Most women would agree that there is nothing worse when it comes to their hair than a botched coloring job! A strange color can be seen for miles around and turns heads for all the wrong reasons. A good hair coloring tip may have saved many girls and women the embarrassment of a bad coloring job right from the start! So here are a few simple hair coloring tips to make your new look a success!

Tip 1 - What type of coloring job?

There are basically two types coloring jobs: Permanent and semi-permanent.

Permanent coloring will dye your hair so it will not wash out at all for a very long time. However this will leave your roots showing when they grow out which you need to be aware of and can really look bad later on. Semi-permanent coloring will only darken your hair and cannot lighten it. It also lasts a variable length of time depending on the product. This is more suitable for a home color job but obviously has limitations. It can however be reversed easily unlike a permanent coloring!

Tip 2 - Know your hair color

There are 10 Base Colors in the realm of hair. This is the color you can judge by just looking at it, when you color your hair you will lighten or darken by one or more degrees based on this scale.

10. Lightest Blonde / Platinum Blonde

9 - Very Light Blonde

8 - Light Blonde

7 - Medium Blonde

6 - Dark Blonde

5 - Lightest Brown

4 - Light Brown

3 - Medium Brown

2 - Dark Brown

1 - Black

There is the Contributing Pigment. This is the least known part of hair coloring for most people. The underlying color of each base color will be exposed when lightening your hair. The lighter you go the more exposure it gets! The final color you want will be greatly affected by this pigment and can lead to some overly bright or unnatural looking colors. The associated pigment colors to the base color is as follows:

10. Pale Yellow

9. Yellow

8. Yellow-Gold

7. Gold

6. Orange-Gold

5. Orange

4. Red-Orange

3. Red

2. Red-Brown

1. Dark Red-Brown

When you are coloring your hair you must take into account both of these elements in you hair to avoid unexpected results and achieve the color you desire. Neutralizing or enhancing the underlying pigments is vital to getting the right color for your hair (and for your skin type to match!)

Tip 3 - Do a strand test!

Even armed with this information you do not want to apply your hair coloring to your entire head or hair straight away. By taking a strand of your hair or a small lock of hair you can apply the color you want to this test sample to see how it will turn out in the end, this does not take too long and can avoid a botched job. Remember however the longer you leave the hair in the dye will effect the result so be aware that the process of application can alter the outcome. It is also a good way to get some practice.

Tip 4 - Be prepared!

Hair dye is a messy and powerful substance, it will stain hair, skin, clothes and towels that you use. Make sure you are using only old clothes and towels when coloring your hair, ones you don’t mind throwing away or using as rags afterwards. Also wear a towel around your neck when you do this to avoid the coloring dripping down. To protect your skin use petroleum jelly around the hairline, don't worry if you do stain some skin though it can be removed with rubbing alcohol.

A little bit of homework and preparation is all you need to make your new look a success! I hope you enjoyed and learned some good hair coloring tips from this guide and wish you the best of luck!

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