Colour Your Hair at Home

Want to refresh your hair from home? Colouring products are gentler than ever and loaded with botanicals and conditioners.

If you want change your look without having to take a trip to the salon, follow these simple steps to achieve natural-looking colour as well as body and shine.

1. Stay within your colour range

Go only one or two shades lighter or darker than the colour your hair is at the moment. Avoid making extreme colour changes on your own, because hidden beneath the shade that’s apparent to the naked eye are underlying pigments. When hair is dyed, those pigments take centre stage. When you’re going from brunette to Lady Gaga platinum or vice versa, prep the hair by filling in the pigments that are being removed, or by removing pigments before depositing a darker colour. This is what’s known as a “double process,” and it’s something you want to leave to the pros to avoid ending up with an orange or green hue.

2. Choose the right formula

Start out with a clear understanding of what you want to achieve, and that will lead you to the appropriate type of product.Glosses and glazes work in just three to five minutes to boost colour by adding tone, shine and vibrancy. They last up to six shampoos. If your hair is highlighted, opt for a clear gloss that will add shine without depositing a hint of colour that can affect the tone of those finely calibrated streaks.
Semipermanent colour contains pigments that coat the outside of the hair fiber and fade after six to 12 shampoos. Semipermanent colour will only darken the tone of your hair and cover a sprinkling of grey.
Permanent colour contains ingredients that open the hair’s cuticle, allowing the colour to penetrate the shaft. It can lighten or darken hair and will provide full grey coverage. After four to six weeks, you’ll need a touch-up to cover showing roots.

3. Select the right shade

You want to balance warm skin tones with cool hair colour (look for champagne, ash and beige shades) and cool skin tones with warm hair colour (look for cocoa, pecan, caramel, bronze, honey and chestnut shades).

4. Read the hair colour box

Pay attention to the language on the product box: Words such as “bold” and “brilliant” indicate you’ll get more dramatic results than a natural “true-to-you” colour. Study the colour chart on the back of the box as a guide to the results you can expect, and read the ingredients list for things such as botanicals to nourish the hair.

5. Don’t skip the strand test

Snipping and dyeing a few strands will give you a precise preview of how the colour will look on your locks and how long you need to keep the product in your hair if you’re covering resistant greys. Remember, don’t start the timer until you’ve finished applying the colour to your hair.