Coloring My Own Hair

You could also try to find a colorist/stylist that works out of her home. I have gone to a women in my area and she only charges $50 for cut and color and does a great job. Do some research and ask around, you will probably find someone.
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I have been coloring my hair at home for probably 15 years. I too am a mousy dark brown with lots of gray starting to pop in! A couple years ago I started to use Nice'n Easy (#98 for me to be blonde!) and it gives you the blonde color with highlights too! I've had people ask me if I've been out in the sun due to the highlights that it gives me. I love it and for $6 a box it's way more economical than the salon. I went to a salon a couple years ago to have my hair colored and didn't like it as much and paid way more than that to have it done. If I were you, I'd give it a shot! You can always go back to the salon if you don't like doing it at home.

You will really have a hard time achieving the look you want, believe me. This is YEARS of home coloring talking. I would go to your local beauty school and let them do it. It is a fraction of the cost and you'll get salon results.

I prefer going to the salon, BUT think you are being very wise to think about cutting costs this way. I often help a friend with her highlights and get great results using Loreal Feria (http://www.lorealparisusa.com/highlights-and-professional.... It may be difficult to get the highlights where you want them doing it yourself, but if you have someone help you it's easy. Good luck!

I've colored my hair so many times its not even funny! I'm only 24 but I just love the change. I get bored after a while and a fresh box of hair color and a hot bath does wonders.

It is SUPER easy. I promise. I have used every single brand on the shelf. I don't have a favorite, to me they are all the same. I choose which box based on which color I want.

Preference by Loreal is a great brand to start with. I'd stick with the all-over color boxes instead of the boxes that come with whole kits for you do color and then highlight or lowlight your hair... those are awesome, but wait until you are a little more confident.

If you have long hair, buy a separate little bottle of condition to add to the conditioner that comes in the box. You will need to condition your hair regularly if you don't already....

Its so easy.. don't pay a salon, they over charge you for something you could do on your own in 30 minutes for like, $10.

Hi...here is my opinion,

When I became a Mom 4.5 years ago it was a huge financial adjustment. We cut back on eating out, cable was reduced, we started paying much closer attention to our grocery bill, and changed our phone plans.

When you stay at home you give up a HUGE amount of the identity you have had for your entire working life so, DO NOT GIVE UP THE SALON! It is the one thing that may remind you that you are still you.

Best of Luck and Congratulations!!!
D.

J.:

I have been doing my own coloring for year, did my Mom's and do my husband (his is a little harder to keep colored!) I use L'orel Preference Cream. The best part is is comes with some Color Conditioner that you can use on and off. Everything is in the package. The highlights - I would not know how to doe that.

Best of luck!

S.

I did my own hair years ago. I have a lot of hair, long & thick. It was a messy job but I did it to save money. Now I get my hair done by a guy who works from home. He does a really good job. He's not reliable though. A bunch of my friends do their hair with him but many have stopped going to him. The thing is that he'll do my hair for about $60. Color, highlights & low lights, haircut. It's a great deal but we wash our own hair and most of the time he does not style either. His work is really good. He lives up in the northside of Chicago. Usually I will only do my hair with him three times a year. My suggestion to you is for you to have your hair done with someone that works from home that will tell you your hair color or toner and do your roots yourself. I think we all need some pampering once in a while, but you can save money by doing your own roots until you need highlights again. I've always bought my stuff from Sally's. Just a thought.

This isn't exactly an answer, but I wonder why you feel this is necessary at all? It would be cheapest of all (FREE!) to stop coloring your hair. It would also help your health and the environment, since you are putting petro-chemicals on your scalp and into your bloodstream, thereby potentially causing things like Lupus and other thyroid disruption. Then they are being washed into the drains and contaminating the Earth.

Just putting that out there- if you really want to save $ and do your part to be eco-friendly. But then again, I don't get the whole make-up/hair dye thing at all anyway...

I've been coloring my hair at home for years. I've never done any of the highlighting. It's best if you have someone help you out, because it can be difficult to make sure you have missed any spots. That's only a suggestion, you can do it yourself. Be sure to wear old clothes becasue it may drip. If your hair is a dark brown, you will not want to try to go blonde. Try to stay within a few shades of your natural color. I don't have a favorite brand.

Another thought.. you may want to see if there are any cosmotology schools in your area. Most do a great job and they're less than 1/2 the price of a salon.

I have to disagree with the lady who said the box colors are the same products used in a salon. NOT TRUE. Box colors you are not goign to get the same result as in a salon. They include the same % of developer in every box, so if you are looking for a lot of lift, you are not going to get the desired result. Also, some of the box colors contain metallic dyes, which are not good for your hair. How about going to a cosmetology school to get it done? It will save you at least half the price and everything is done under the instructors watch (I currently go to CSI in Crystal Lake). If that doesn't save you enough, my advice would be to buy your coloring at Sally's...still not as good as professional colors, but much better than box colors and you can buy the strength of developer that you need to get the desired lift. If you have any questions or need any help, I'd be happy to help. Good luck :)

Coloring hair out of a box is no big deal. The worst part to me is how messy it is. My hairstylist also let me in on the fact that the products they use are basically the same, so it's really just a question of enjoying the luxury of having someone do it for you, and of course getting all the little nooks and crannies. I stopped going to the salon and I have even done highlights. It is not as hard as it sounds, but it may take a few times. I agree having a friend, hubby or even teenaged kid help (especially for the back) can be great. If you have a friend who wants to do the same, ideal, cause you can take turns and help each other. I use various products depending on my mood-I found that Garnier fades the fastest (for me) and have been enjoying the "colorblend" technology of Clairol lately. (You can see various tones so it doesn't look so allover the same).
Why not try it a few times and see how it goes? You can always go back to the salon!

I do every 3rd coloring at the salon. The other 2 I do at home to cover up the gray. I have used many different products out there. L'Oreal is my favorite---mostly because the smell is not bad.
I have had no problems, but I just try to stay close to same hair color.....

Do you have a beauty supply store near you?If so, I would ask them what they recommend.

I have tried to color and highlight my hair several different occasions at home. It never, and I repeat, never looks the same as the salon. It always (for me) turns out so much redder!! I have decided to suck it up and stick with a salon because I'm always happy with my hair dresser instead of being happy some of the time when I color my own. You run the risk of getting tiger striping in your hair when you try to highlight (basically missing parts of your hair so you look like you have stripes...not a good look!).

I recommend trying to find a local salon or hair school that will give you a discounted price. And instead of going every 2-3 months (or whatever you are used to), go longer inbetween. This may mean you have to go a darker blond in order for it to not look at drastic as it's growing out.

Another suggestion would be to go to a salon every other time you want to color your hair. Do regular color at home, then a few months later get highlights, then a few months later, maybe put a color similar to the highlights on your entire head (or half of it) then the next time, get lowlights. That would save some money too!

I color my hair at home all the time. I don't do any highlights or fancy stuff, I just try to get rid of the mousiness you describe. I love both Feria and Natural Instincts. I like Natural instincts cause instead of leaving roots it just kinds fades out of your hair, so you don't have the funky roots showing when you haven't had time to do it. And it doesn't seem to tear up my hair as much. The Feria colors are really pretty, kinda three dimensional, and it smells alot nicer than other colors. You can also find coupons for these alot in the paper that end up making it really really cheap.

Trust your husband? Mine helps me find the spots I misses and we make a fun project out of it. Lots cheaper from Walmart or places with sales on haircoloring and we have fun seeing the results. We even bought big gloves for his hands because they are big.