Home hair color products have improved substantially over recent years. Many DIY color jobs are essentially indistinguishable from salon work for certain types of color services. Other types of color services should never be attempted at home regardless of product quality.
Here are 5 things to know before your next home color attempt.
1. Some color services are genuinely safe to DIY
Several categories of color work reasonably well at home:
Root touch-ups in the same color you already have. If you have been coloring your hair the same color for years and just need to refresh the roots, this is straightforward to do at home.
Going one shade darker than your current color. Adding warmth or going slightly darker is forgiving and produces reasonable results.
Glosses and toners. Demi-permanent products that adjust tone without changing underlying color are safe to use at home.
Henna and natural color products. These work differently than chemical color and have their own learning curve but are generally safe.
For these categories, home color is genuinely viable and saves substantial money over salon services.
2. Other color services should never be attempted at home
Several categories produce predictable disasters when attempted at home:
Going substantially lighter. Any color change that requires lightening hair (going from brown to blonde, from black to brown) is extremely difficult to do well. Home attempts usually produce orange or brassy results that require expensive correction.
Color correction. If your previous color attempt went wrong, more home color almost always makes it worse. Color correction requires professional skill and product knowledge.
Highlights or balayage. Multi-tone color work requires stylist technique and equipment. Home attempts produce stripey, obvious results.
Bleaching. Bleach is genuinely dangerous to hair and skin. Home bleach attempts frequently produce damaged hair that takes years to recover from.
Dramatic color changes (red to blonde, black to red). Major color changes require professional skill and often multiple appointments.
For these categories, even mediocre salon work produces dramatically better results than home attempts.
3. The product matters substantially
Home hair color products vary enormously in quality. The differences are not just marketing.
What works: Established professional brands now sold for home use (Madison Reed, eSalon, Color & Co). Quality demi-permanent products from major brands. Specific products designed for the color category you are doing.
What to skip: Cheap drugstore color in the boxes with celebrity faces. The color formulations are typically less sophisticated and produce less natural results.
The price reality: Quality home color products cost $25-40 per application. Cheap products that cost $8-12 typically produce visibly cheaper results.
4. The application process matters
Even with quality products, application technique substantially affects results.
What works:
- Section hair into 4-8 sections before starting
- Apply color to roots first (where regrowth is)
- Pull color through to ends only at end of processing time
- Time applications carefully (over-processing damages hair)
- Rinse thoroughly and use the included conditioner
What does not work:
- Applying all the color to all the hair at once
- Skipping the sectioning step
- Leaving color on longer than instructions specify
- Skipping the post-color conditioner
Good application technique produces dramatically better results than poor technique with the same product.
5. Realistic expectations matter
Home color cannot produce the same results as quality salon work. The realistic expectations:
What home color does well: Maintain established color, refresh roots, adjust tone slightly, cover gray.
What home color does not do well: Major color changes, multi-tonal color work, color correction, color services on damaged hair.
Approaching home color with realistic expectations produces satisfaction. Approaching it expecting salon-quality results for $30 produces disappointment.
The cost comparison
Home color versus salon color economics:
Home color: $25-40 per application. About $300-500/year for typical maintenance schedule.
Basic salon color: $80-200 per appointment. About $1,200-3,000/year for typical maintenance schedule.
Premium salon color (highlights, balayage): $200-500+ per appointment. About $2,000-6,000/year.
The savings from home color are substantial when home color is appropriate. Home color attempts that require salon correction cost more than going to a salon initially would have.
When to invest in salon services
Salon services are worth the cost when:
- You are making a major color change
- You want multi-tonal or specialty color
- Your previous home color went wrong
- You have damaged hair that needs careful handling
- You have specific occasions requiring perfect color
- You can afford it without financial stress
Home services are appropriate for routine maintenance between salon visits or when budget constraints make salon services impractical.
The hybrid approach that works
Many people get the best results from a hybrid approach:
- Major color services at salon (initial color, color changes, highlights)
- Maintenance touch-ups at home between salon appointments
- Periodic salon service for "reset" when needed
This approach captures most of the cost savings of home color while maintaining the quality of salon work for important services.
What to do if home color goes wrong
Color disasters happen. The response matters:
Do NOT: Apply more home color to fix the problem. This almost always makes things worse.
Do: Wait at least a week before doing anything. Hair can recover somewhat. Color may settle. The result may be less dramatic than initial reaction suggests.
If still concerned after a week: Go to a salon for color correction. Be honest about what happened. Color correction is more expensive than original color services but typically produces good results.
The takeaway
Home hair color is genuinely viable for specific services and produces substantial savings when appropriate. Other color services should not be attempted at home regardless of product quality.
Match the service to the venue. Use quality products and good technique when doing color at home. Invest in salon services for color work that home services cannot adequately handle.
Realistic expectations and appropriate venue selection produce better outcomes than aspiration to do everything at home or to outsource everything to salons.
