Successfully Color Your Hair

Many women have thought of changing their hair color at one point or another. The common hindrance is often the worry that it just won't turn out the way it is supposed to. Many of us have memories of blue-haired elderly aunts or perhaps the teacher in grade school whose blond hair turned pink when she tried to color it red. Follow these tips to avoid those mistakes and have a successful experience.

1). Start out with good, healthy hair. If you have long hair and it is damaged on the ends, get them trimmed. Damaged and broken hair is more porous and will absorb color faster than the healthy hair nearer the scalp. If this is left untrimmed you may notice a marked shade difference between roots and ends.

2). Make sure you have a healthy scalp. If you have any sores or dry patches on your scalp, applying hair color may aggravate this condition and may even be painful.

3). Don't wash your hair with shampoo for at least a day before coloring your hair. This lets the protective oils build up on your scalp, thus, helping you avoid irritation.

4). If you are hesitant or trying a new color that is darker, choose a hair color that is semi-permanent. This way you will be saved the embarrassment of going to a salon to have the color corrected, at often a sizeable expense. If you have patience, within a month or so your hair will be back to it's original color with no noticeable roots.

5). Don't go blond unless you know you will be thrilled with the results and unless you are going to a salon. Achieving the blond color is difficult and the process includes the bleaching of hair before color is added. If this process is attempted at home, often the results are brassy or even orange-ish. Avoid coloring light hair very dark, or very dark hair light. It just never quite turns out the way you would hope.

6). Don't expect red colors to have a long life, even when permanent. The red colorant molecules are larger and therefore sit on the hair shaft, instead of permeating into the inside. The color is often very vibrant and lively for the first couple weeks but will soon lose that shimmer.

7). Care for your hair properly after it has been colored. Use a little extra TLC and do extra moisturizing and less blow-drying as coloring is often stressful to hair and can encourage damage. Avoid stressing it further.

8). Follow all of the instructions carefully and exactly. If you are doing your color at home from a box, know that you can get wonderful results but pay attention to the recommended hairshades for your own hair color. If you visited a salon, ask your stylist for tips and recommendations for hair care.

9). Remember when coloring your hair at home that the colorant will stain clothing, furniture and skin and make sure to promptly wash it off of any surfaces that you do not want marred.

10). Write down what color combination the salon stylist chose for your hair, if you went to a salon, or if you did it yourself, save the box. You might just like the color so much that you would be dismayed to try anything else.