How to get the hair color result you want

Many, if not most, women have had a bad experience with coloring their hair. Maybe the dye ended up too dark. Maybe it ended up frying and damaging the hair, or maybe the color took to the hair unevenly. In any case, it can be disheartening when you have an expectation in mind but end up with a completely different and undesirable result. Then, to make matters worse, you have to figure out how you are going to deal with the fallout. Dye the hair again? Wait for it to grow out? Get a new haircut which may be more agreeable with the color that you ultimately ended up with? Now, while there is no 100% surefire way to get exactly the results that you want from dyeing your hair, there are a number of things that you can do to increase your chances.

START WITH HEALTHY HAIR

One of the best ways to ensure that your hair color will end up the way you want it is to start with a base of healthy hair. If you have very damaged hair from the start, whether that be from over-dyeing or any other reason, the results that you will get from newly dyeing your hair are bound to be less favorable. Additionally, if you walk into your favorite salon with highly damaged hair and ask for a coloring, your stylist may not want to do it for the fear of the result that you will get (and then blame them for).

PICK A TRUSTWORTHY SALON 

If you really want good results from coloring your hair, don’t do it yourself and don’t pick just any salon. Look for a salon with experienced stylists and then check out their social media pages. Do you see clients with hair similar to yours or clients with hair color results similar to those you want? If so, that salon could be a good fit. If not, continue looking until you find a salon that specializes in the services you’re looking for. A few extra hours of searching for a salon is a lot better than spending weeks or months with a hair color that you don’t like or want.

FIND MULTIPLE PICTURES OF THE COLOR RESULT YOU WANT

One of the best ways to ensure that you get the color result you want is to bring various photos that demonstrate your desired results to your stylist before any coloring is actually done. Photographs do a much better job of communicating what you want than any verbal description you give. Also, this way,  if you happen to not end up with the color result you want, you can rule out miscommunication and consider trying a new stylist whose skill set may be more aligned with your hair and the color and style you want for next time.

UNDERSTAND HAIR COLOR LANGUAGE

Now, even though pictures are the best way to communicate to your stylist how you want your hair color to turn out, it is still helpful to be able to talk about hair color in the same terms which stylists use and understand. Two of the terms which stylists commonly use are “warm tones” and “cool tones” when discussing hair coloring with their clients. Warm tones refer to colors with more orange, gold or copper while cool hair colors refer to colors with blue, purple, green or gray undertones. This is useful to know because, although two shades of brown may appear similar at first glance, the difference between warm and cool undertones will be noticeable in different lights. Another useful term to understand is hair “dimension.” Hair which is very dimensional will have certain strands which are slightly lighter or darker than others as this creates a more natural look. Hair which is solid or non-dimensional will have deeper, more uniform color which looks less natural but, nonetheless, is very popular with many women.

CONCLUSION

Getting a hair coloring can be a stressful experience for many women. Whether it is the first time you are getting your hair colored or you are trying a new color, salon or stylist, the fear of not knowing with certainty the result you will actually get can be alarming. However, by following the steps and information in this article, you can breathe a little easier knowing that the chances you will end up with the color you want are much better.