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" You hate it \u2014 the smell, the cost, the time commitment \u2014 and yet you wouldn&amp;#039;t dream of going without it. Coloring your hair can take years off your looks \u2014 even if it sometimes feels like a bad habit you can&amp;#039;t break. And it can be less onerous. This shade-by-shade guide to creating rich, long-lasting hues at home \u2014 and getting your money&amp;#039;s worth at the salon \u2014 is loaded with smart advice and the best damage-control tactics from the pros.  5 Rules for Botch-Proof Haircolor \u2022 Check Your Sides  The model on the front of a box is there to catch your attention, not to predict your future shade, says Brad Johns, color director of Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas. The actual colors you can start with and achieve with a kit are shown in photos on the side of the box. \u2022 Lighten Up  When in doubt, pick a hue that&amp;#039;s just one shade lighter or darker than your current one. Feeling more daring? It&amp;#039;s easier to correct too-light mistakes (by adding dye over them) than too-dark slipups (which may require you to live with them until they fade or grow out). \u2022 Call for Help  Questions? Use the 800 number on the side of the haircolor box. And if you have a perm, relaxer, or any other chemical processes in your hair, get expert guidance on finding a color treatment that&amp;#039;s safe for the condition of your hair. \u2022 Order Well  If you&amp;#039;re going darker, start the dye at the roots and, in the last five minutes, work the color through to the ends. If you&amp;#039;re lightening up, try the opposite: Start at the ends, which should look blonder than the rest of your hair, as they would naturally if they&amp;#039;d been bleached by the sun.  \u2022 Wait 48 Hours Before Shampooing  This lets the pigment soak in. When you do wash, avoid using very hot water, which can open the cuticle and let out the dye. 3 Tips for Salon Success \u2022 Bring Visual Aids  Find a photo of the shade you&amp;#039;d like to be, and show it to your colorist. Every pro will interpret your words differently, but a photo will help her see your preferences more clearly. \u2022 Be a Foodie  In the absence of visual aids, use foods to describe the color you want, suggests Jason Backe, Clairol&amp;#039;s new color director. &amp;quot;When it comes to haircolor, words like honey, caramel, and espresso are much more specific than gold and brunette,&amp;quot; he says.  \u2022 Consult with a Pro  When trying a new colorist, book a consultation first. It won&amp;#039;t cost a thing, and can save you months of regret. Gray Matters 4 Tips for the Care and Keeping of Silver Strands \u2022 Just Do It!   The easiest way to go gray: Get a shorter cut and just let your hair be, suggests Barbara Lhotan, creative director of Elie Elie salons in Winchester, VA. Alternatively, avoid the two-toned look by covering gray strands with semipermanent color until they&amp;#039;re plentiful (six months or more), then going cold turkey on the dye. A semipermanent formula should wash out in four to six weeks, revealing the gray. \u2022 See the Future   Childhood photos will help predict your future shade of gray, says Lhotan: Black hair turns steel-gray; redheads and brunettes have more gold undertones mixed with their silver; and childhood blonds tend to go white.  \u2022 Lather Carefully   Gray hair is very porous, and soaks up everything you put on it \u2014 including the pigment in your shampoo. So skip the shampoo with the green tint in favor of white or clear formulas. Or try a purple-tinted shampoo to tone down brassiness, such as Pantene Pro-V Silver Expressions Shampoo ($6.49, drugstores).  \u2022 Shine On   Since gray hair can be coarser and wirier than your pigmented hair, it may need more conditioning to get it under control. A good choice: conditioners meant for curly or coarse hair, which tend to have softening and smoothing ingredients. Periodically, give your strands a deep cleaning to get rid of dulling residues. Try Logics Color DNA System Clarifying Shampoo ($20, logicshair.com for salons). Next:   You Want: Brilliant Brown At home: To brighten up brown, add cool or warm tones with temporary dye \u2014 in case you&amp;#039;re not happy with the outcome, suggests celebrity colorist Rita Hazan of the eponymous New York City salon; Clairol Natural Instincts Loving Care ($6, drugstores) washes out in six to 12 shampoos. You&amp;#039;ll need more pigmented, permanent dyes to get full gray coverage, but if you select one shade lighter than you think you need, it can make those grays look like highlights \u2014 and the overall effect will be less uniform and wig-like. One to try: L&amp;#039;Or\u00E9al Paris Excellence-to-Go ($9.49, drugstores), a permanent color that delivers high-shine coverage in 10 minutes.   At the salon: &amp;quot;Brunettes are the most challenging,&amp;quot; says Hazan. &amp;quot;Their hair can turn red and brassy with added color but look flat without it.&amp;quot; Ask for gold highlights instead of red, and afterward, get a clear gloss treatment to give hair more luster (it&amp;#039;s sometimes complimentary when you go in for color). Gloss is like temporary haircolor, only without the pigment, explains Hazan; it fills in the damaged part of the cuticle and enhances shine for up to six weeks.   Color care: The coloring process involves less lightening for brunettes than for blonds, which means brown hair doesn&amp;#039;t get as damaged, explains Lesley McBride, a Pantene principle scientist. Brown pigment also repels water, which can dilute dyes \u2014 so the color stays put for longer. Since you are still likely to crave extra shine, try following every other shampoo with a lightweight silicone glaze, such as Fekkai Salon Glaze Clear Shine Rinse ($28, Sephora). Between salon visits, hide grays and regrowth with Avon Advance Techniques Grey Root Touch-Up in Brunette ($6, avon.com), a mascara wand with color that lasts until the next shampoo.  Next:   You Want: Shimmery Blond At home: Lustrous blond is the result of more than just bleach. This sought-after shade is often a blend of artfully applied highlights and lowlights \u2014 no small feat if you haven&amp;#039;t been to beauty school. The best candidates for at-home, multifaceted honey tones: women who were blond as kids (their skin is more likely to be a good match for blond hair) and anyone with gray mixed in with their blond or light brown (gray strands will look like highlights when you coat them with semi- or demi-permanent dye, says Michael Casy, color director at Salon Eliut Rivera in New York City). Because most women go lighter than they should, Casy suggests that you buy one shade darker than the blond you&amp;#039;re most drawn to at the store \u2014 and make sure your &amp;quot;before&amp;quot; color is also featured on the side of the box. If your hair is more than 40 percent gray, use a permanent dye to cover the silver before adding highlights. Try L&amp;#039;Or\u00E9al Paris Couleur Experte Express with Easy-Glide Highlighter ($20, drugstores), which pairs up permanent color and a highlighting kit in one box.   At the salon: See a pro for more dramatic lightening. But do listen if your colorist discourages you from making a big change. He may be trying to prevent a high-maintenance hair disaster that requires twice-monthly return trips to the salon. If you decide to go more than a couple of shades lighter, ask your colorist if there&amp;#039;s a drugstore color you can use to touch up your roots when you can&amp;#039;t make it back to the salon. Or for quick coverage on the go, try Oscar Blandi Pronto Colore Pen ($23, Sephora), a purse-size pen that covers dark roots for a day at a time and comes in five shades, including two blond hues.   Color care: The lightening process damages hair, so dyed blonds often require a combination of gentle cleansing and deep conditioning to restore the fatty lipid layer surrounding the cuticle and to add shine. Use shampoos specifically for color-treated hair. Or create your own gentle shampoo by mixing a teaspoon of your favorite brand with a cup of warm water in a plastic bottle, suggests Casy. Shake it up, then pour over hair, lather, and rinse. Follow up with a conditioner that helps prevent breakage on bleached hair. We like John Frieda Sheer Blonde Lustrous Touch Strengthening Conditioner ($6, drugstores). Skip hot-oil treatments: The oils can get trapped in porous blond strands and weigh them down, according to Barbara Lhotan.  Next:   You Want: Richest Red At home: Red is the toughest color to get right on your own, since bold reds can look cartoony if you&amp;#039;re not expert at applying them. Unless you&amp;#039;re a natural-born redhead, go for a more approachable auburn hue. Your best bets are brown-based colors that have red or auburn in their names. You&amp;#039;ll still get some russet tones \u2014 without the risks. When covering grays, use permanent color, and choose formulas that have some brown or neutral tones, since pure-red pigment doesn&amp;#039;t adhere to gray very well, and you can end up with \u2014 yikes! \u2014 pink highlights. (Do a strand test first.)  At the salon: Striking redheads, like Julianne Moore, often have a few coppery and auburn highlights blended in, says Nikki Ferrara, a colorist at Sally Hershberger Downtown in New York City. If you want more of that copper-penny shine, ask your colorist for highlights around your face. Also get her to recommend a dye you can use at home for touch-ups.  Color care: Red molecules are the first pigment your hair releases when you wash it. Keep your red looking vibrant for longer by shampooing every other day and using an extra-gentle shampoo and conditioner, such as Bumble and Bumble Color Support Shampoo and Conditioner for True Reds ($22 each, bumbleandbumble.com). Supplement regular conditioning with a moisturizing treatment that also protects hair from fading, like Garnier Fructis Color Shield Fortifying Deep Conditioner ($6, drugstores). If your hair does fade between colorings, refresh it with a color-and-shine enhancer like Ken Paves Healthy Hair Boost Up Color Drops in Red ($40, Ulta). Adding a few drops to your conditioner or styling product can give red more vibrancy until your next shampoo. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/hair/tips/a18688/right-hair-color/>