How do I get over the fear of coloring my hair with a permanent color?

There are different types of Haircolor: *Temporary - color lasts from one shampoo to the next and is deposited on the outside of the hair shaft. *Semi-Temporary - color lasts up to 4-6 shampoos. *Semi-Permanent - color is for masking white or light hair and lasts 2 to 6 weeks. *Permanent - color formulas change the natural hair color. They require maintenance to new hair growth after 4 to 6 weeks. Since you have been using a temporary haircolor, and aren`t sure about the commitment to a permanent color, try a semipermanent color first. Semipermanent haircolors do not damage the hair. They gradually fade out until the hair is the same shade it started from. These haircolors are deposit only, that is, they may temporarily darken but wont lighten the color of your hair. Since they do not damage the hair, you may reapply them as often as needed. The only downside is their limited ability to cover gray hair. If you have less than 50% gray, it should work nicely for you. Permanent haircolor permanently changes the haircolor. Your own haircolor must grow out to fully remove this process. It can be reapplied as substantial outgrowth of original color becomes noticeable. However, each application can damage the hair, so it is preferable to apply the color only to the new hair growth. Permanent colors can either lighten or darken the original shade. They also cover gray hair extremely well. The downside is that you must grow the hair out and trim it off to remove it. It can sometimes be dyed back to match the original color although it is extremely difficult to match the shade exactly. This is when a professional colorist really earns their money! I know several people that have tried L`Oreal Open haircolor and like it very much because there is less touchups (again recommended for less than 50% gray). One caution should you try it: a couple of them got darker hair than they anticipated so, should you try it, be careful in your selection of color and perhaps go a shade lighter than your normal color. For total gray coverage, I have gotten very good results with L`Oreal Excellence. So, a semipermanent haircolor should give you the coverage you want without the commitment and once you find a shade you like you can the consider a permanent solution. Good luck! ;)

Open might be the product for you, Shelley. I know 4 women that have used it and 3 got terrific results (the other one got a shade darker than she wanted). I was present at the end of one color session and can tell you it did not smell like haircolor (a plus with me!), I was told it covered well since it is a gel, and it comes with 2 packets of conditioner so your hair will stay in good shape. I can also tell you that the growing out of it was excellent - after 2 weeks I had to look really hard to find any roots at all. Pretty impressive. L`Oreal calls it a "soft permanent haircolor" meaning it is a permanent color that will last a long time but won`t damage your hair and fades gradually so the regrowth is not so evident. I can veify that too. One woman that used it thought it turned out a bit too red for her taste but that toned down after 1 week and she loved it. As long as you stay in your color area you should not have that problem at all. The others turned out really nice - their natural hair color with hightlights. I found some discussions about it on the Internet and they have been positive too. If you want to make the jump to permanent haircolor, Open is not a bad choice. Good luck and let us know what you decide. ;)

Hi Shelley,

Welcome to HairBoutique & this board.

One thing to consider about gray hair is that it can be harder to color than regular hair. A good haircolorist will know to first pre-soften the gray hair before even attempting to add hair color. The pre-softening can be done with 10% peroxide comb through to soften and pop open the cuticle.

Also, the more gray you have, the more difficult it may be to color the gray with temporary colors.

It is unfortunate that you had a bad experience with a stylist that colored your hair and pulled too much red. I have to say that I am a big fan of hairstylists but I do know that sometimes they don`t specialize in color and that is where a great colorist makes all the difference.

Maybe you should consider searching for a color expert or colorist that can get you the type of color that you love covering the grey and avoiding the brassiness or too much red.

Although I love my stylist to death, she is not a color expert and left to her own devices insists on using only one technique. I have recently started going to a colorist who does amazing things with woven colors and foils (my stylist would only use a cap) and takes the time to stand there and watch while my color "cooks".

To be honest, I get hundreds of emails w/ people who tried to color their hair w/ less than wonderful results. So if you are going to color your own hair, please continue to do as your doing, which is to do research, talk to a lot of people and possibly go see a colorist for a consultation only. You can make an appointment for a consultation only and not have any actual color work done.

A good colorist is a different breed. They are artists who can create amazing results with color.

Hope that helps.

Best wishes,
Karen