At Home Hair Color Tips and Ideas

Get a gorgeous new hair color in your own bathroom, but make sure you follow these at-home coloring secrets to avoid any hair disasters! Find out what hair colors are safe to get at home and what colors will work best on your current shade! Here are the best blonde, brunette and red DIY hair colors with at-home hair coloring tips!

First, you have to pick the right "safe" shade for you – understand that you can't go platinum blonde if you are a natural brunette with a box color. Going just a little darker or lighter is easier to do without mistakes. These "safe" at-home shades won't get you dramatic dimensional effects or a precise salon design, but it's best to know what will work on your natural hair color and what just won't. If you're satisfied with something on the simpler side, like going from a mousy brown to vibrant red or a deep chocolate shade, you can achieve a brand new at-home hair color successfully with the following tips!

Shiny Brunette Dark hair looks best with it has some warmth running through it. When looking for the perfect shade, look for words like "warm" and "golden" on the box to get a rich, flattering brunette hair color. These richer tones will prevent a dark shade from looking flat and enhance healthy, sparky shine! A warm, shiny brunette can be achieved easily at home if you're a natural redhead, mousy brown or dark blonde.

Vibrant Red If you're not lucky enough to be a natural redhead, you can cheat your way to a new vibrant red hair color! The best shade for you will depend on your skin tone: red hair especially suit those with and English rose complexion – choose shades of copper, vibrant shades of plum or cherry for best results. Warm skin tones can also benefit from red hair color, but go for a darker mahogany shade or a vivid shade of raspberry. Your box red will be successful if you're a natural light brown/dark blonde. If you hair is dark, it's unlikely you'll achieve a bright red shade without bleaching first. For long hair use two kits for a strong, even color.

Luxe Blonde Luxurious, platinum blonde is a strong statement – it is hard to achieve it on dark hair even with repeated in-salon coloring. Only attempt to color your hair blonde at home if you're less than two shades darker and a natural blonde. You can also build up the color in time to preserve your hair's health as much as you can. An expensive platinum blonde will suit both warm adn cool skin tones, but avoid going too blonde if you have a tan, or your complexion is darker.

Application Tips! - Don't color your hair at home when you're in a hurry! Take time to gather your tools, including combs, clips and a timer. - Make sure you have somebody around to help if you can't reach the back of your head! - Do a skin test! Apply some product behind the ear and wait 48 hours. If you don't have a reaction, go ahead and color. - Apply the hair dye systematically, starting at the roots and taking sections around the head and working towards the hairline. - When the timer goes off, rinse immediately to avoid over-processing that will lead to irreparable damage!