Box Color In Your Life? Then You Must Know This
We all know the feeling, you’re out shopping for groceries and a box catches your eye. On it is a woman smiling, and on her head is a glorious head of hair, just the color you’ve been thinking about going for. It looks simple enough, and best of all, it is less expensive than going to a hair salon to do it, or is it? The real cost of box color isn’t the price marked in the corner, not for your wallet and not for the health of your hair.
Color in a box uses a one size fits all approach, as they try to cover a wide range of applications in one product. Unfortunately, a one size fits all approach does not work well when it comes to color. Your hair start point characteristics, such as color, underlying pigments, gray percentage, porosity, and recent color history are key things to consider when making a color formulation. These will also determine whether or not your target color can be achieved, and in how many sessions. In many cases, to go from point A to point B, while maintaining your hair as healthy as possible, will require multiple processes, and in some cases it is simply not possible or advisable.
Additionally, must box color application kits use sub-par ingredients, metals & fillers to keep cost low, which are not good for your hair, and they mostly come with permanent color tubes. Using Permanent color from roots to end, time and time again, is not recommended because the chemical process wakens the hair, and it increases its porosity. Over time these causes the hair to not hold color as well, and it will make it a lot harder to transition away from that color, which typically ends in an expensive color correction.
Color corrections are no simple feat. Box Colored hair does not process the same way as hair that has been colored with professional quality color. It can be difficult to predict what years of box color will do when you attempt to change it with a color correction, especially when you attempt to change your hair color to go lighter all over, or add highlights to it. Color corrections are not all made equal. It is a discovery process that is partnered with ongoing troubleshooting efforts to get the color right, while keeping your hair as healthy as possible. We always advise for all color corrections to have a consultation first, so the stylist and the guest can go over expectations, for results & budget.
At Voga we offer complimentary color consultations when a client wants to transition away from using box color. We guide you through every step of the color correction process with planning and honesty. We take you through a game plan, aftercare, and realistic expectations of what it looks like to transition out of box dye. We take into account the health of your hair, your color goal & your budget.
One of the most important steps of a color correction is the aftercare. When your hair is pushed to the limits, it is important that you take great care of it for the weeks to follow. Using tools that are rich in protein and moisture will help you strengthen & hear your hair. Our favorites protein systes are Pureology's Strength Cure, Redken's Extreme, and L'Oreal Inforcer, and our go-to moisture systems are Pureology's Hydrate & Hydrate Shear, and L'Oreal's Nutrifier & L'Oreal's Absolute Repair Lipidium. It is portant that you use a bond builder like Olaplex Step 3, a mask at least once per week (Pureology's Superfood Masks are amazing), and always use a heat protectant.
