COLORING YOUR HAIR AT HOME

First mistake countless individuals make when searching a beauty aisle for that perfect hair dye is assuming “If the lady on the box is that shade, I will be too". Use the box only as a guide, not an exact illustration. Everyone is unique and so is their mane. Just because your girlfriend has this hot hair tint that looks amazing, do not fool yourself into believing it will compliment you. There’s a great deal to consider before selecting the ideal hue.

Once you become conscious of these details you can then decide on what type, color, and level of hair dye you want to go with.




FINDING THE RIGHT COLOR

Eye color and skin tone play a major role in picking the best shade. The proper tint will flatter both. Achieve this by figuring out what tone category you fall into. There are two groups cool and warm.


WHAT’S YOUR TONE?

TONE	COOL	WARM
COMPLEXION	GOLDEN, OLIVE, DARK BROWN OR DARK BROWN W/RED UNDERTONES	BROWN W/PINK OR GOLD UNDERTONES, PALE W/PEACH OR GOLD UNDERTONES, FAIR OR TAN
EYE COLOR	BROWN, BLACK, GRAY OR BLUE	GOLDEN BROWN, GREEN, TURQUOISE OR HAZEL
NATURAL HAIR COLOR	WHITE, SALT N PEPPER, BLACK OR BROWN	DEEP BROWN WITH GOLD OR RED
FOUNDATION	PINK BASED	YELLOW BASED
TAN	TURNS RED, BROWN OR BRONZE	GOLDEN/TANS VERY WELL
JEWELRY	PLATINUM	GOLD
CLOTHING	PURE WHITE, BLACK AND BLUE	CREAM, IVORY AND RUST
BEST HAIR COLOR	REDS, PURPLES, BLACKS, ASH- BROWNS, COOL BLONDES, MINK, PLATINUM AND ICY WHITE	WARM GOLDEN COLORS SUCH AS WARM BROWN, CHESTNUT, RICH GOLDEN BROWN, AUBURN AND WARM GOLD
BEST UNDERTONES/BASES	ASH AND BEIGE	RED, ORANGE OR YELLOW/GOLD
BEST HIGHLIGHTS	WHEAT, HONEY, TAUPE OR ASH	COPPER, RED, GOLDEN-BROWNS AND GOLDEN-BLONDES
STARS	ELIZABETH TAYLOR, SANDRA BULLOCK, EVA LONGORIA, MEGAN FOX, JENNIFER HUDSON, PENELOPE CRUZ, OPRAH	NICOLE KIDMAN, ELLEN DEGENERES, CAMERON DIAZ, NICOLE RICHE, MEG RYAN, JENNIFER LOPEZ, BEYONCE

Individuals with cool tones tend to look good in white, pink, fuchsia, blue, silver, black, blue-green and blue-purple these really bring out the best in cools. Warm toned usually do well in earth tones such as yellows, oranges, browns, yellowish-greens and orange based reds. Black usually does not compliment them very well if worn to close to the face. They also look great in peach, olive-green, bronze and rust colored clothing.


Another way to tell your tone is by looking at the inside of your forearm. What color are the veins you see? If they are green then you may be warm toned if blue, cool toned.


Neutral skin does not fit into either of these categories completely. They look equally as good in both cool and warm colors. If you are neutral you are very lucky, you can pull off almost any hair color.


COOL TONED
Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, a photo by The Seven Book on Flickr.

WARM TONED
In Kansai Airport, a photo by JAQ'S PhotoStorage on Flickr.

LEVEL OF COLOR

This determines how light or dark you want your color. This is represented by numbers, 1 (black) all the way to 12 (light blonde).



                                                   
                                                            colour-wheel, a photo by Jasmic on Flickr.


Look at the wheel. Let's say you have yellow under tones to your hair, and you want to cool it to an ash. You decide blue undertone ash toner will do, since it is a cool undertone. Well, by doing this you'll end up with green hair!  As you can see, on the wheel that blue and yellow make green. If you want to cancel out whatever undertone you have, you should use the opposite color on the wheel. In other words, if you have brown hair with red highlights and you can't stand the red, then you would use the opposite color on the wheel to neutralize the red. In this case, the neutralizing color would be green (ash).

For help with correcting a bad hair color, for example: you have golden blonde hair (level 9) and you want to go darker to a light, medium, warm brown (level 7). Remember you have yellow and maybe orange in your natural hair pigment. So you would choose a neutral level 7 because neutrals have all 3 primary colors in them and almost always cancel out those bad colors like green or orange. If you are a blonde, going darker, have a professional do it because blonde hair is a little tricky when it comes to going darker. Usually, one color application isn't enough because you will most likely come up green. The green will have to be neutralized. Check out more on this at http://styles101.homestead.com/haircolor2.html

For some coloring your hair at home can be a difficult and is best if left to a professional. Those who are experimental keep these tips in mind to make this daunting task easier.

ALSO REMEMBER:

1.     Stay within three shades of your natural hair color if you prefer a  realistic look with some flair.

2.     It is easier to darken the hair than lighten.

3.     Take your time.

4.     Always read the instructions completely before you begin.

Read more at:

• Women's Health: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty-and-style/hair-coloring-tips#ixzz1njTllwzm
• Styles 101: http://styles101.homestead.com/haircolor2.html