care, here are a few tips from my relatives who use Clairol Loving Care to blend away their grays.

If you are covering gray, look for a shade of Clairol Loving Care that's similar to your own hair color, but not too dark. You might think that the dark tone would cover grays the best, but in my experience, as the Clairol Loving Care fades the grays tend to stand out in relief against the dark color.

A slightly lighter tone than your hair, with a golden shade, works best. The grays appear like highlights, and won't stand out so much as the Clairol Loving Care fades away.

A plastic cap is provided with Clairol Loving Care. If you are covering gray, I would leave Clairol Loving Care in your hair for an hour, not 40 to 50 minutes. Saturate your hair, being sure to cover the grayest parts of your hair first, and then set the timer for one hour from when you are done applying Clairol Loving Care. Cover with the plastic cap and let Clairol Loving Care go to work, covering your grays.

Rinse out and apply conditioner. If your hair is fine, in good condition and not damaged, don't apply too much of the Clairol Loving Care conditioner, or hair will appear greasy and flat.

Other Tips for Using Clairol Loving Care

I have really long hair, but I never use a whole bottle of Clairol Loving Care at one time. I simply save the bottle for next time, when I want to color again. If you want to do this, but have used your plastic cap provided by Clairol Loving Care, just use some plastic wrap like Saran Wrap, it works just as well!

The Downside of Clairol Loving Care

In all honesty, Clairol Loving Care doesn't last 6 to 12 shampoos. I find that for gray hair, usually after a week, some are peeking through. The longest lasting results come from leaving the color on for an hour and wrapping tightly in a plastic cap, this seems to "set" the color.

Clairol Loving Care is so gentle and non toxic that it almost feels like regular shampoo, so I don't mind the fact that it has to be applied regularly. For longer lasting results, try Clairol Natural Instincts.

Where to Buy Clairol Loving Care

Clairol is a staple at drugstores and supermarkets, and it's easy to find Clairol Loving Care. I usually purchase mine for about $5.99 at Wal-Mart. You can also stock up on Clairol Loving Care at online retailers like drugstore.com.

Clairol Loving Care proves it's possible to get salon quality, low commitment hair color at home. If you've ever thought about coloring your hair at home but have been afraid to give it a try, consider Clairol Loving Care--it's a goof proof, easy to use hair color with beautiful, natural looking results.

Sources:

www.clairol.com

www.colorsource.com/naturalinstincts/loving_care/index.jsp