Home Hair Coloring: Tips and Tools

Though the salon is almost always the way to go when it comes to changing your hair color or for a quick touch-up, it somehow seems so much easier, quicker, and far less expensive to just buy boxed hair color at the local drugstore the moment that you start to see some roots or grays peeking through.

Yes, it is a cost-effective option as there are some brands that can be purchased for under five dollars per box. Coupons are always a viable option as well. Just look online, in the newspaper, or the Target Cartwheel/CVS apps for your smartphones and you can probably find a hair color coupon to save you a few bucks.

I have tried pretty much every boxed hair color on the market, as a broke college student would do, and they are not all bad, even the ones that are super inexpensive, believe it or not. Yes, there are some brands I would shy away from because of personal experience, but my hair is not like everyone else's. So what may work for you may be the opposite for me, and that's okay.

Trial and Error

It is all about trial and error, but what we really want you to avoid is the error part. We cannot be completely exempt from mistakes and coloring issues. They are a part of life and how we learn and understand what is best for our hair and what brands work best for your type of hair. I'm an excellence girl myself, but I haven't strayed from ColorSilk if needed because their blondes can be incredible if done correctly.

So, how do you successfully color your hair at home with the best results and with the most ease? Here are some tips and tools to help you achieve your home hair goals and take some of the burden and stress off of the whole process so you can feel like you just stepped out of a salon … even if it was just your bathroom.

According to polls, more than 80% of women color their hair at home, which is not that big of a surprise. There is a reason why there is a whole hair color aisle that is constantly evolving, enhancing, and improving. Endless television and magazine ads to promote the idea that home hair coloring is the way to go mean millions of dollars and hundreds of hours are spent just to encourage both men and women to take their hair into their own hands.

Woman who is getting her hair colored at home — Photo: EdvanKun/EnryKun/Canva

There was an episode of "Hot in Cleveland" where the women, who were always used to going to upscale California salons, decided to have a day of beauty and that included coloring their hair at home, straight out of a box, like it was this whole new idea. When “The Brady Bunch” first came out, everyone wanted to look like Maureen McCormick, also known as Marcia Brady, and that was the beginning of the Born Blonde trend.

My mom regales me with tales about how she and her friends raced to the store for this hot new bleach so that they could look just like the Brady star and often times, they ended up looking like their tie-dyed T-shirts. We don't want that, unless that's the look you're going for, but in that case, you'll definitely need a stylist to get that rainbow style.

Overall Base Color

For an overall base color, here are the proper steps that you should take every time you dye your hair at home.

Never make a drastic change with your hair color at home. Stay within one to two shades of your current color, natural or artificial, and if you want a drastic change, call your salon and make an appointment right away. Trust me. It is not worth the stress, pain, effort, and ultimately, the damage and money that will be the result of what you are trying to do.

When purchasing hair color, have an idea of what you are looking for. If you have basic brown hair and are looking for a more golden effect, you can immediately rule out ashy, darker, or cooler colors. Know what you want so you can save a lot of time and just focus on the colors that you know will suit you the best. If you are unsure as to what brand will work best for you, you can feel free to go online and read reviews of products, but look for reviews that reflect the type of hair that you have, e.g. thick, curly, frizzy, thin, oily, etc.

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