Hair Color From Your Home Salon

After watching the special Laurel Color Systems had on television you’ve decided to take the plunge and get a whole new look. And you are going to start that new look with a hair color treatment from your home salon right?

So how do you choose the best color for you and how do you get professional results at home. It’s not as difficult at one might think, try these tips to color our hair like a pro.

There is some great new hair color shades available. You can be bold and beautiful, subtle and beautiful, or add just a hint of color. So how to choose the right color.

RED

Only 2% of the population are natural red heads. This year we are seeing new shades in the red family - copper, auburn, light reds.

Copper is daring and vibrant suited for an outgoing personality. It works best with a peaches and cream complexion.

Auburn is rich and warm and very sophisticated. Works best with olive complexions

Light red is sweet and innocent. Works best with fair complexions.

BROWN

Dark Brown is giving the traditional Hollywood blonde a run for the money. It looks great on those with light colored eyes and light to fair complexions.

Medium brown is warm and friendly. It looks great on all warm tone complexions

Light brown is sophisticated. It works well with medium complexions.

BLONDE

Dark Blonde is sophisticated. Works with a variety of complexions.

Medium Blonde is warm and friendly. Works with a variety of complexions

Light blonde is sexy. Works great with fair skin. A stunning contrast with darker complexions.

So how do you get professional looking results at home. There are ten easy steps.

1. When choosing a color at the store, try to find more natural lighting to see the true shade. Hold the hair swatch at eye level and check in the mirror to see if it compliments your skin tone.

2. To cover grey you need to choose a permanent color. Choosing a shade close to your own color will blend the grey. Choosing a color one shade lighter will create natural looking highlights.

3. To touch up regrowth use Clairol’s Root Touch Up Kit. Available in a wide variety of their own colors and their competitors colors

4. Ash shades create cool colors. Be careful with ash tones as they can leave your hair with a green hue. Red and gold tones create warm colors. Neutral tones maintain the tone of the natural hair.

5. Be sure to do a strand test before applying. Strictly follow the direction supplied by the manufacturer. If it says 30 minutes don’t leave it in 40 are you may get unexpected results. The instructions are meant to be followed “exactly.” Never mix your color up in advance

6. For home coloring its always best to choose a color within two shades of your own color – either lighter or darker

7. To get the longest life from your coloring use only color enhancing shampoos and conditioners. Do not use deep conditioners as they tend to lift the color.

8. You can even get professional highlights at home with the new brush on technique kits.

9. Hair Coloring has a shelf life of around 36 months. Watch for expiry dates when buying. Don’t use any products you have at home that are older than this as the results may not be what you expected.

10. Do not use hair dye to dye your eyebrows. You can do serious damage to your eyes. Have eyebrows done by a professional

When purchasing hair dye you have your choice between semi permanents, demi permanents, permanents, and bleach. So what’s the difference?

Semi permanent is temporary and lasts about 10 shampoos.

Demi Permanent is temporary and lasts about 4 weeks. It works great for grey coverage as it gradually fades away

Permanent lasts 4-6 weeks before it needs to be touched up because of new growth. It covers grey the best.

Bleach lightens your natural hair color up to 7 shaded. Be very careful when using bleach on dark hair that has a red undertone. You could very quickly turn into a carrot top. I recommend if you are going from dark to blond to have a professional do it.

So have some fun! Give yourself a hair makeover. New hair will give you a whole new look and a whole new energy level.

Sher Matsen