Fabulous Hair Color Every Time!

Q. How many of you have spent a fortune on hair color that you just don’t like?

Q. How many salons have you gone to or boxes have you opened not to get that almost natural hair color you have been looking for?

The following will help remove hair color remorse …whether you’re enhancing your natural born locks with a bottle of hair color yourself …or you’re going to the professional.

68% of women that color their hair at home believe that they will get the same results as they would get if they went to a salon.

The truth is you may and you may not. Often women go to a salon and don’t get the hair color they want. The result is either too dark or there aren’t enough highlights or it fades just as fast as it does when using at-home products. The following will help you start changing your hair color results whether you color at-home or have the service in the salon.

I work on one of the most famous streets in the world. Rodeo Drive. I see the rich and famous every month and they all have one thing in common…they all want to look beautiful. I have found that the right hair color will help all women feel beautiful.

I can see in their faces when they leave the salon that they have forgotten their busy schedules, and they seem to walk taller. They simply look and feel beautiful with the right hair color. And although this is true …they are all in a hurry to get out. The underlying factor is hair color takes time.

5 Questions to Ask Yourself

Ask yourself the following questions before you consider going to the salon or buying that box to get beautiful natural looking hair color.

How much time can you give yourself for hair color? (For the salon or at-home hair color.)How much money do you have to spend for the right hair color?Do you know the color and process you would like?What condition is your hair in?If you have chosen the salon. Have you called or gone into your chosen salon for a free consultation?

Whether you’re coloring at-home or going to the professional all of the above questions need to be thought about. You can pay $12.95 in the drugstore or $300.00 in the salon and still not like the outcome.

It is your decision. Before you go to either. You must research and know what you’re starting with. Often women have worn a certain blond shade for years and only want that shade. They should never expect more.

If they are not open to something new that could possibly look better on them. Because I have found that even if the colorist gives you a much more flattering shade, you probably won’t like it. You are wasting your time and the colorist time.

I have know someone who is 75 years old from France that has worn the same Off Yellow Blonde (almost orange) for 40 years. She wears her hair shoulder length, and always asks for an Ash Blonde shade.

When she gets it, she hates it. What she thinks she is asking for is the California Blonde…the Beach Look. But what she really wants is to look like she did when she was 20 years old. Bad hair color is more aging than your real age is. You must change with the years. Your skin tones change so you must soften your hair color.

In the following story you will see just how important these 5 Questions are for getting great hair color …every time.  I was recently recommended a new client by another client I had worked with for years.

When the new client first sat in my chair she looked at her watch…asking “What time do you think I will be out of here?” (Don’t book an appointment for a color change if you’re in a hurry.)

She was already a little late. Then she said “How much are the partial highlights?” (Make sure you have called and spoken with the colorist about the cost before you book the appointment.)

She was booked for partial highlights, but she had an 1 ½ inch re-growth of dark brown roots and 8 inches of orange dried-overly highlighted ends. (She didn’t have a clue about the color she had or the process she needed, and the hair was in great need of help because of the bristle- dry condition)

The 5th step…You must call for a phone consultation or come in for a free consultation before booking an appointment.  What this client wanted was the ultra light blonde like her friend (my client) whom had sent her in.

This service with her hair problems would have been at least 4 hours of work…don’t ask the cost. The potential new client had just booked for 1 hour of service.

Professional Nightmare I had two choices to make. Because of my long standing client I didn’t feel right about sending her away, which was my first choice. My second choice was to do the service.

Outcome: She left the salon with the final color of soft brown with lots of blonde highlights. No orange strand and no dark brown roots. The hair had a treatment so it didn’t look as dry and brittle as it did before.

Did she get out on time? ½ hour lateWas her hair color great? YesWas her hair color…what she wanted? Not reallyDid she pay for the full cost of the color service? NO (She only paid for partial highlights…because that’s all she had been quoted for from the reception when she first called to book the service)Did she get a deal? Yes

Because the average woman doesn’t know a thing about hair color the colorist often has to do more work. This can cause a big problem. The client is upset because of a higher cost.

The colorist is upset because they won’t get paid for their work. When you want highlights and your hair is in bad shape more often than not you will need corrective color which will cost a lot more than highlights.

If you have dark roots and orange ends the hair has to be taken to an all over even shade so the highlights will look good. This is extra money and extra time. The colorist has their professional reputation so their biggest concern will be to do their best work. You must research and always call the colorist for a consultation before booking.

At-Home hair Color:

For those that color At-Home the above 5 steps apply to you as well. You won’t have to think about the time, because you can color anytime. But, you must think about the money you have to spend because if you make a mistake it could end up costing a $100.00 or more to fix the mistake.

The box you bought for $9.95 could be very costly if you don’t think about the money you might need to spend in the long run. If you have decided to do highlights in a kit and don’t know how, the directions on the box can be very confusing, and costly.

Last but sure not least…the condition of your hair. If you color your hair you must keep your hair in the best condition! Whether you use cheap or expensive conditioners.

Let’s Look at the 5 Questions

We all know that taking time for ourselves in this busy world we live in is difficult but very important. All the Moms and Working Women that I know are on the multi-task schedule for everyone but themselves.

They squeeze in hair services on the run as they do everything else. These few points will help you book your hair appointments without stress.

84% of women feel that men have no idea how hard they work to look good. Allure Magazine

Time: Book hair color appointments either early in the morning or late afternoon. Most hair colorists like to either come in early or stay late. The salon traffic is slower during these times of the day so there’s less a chance of running late. Try to schedule ahead of time to get your desired time…so you don’t feel rushed.

Booking time in the professional salons are generally the same wherever you go. Most professional salons try to stay on time…unless you are booking with the Star of the Month.

ALSO …if the person before you is late…the colorist might be late. Whose fault is this? It’s the client’s fault that came in late. Do they ever apologize to you? NO. This usually happens in the middle of the day.

Basic Hair Color Re-Touch allow 1 hour from application to finish.Highlight and Lowlights allow 1 ½ to 2 hours.Balliage (Brushed in Highlights) allow 1 ½ hours.Basic Hair Color and Highlights allow 2-2 ½ hours

Corrective Hair Color allow at least 3-4 hours. Note: Once your hair color is corrected you won’t have to allow this much time again.

All the above services don’t include the hair cut or blow dry. This will be another half hour or an hour of your time. Often if someone is not getting a hair cut they will want to blow dry their own hair. Most salons will allow this. Some of the High-End Salons will not allow the Self-Blow Drying…some will.

Did you know that hair color cost less than a facelift?

The Cost of the Right Hair Color

How much money have you spent on hair color you don’t like? It’s a mistake that many have made…spending a fortune on color that’s just not right for them.

Then some still spend more trying to find someone to fix it. If you’re looking for the right hair color and don’t have much in your hair color budget to start out with try some of the following inexpensive processes.

These will get you started in the right direction. Also if you are seeing the colorist for the first time these processes will help you ease into the cost and language of hair color. Plus they will allow you to get to know the colorist better.

Semi-Permanent Color: Use every 6 weeks rather than every 3 week to a month. Gently shampoos out without roots.

Partial Highlights: Place them around the front hairline. Place them over the top of the head…just a few here, and there.  These will grow out nicely so you don’t have to go back so often.

Base Color Plus Partial Highlights: These are also good over yellow blond hair color that looks a bit fake…it breaks it up to soften the over all color. Also great for soft golden highlights to drab brown hair color.

Balayage (Brush in Highlights) These are tiny fine strands that are placed throughout the head or just over the crown. This process can be done with different volumes of developer for any degree of lightness the client wishes. Grows out gently without a re-growth.

All of the above processes can be adjusted to full head processes which will cost more. When doing the overall head the service will also take longer. So please allow the extra cost and time that will be needed. Look in fashion magazines and research the color you like before booking the consultation.

Saving money with At-Home hair color can be tricky. I have often watched women at the drugstore looking at hair color.

They look from one box to another…then just grab a box and go to the checkout counter. I wonder if they really do read the directions, or just go home and put it on their hair. When wishing to save money but also wishing to have beautiful hair color I really think it is best to go the first time to the professional then maybe try it yourself.

The main thing to remember when buying at the counter is to be sure to read every detail in the box and on the outside of the box. If you don’t get it …take it back.

CAUTION!

These are two areas to consider when you’re short on cash but would still like to have your hair to look pretty. If you don’t have enough money for the full hair color processes simply keep your hair in great condition and use a color shampoo.

Or use a color refresher which is added to your shampoo or used alone. These are generally used every week to help keep the shine in your natural hair color or in your color treated hair color. These return gloss and shine to the hair and help it look fresh and healthy. Maybe cost $10.00. Use a bit the first time …then use more the next time.

What Condition Is Your Hair In?

I am not sure just why women that dress great and have beautiful skin don’t keep their hair in perfect condition. Possibly because they believe it takes more time than it really does. Or that it will make the dry hair oily and flat on the head. Follow these guidelines, to get luscious glowing hair.

Fear of too much oil…use only on the ends …every day.Shampoo your hair everyday…removes residue from working out and from sleeping.When working at your home office…dampen your hair and apply a big blob of conditioner and leave it in until later … rinse or shampoo lightly and touch the tip of the end with a bit of leave in conditioner.Use only leave in conditionersDuring swimming…when the hair is wet apply a blob of cheap conditioner and leave in while in the pool or in the sun. Rinse later.

The reason to keep your hair in great condition when having a hair color service is that the hair color will hold much better and the over all color will retain the tonal value longer. You can look at two heads of hair …one that is colored and conditioned and the other colored and not conditioned …and see a great difference between the two. The money you spend on hair color will go much further over conditioned hair.

FREE CONSULTATION

This one step will save you so much money if you just do it. Just call and go into whichever salon you have chosen. Or go into two or three salon and see which one you like best. Talk with the colorist. See just who you feel comfortable with.

The one for you is not always the one you see listed in the Sunday New York Times. You know they look great when you read about them but, possibly they are not the one for you. Go find out.

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Tracy Hill has devoted her impressive career to the essence of hair colour, working on the corporate level as the International Training Director for Beauty Industry giants Clairol Inc., L’Oreal and Vidal Sassoon. As a result, she has developed hair colour products that are streamlined to state-of-the-art and wishes to share her extensive knowledge and research directly with the consumer.

While refining hair colour techniques to an art form, her reputation created high demands in the Fashion and Entertainment Industries where nothing but the best will suffice. Her stellar client list has included: Cheryl Tiegs, Lily Tomlin, Teri Garr, Lindsay Wagner, Connie Selleca, Anne Bancroft, Marcia Cross and Kelly Rutherford to name a few. Her name has appeared on the pages of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Interview, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Wear Daily, Shape and all professional publications.

While Ms. Hill watches over her company she remains a constant advocate for early childhood education, especially for the underprivileged child. She also works closely with the International Foundation’s ONE.org. / UNICEF.