Fashion/style: Get a great hair color and look

Hair color—it can make you look fabulous when it’s done right. So how do you get it right and keep it looking that way? Here are six tricks to ensure your hair color looks great just after it’s done and for weeks to come. Things You’ll Need A home hair-color kit Step One: Prep that hair. Hair, much like a sponge, is porous and soaks up whatever it comes in contact with--even more so when it’s dry or damaged. This can spell disaster when coloring your hair because it can lead to a darker-than-desired shade, uneven results or premature fading of your color in very dry hair. The trick to beautiful, even hair color is to start with hair that is in as good a condition as possible. Get dry ends trimmed before you color. Use a deep-conditioning treatment a few days before you color to help moisturize dry strands. Step Two: Choose the right color. When choosing a home hair-color kit, it is essential to purchase one with the lowest amount of ammonia possible. Higher levels of ammonia can lead to dry and damaged hair. If you are coloring your hair darker than your natural hair color, reach for a semi-permanent or low-ammonia home-color kit. For those who are lightening beyond their natural color, choose a hair-color kit that gives just as much ammonia as you’ll need to achieve your desired color. Read the boxes, and if you’re still in doubt write down the toll-free help line number and ask one of their consultants. Your hair will thank you. Step Three: Now that you’ve got that great hair color, there are a few tricks to keeping it looking as good as it can for as long as possible. Shampooing too often can prematurely strip your hair of the color you worked so hard to achieve. To avoid this, shampoo your hair only every other day and be sure to use a shampoo and conditioner created for colored hair. Step Four: Filter your shower water. If your water has high levels of chlorine, you could wash your color down the drain. Chlorine acts as a bleaching agent and lightens hair color every time you come in contact with it. Avoid this and purchase an inexpensive shower filter to filter out the chlorine during your morning shampoo. By the same token, swimming in chlorinated water will do the same thing. Wear a bathing cap to limit your hair’s exposure, and always use a “swimmer” shampoo immediately after swimming to strip the chlorine buildup from your hair. Step Five: Beware of alcohol. This doesn’t mean you can’t have some wine. We’re talking about the alcohol found in some hair-styling products. Alcohol dries out the hair and opens up the cuticle, which spells an early dismissal for your hair color. Read the labels of your styling products for high alcohol content (hair gels can be especially bad). Avoid alcohol altogether and use a spray-in conditioner to boost your hair’s moisture before styling. Opt for silicone-based styling products that will leave your hair protected and super shiny. Step Six: Know your roots. Once it’s time to touch up those roots again, use this trick to avoid overprocessing the rest of your hair and drying it out. Apply the new home color to only your root area (the portion of your hair that is a different color and has grown out since your last color). Once your roots are done, add an ounce or 2 of hair conditioner and 1 or 2 ounces of water to the hair color that remains in the bottle. Shake this up well and use it to freshen up the hair color on the rest of your hair. You’ll save money by making one home hair-color kit go farther, and you’ll gently correct any color fading throughout the rest of your hair without subjecting it to an unnecessary full dose of ammonia. New Image saloon, IHOHO saloon, City Saloon can ably offer you hair a favourite hair tint. Colour ranges from red, copper, cherry, orange blast to gold, with a few clients requesting for chocolate and black for those who are afraid of grey hair. So, if you are thinking about changing or updating your look or if you just want something different for this year, add a dab of colour to your hair and you are ready to go. Ends