New Year = new look = new color. Excuse me, a new color? Yes, my hair color. My hairdresser always mentions 2 things about coloring hair:
- A professional will almost always produce better results
- A natural color can be hard to achieve at home
Strangely, she always forgets to mention that a regular coloring by a prefessional can be expensive. I am sure that what she means with a professional is actually she, herself. Almost means almost (nearly) and a natural color means a fake natural color that is almost as natural as a natural color.
Despite the fact that I quite fun of my hairdresser (have I mentioned that she can tell you some very interesting stories while she cuts off all of your dead hair?) I think it is easier and cheaper to color my hair at home. As long as I follow the hair coloring instructions, there is not a lot room for mistakes to be made. Well, not after my first experience in hair coloring anyway, when my hair turned orange. I am Dutch and orange is the national colour of The Netherlands, so I don’t mean to be unpatriotic or anything. I just don’t want to find myself walking around with orange colored hairs on my head.
No more orange-mistakes for me!
There are some important hair coloring instructions that I always follow and I hope that you will find them useful as well.
What to do before coloring:
- Choose a color that is compatible with your skin tones. If you have warm skin tones, you should consider gold or auburn tones and stay away from ash tones (seriously!).
- Check the color on the box carefully (not the model’s hair color). There is a guideline on the side that will give some indication of the resulting color.
- Read the coloring instructions at least two times. Always do the strand test. That is very important.
- Always wear the gloves. They are added to the kit for your protection.
What to do during coloring:
- Know what area you want to color. If you are touching up the roots, be sure that this is the area that you target.
- Use a timer to keep track of the time. It is very easy to forget when you are pimping up your Facebook’s profile or posting an article on your blogs.
What to do after coloring:
- Rinse your hair thoroughly. The instructions always say to rinse until the water runs clear so, follow it!
- Condition your hair with the product provided. Your hair is going to be very vulnerable to damage and needs all the help it can get at this point.
- Do not perm or straighten your hair for several weeks after coloring (unless you really want to damage your own hair!)
- If your hair turns orange (or blue!), do not rush out, do not choose another hair color and do not repeat the process instantly. Instead, go to your hairdresser and let her/him correct the color with the least amount of damage.
Color your hair. Color your look. Color your year. Color your life!
