Avoid mistakes and problems with this easy hair coloring guide!

What is a strand test? It is basically what it sounds like, you take a strand of your hair or a small lock of hair and apply the color you want to this test sample to see the result.
This will give you a good idea on how your hair will look after a whole application. However the length you leave the hair in the dye and amount you use can effect the final color so doing a couple of tests is good for practice too.

Hair dye is a messy and powerful substance, anything that contacts it gets stained and can be very difficult to wash out, especially permanent dyes (semi-permanent coloring as the name suggests is not as harsh).
To avoid making a total mess of everything around you and yourself it is best to wear old clothes, stuff you might use when painting and don't mind tossing out quite soon.
The towels you use should also not be your highest quality ones as they will get dirty. It is best to wrap a towel around your neck as well to stop any dye trickling down.
While you can stain your skin it can be washed away with rubbing alcohol, but I suggest you use petroleum jelly around the edges of you hairline which will protect your skin.
Lastly make sure you wear gloves when coloring your hair, most hair coloring kits come with gloves however.

This stuff is really painful if it gets in your eyes!! Do not dye your eyebrows and especially no not dye your eyelashes! It is not needed and it is very dangerous. If you do get the dye in your eyes seek medical help straight away!

Do not apply hair coloring to dirty hair!
Do not apply hair coloring to tangled hair!
Do not apply hair coloring to conditioned hair!
The first two may be obvious but the third is also important, do not apply your new color when you have used conditioner on your hair that day, shampoo is fine however.

This stuff is really painful if it gets in your eyes!! Do not dye your eyebrows and especially no not dye your eyelashes! It is not needed and it is very dangerous. If you do get the dye in your eyes seek medical help straight away!

Do not apply hair coloring to dirty hair!
Do not apply hair coloring to tangled hair!
Do not apply hair coloring to conditioned hair!
The first two may be obvious but the third is also important, do not apply your new color when you have used conditioner on your hair that day, shampoo is fine however.

While you may think you can tell your hair color at a glance there is more to it than most people think.
There are 10 base colors to hair and there are 10 underlying pigments to those colors.
The underlying pigments will be enhanced when you lighten your hair which can lead to some unnatural looking tones if not treated correctly.
Here is a list of colors and their pigments.

-COLOR- | -UNDERLYING PIGMENT-
10 - Platinum Blonde | Pale Yellow
9 - Very Light Blonde | Yellow
8 - Light Blonde | Yellow-Gold
7 - Medium Blonde | Gold
6 - Dark Blonde | Orange-Gold
5 - Lightest Brown | Orange
4 - Light Brown | Red-Orange
3 - Medium Brown | Red
2 - Dark Brown | Red-Brown
1 - Black | Dark Red-Brown

When you are changing hair color you must take action to neutralize or enhance the underlying pigment to get the color you desire. If you simply apply a new color, especially if you are trying to lighten your hair by more than 2 steps, you may find the new color warped because of this.

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While there are many other things to consider I hope this hair coloring guide has given you a good idea on the major pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Good luck with your new look!!

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