Taking Hair Color Into Their Own Hands

BEN STEWART, color director for Cutler salons in Manhattan and South Beach, is a sought-after colorist whose clients pay more than $250 for a tint. But in recent months, Mr. Stewart has found himself visiting the drugstore to choose do-it-yourself color for a few clients who want to do home touch-ups to stretch the time between appointments.

“You want them to continue coming to you, but you understand their needs,” Mr. Stewart said. “Better to have them do the right thing rather than totally mess up their hair.”

Not every woman is ready to slip on a pair of latex gloves and take hair coloring into her own hands. But like Spam and instant potatoes, home hair color appears to be that rare product that is getting a lift from the recession.

Asked how the economy had changed their spending habits, 15 percent of 1,000 American women who have their hair colored professionally said they now color it at home, according to a recent survey by Mintel, a market research firm. Another company, Information Resources, said dollar sales of a popular Clairol product, Root Touch-up, shot up 20 percent over the last year.

An indication of home color’s rising profile can be seen in the latest products, which are created by name-brand salon owners, a new twist in an industry long dominated by mass market manufacturers like Clairol and L’Oréal.

This year Frédéric Fekkai, the Manhattan stylist and hair care manufacturer, began selling what he calls the first home color product to offer salon results. Besides a pre-treatment cream to prevent dry or damaged hair from absorbing too much color, the $30 kit, sold at department stores but not at Fekkai salons, features a mixing bowl and brush and a stylish package. (Each color is named for a woman, like Rita for copper blonde.)

In June, Umberto Savone, owner of the Umberto Beverly Hills salon and hair care line, plans to unveil U Color. His $12 color, a collagen product created by an Italian chemist, is packaged in sachets like ketchup; squeeze out a couple of drops, rub them into the hair and repeat, a system that makes home coloring “foolproof,” Mr. Savone said.

Yet home hair color is still a product that strikes fear in the hearts of many people precisely because most believe it is not foolproof. Consider the look-alike boxes, the confusing colors and the bad memories of blondes gone brassy, browns that didn’t cover grays and reds that receded after the second shampoo.

Mary Nash, a Manhattan resident, swears by salon color after two disasters with home products over the years. “I have horrible memories of home coloring,” she said. But these days she stretches her salon visits an extra week or two, and uses a color touch-up wand to spruce up grays.

Colorists say many home products are in fact quite good, if used correctly. “Except for the fragrance, many home and salon products are identical,” said Beth Minardi, owner and color director of the Minardi Salon in Manhattan. “The difference is a good colorist will use several formulas, with one on the part and another on the hairline.”

Most professionals caution against trying anything too ambitious at home. Covering gray is the best — and perhaps only — time to use a home hair product, they say. Make a mistake with do-it-yourself highlights and you get polka-dot leopard spots, said Lisa Evans, senior colorist at Salon Mario Russo in Boston. “Highlights are the biggest thing people mess up,” she said. “They’re not as easy to do as it looks on the box.” And orchestrating a drastic color change at home can produce an unwanted shade; orange can be a result when home colorists go from brown to blonde.

While the price can’t be beat (a box of mass market hair color costs as little as $7), choosing the right one can be daunting. The basic rule is to select a color that’s close to your own — within a shade or two of your natural range, said Kathy Galotti, color director for Louis Licari salons in Manhattan and Beverly Hills. A close match in tone and warmth is one way to make home color last longer. Home colorists also get the best results when hair isn’t permed, relaxed or highlighted, she said.
Applying color can be the biggest pitfall. One reason salon color often lasts longer is that it is evenly applied so grays are covered, new color doesn’t overlap existing color and telltale spots aren’t missed. “Even someone who’s a full-time hairdresser has trouble doing her own color,” said Marie Robinson, a senior colorist at Sally Hershberger salon in Manhattan. She suggests having a friend or spouse help get the color onto your hair and double-check to see the grays are covered.

If you don’t have a helper, don’t forget the back of the head. Mr. Savone suggests lifting the back hair and rubbing in the color or brushing it on.

In some instances, the applicator itself is the problem. Many home products go onto the hair from a bottle. But colorists prefer the control they get using a tint brush and bowl, which do-it-yourselfers can buy at a beauty supply store. Not all home applicators are alike, however. Ms. Robinson likes the comb-tipped bottle that comes with Perfect 10. “You’ve got to experiment to see what works for you,” she said.

Learning to apply color properly can prevent color buildup, which causes hair to look dark and flat, like shoe polish. “You don’t want the same color on ends that have already been colored as on the roots,” Ms. Minardi said

Dryness is a hazard once hair is colored. Blondes are especially vulnerable since products that lighten have high alkaline levels that can dry out hair. To prevent dryness, Ms. Minardi suggests a cream instead of a liquid and recommends using shampoos and conditioners made specifically for color treated hair. “Your days of $4 shampoos are over,” she said.

Is there a point of no return when it becomes impossible to color gray hair yourself? Colorists say no but agree that covering large amounts of gray is tricky.

Gray hair is not gray at all but hair that has lost its pigment. Coloring occurs when the product goes under the hair cuticle and deposits the pigment on the cortex, which is the bulk of the hair, said Philip Kingsley, owner of Philip Kingsley Trichological Clinics in New York and London. “Even if gray hair is resistant, it will eventually take the color,” he said. “Instead of taking half an hour to penetrate the cuticle, it may take 40 minutes.” But assessing how long to leave color on is often difficult for a do-it-yourselfer, he added. “And color left on too long can get too dark.”

Generally, women with less than 25 percent gray can use a semipermanent product that fades after multiple washings. Women with more gray should use permanent color.

For pregnant women or those concerned about artificial chemicals, many health food stores carry permanent hair color free of ammonia, alcohol and hard chemicals, like Herbatint, an Italian brand. “This kind of color isn’t perfect, but it has a good purpose and does the job,” Ms. Galotti said.

And with luck, those grays will retrench, at least for a few weeks.