Ask Karen - February 2005

To answer your questions: 

Home hair coloring can be a good option for many consumers like you that don't have the budget to visit a color professional, want to touch up professionally applied color or want to experiment with simple color projects.  

Please keep in mind that hair color, even when done by hair color experts, can be a very complex topic that has a lot of potential issues to consider. 

Home hair color projects work best when you take the time to research your hair coloring project before moving forward.  I commend you on taking the time to find the right answers for you and your hair, before getting started. 

Depending on the current color of brunette that you have, you may not be able to go lighter without using a hair color product that is designed to lift color.  Going lighter, depending on how light you wish to go, may require a product with a bleaching or other lifting components.  Some home hair colors can lift and lighten in one step if the hair being colored is light enough.  Darker shades, however, might require a two step process which involves lifting out the existing color and then applying a toner or similar product to add the desired shade of color.

Depending on the type of product formula you use, home hair color can actually serve the purpose of plumping up thin locks. This is especially true when a semi or demi-permanent color is applied to generally healthy tresses.  However, semi and demi-permanent colors will not lift and will thus make your existing color richer and add shine but it will not make it lighter.  In fact, this may be the type of home hair color product that you have been using which would account for the fact that your hair gets darker.

If the hair color product selected is gentle with minimal chemicals, there may be no potential damage done to your long locks.  However, keep in mind, that some types of hair color products, especially those that have stronger chemicals to help lift color, may prove to be somewhat drying and damaging to some types of hair.  This might potentially cause some damage to your longer strands.

Only you can make the decision whether you wish to risk any type of damage to your strands or not and thus weigh the type of home hair color product that you wish to try. 

Because there are so many different possibilities of home hair color products that you might use, I would suggest that before you select a specific brand or specific color that you consult with the major hair color companies that offer consumer hotlines or advice.   

The majority of the big name home hair color companies usually offer a toll free line for consumers to call that will help them make selections that will meet the consumer’s current needs.  In your case you have the issues of wanting to go lighter as well as questioning how much product to apply to completely cover your long strands and questions about long term damage to your hair.   

L'Oreal, which is also a wonderful company, offers exceptional help through their toll free phone number which is 1-888-4-LOREAL.  They offer hair color makeover help through their  website at: http://www.garnierusa.com/ 

You can call Clairol at 1-800-CLAIROL.  You can also visit the Clairol consumer friendly hair color site on the Web at http://www.clairol.com which has lots of suggestions on at home coloring at: http://www.clairol.com/expert-advice/expert-advice.jsp 

You can even search by hair color product type at:http://www.clairol.com/default.jsp?hf=true 

In your case you have some issues and questions to consider: 

1.     How light do you wish to go?  Usually it is best to stay without two shades of either your current or natural hair color. Can you go lighter without lifting your current color?  This may or may not be possible depending on how dark your current color is.

2.     If you wish to go a lot lighter than two shades then what hair color product type would you require?  Keep in mind that hair color products run the gamut form temporary colors, which will not lighten but only enrich and deepen existing hues to permanent colors which will remain on the strands until they grow out.  Permanent hair color is most likely to offer the chemical formulations such as bleach or other chemical agents that will lift your current color and deposit a lighter shade.  There is also the option to go with a product that first lifts and then requires you to add a toner to create a lighter color.

3.     It is important to consider the current condition of your hair.  Is it super healthy or does it have some damage issues left over from previous hair coloring applications?  This is key to determining whether there is a risk to coloring your hair at this point.  When hair is dry or over porous from previous coloring, it is often best to avoid altering the current shade until your hair is in prime health.  Or else even further damage could occur.

4.     Can you life with just adding highlights around your face to open up your eyes and skin tone without risking possible damage by coloring your entire head of hair?  Highlights offer the advantage of going from 2-4 shades lighter and brighter without coloring the entire head. Many of the home hair color companies offer streaking or highlight kits that will allow you to lighten just around your face and hairline. 

5.     Can you afford to visit a professional hair colorist?  If so, then make an appointment for a Consultation Only.  Make it clear that you will pay for the hair colorist’s time but do not want to make any color changes at that consultation meeting.  This gives you the chance to listen and take notes about your hair and then go home and mull over the possible options.  At that point you may decide to move forward to take a new direction.

6.     If a professional hair colorist is not an option, decide on a consumer hair color brand that appeals to you whether it is L’Oreal, Clairol or Revlon and then contact their consumer help lines for advice.

In general if you decide to go lighter and decide to do it at home, you will probably need to buy two hair color kits to handle your long hair.  To be safe, why not buy three to have as a backup.  There is nothing worse than being in the middle of coloring your hair and then running out of formula.  Obviously you would not be able to run to the store with your hair covered with hair color foam.   

Of course the best bet is to get as many answers as possible in advance from the hair color companies and be sure to ask them how many kits you may need to cover your long hair. 

Be sure to keep in mind that once you color with a new shade, the next application of hair color should Only be to the roots.  Overlapping color on existing strands will damage them and tend to cause them to become overly dry and potentially brittle. That is why it is recommended that color refreshing Only be done to the roots. 

Good luck to you.  I hope this helps you get started on your home haircolor journey.

Best wishes,

Karen Shelton
askkaren@hairboutique.com

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