Thread: Gentle Drugstore Hair Color?

Anyone know of a good one? Does such a thing even exist?

I almost always get my hair done at a salon, but I'm still paying off a bunch of annoying expenses after getting into an accident 2 months ago, spending $90 on my hair (or anything fun, for that matter) will not be in the cards for a very long time ,m:: So it's either continue to look trashy with my brassy weirdness and roots, or go the DIY route and hope for the best.

Who makes a nice gentle haircolor that'll bring me back to my usual warm dark chestnut color in a pinch without absolutely frying my mane? What are your favorites? Which ones would you universally avoid?

Talk to me!

I have always had good luck with Herbal Essences, and my mom, who is a hairdresser, even recommends it to people when they can't come in for a professional touch-up.

Good to know! I've had decent luck with Herbal Essences in the past.

The fact that it's hairstylist-recommended eases my nerves!

I like the Nutrisse brand.

I've also used herbal essences and Garnier Nutrisse with success. I usually go semi-perm, just to cover the gray a bit and get ride of my summer/winter line.

Herbal Essences it seems to be. If I remember correctly, it is ammonia-free. Worked for me in college. Can't be that bad.

I used to love Naturtint vegetable-based hair color (available at Wild Oats) because it was so gentle, but hated the overall muddiness of their dark browns.

Keep all the suggestions coming, guys!

I've used both Herbal Essences and Nutrisse---I think the Nutrisse smells 10x better and also lasts longer than the HE

My stylist yelled at me for using the "in the box" colors from the drugstore because they were drying out my hair. I ended up going to Sally's Beauty Supplies and getting L'Oreal Color Gems (burgundy red) and the 9 volume activator. It fried my hair a lot less than the over the counter stuff (I was using Herbal Essences, not sure what color as they've renamed them). It says demi permanent, but it did not fade any faster than the permanent box kind I was buying, and I could color it again without as much damage. A troupe mate also likes Lush's henna bars:

LUSH -- Henna Hair Color, Natural Henna Hair Coloring Products

If you have access to a Sally Beauty store - I use Water Works - which is a permanent, deposit only color. It will stain the scalp a bit, so don't color right before a gig. And Water Works costs about 4.99 a box. If you're doing whole head and have long hair (past the shoulders), you'll need 3 boxes. For roots, 1 will do fine. I'm generally a medium brown, but I dye my hair natural black.

Here's a good pic:

Good luck!

I used to dye my hair with box dye. My friend who is a hairstylist said it didn't really matter which brand to use when it comes to box dye, she suggested something in the mid-price range which is usually L'OReal or Garnier around here.

Buttt...last weekend I went to dye my hair auburn brown and it came out black. I kid you not. I ended up going to the local beauty college and for $70 I got the color removed, the color I originally wanted and they also cut my hair. I've gone to the beauty college before for hair trims and pedicures, and I'm so glad I went to them for my hair mess up. Not only was it cheap, but the girl did a great job. (The students are supervised.)

Loreal COlor Expert - it is a 2 stage color, first you dye the base color then put in the highlights. Costs around US$20 but looks like a salon dye job.

I used a bunch of box colors and I have like a lot of them. But my most recent is Natural Instincts. I love it! I color my hair almost every 4 weeks, sometimes sooner. It doesn't fry out my hair. In fact is seems to be very gentle and the color always looks natural.

I went to cosmetology school, and used to manage a salon. The biggest problem with box colors, or going to Sally Beauty supply isn't the quality of the color...it is the fact that a newbie/untrained person doesn't know all of the little tips, tricks, and personalities of hair color.

For instance, don't ever dye your hair DARK BROWN if you want it dark brown...it will turn out flat black. Trust me on this. When you get into browns, always get the box that looks like it might be one shade LIGHTER than what you want...and it will end up a tad darker. Trust me.

Don't go to Sally Beauty supply and buy a hair color, and separate developer (sold in various volumes) unless a professional writes down EXACTLY what you are supposed to buy. The difference between 10 volume developer and 40 volume developer is whether or not you are choosing color that is black or you are lightening to blonde! BIG difference if you don't know what you are doing...it could be disasterous!

If you color your hair pretty much the same color every 4-6 weeks, don't put it all over...just do the roots, and run it down to the ends for ONLY the last couple of minutes. Do not keep coloring the entire hair shaft every single month, especially if your hair is long.

As far as gentleness of STORE color, I recommend the ones that are all OVER $5.00-Loreal (Preference, Excellence, Perfect 10) or Garnier Nutrisse are nice. My experience with Herbal Essences, is that the color "bleeds" a lot for a week or so after, if you are going with a dark or bright color. The color is nice, but you might not want brown stains on your bathtowels for 2 weeks after.

Great tips, taking notes..

I've had good luck with Loreal Excellence creme for a few years.

Is there anyone here with ethnic hair that could shime in. I'd like to lighten my hair a bit but I don't trust DC beauty parlors.

I've had really good luck with L'Oreal Natural Match. My hair is verrry naturally curly and tends to be dry and a little brittle, and I have a ton of grey. I like to dye my hair close to its natural dark brown color just to cover the grey and do so about every 4 weeks. Natural Match is ammonia free permanent hair color, and while it dries my hair out some, it's not nearly as bad as the other kinds.

For touch-ups, the instructions say to leave it on the roots for 20 minutes and then apply to the rest of the hair for 10 minutes - I have great results putting it on my roots for 10 or 15 minutes, then applying to the rest of my hair for 5 or 10 minutes (basically only leaving it on my hair for a total of 20 minutes). Covers all the grey, saves me some dryness, and my ends don't end up black.

I also bought one of those hair color application brushes so I can really work it into the roots around my face and my part to make sure all the grey is covered!

Happy coloring! :)

Originally Posted by AishaSakinah

Is there anyone here with ethnic hair that could shime in. I'd like to lighten my hair a bit but I don't trust DC beauty parlors.

Aisha, I've had luck lightening my client's hair with Aveda products, as they are quite gentle. She's gotten the ends lightened between relaxer at the roots. So despite the relaxer (we use kids' formula) her hair is in pretty good shape with the lightening.

Originally Posted by Azhia

Aisha, I've had luck lightening my client's hair with Aveda products, as they are quite gentle. She's gotten the ends lightened between relaxer at the roots. So despite the relaxer (we use kids' formula) her hair is in pretty good shape with the lightening.

Does Aveda sell it in the store or do they only sell it in their full salons? The online store apparently doesn't sell it.