Can You Get Great Hair Color from a Box?

While visiting a friend in Sparta, NJ (a lovely town on the water), my friend’s niece asked if I could give her a few highlights. I said yes so we started the day by picking up some hair color. Off to Pathmark to see what they stocked!

Of course there were tons of hair color products, all showcasing beautiful models boasting shiny, lustrous hair on their boxes. Staring at those images of healthy, damage-free hair, I wondered how many women who  bought the color actually achieved those results? The color I chose was by L’Oreal Superior Preference (LB01- Extra Light Ash Blond Cooler.) It is one of the few brands that offers an ash blonde, high lift tint. Choosing a color that was ash based was important to achieve more beige highlights.

My friend’s hair is a level 4 with faded ends (about 1 shade.) Her hair was mainly all natural, apart from the leftovers of a relaxer on her ends that was done over a year ago. Sporting virgin hair, she only wanted to add a few natural highlights, to keep it very natural. This product is meant to be used as an all-over color. But since I was working with virgin hair, it could be easily used towards highlights.

I mixed the color (which was very easy) and quickly foiled her hair while sitting in the backyard. Within 10 minutes I began to see results. I closely watched the color become lifted and 20 minutes later…we were happy.

She is as sweet as she is pretty.

Let me say that this is not a "do it yourself post." I do not encourage readers to color their hair at home themselves using an off-the-shelf product (especially for highlights).  It's almost impossible to guarantee good results, as there are too many “what if” scenarios to consider. And as a professional, I’ve seen too many clients with damaged hair (and egos) sit in my chair. The product maybe high quality, but without an expert’s knowledge, it's a recipe for, well, not great hair color.

If you know someone who does hair and you are looking for a product in a hurry, I would say this L’Oreal product may be an option once used correctly.

Remember the biggest ticket for a hairstylist is a color correction, generally caused by someone trying to color his or her own hair.