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How to Talk to Your Colorist

And why you should leave hair coloring to the professionals

By Elizabeth Weiss McGolerick

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Hair color is one of the biggest decisions a woman makes in her beauty routine. It's time to learn how to say no to the box kits, talk to a colorist and become hair color savvy about what's best for your locks and your look.

Sarah Jessica Parker does it. So does Andie MacDowell. Eva Longoria. Even Beyonce. Hmm… these celebs may promote at-home hair color kits, but do you really think they stand at the bathroom sink poring over the instructions from a boxed kit of hair dye?

If you want a celeb-beautiful hair color, it's time to trust a professional colorist to manage your shade. After all, according to the 2010 Wella Professionals Survey, only 10 percent of women are always satisfied with their at-home color results. And that's just too low of a percentage for such an important element of your appearance.

Dye job errors

Interestingly, blondes are more likely to color exclusively at the salon (31 percent) while redheads tend to stick to at-home color (37 percent). Though at-home coloring may be less costly and less time-consuming, it also comes with a huge margin of error.

Aura Friedman, lead color ambassador for Wella Professionals and colorist at the Serge Normant Salon in New York City, points out that at-home dye jobs can result in a color that's too light (aka brassy), unnaturally dark or just completely wrong in level and tone. As Truvy said in "Steel Magnolias," "I can spot a bottle job at 20 paces." You don't want to be that woman.

Talking about hair color

"The color consultation is when you and the colorist discuss the best possible options for your hair color," explains Friedman. Keep in mind that a professional color consultation isn't only about what you want done to your hair now, but what's been done to your hair in the past. Salon maintenance is about preserving the integrity and health of your hair as well getting the shade right -- so be honest about your hair history!

Of the 92 percent of women who have colored their hair, 42 percent have never had a color consultation with their stylist. Instead, women describe what they're looking for (71 percent) or show pictures from a magazine (55 percent). But offering up your own point of view isn't always enough -- you have to trust that your colorist has been trained to make you look better than even you envisioned yourself.

"It's important to come with an idea of what you want," says Friedman, who does encourage bringing a picture as this will provide a point of reference. However, the colorist should also be taking into account your personality, lifestyle, skin tone, eye color, hair texture and condition and eyebrow color -- something you won't find on the back of a hair dye box -- in order to give you their expert opinion on whether the color you want will work.

"You should be asking whether they are using permanent or demi-permanent color and what kind of future maintenance is necessary," says Friedman. "Ask for a multi-tonal single process -- this means there are slight variations in tones or levels at the ends or hairline that keep the color looking as natural as possible." The more natural in color you go, the less maintenance your hair will require.

Through a one-on-one consultation with your colorist, you can clearly communicate your needs and hair color hopes -- you're not wasting their time, or your own. "Conducting a hair color consultation is probably the most important part of the appointment, because it's when I get a chance to discuss goals with my client and explain to them exactly what we can achieve," says Friedman.

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