I have been coloring my hair at home for years now, but only in the last year has it started to become more necessary. I will peek at my hair in the mirror or my hair will catch the light in the sun and I see those wiry gray hairs coming through. Ah, the signs of old age are upon me.
Hair color in the box has come a long way though and I have experimented with different brands and products that have come out when I have a coupon to go with them.
I have found though that I rarely have to pay for the regular price on my hair color though and let me share why:
1. Hair color is always on sale. If you look in CVS or the Walgreens flier, you will find that on almost any given week, they are running a special on hair color. Walgreens & CVS often will either give you a rebate on these products or some type of register reward. Wait for the sales on your favorite brands and try to stock up in conjunction with these.
2. Hair color coupons abound. Make sure to check your Sunday coupon inserts for coupons and cut these out to apply towards your purchase. If you can combine those coupons with a rebate/Extra Care Buck reward, you can often get your hair color for less than $5 a box.
3. Sign up for mailing lists. Sign up for the mailing lists for coupons and tips on coloring your hair. Clairol, for example, offers the Color Source Club where they send an email newsletter out with coupon savings towards your purchases and updates on their new products. By visiting the Garnier website, you will find they offer a newsletter with updates on free samples and special offers. Likewise, Revlon offers a website where you can sign up for a similar type of program and be notified of savings and samples.
4. Look inside & outside the box for savings. Often on the directions page, there is a coupon to take off money on your next purchase. Make sure to scan all over the outside and inside of the box for coupons and use these on your next color purchase.
5. Don’t forget savings in unlikely places. One week my hair color was not on sale and I was not stocked on any extra boxes. Our local Bed Bath & Beyond though recently added a beauty section that is fully stocked on all of my drugstore needs. I walked in with a manufacturer coupon and combined that with the 20% off a purchase coupon and was still able to score my favorite hair color for about $5.00. I don’t know if all of the stores offer this, but this is another option for coupon savings.
6. Check eBay for coupons. Coupons abound for the products that you use and it is a great resource for savings on the things you use most. When my children were babies, I often used eBay to get coupons for savings off our baby food. Now that they are getting older, I am now looking for hair color coupons. My, how the circle of life continues!
I recently happened upon a product though that has had me shouting it’s praises from the mountain tops and I doubt I will use anything else since I have become so spoiled. It is the Clairol Perfect 10 Hair Color.
I had a coupon for this product and since I have used it, I can never picture using anything else ever again. There are two reasons why I love it.
1. The applicator makes it a lot less messy. I am one of those people that is a constant disaster and I can’t tell you how many things I have ruined while trying to get hair color on my head. It almost became a joke because every time I would color my hair, we would have to buy a new shower curtain because I had slopped color on it.
2. It is done in ten minutes. That is it. By the time I get it on, it is time to rinse it off. It colors my hair that quickly.
It is not the most frugal choice always, but regularly priced at $12.99, it is still a huge cost-savings over the $50-100 charge that is being charged at most salons. If you can apply the cost-savings above, you can still get this hair color for the $5-8 price.
Too scared to color your hair at home? Don’t be! It is really hard to fail at at-home hair coloring unless you are trying to color your hair drastically. If the look is drastic, go to the salon and have them do it, but for just covering a few grays, it can be easy to do at home.
What if you fail or you get a bad color job at the salon? I have found the best product for you for that too!
I once had a botched color job at the salon and I was desperate to tone down my bright hair. I found this great product that you can buy at Walgreens called Color Oops. Within five to ten minutes of putting this on your hair, it will tone down your color. If you leave it on too long though, it will strip your hair down to your baby hair. I would be very careful using a product like this, but desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures and this will work in a pinch.
Your best bet if you get a botched job at the salon? Going back to the salon and asking them to put a little toner on it. They should do this for free for you and guarantee their color services so make sure you ask this before getting your hair done somewhere how long their color-guarantee is.
Don’t forget that no matter where you choose to color you hair, that the most important thing to do to maintain it is to use color-safe shampoos afterward. The same tips for savings on hair color apply to those hair color shampoos too. It has been a long time since I have paid full price for any hair care items by taking advantage of coupons and savings at the drugstore. If you are looking for an affordable brand option, Suave corners the market on inexpensive hair products. They have an arsenal of hair products that won’t put a dent in your wallet. For example, Nexxus shampoo would cost roughly $8.79 for 14.5 ounces. Suave makes a knock off of this same shampoo for $1.92-2.49 for 14.5 ounces. Combine that with a coupon, and you have practically free shampoo that will keep your hair looking great!
I hope these at-home hair color tips will help keep your lovely locks looking great for a lot less!
(Photo Source: Compact Collection)
Related Links:
Overcoming My Fears: Cutting Hair
Do you color your hair at home? What products do you love? How do you maximize your color savings?
That is wonderful Amy! thanks for the tips too.
I have my hair highlighted every 3-4 months. It is nearing the middle of my back and I just am not brave enough to try to do it myslef. A lady that goes to chiurch with us dles it (she is a professional). I get a discount with her.
My tip would be to get someone (a professional) you know or a beauty school to do your hair. Ask for a discount too.
Blessings!
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The last time I colored my hair, it was supposed to be a lighter brown. Instead, it was quite red. My mom told me that because I have this subtle red in my hair (luck of the Irish?) that any time I dyed my hair with the at-home kits, it would come out red! I haven’t done it since…
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I have never colored my own hair; I’m so scared that I’ll look like I put black shoe polish on my head. You MAY have just convinced me to give it a try. I just wrote down the name of your favorite color-in-a-box. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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I try to aim for one shade lighter than my hair color so it doesn’t take too dark.
One suggestion, never ever ask your husband to help you pick your hair color. He helped me pick and I kept saying, “But this woman is African American. Are you sure it is not too dark?” Go with your gut instinct on that because my hair has never been that dark before and it took awhile for it to finally tone down. Now I just choose myself or bring my sister
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great post! thanks for the hint about signing up for online newsletters!
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I color my hair at home – well, my mom does it for me. We use L’oreal. I don’t do all over color, just heavy highlights.
She’s done her own for years, and finally convinced me to let her do mine after she found out what I was paying to have it done!
Great tips!
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I use Loreal Preference. I’ve used it since I was 15, taking a year or two off for professional color). It has never led me astray… in over 17 years!
CVS usually has it on sale every month and there is usually a coupon around that time…. so I stock up!
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I’m glad this works for you and that you have the nerves of steel to go along with it! This is one area I leave to the professionals. That being said, I go to a friend that has been doing my hair for over twenty years and now is doing it out of her home, so that is the big cost saver for me.
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I’ve been coloring my hair at home for years. One thing I’ve learned is: if your hair has any red tendencies, hair color with the name “golden” in it will bring out the red full force. Which is fine if you want/like the red. I use the browns of Garnier Nutrisse. As long as I use one of the “natural” browns, it comes out just fine.
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I have never colored my hair at home. But I just bought a box, can’t afford the salon. I just keep staring at the bx for ages as I am sooo nervous to do it.
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I also color my hair at home, but I use a semi-permanent kit that fades after a certain number of washings (Clairol Natural Instincts). I like the wash-out colors because I don’t get the tell-time time to color lines, which is very forgiving. It covers the grays, and when I can freshen it up with a fresh box of color, I do. It’s also on sale regularly with coupons, so I stock up.
(However, I also have a tendency to get in on things in the bathroom no matter how hard I try! I actually strip down, wet hair in shower, step out, apply color in mirror and then step back in empty shower to wait so I don’t drip on anything other than the shower stall. I make sure I have a magazine nearby to flip through until the timer beeps, then I just close the curtain and turn on the shower to rinse out the color. It seems to keep everything a little cleaner that way…)
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I’ve been doing at-home color forEVER! After trying different brands (on sale at drug stores) I’ve decided I’m sticking with Garnier. It lasts much longer than the others and doesn’t fade as much. My husband does my hair for me since I can’t see the back so well. He complains, but says he’d much rather take the time to do it than fork over $100 every four weeks (what I was paying when I was single!!)
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I color and highlight my middle daughters hair and have actually had a friend of hers ask if I would start doing hers too. I need to do mine too but I can’t decide on a color to use.
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I too have always colored my hair at home. I’m one of those you would call prematurely gray and just couldn’t go with that in my late 20′s. I’m now mid-40′s. I’ve always used Clairol products but can’t count on anything less than the permanent color as the semi-perm colors leave purplish tones in my hair and wash out within a week. My natural color is dark brown with reddish tones so I always use a color at least 2 shades lighter and with neutral or ash tones. Otherwise it looks too red in the sun. Using the lighter shade leaves highlights rather than a solid, dull color. Glad to hear your positive report on the Perfect10. I’ve been looking at it but stayed away from it wondering if it was worth the extra $. My hair grows about 1/8″ in a week so I end up touching up my color every 3 weeks. Life is tough. Someday I’ll have to figure out how to go natural, but until then, I just smell up the bathroom every few weeks!
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Due to the fact that a salon color can set me back $75 or so, I’ve gone back to doing it on my own. I’ve been using Clairol Perfect 10 (med. brown) and have been very happy with the results. Plus, it comes with this awesome conditioner to use in the following weeks. I can typically get it for around $10 at Target.
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haha… as I sit and read this, I have a highlighting cap on my head… I used some ECBs at CVS this morning to get myself a box of highlighter for less than $3!
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As a professional dancer I always had my hair colored to the tune of $150 every 6 weeks. OUCH! Even after retiring, I was hooked and would still visit my stylist (just not as frequently). Once I moved away, he was kind enough to write out the formula. Now I do my own, combining 3 Clairol colors from their pro line. I get to play mad scientist, and it only costs $12. Talk about a savings! One good thing is that the conditioners in color are good for your hair. Don’t forget that once you start getting more gray than not you’ll probably have to alter the formula or brand, a visit to a stylist might be good then for suggestions.
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I have been using Colorsilk brand for years. It’s often only $2.99 at Target. You cannot beat that!
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i got my hair highlighted at the salon for years til we had kids and needed to tighten down the budget quite a bit! now i just do full color @ home. i have tried a few brands, and for my hair, Clairol Nice & Easy (#120) is my favorite. i have med-dark brown hair anyway, and this just makes it a wee darker, covers those few grays i seem to be sprouting, and has a really neat built-in dimension – in the sunlight it has cool-reddish tones, which is fun against the dark brown.
been eyeing that Perfect 10, though. maybe i'll splurge once & give it a try!
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I should share that the Perfect 10 had a coupon a couple of weeks ago in the flier for $5 off. Unfortunately, it expires today. I will keep my eyes peeled though because it is pretty reasonable with the coupon and the ECB deals that happen at the drugstores.
Loving this conversation and reading all of your color tips!
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When we moved to MI to start our own business, I had to find an inexpensive way to change up my hair w/out paying the $75-$80 for highlighting it, so I decided to try dying my own. I too love Clairol but I use Nice'N Easy Natural Light Golden Brown & then do the root touch-up in between dyes to make my color last longer! They also have a color boosting glaze. I may have to give the Perfect 10 a try sometime! My hairstylist said she loved the color I was choosing & it looked very natural too! Thanks for your great blog!
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I am wondering if people have success coloring their hair to hide greys- like coloring dark brown hair dark brown- or do you have success making brown hair blonde? That is always my problem. I am getting darker in my old age and to even get highlights at home is always a disaster.
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As a new mom, I have just started coloring my hair. My first time was last week (in a hotel while we were on vacation, mind you, so I didn’t have to worry about spills!) and I was very happy with the results and the price. I just couldn’t fork out the cash (our local hair salon costs $145 for a cut and color!) and finding the time to get away from a nursing infant is difficult. I’ve only used Garnier Nutrisse and was happy with the results. I have to admit, buying the color was an impulse purchase prior to leaving town, but the full price of $13 is WAY cheaper than going to the salon. I will now be on the lookout for deals.
PS…Amy, you cracked me (and my husband up) when I read the comment about not asking for your husband’s help when picking out a color! Good laugh at the end of the long day!
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Like Rachel I too end up with reddish tints when I color at home if I don’t pick the right color! The first and only time I used Perfect 10 the red was the worst. I went to a salon afterwards and they told me red is the hardest color to cover, so I’m waiting for it to grow out.
I’ve been using Natural Instincts for years and love it. It’s semi permanent so will wash out after a few weeks. The permanent Perfect 10 was a mistake in that regards too. I’m too scared to use permanent in case I mess up!! I recently bought a Natural Instincts that is supposed to prevent the reddish from showing up. I haven’t used it yet, so we’ll see!
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I’ve been coloring my hair at home for about 15 years. I buy two boxes of similar colors (light brown and medium brown). I mix half of the tube of one color with half of the tube of the other color. I find that by mixing them it gives more of a natural look (kinda like some natural highlights). Then in 4-6 weeks I use the rest of the tubes and mix another batch. I do not mix both kits all at once…can’t keep it that way. My question is how do you “stop” coloring your hair. When I chose to go gray…do I just let it slowly grow out…ahhh that would look awful?!?
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I love Perfect 10! The applicator did make it so much easier, and the fact that it was only 10 minutes–even better. I’ve got reddish tones–and I want to be a redhead–and I’ve learned quickly that medium “golden” browns give me the results I want. If I go for the actual reds/auburns, it’s too red and doesn’t look natural at all.
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I colored my hair at home once… red, for my anniversary to satisfy my husband’s desire to be married to a redhead.
My whole bathroom was red and so were my clothes. My hair came out a nice color, but it washed out quickly. Haven’t been brave enough to do it since!
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I found a great home hair coloring product on line. Go to the homehaircoloringcleanupkit.com
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I buy my hair coloring at the dollar store near my house. Works wonderful. Only cost a buck and I can't really see any difference form the major brands. I also cut my own hair, and have been doing so since I was 14. My haircare averages $1.00/month. And looks Great!
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