Get At-Home Hair Colour Right

Get At-Home Hair Colour Right

Your perfect, natural shade is just a few steps away
by Lija Kresowaty
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Looking for a winter-blues beauty pick-me-up? If you’re not up for a more drastic (and costly) change, enhancing your natural hair hue is the easiest way to bring a little colour to your life.

Shopping Tips
When trying to choose a “does she or doesn’t she” colour, think back to your old childhood snaps for clues as to whether you’d like to go lighter, darker, or warmer. That way, you already know that the colour matches your complexion. Most importantly, do not attempt to stray too far from your natural shade without the help of a pro.

If you want to go lighter, highlights may be the way to go. Dark blondes should look for lighter blonde highlights, and brunettes should look for chestnut or caramel tones just a bit lighter than their natural colour. You’ll also have to decide between cool and warm highlights. If you’re blue-eyed and tend to burn in the summer, opt for the cool highlights (look on the box for words like “neutral”). If you’re green or brown-eyed and tan easily, you’re better off going with warm shades (look for words like “golden”).

If your base shade seems dull and you want an overall wash of colour, look to the semi-permanent dyes. For brunettes and redheads, they’ll add some depth and richness to your shade, and for blondes, they won’t actually lighten your shade but will clean up any brassiness and add shine. Once you’re sure you’re happy with a shade, you can move on to permanent dyes.

Application Tips
If you’re going with at-home highlights, keep it to some (very small) highlights just around the face. You’ll save time and avoid mistakes, but will still reap the complexion-brightening benefits of a few sun-kissed strands.

It’s hard to go wrong with applying semi-permanent colour, but just make sure the dye stays safely on your hair – and not all over your bathroom. Throw an old towel around your shoulders and rub a little vaseline around your hairline and ears to make sure you don’t dye your skin. And those plastic gloves that come included in the box? Use ‘em.

Colour Care
Now that you’ve got a more vibrant shade, protect it with a colour-enhancing shampoo. This is crucial if you opted for a warmer, reddish hue, since red dye fades the fastest. And for blondes, the right shampoo will ward off the brassier orange tones that sometimes emerge a few weeks after colouring.

Worried about obvious roots showing through? Try using a dry shampoo spray that’s tailored to your hair colour – it’ll help to blend in the area between the dyed strands and your natural shade. And never underestimate the power of a pretty headband or a laissez-faire side part to mask roots in between dye jobs.

How to Choose the Right Hair Colour

How to Choose the Right Hair Colour

Need a new hue for your 'do?
by Tammy Burns
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There’s no body part that offers as much opportunity for change as your hair.

With a new colour, you can transform your look overnight – and when you get bored, you can change it again. But there's a bit more to picking the right hair colour than just grabbing a box at the drugstore.

To find the hue that works best for you, there are a few things you need to consider.



What’s your skin tone?

People generally fall into two skin tone categories: warm and cool.

If you’re a warm:

Your skin is brown with pink or gold undertones, pale with peach or gold undertones, or freckled.

Your eyes are golden brown, green, green-blue, or hazel with gold or brown flecks.

Your natural hair colour is yellow, golden, or amber.

If you’re a cool:

Your skin is very dark brown, olive, or medium or pale with little colour in your cheeks. You have undertones of pink, violet, or blue.

Your eyes are deep brown, black-brown, grey, dark blue, or hazel with grey or blue flecks.

Your natural hair colour is black, ash brown, or ash blonde.

As a general rule, it’s best to keep your hair colour in the same tone as your skin. Warm tones look best with shades like golden or strawberry blonde, red, and deep brown with hints of gold or red. Cool tones suit hair that is black, dark or golden brown, and ash or dirty blonde.



There are a few tricks to finding out what skin tone you have:

Wash off all your makeup and wrap a white towel or piece of clothing around your neck. Look in the mirror. What shade is your face? If your skin appears yellowish, you have a warm tone; if it appears bluish, you have a cool tone.

Look at the veins in your arm under natural light. If your veins appear green in colour, you’re probably warm-toned. If they look blue, you’re cool.

Hold up one piece of clothing that’s bright orange and one that’s bright pink against your skin. Which one looks better? If it’s the orange, you have warm skin; the pink means you have cool skin.



How high maintenance are you?

Depending on what colour you choose, you may have to put more or less effort into maintaining your colour.

Brown shades tend to be the most forgiving, so if you have hair that’s easily damaged, or if you’re not willing to go for regular touch-ups, brown may be your best bet.

Blonde dyes, on the other hand, require a fair bit of maintenance, especially if you have darker hair that will show at the roots.

If you’re thinking of going red, make sure your hair is healthy and you’re willing to put in the effort. Red hair needs to be in good condition – if it’s dry or damaged, it won’t hold the colour. Also, red dyes can fade easily, especially if you’re out in the sun a lot.



What’s your cut?

Your cut can determine whether or not you go for all-over colour or just highlights. If your hair is generally all one length, a deep, monotone hue will work. If your hair is short or layered, go with highlights or lowlights – they’ll add dimension to your hair and help to emphasize your cut.



Other tips

If you’re unsure, go for just one shade lighter or darker than your current colour, as a test. From there, you can decide whether you’re headed in the right direction and can adjust it darker or lighter at your next appointment.

All-over colour requires more maintenance than highlights or lowlights, so choose your dye job accordingly. If you’re not willing to make regular trips to the salon, go with highlights or lowlights – the roots won’t be as noticeable and you can go longer between touch-ups.

If you’re going for a drastic change, talk to your hairstylist first, and have him or her do the dye. While home colouring is cheap and easy, you get what you pay for, and your stylist won’t be there to stop you if you’re going down the wrong colour path.