Going Blond To Meet The Blues

Last month Marie Claire UK reported that a large number of British women are going blond. In fact, celebrity stylist Andrew Barton says he's seen a 67% increase in sales of his blond hair products compared to last year. UK grocery retailers have also seen sales of blond hair dye increase over the past few months?

So what's causing all of these women to reach for the bleach? When asked, women usually say they feel more confident, attractive, younger and fun as blonds. They also say they get more attention as a blond. If you're feeling down or stressed, that would probably make you feel better too!

If you decide to do the same and go lighter, make sure it looks good before you take the plunge. Everyone can find a shade of red that will look good on them, so its a very versatile color. Blond isn't the same. You really need to make sure you have the right skin tone to go blond without looking ill or washed out. You can use this tool to make sure blond looks good with minimal risk and no commitment. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

How To Prevent Stains When Coloring Your Hair

Hair dyes do stain to make sure you're prepared to deal with drips. You may want to set aside a "hair coloring shirt" that you don't mind ruining. Also, use some old towels that you also don't mind sacrificing. Use a butterfly hair clip to secure one towel around your neck to catch any drips that would otherwise fall on your shoulders or the floor.

You'll also need drop cloths or, again, old towels to put down on the floor. Hair dye will absolutely stain carpet and isn't so good for tiles either.

One tell tale sign you color your hair is if you stain your skin with the dye. To avoid this, make sure you have a jar of petroleum jelly on hand. Smear a good glob around your hairline all the way around your face and neck. Put some on your ears while you're at it to make sure you don't end up staining them as well. And make sure you use the gloves that come with the kit!

Born to Be Blonde

Here is a very funny video with Kelly Ripa and people who were born blond or born to BE blond!

Enjoy!

The 401K Cut and Color

Most salons are struggling because of the economy. To save money, women are going longer between trims and many of us are coloring our hair at home. Salons are losing out since we're becoming a bunch of do-it-yourselfers, so a lot of them are coming up with creative ways to get women back into their chairs.

I just came across a story about a salon in Minneapolis/St Paul that has the most creative promotion I've seen. To get new customers into the salon, they will discount the bill for any service (cut and/or color) by the amount you've lost in your 401K plan! If your 401K looks like mine, that could be a 30-40% discount! Partial highlights where I live are about $95. With this discount, it would be about $40 off. That's not too shabby and would get me in for a professional color!

So what does this mean if you don't live in the Twin Cities? As noted, a lot of salons are coming up with promotions to get people to come back in for services. Keep an eye out for discounts in your area. If you're picky like I am, you may not want to go to someone new for a hair cut. However, I would have no problem going to a different colorist if it meant saving some cash!

Save Lots of Green With These Hair Color Ideas

Most women are cutting back salon visits to save money. That doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your hair color. Hair coloring kits today are easy to use and convenient. All of the guesswork is taken out of blending colors and doing the dying. You just have to follow the instructions. The only one who needs to know you didn't have your hair colored at a salon is you!

That being said, there are some things you need to know about coloring your hair at home. Here are some things from CBS The Early Show that you need to consider:

1. Find the right hair color for you

Stay within 2 shades of your natural color (lighter or darker) unless you are covering gray hair. If you go lighter or darker than that, you really need to have your hair done by a professional. It will also require more maintenance to keep it looking good (meaning root touch ups).

If you're fair with light eyes, the best hair color ideas for you are cooler undertones. Think champagne blond, ash brown and darker reds. If you're darker complected, go with golden blonds, honey browns and coppery reds. You can use these shades for highlights as well as finding an all over color.

One thing about red - this is the most difficult shade to maintain, so think about it first. Reds oxidize quickly so you may need to touch up more often. In addition, you may need to use a more expensive shampoo and conditioner to protect the color.

2. Have a kit ready and waiting

In addition to the box of dye, there are some other tools you'll need to have in your kit. This includes a wide tooth comb that you'll use to distribute the color evenly and then comb in conditioner at the end of the process. You also need petroleum jelly to put around your hairline, ears and neck. This will prevent the dye from staining your skin. Put a kitchen timer in your hair color kit. This is one of the most important tools since you don't want to leave the dye on too long or rinse too early. You'll also need a hand held mirror or way to see the back of your head so you can make sure you have the dye evenly distributed. If you have someone who can help, that's even better. If you have long hair, make sure you have 2 kits in case the first one isn't enough.

Other things you'll need are old towels you don't mind staining and something to cover the floor. There are bound to be drips and they will stain tile and carpet.

3. Don't guess about your color

Don't base your decision about the color on the model on the front of the box. Use the chart on the side of the box. Women always think their hair is darker than it is. To get around this, pick the box you think is right for you and then buy the one that's a shade lighter. If you're really in doubt, ask a friend or someone in the store what looks right.

To be really sure about hair color, you can visit The Hairstyler. It has a really handy tool where you can upload a photo and try different colors on to see what looks right. Once you decide what looks good, it will give you the name and color of the product you should use.

4. Test first

Before you jump into coloring, do a small patch test on your arm and wait 24 hours. You want to make sure you don't have any reactions to the product before you commit to using it. You don't want red blotches around your face and neck, so this is important to do first.

5. Timing is everything

Don't leave the dye on your hair longer than it says in the directions. This won't improve the results. In fact, if you leave the dye on too long, your color will come out dull and flat.

6. How to apply

Start with the roots and work down. The ends of your hair are drier and absorb color faster, so you want to get to them last. Otherwise they'll look darker than the top. You can also mist the ends with water before applying the color. This will slow the processing. Start the timer when you start applying the dye - not when your done. This will also help keep the ends for absorbing too much color.

7. Invest in the color

Once your hair is colored, shampoo wisely. Since you did this at home, you saved a ton of money. Buying a good shampoo and conditioner specifically for color treated hair will still leave you ahead on your finances and lengthen your color.

Don't wash your hair for at least 24 hours after coloring. This gives the color time to absorb into your hair. After that, use a color safe shampoo and conditioner. A good intensive conditioner you use once a week is also a good investment. Keeping your hair hydrated will help extend the color so condition often!

So, you can skimp on the salon and color your hair yourself. Just make sure the hair color ideas you consider are right for you. Again, there is an excellent tool at The Hairstyler that let's you try before you buy. It is well worth the time to check this out and get it right the first time. The whole idea is to save money dying your hair yourself. You don't want to end up in the salon having a professional correct a mistake after all.

Hair Color Ideas to Survive a Recession

The Houston Chronical recently printed an article about coloring your hair at home to save money. According to Proctor & Gamble, about 65% of women color their hair. With the current economic conditions, the question is if you can color your hair at home to save money without damaging your hair or ending up with a funky color.

Home hair color kits used to be extremely harsh. In fact, the chemicals were so harsh, a urine test could show whether or not you colored your hair! Thank goodness things have changed and home coloring kits are now much more sophisticated in addition to saving you money.

As an example of what you can save by coloring at home, Clairol Nice N Easy Perfect 10 sells for about $13.99, which is substantially less than have your hair colored at a salon. It takes about 10 minutes to color your hair and does not have any harsh chemicals.

If you are going to color at home, here are a few tips.

1. Touch Up Your Roots
If you're roots are showing, its a dead giveaway that you color your hair and haven't redone it in a while. There are several products specifically made for root touch ups. The range from $6.99 in your local drug store to $23 in retailers like Sephora.

2. Gloss
Using a hair gloss about a week after touching up roots gives your hair an extra boost. Not only will you see richer color, it will help keep your hair healthy.

3. Don't Shampoo So Often
Frequent shampoos can cause color to fade. Jason Backe, Clairol color director and master colorist at Ted Gibson salon in New York, recommends shampooing every 3 days. Use a shampoo and conditioner specifically for color treated hair in cool water. The cool water keeps the hair cuticle smooth, thus locking in color. If you need to rinse more often than 3 days, just condition and rinse with cool water.

4. Read the Directions
You can avoid most home hair coloring disasters by reading the directions. Make sure you do not leave the color on too long.

5. Be Realistic
Stay within 2 shades of your natural color if you are doing the coloring at home. Anything more than that will lead to less predictable results. If you do want to make a major change, you're still better off spending the money to go to a salon.

If you're not sure how far you can go with color, The Hair Styler has an extremely helpful tool where you can try colors on before you commit to the dye. You can check it out by going to The Hair Styler.