Hair Color: Hair Coloring Tips

hair colorI still remember the day when I got my hair colored for the first time, it was right after my board exams for grade 10. My best friend’s aunty owned this hair color saloon, and I got my first highlights from there. Ahh… nostalgic. And now it’s been around 5 years and I have painted my head in almost all the colors.

My first highlights were the obvious “first time blondes,” then I graduated to even more golden streaks, followed by awesome highlights of golden and red, then skimmed down to dark purple, colored my bangs red (Yes, I have gone red) , and now I finally have Mahogany hair with golden streaks at the nape. I love experimenting and I love weird experiments more. And fortunately it works for me all the time. Touchwood (I am planning to play with colors soon). And not to forget I had extensions too, green and pink. My mum went crazy on seeing me with them. 😛
And the most important thing, I know you all must be thinking I must have gone bald by now. But no, I still have thick healthy hair. Healthy hair is heredity, thank god. But there are some precautions and measures which have to be kept in mind for hair coloring without losing out on your strands.

So, Now I am gonna share some secret tips and ideas with you all for hair coloring, so that all the women who are phobic to hair coloring try it out as soon as possible and get the best out of it:
• First of all, hair color does not equal to hair paint.red hair color
Hair color is the reflection of pigmented colors in the hair shafts.
Hair color = reflection of light
Hence we see different shades of the same hair color in different lights.

• Know your color levels
You must have seen a number on the hair coloring packs, just beside the shade name. This number is the level of color. The color level ranges from 1 to 10.
1 = BLACK
10 = BLONDE

The rest of the colors lie in between this range of 1 to 10.

Hence, black reflects minimum light whereas blonde reflects maximum light.

Types of hair color
Permanent hair color: The name says it all. Permanent hair color doesn’t wash out but it fades with time, it has this permanent color change in the hair shaft.

Permanent color alters the natural texture of hair (hence I never tried it). Do not try coloring your hair permanently at home, let the Pros do it since it is PREMANENT, expensive and can’t be corrected without dethroning the texture of the hair.

Single Process Color: It’s another type of permanent hair color, but the amateur colorists can try painting their hair with it, since it’s a little less harmful. Single process simply means that the color is elevated and left in one single step.

Semi-Permanent: Again the name says it all. It is usually the one which is used to cover the gray hair strands. It surely, fades with time, depending on the product type.

Double process: It refers to toning and bleaching the hair. This is thoroughly a professional’s job and should not be attempted at home.

Deposit Only Color: They are user friendly, and usually deposit color in the hair only in one step. Translucent and glazes are the renowned ones in this category. They need about 3% of peroxide to get activated and they lighten or lift the color by one level.

• Do your homework prior to hair coloring
Be honest to yourself, in regards of the color you are opting for. Take your skin tone into consideration too.
There are various ways of choosing your hair color. But the most profound and trusted techniques for choosing hair color is in accordance with your skin tone and eye color.

For the warm or dark skin shades and eye colors
• Avoid purple and blue hair colors since these shades washes out your face making it dull.
• Opt for, golds, golden browns, deep and warm chestnut shades.blond hair color
• Golden, golden brown and copper streaks look great.
• Shining blondes and reds and oranges also proffer a decent look.

For the brighter skin tones and lighter eye colors
Fair skinned people, must avoid yellows and blondes since these shades make the face look sallow and drawn.
• Mink and pitch black hair look great.
• Ash, wheat or honey streaks look stunning of the fair skin tones.
• Burgundy, purple and reds can be profoundly used.

• Never forget a strand test
This is the most important tip. When I got my hair colored initially I was way too excited for doing this, but it is a very important and vital step to be done The strand test not only gives you a preview of the color you have chosen but it also lets you know if the product suits your hair or not.
This will help you in adjusting and altering the color as per your needs. Do not forget to dry the strand thoroughly before getting the whole head colored. Always condition your hair a day before getting them colored.

• To highlight or to color
This is crucial dilemma all of the ladies face while getting their hair colored. So before hitting the salon please ensure what you actually wanna do. If you have this truly awesome hair base color get highlights.
There are 4 different types of highlights; yes I know most of us didn’t know this:

• Piercing or chunking
• Hair painting or baliage
• Basic highlights with foils
• Lowlighting
( I will be stressing and explaining each one of them in my next post, so relax, take a deep breath)

If you have a fading base color tone then opt for a single process hair color.
If you are getting highlights done, ask for more highlights around the face since this accentuates your complexion.

One more thing which I don’t think so, most of us do after coloring our hair, is getting the touch ups done. These are supposedly to be done every 4 to 8 weeks.

Get a gloss treatment, sounds yummilicious? It’s for the hair not for your pout.

• Should you do it at home or the salon?
For the first time, it’s always good that you go to salon. Or if you have an experienced person who has done a series of hair coloring sessions on their own hair, you can trust them. Like I do hair coloring for all the ladies of my home but myself get it done from a salon ONLY.

And now a video from youtube on how to color hair at home:

Also Read:

Frizzy Hair: Causes, Treatments, Products, Home Remedies
Hair Dandruff: Home Remedies and Treatment
Hairstyle: Hairstyles for Short Hair
Hairstyle: Hairstyles for Long Hair
How to Curl Hair at Home, Get Curly Hairstyle and Manage Curls

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33 thoughts on “Hair Color: Hair Coloring Tips

  1. Zeeba!!!! I hav always wanted to color my hair..but m too much of a chicken to experiment!!! :chicken2: :chicken2: …Btw i wanted to ask u in ur dandruff waala post u hav mentioned to keep the dahi open for 3 days..do we have to mix the amla and keep it open or shud the amla be mixed after it has been left open ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:)

    1. try coloring your hair farah..u will look gawgeous;.. 🙂

      dahi ko plain….3 din k liye khula chhod do…..and then add amla…..
      if u add amla..it can decay….. so plain dahi…..it is… :hugleft: :hugleft: :hugleft: :hugleft:

      1. Thanku Zeeba u r a :star: !!!Hehehe :toothygrin: ..Will hav to gather sum courage to color :toothygrin: :toothygrin: :toothygrin: :toothygrin: :toothygrin: :toothygrin: !!!!

        1. hmm..start off with a safe color..i mean since you are fair ….you can opt for light brown streaking ….its the safest one to start with.. :beauty:

          1. yeahhhh but farhaaa make sure it doesnt go like blonde ish or anything ….. make sure its a very dark honey color … and always remember it will fade over time … even permanent color bleaches out over the months … like I mean 6 months later type …

  2. ..omg….i hv been coloring my hair for ages…but i never went into so much of depth ….i just went to the parlour…sat …select color and out with it !!!!! thats such a detailed and lovely post Zeeba…i think i am going to re read ur post and be more educated !!! :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo: 🙂

  3. i too got the underside of my hair colored copper red.. it looked lovely in a messy bun but made my hair fall like crazyyy even with proper post colour care.. after reading ur post i wana colour again … :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo:

    1. ohhh….so u have hair fall after coloring…..or its due to winters???
      I mean hair tend to fall more in winters… 🙁

      wich shade are u planning nw?? 😛

      1. no no ,its cos of coloring.. it was in summers :teeth: :teeth: :teeth:

        i so want to do a deepest purple, as in deepest .. dont seem to gather the courage to go thru the hairfall trauma again .. :tremble: :tremble: :tremble: :tremble:

  4. what an informative article. Did not know abt so many types of colours………the hair colour I use at home is Loreal Excellence Cream……..is that the permanent kind?

  5. I dont think light browns or blondes work with medium to dusky tones … mostly it looks a bit brassy n cheapy imo … I prefer deep reds (not bright ones) and burgundy tones … or brown highlights that are on the darker side of light brown ….

    1. ahan…….but my take is different…check Rihanna…she is dark….nt even dusky…. blondes look great wid her..or red for dat instance…bt that hs to be done in the right way……but yes…the dark tones compliment greatly…..bt then no harm trying golds and blonde..but strictly nt full headed…… 🙂

  6. Give a natural boost to hair color –
    Hair Color Espresso – Perk up black or brown hair with a strong cup of dark grind coffee or espresso. Brew, cool and add it to your dry hair. Shampoo after 30 minutes.
    Nuts about Hair Color – Add sparkle to dark hair with walnuts. Boil one cup of chopped walnuts with one cup of water. Cool, strain, and pour it on! Shampoo after 30 minutes.

    Hair Color to a Tea – To add highlights to dark hair, brew a cup of strong dark tea and use it as a final rinse after shampooing.

    Spray or comb a cup of strong chamomile tea into blond or light brown hair. Leave on for twenty minutes, shampoo and rinse.

    Put Some Punch in Your Hair Color with Fruit Juices – Of course, you probably know that lemon juice lightens, but did you know that using ½ cup of cranberry juice as a final rinse will give a lift to red hair and add subtle red highlights to dark hair?

  7. Zeeba….please someone come and convince my mom, my father, my husband that I will look great with burgundy and golden streaks in my hair :yelo: :yelo: :yelo: :yelo:

    1. :woot: :woot: :woot: thanks Mrun…. :fingersxd: :handshake2: :handshake2: :handshake2: :handshake2: :handshake2: :highfive: :highfive: :highfive: :highfive: :hughright: :hughright: :hughright: :hughright:

  8. Hey, your post was really helpful. I am too scared to get my hair coloured. I got streaks done 3 years ago. Red streaks. And it really looked good (phew). But it’s all gone. My hair is boring black again. And I have been thinking of colouring my hair again. And I want something in red. I have a weatish complexion. I can send you my picture of something and then you can suggest. I have been going over my decision since 1 month. And finally I found a decent post. So help me :D.

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