One of the top inquiries I receive is, “Why is Box Color from a grocery store so bad”? Well my friends, let me enlighten you!

Is it really all that different from professional color?

Let me answer this as truthfully as possible… not really! The ingredients found in professional hair color and store bought hair color really are not all that different. However, with that being said some Box Color brands from a convenience store can contain metallics or other chemicals that can interact with professional color lines. When this happens it is possible to see reactions such odd color results (green, pink, etc), serious damage, or in extreme cases the hair can catch fire. I know crazy, but Youtube it, it’s real!

Now that we have that out in the open, let’s get into the top five reasons why Hairstylist’s advise against coloring your own hair with any Box Color.

Semi-Permanent, Demi-Permanent, Permanent

This is my number reason that I personally advise against coloring your own hair at home! The majority of society does not understand the difference between the three types of hair color (Permanent, Semi-Permanent, Demi-Permanent). Knowing the difference between these three types is crucial to health of your hair, they can dramatically affect your hair color results and if not used correctly can affect your hair color options later.

From my experience most color lines carried at convenience stores carry Permanent hair colors. Permanent hair colors will cover grey and they will permanently change the internal structure of the hair. Most individuals who have used these colors at any point have layered them all over the hair every time they’ve colored their hair. What happens is the color is being pushed into your hair deeper with every layer over and over again, and it begins to have the effect of bleach. It can begin to dry out the hair, cause breakage and serious hair loss.

Demi’s and Semi’s are designed to be temporary. They do not fully cover grey and only penetrate the top layer of the hair without affecting the inner cortex of the hair. This means that the color will gradually fade out and be much softer at the root as it grows out. They can also be used to refresh the ends of your hair in between services. Many Hairstylist’s use these type of colors for color refreshes, toners, and sometimes for more exotic colors.

Professional Application

Youtube is wonderful for learning how to do pretty much anything these days, but please do not attempt to do any professional techniques using a Youtube video.

Hairstylist’s pay hundreds to thousands of dollars on training every year to perfect the ever changing Hair Color Applications! The more the Hairdressing community is expanding the more in depth our techniques are getting and should absolutely not be attempted by any unlicensed cosmetologist. The reason behind this is because you could cause serious banding, unblended results, serious damage or even splotchy application. Let’s be real… Bottles are great for toners, but for bleach or color applications I would definitely advise against them!

One size does not fit all!

We see commercials for Loreal or Garnier Fructis Box color with all the beautiful celebrities and models looking flawless with their effortless hair. But do you really think Gwen Stefani or Blake Lively are spending $12 on a take home hair color box? Nope.

These companies create big expectations and unfortunately are not realistic. Hairstylists are trained to look at an individual’s hair and determine where they currently are and what route to take them to achieve the desired results. At home Box Color brands do not go over levels, tones, and goals. You will notice they show charts that say things like “what your hair looks like” and “where this color will take you”. These expectations of what your hair “should” do, do not go over what the results will be if you have layers of color on your hair or if you are naturally much darker than the swatch shown. The results could be splotchy, hot rooted, gold/orange, damage or possibly no change at all.

Formulas can change.

Sometimes these Box Color brands can completely change their formulas and are not legally obligated to tell you as the consumer. Then you could have a traumatizing circumstance during your next color application and I don’t know about you, but that is not the kind of surprise I like!

Professional Color lines are required to let us know if anything in their formulations or color lines have changed. This allows Hairstylist’s to make the proper adjustments in formula if necessary. Hairstylist’s always make custom formulas for each guest that sits in their chair, so definitely no one size fits all nonsense. For this reason you will never wonder if you are going to look absolutely perfect walking out that front door!

It may be cheaper to begin with, but not in the long run.

I mentioned it earlier and I will mention it again, Hairstylist’s are required to spend many hours learning about formulating, chemistry and color lines to service their guests. So although that Box Color may only cost you $12 at CVS, in the long run it could cause more serious issues that will force you to spend a lot more money.

If a color line changed a formulation or perhaps you misformulated, there could be an unexpected result that could lead you to have to seek Professional help. The Box Color that may have costed you $12 from CVS may now cost you multiple sessions of $300-$500 with a Stylist, because it’s now a full Color Correction. Layers of Permanent color can also cause an issue if you plan on being lighter in the future, as it will cause multiple layers of bands that will have to be worked through to get you to your desired result.

Now of course if seeing a Professional is not within your budget, I promise you we are here to work with you! There are also so many more natural looking options that can really extend the life of your color and prevent you from having to make frequent trips to the salon. In fact, most of my guests only see me 3-4 times a year for their color!

Some other wonderful products that help mask greys and extend the life of your color; such as colored dry shampoos, mousses and powders!

In Conclusion…

There are so many options out there that can fit into any type of budget and keep your hair looking flawless! I personally work with every single one of my guests to make sure that they are looking their best no matter what price point they can work within and I promise I will always do this for you too. So instead of attempting any of our crazy techniques yourself, come visit the salon and get the full pampering experience!