The Hair Forum is a great place to ask questions. We get many questions about hair color and while I love answering them,
My first rule is: To get beautiful hair color, always consult a professional hairdresser. It is the safest and often the fastest way to great hair color.
For those forum members who prefer to use home hair color, I am always happy to offer suggestions and to help sort out hair color problems.

Second rule: Quality conditioning treatments are a must for color treated hair. Hair must be healthy and shiny to show off its color. Besides improving the appearance, it will help to create an even toned color. Dry or damaged areas often absorb more tint than stronger areas or even result in ‘off color’ shades such as green or gray.

Below are five real problems from readers.
• Experience #1: Natural color – medium blonde. Tinted color – dark brown Tia tinted her hair with what she thought was light brown. However, the result was much darker than she planned.
  The picture on the box is often not what you will get. The results vary, depending on your natural hair color, or the color you are covering.
  How do you get back to your natural lighter color?
  It is unlikely that a boxed blonde hair color will help remedy the situation. The tint in the box is made to tint natural or pre-lightened hair to the correct shade. It will not lighten tinted hair.
  Remedy: A color remover is needed to remove the tint. Prepared color removers take out tint molecules without damaging your hair. However, the original tint changed the structure of your hair permanently, so you will not get your natural color back. When your hair is lightened to the approximate level (light vs. dark) that you want (it will be gold or orange) a tint is then applied to tone it to a natural blonde shade.
• Experience #2: Natural color – blonde. Tinted color – Semi-permanent red. Jada is six months into wearing a hair color that was supposed to be gone in six washings. When she applied the semi-permanent tint, her hair was porous enough to absorb the tint to the extent that it became permanent.
  Remedy: If the tint on the ends has faded enough that it is a light shade, you may be able to mix a small amount of developer with some shampoo, work it into the affected hair and let it set for five to ten minutes and shampoo out. If this has removed most of the color, apply a blonde tint that is close to your natural hair color.
  If the left over tint is dark or if the first ‘fix’ doesn’t work, you will require a color remover (see above), with a tint applied afterward.

Turn the page for Experiences 3, 4 and 5.

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Learn to do your own hair color or to make educated choices at the salon! This book contains all you need to know, from choosing a color to putting it on and avoiding problems.