Many years ago, when I was 19, I started seeing gray hairs showing up, and I couldn't stand it. Gray hair was for older women, and being a brunet, you could see them very well. I wanted to color my hair, but I was scared to death that it would come out some weird color like orange, then what would I do! So I just let it go for a while until my grandmother was visiting one summer. She said she colors her hair, and it was very safe and easy. She talked me into it so I let her do it and it turned out just beautiful. I have been coloring my hair ever since.
If I let my hair go back to its original color, I would probably be gray. I blame my father for the gray; all of my dad's family's hair grayed at an early age, so I lucked out and took after him.
If you have gray hair and would like to color it, I can help you. You don't have to go to the beauty shop or salon as they call it today and spend a fortune just for hair color. If I can color my hair, then you can too. Don't be scared. Hair color is safer and gentler than the old days when your hair could be fried, and you had to walk around with a hat on.
The first thing you need to do is say, "okay, I can do this." The next time you go to the store to spend some time in the hair color aisle. There are a lot of different brands and several different hair treatments that you can purchase.
I know you are scared, so the best way to start is to pick up one that isn't a permanent color. These are called semi-permanent. Semi-permanent hair color will wash out in 8 to 12 washes. After my grandmother color my hair, I started out using the semi-permanent until I felt like I knew what I was doing and doing it right. Once I had the knack down pat, then I started using the permanent color treatments. I will elaborate on a permanent color later.
Now you are probably thinking what color do you need to pick-up. The best advice I can give you is to pick up the color that best matches your own. Once you have found the color you want, then go down one shade. Home hair color always turns out darker than what is showing on the box.
Once you are home and are ready to start, make sure you have allotted yourself time to color. You don't want to be talking on the phone (you'll get color all over the earpiece) or start a project that you can't stop when the coloring time is up.
Now I will walk you threw the steps that I do when I color my hair. Some of my actions are not a professional way, but these are what works for me.
The first thing you need to do is to get the items you will need together. They are:
An old towel
The box of hair color
A couple of paper towels and a hand mirror
There is one other item that I use to use but don't anymore, and that is another towel that I would put around my shoulders, but it would always fall off. Now I just put on an old t-shirt that I don't care what gets on it.
That's it for coloring. Now you have to wait. Depending on the color treatment that you bought, the waiting time is different. The permanent color that I use to buy, I have to wait 45 minutes, but now they have come out with hair color made for cores gray hair, and I only have to wait for 25 minutes.
The next step is rinsing. When the time is up, I go to the kitchen sink and get the right water temperature I want. What you do is to palm your hand for some water and put on your hair to work it into a lather like. You will notice that your hair is dry, but when the water is applied, it will feel normal again. Put your head under the faucet and rinse. Once the water runs clear, you know you have got all the color out of your hair.
Then take the color seal conditioner and work this into your hair and wait 2 minutes, then rinse. Congratulations, you have colored your hair! You can style as usual.
Well, that's it. This is my way of coloring my hair, and I hope it has helped put some of your fears about coloring your hair under the table. Remember, it's not hard and goes with a lighter shade than you think you should use, and it will come out beautiful!