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One languorous high-school summer, I lost a high-stakes bet with two close friends. As punishment, they would dye my hair a color of their choosing, my mother’s certain horror be damned. Luckily for me, our neighborhood Walgreens didn’t stock the more outrageous Manic Panic primary colors, but my friends did manage to choose a sufficiently Goth shade of purplish-black. Though I grumbled, I was not uninterested in what I’d look like with witch-black hair. And so I sat stoically on the toilet while my friends squirted the solution all over my scalp (and all nearby bathroom tiles). I still remember the anticipation: getting into the shower, applying the deep conditioning treatment, and then waiting nervously for the transformation to take place.
An hour later, when my hair had dried, it looked ... exactly the same. The stinky goop that had promised to turn my reddish-brown hair a dramatic raven black had done exactly nothing at all. My friends and I were stupefied. We had followed the instructions to the letter, left the solution in a full 45 minutes—why did we have nothing to show for our efforts but a trashed bathroom?
I’ve never lingered in the hair-dye aisle of the drugstore since, but after seeing several stories on the impact of the recession on hair salons—15 percent of 1,000 serial hair-dyers surveyed said they now color their hair at home instead of at the salon—I began to wonder if perhaps home dye kits had improved since the mid-’90s. The savings are certainly significant: These kits go for about $10, while color treatments at salons can cost anywhere from $70 to $250. Were these products any good?
Methodology
I picked a similar shade—a basic brown about three shades darker than my natural color—from five different companies: two from the natural foods store, two from CVS, and one from Sephora. The kits ranged in price from $3 to $30.
I enlisted the help of a friend who has dyed her hair at home before. Before the testing, her hair was a brassy reddish-blond, so (we hoped) the dyes would have a more extreme effect on her. We separated the bottom layers of our hair into five sections and over the course of a long holiday weekend set about transforming our tresses, plot by plot, on the cheap.
Ease of Application (10 points): Does applying the color require an advanced degree from the Vidal Sassoon Academy? Does it have any special applicator wands, or do you apply it straight from the bottle? How long do you have to leave the color on?
Color Quality (10 points): Does the hair color actually, you know, color the hair? And if so, is the color attractive and natural-looking, or does the hair turn a radioactive shade of purple under direct sunlight?
Value (10 points): Does the home kit offer ample savings of money (and time), or will the intrepid DIY dyer end up blowing more cash repairing the damage, as my own hairdresser believes inevitably happens?
Here are the results of our experiment, from noxious to knockout.
Rainbow Henna Persian Dark Brown, $5.87
This health food store product is bare-bones to the extreme, consisting of a little pot of claylike glop and that’s it. You can forget about any “extras”—gloves, mixing container, conditioning after-treatment—with the Rainbow Henna. I had to sacrifice a salad bowl ($7), mixing spoon ($3), and dishwashing gloves ($2) to concoct a substance that could reasonably spread across the scalp, making the $6 dye seem like less of a steal.
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Comments
Re: Home dyed kit
By: JessicaW | Fri, 12/04/2009 - 14:46
I like Revlon's products and consider myself reasonably proficient doing my own hair at home and save boston seo.
Information
By: DanB. | Wed, 11/11/2009 - 17:03
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Red dye doesn't last on
By: shin | Wed, 09/09/2009 - 23:26
Red dye doesn't last on silver or grey hair because of it's lack of pigmentation, I have been told, which is why I end up doing mine so frequently.
And as for highlights...I tried one of those home highlighting kits. I consider myself reasonably proficient at doing my own hair, and yet:
I had orange tiger stripes in my hair.
Never will I home highlight again unless I go two tone and break out the tin foil!
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It's not brain surgery...
By: duranimal | Tue, 08/25/2009 - 06:43
I've been coloring my brown hair auburn for years. I go to the salon when I can afford it mainly because they can get the spots in back that I always miss, but I get plenty of compliments on my home jobs. I've never fried my hair or been unhappy with the results. Naturtint in Fireland works quite well, and is low in chemicals. The last time I colored I used Garnier 100% Color in Intense Auburn, I love the color and my hair feels great. Since everyone's hair type and chemistry is different, the trick is finding a brand and shade you like and sticking with it- then you won't get any surprises when you exit the shower.
I have to wonder...
By: gloomcookie613 | Tue, 08/25/2009 - 02:17
Did you and your friend continually colour your hair over and over again? I hope for as many products as you claim to have tried, that you didn't do it over a short period of time and used more than the "conditioning treatment" included in the dye kits to help keep your hair from frying.
The general rule of thumb with home hair colouring is that if you're unsure, don't do it, and go to the salon. If you can't laugh off a really bad dye job, go to the salon. And for the love of god, please, if you have a hard time figuring out how to use a squeeze bottle to put dye on your head, go to the salon!
And c'mon, get real, of COURSE your stylist is going to tell you how evil and horrid home-dye jobs are! It cuts down on their business! FIRST thing beauty schools teach is to push "professional" products and demonize anything "at-home/DIY" so that you don't cut into your bottom line! If I had a dollar for every time I had to smile and tell the person in my chair, "Of COURSE you can't use SUAVE! No WONDER your hair is in such bad shape! We'll fix you up with this $uper$hampoo I have here." What they don't tell you is the products are only slightly superior and the reason your hair looks so great when you leave? Watch your stylist carefully. They wash your hair, condition it (usually), and when they style it are grabbing any number of lotions and potions off their station. Ever wonder why? It's not magic $hampoo, it's the products, better than "standard consumer" styling equipment, and education in the proper techniques to get hair looking good. The only product issue you need to worry about is alcohol content in the product. If there's any type of alcohol/ethyl ingredients listed first or second on the product, avoid it if you are getting lots of splits and dryness. If you have naturally oily hair (like me) it's not as big of a deal, but your mileage may vary as we all have different hair types.
Let me break down some tricks and tips for the ladies so they can save some money by getting salon-look on their own:
When washing your hair - Wash with warm (as warm as you'd like) water, lather well and rinse (if you don't get a lather, don't just add extra shampoo! Rinse your hair and rewash until you can work up a semi-decent lather, when you get white froth on your hands, you've done your job). When you condition turn down the temperature on that water! Warm water opens the hair's cuticles (think little shingles along each hair protecting it), however, cooler water will close the cuticle. This is why you want to use warm to clean (get all the dirt and gunk out) and cool to condition (closes the cuticles down so they can absorb the most conditioner). Also, with conditioner, less is more. Don't blob it on, the hair can only absorb a set amount of conditioner, so you're washing $$ down the drain when you use a whole handful. A quarter sized glob in your hand should suffice; if your hair is really long a half dollar at MOST!
While the hair is damp is the best time for most products. Mousse, gel, shine serums, and heat damage sprays can work into the hair best when wet and you'll find you don't need to use nearly as much on damp hair. Again, less is more AND saves you money!
Blow drying your hair? I know that the Super High Heat setting SEEMS faster, but it's also a faster way to get split ends. You can do the first bits of drying on a higher heat setting, but when it comes to brushing and styling turn the heat down. When you want to lock in your brushed style, the cool air will actually help the hair keep shape. Another good tip, NEVER brush your hair when wet! This is what combs are meant for! Brushes, too often, can snag in the hair and rip the cuticles all to heck, causing split ends. A large tooth comb is best for getting out damp tangles so you can blow dry.
Those are just *some* tips and tricks that can help you keep a few bucks in your pocket. No magic $hampoo required!
To the person before me who said to go to the beauty supply store, I agree it's cheaper, but not if you don't have a clue what you're doing. If a box of dye from the pharmacy scares you, don't even dream of going to a beauty supply to get individual ingredients; it will only end in tears. Also, to the previous poster, if you're dying your hair black, don't buy 30vol. developer, all you're doing is frying your cuticles needlessly. You want at MOST a 20volume developer (what is in most at-home kits), or even a 10v. I dye my hair black and only need a 10V. An easy way to calculate what volume to use is this:
Want your hair lighter? If the shade isn't MUCH lighter than your own hair colour, 20v
Need to go up at least 3-4 shades and have resistant hair? 30v.
Going bright blond? 40volume (but this volume is really harsh on the hair and should only be used in extreme bleaching situations and by professionals or very experienced DIYers!)
Want to go darker than your natural colour? 10v. is all you need.
Lighter colours need to strip pigments from your hair, and need a stronger developer to achieve the right level of pigment lift (20volume and higher)
Dark colours are depositing pigments and only need a 10v to help coax open the cuticle, but not fry it. Try it, I'll bet your hair feels less damaged after a few touch ups.
Even if you're not sure of doing your dye jobs at home, I hope I at least gave you some tips that will have you saving!
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And yes, I really *am* a stylist.
Hey can I use this Revlon
By: smiths | Tue, 08/25/2009 - 00:37
Hey can I use this Revlon product for my Wigs? I really need a proper hair color for my wigs to give it some vogue look.
Not so sure.
By: MessyONE | Mon, 08/24/2009 - 16:36
The only time my hair was completely fried was when I got a salon color. My hair is very fine, almost stick straight and very thick. I always wear it short and it still took six months to grow that out. It was a disaster. I switched salons to a very good one in Dallas and the owner told me to do the red at home.
I get full gray coverage, no damage to my hair and perfect, natural highlights. Every time. For 25 years.
The Skinny from An Insider
By: Paul Miller | Mon, 08/24/2009 - 14:40
I have a hair salon with my partner. Though I am not a stylist myself, what I have observed to be true about home hair coloring is that, even if the product is good and you apply it well, at the end of the day, the results are only okay on people of a certain hair quality. Some folks just have stronger, softer hair that can take the ingredients of home kits better, so they actually get a good tone and still appear to have shiny and bouncy hair. For most people, though, the results are disappointing and more latent hair health problems are exacerbated by the harsh chemicals of these products. We have had enough clients schedule appointments over the years to fix their terrible home job for me to say with confidence that, if you can afford salon care, you ought to have a professional do your coloring instead. Besides, it's GOOD to support small, local businesses. I could get my books off of Amazon, but I CHOOSE to go to the little book store down the street. It makes me feel like a better member of my community.
Just stick with L'Oreal and you'll be fine.
By: MessyONE | Mon, 08/24/2009 - 14:17
I've been coloring my own hair for 25 years, and the best copper/brown/red I've found is their 5 1/2 AM. It's a clear color with lots of highlights that looks perfectly natural between colorings. The only problem with reds is that they invariably fade. You have to touch it up more often.
The fading? Well, back in the 70s, someone got the idea to force bunnies to drink the human equivalent of 2 gallons of red dye every day for months on end. The bunnies got cancer. Of course, if you drink that much of anything a day for that length of time, you're going to get cancer. That includes milk. However, that one short term study was enough to induce a panic and cause a perfectly safe dye that had been in use for decades with NO reported cases of illness to be banned. Hence, you gotta retouch regularly.
I've been told by no fewer than four stylists NEVER to get my red done in a salon. If you do that, you'll end up with a nasty lost-in-the-80s burgundy/purple that looks good on exactly no one. This makes me very happy, since in this town it costs $200.00 and up for hair color at a decent salon.
Are There No Pictures Because You're Both Bald Now?
By: mandycat | Mon, 08/24/2009 - 10:30
If you and your friend still have any hair left, never mind hair of an attractive color, you're extremely lucky. Mixing hair color products, even over a "long" holiday weekend and in sections, is very problematic.