Please, please, please, don't use box hair color!

Why you may ask? Because it is harsh, most of the time using 40 volume developer (the most peroxide you can get) when you want to go one shade lighter or even darker. It's not needed. It's only needed when you are going four shades lighter, and then it's not going to have the capabilities to tone out the brassiness that will always occur. Box color and misuse of hair color treatments are the reason people see the chemical process as bad for you.

By either going to Sally's to get a mid-level hair color and developer or going to a professional, you are chosing a safer route. Not necessarily a safe route but safer than box. Also, if you have jet balck hair and you want to be the lightest blonde you can get, then you are in for at least three treatments, and that can be a lot for your hair to take. At home color isn't going to be as conditioning as professional grade color and hair bleach purchased at Target isn't going to be as safe as professional progressive lightener. Progressive lightener = bleach. And more than likely after the first application of the lightener, your hair will be bright orange, and require a second application before toning the hair with a violet dye to take the yellow/gold tone out. So really what I'm saying is, if you have dark brown hair (level 2), the lowest you are going to get with box color is a lightest brown (level 6) and it'll be a red/0range tone.

I know in this economy, many people cannot afford to go to a salon and pay $80 for great color, but even purchasing color at Sally's with the right developer can be achieved for under $10 an application.

Since I am in cosmetology school, I have a few projects due and as a part of one, I have to find an article on a con of hair color. As I was researching I found a site where this "whizkid" (that's the screen name) says that hair color sits on top of the hair, and that no chemical change occurs. Um, not true. Sure with Temporary color like the mascara tubes of color you paint on, or the cans that become popular at Halloween (yup, that's today!) those do sit on top of the hair cuticle. Semi permanent like Manic Manic goes past the cuticle and stains the hair, but 4-6 shampoos and it's gone. When you get into Demi colors it's similar because it uses peroxide developer, with no ammonia, so it cannot lift the color, only enhances the tone of the same level (changes ash to golden or copper, or vice versa). Permanent color has ammonia in the dyes. It's not in the developer. Also, Henna color is permanent color. But it stains the cuticle and it cannot be removed, not even with progressive lightener.

Have I confused anyone? Not that I am a highly viewed blog, but hey, ya never know.