When it’s time for a color refresh, you stand in the hair care aisle faced with options. Do you grab a box of drugstore hair dye or book time with a salon colorist? Budget and convenience may make DIY kits tempting, but professional coloring delivers better results. If you’re wondering, “Is salon color really better than boxed dyes?” Here are some considerations.
The risks and limitations of boxed dyes may have you second guessing that $6 box. Now, let’s compare salon hair coloring versus at-home boxed dyes and see why professional colorists deliver better results.
Customization
- Salon colorists take time to understand your hair goals through in-depth consultations, including your hair history (i.e., history of coloring/bleaching/perming/smoothing treatments). They analyze your natural hair color, skin tone, eye color, and lifestyle to recommend shades that will complement your features. Custom mixing dyes and adding toner glosses allows them to fine-tune color so it flatters you. They can also tailor application techniques like balayage, highlights or root smudge to achieve the precise results you want.
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Boxed kits offer a limited range of pre-mixed, ready-to-use shades. Without customization, results often come out brassy on some hair types or too ashy and monotone on others. Boxed dyes make it hard to adjust formula strength or undertones to your unique hair and skin tone. The uniform application from roots to ends rarely complements natural color variations throughout your hair.
Salon Color Vs Box Dye Control
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With professional salon coloring, the colorist thoroughly preps and sections your hair, applies formulated dye mixtures precisely, and times the process to achieve desired results. Their training equips them to fully saturate every strand evenly so color takes uniformly. For advanced processes like highlights or lowlights, stylists are skilled at neatly separating and foiling hair to control which sections get colored.
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At home, it’s challenging to fully coat all your hair thoroughly by yourself, especially the back and underneath sections. Without professional guidance, it’s easy to unevenly apply dye, miss spots, overlap excessively, or fail to time the coloring properly. This leads to splotchy, uneven color results.
Hair Health
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Many at-home boxed dyes rely on harsh chemicals like ammonia and higher volumes of peroxide to penetrate the hair quickly. This can damage hair over time, leaving it dried out, brittle or compromised if you color frequently. The uniform head-to-toe application also exposes all hair to dye when only refreshment is needed at the roots.
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In salons, professional grade products with more conditioning and nourishing properties are used. Stylists also prep hair appropriately with treatments and strike to minimize damage from lightening processes. They are experts at safely lifting dark hair, which often requires skillful pre-lightening in multiple visits. This meticulous approach, along with professional products and treatments, minimizes damage that boxed kits can’t achieve.
- Bleaching and lifting dark hair safely requires professional expertise. Box kits lack the strength to effectively pre-lighten for drastic color changes.
Skin Safety
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Some chemical ingredients in boxed dyes have raised concerns over skin sensitivity and irritation. The at-home setting makes it easy for skin to accidentally get exposed to dye chemicals during application.
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Many professional salon hair color brands use gentler, less harsh formulas that are safer for sensitive scalps. Stylists are also trained on safe application techniques to keep chemicals off the skin. They can conduct patch tests ahead of time to identify any allergies or reactions.
Gray Coverage
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Boxed permanent dyes aim to achieve uniform head-to-toe color from roots to ends. But gray hairs are often resistant, leading to spotty results with splotchy lingering grays.Boxed dyes lack the precision application and customization to seamlessly cover every stubborn gray strand.
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In salons, colorists have techniques to beautifully blend resistant grays for natural looking integration into your existing hair color. Using lowlights, glosses, and toner washes, they can disguise grays and eliminate noticeable demarcation lines.
Longevity
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Boxed dyes may claim 6-8 weeks of longevity but often fade faster in reality. As soon as 2-3 washes later, the color can look dull, lifeless and brassy. The results don’t last as long as the effort warrants.
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With salon coloring, the professional grade dye better penetrates the hair cuticle for longer lasting vibrancy. While pricier than DIY methods, investing in touch up visits every 4-6 weeks helps preserve the integrity of the color. The results stay truer for longer compared to boxed options.
Trendy Fashion Shades
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Vibrant red, pastel pink or emerald green hair is on trend. But accurately achieving perfect, vivid fashion colors is extremely difficult with boxed dyes purchased retail. They rarely deposit adequate pigment for bright, intense saturation.
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In salons, colorists have access to professional strength pigments and developers that allow fashion shade dyes to properly absorb into the hair. They also can customize the formula based on your hair texture and condition to avoid splotchy, uneven results.
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With an expert stylist guiding the process, you can more safely explore exciting fashion colors while avoiding the common pitfalls of boxed dyes.
Conclusion
Over time, professional salon coloring is easier on your hair and delivers better, longer lasting results. Customization and professional techniques keep your hair healthy and color looking flawless between visits. While pricier than boxed dyes, salon color helps you put your best tress forward!
Get Salon-Worthy Hair Color at Séchoir Beauty Bar
Want gorgeous, long-lasting hair color without the hassle or risks of boxed dyes? Our expert colorists at Séchoir Beauty Bar create customized looks that help you shine.
Our salon offers:
- Thorough consultations to craft the ideal shades and techniques for you
- Ammonia-free professional formulas that nourish hair
- Precision application and timing by skilled colorists
- Specialty techniques like balayage, ombré, highlights and more!
- Safe processes that protect your scalp
From subtle gloss treatments to radical transformations, our top colorists use their training and artistry to illuminate your best self.
Schedule your customized color service and see the difference professional expertise makes. Feel beautiful and confident with salon-perfect results that safely enhance your natural beauty.
