Why you shouldn't color your own hair

There is nothing I love and hate more than to have a new guest come in with this story: "I colored my own hair last night and it ended up looking horrible, can you fix it?"

I love it because usually this means big money for me. Color correction is usually an extensive process.

I hate it because it's a pain in the ass & people don't want to pay what it costs to get it fixed.

Here's a word of advice: 

IF YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO SPEND UP TO $500 TO GET YOUR HAIR FIXED, DON'T COLOR IT AT HOME

Yes, it costs that much. Why? Because usually it involved extra processes (stripping, filling, toning, bleaching) and because of those extra processes, you will need conditioning treatments so your hair doesn't feel like straw.  

So blondie, you want to go brown, but don't want to pay me? So you go get a $5 box of hair color from your local drug store & have a girl's night in. And then I get a phone call the next day. What's that you say? Your hair turned green/gray/black? You don't say! Come on in. 

So instead of spending about $100-150 for me to color your hair (filler, color, deep conditioner), now it's going to cost you $200-300 (neutralizing toner, deep conditioner, stripping, deep conditioner, filler, color, deep conditioner). Yeah you really saved yourself some money there.

Oh whats that Sally No-Patience? You wanted hi-lites so you had a go at it yourself last night with one of those $10 hi-liting kits? And now your hair is orange, streaky and spotty? I'm shocked! Yeah come on in I can fix it. Oh and by the way, instead of paying $80-120 for hilites, now your bill is going to be $200-300 (lowlites/hilites, spot color, toner, deep conditioner).

Let me explain what you need to know when you color your hair...consider this a crash course for you would be home hair colorists. I hope it dissuades you.

First, you need to memorize & completely understand this:

That is the color wheel & the level system. The level system is a measure of the lightness & darkness of haircolor, & the color wheel applies to the tones of your haircolor.

When you lighten hair, you expose something called undertones, which are always in the redish/orangish/brassy family.  That's why when you try to lighten your hair, it turns orange.

After you lighten your hair and it is blonde, you haven't colored over those undertones, you've removed them. Obliterated them. Demolished them. So they don't exist. If you want to go dark again, you have to add those undertones back. That's why when you tried to color your own hair from light to dark, it turned green/gray. There were no undertones left to balance the color.

On top of all that, there's the chemistry side. Hair color is a chemical and your hair goes through a chemical process. 

This is pH chart:

7 is considered neutral (think water). Anything below that is acidic (lemon juice). Anything above that is alkaline (think bleach & draino). The further from 7 you get, the more acidic or alkaline (and harsh/hazardous) the substance is.  Notice where hair is. Its not neutral. Its actually acidic!

And notice where "Ammonia" is. That's the chemical in haircolor & bleach that helps the color do its job. Very alkaline. Without the right knowledge & tools, you can really damage your hair & achieve that lovely hay/straw texture. 

So go head, color your own hair, but remember: When it's screwed up and you call me upset that you need to get in RIGHT NOW for me to fix it, one of 2 things will happen. 1. I will not have an appointment RIGHT NOW because other people were smart enough to make appointments to get their hair colored by a professional. or 2. I will squeeze you in and you will pay a lot of money for me to fix it since it is a complicated, time consuming & delicate process. 

With Love,

Your Hairstylist