Lady’s, for the love of your hair, quit using box dye! We understand that you really want red hair, blonde hair, black hair, or pink hair but you can’t afford salon prices. But have you even given a stylist the chance to give you a quote? The stylist is not trying to cheat you out of your money. A stylist is selling you great quality service with good, none-damaging color, and professional skill. If you are doing it because using box dye is more in your budget, you could end up spending more trying to fix your hair after. We are not trying to sell you on anything, we are just trying to save your hair. However, if you do decide that you want to keep and protect your hair and also get that color you want, then book a consultation with a professional stylist.

Here’s the deal! You see those celebrities on the front of the box and think to yourself, “I want my hair to look like that!” In reality, your hair will likely not look like the celebrity on the box. Maybe, and this is a hard maybe, your hair will look like the hair of the celebrity on the cover for a few days, maybe a week. Then your hair will lose its shine and begin to look flat and lifeless. Do you really think celebrities are going to Walmart picking out a box dye, going home, and dying their own hair? Heck no, they don’t!

Meanwhile, here at Studio 78, we have seen and fixed quite a few different kinds of disasters that have occurred to clients from using box dye. Ranging from hair turning to an unwanted color to hair breaking off. We are not making this stuff up. If you still don’t believe me, here are seven reasons why you should avoid using box dye.

You hair will not look like the celebrity or model on the box. Many times you see a celebrity with shiny luscious hair on the cover of the box. Gwen Stefani, Beyonce, and Eva Longoria are a few that are getting paid to endorse these box dyes.  But let’s be honest here! Celebrities are not going home and dying their own hair. They are going to very expensive, well trained, professional hairstylists. Yet, they are making millions of dollars convincing many people to purchase said box dyes. Don’t fall for the trap! If your goal is to have hair like the model on the box, take a picture and take it to a professional stylist.

Box dye is made with a one-size-fits-all formula. We can all agree that everyone has different hair with different textures, shades, and needs. Box dye is created in a way in which it can color all types of hair. However, stylists take many factors into consideration to create a special formula specifically for the client’s hair. This cannot be achieved with box dye. Therefore, the results can be unpredictable. The reason for this is that there are a few different levels of developer available to color hair. The stylist will adjust the levels depending on the client’s hair. While box dye contains a strong level developer in order to cover many different types of hair. This can be very abrasive and damaging to your hair. Additionally, using box dye can be irreversible.

At a professional hair salon, if a client is not happy with a hair color, the stylist is able to adjust and fix tones and colors. Whereas, box dye can be extremely tricky and costly to fix. In which case the client ends up spending more money to fix it than if they had originally gone to a professional hair salon in the first place.

Hair color is customized depending on a few factors. As I mentioned above, in order to protect your hair and achieve your hair goal, stylists formulate color and developer based of a few factors. Natural hair color and pigmentation, skin tone, previous hair dyes, how porous the hair is, and the amount to gray coverage needed (0-100%).

Dry, damaged, lifeless hair. One of the many results from box dye is dry hair with a straw-like feel. Box dye companies have done a great job and making people believe that that is a result from all dye jobs. On top of that, using box dye to color your hair usually results in a flat color. Flat black, brown, red, you name it. The flat looking color tends to make hair look lifeless. Once you switch to professional hair color you will see that it does make a difference. You can have beautiful, soft, healthy, shiny hair even after hair color. As a natural brunette, you can have luscious blonde hair. As a natural blonde, you can have rich brown hair. It’s all a matter of seeing a professional hair dresser that can customize a formula that works with your hair type.

Professional work. Hairstylists are not only experts at applying color depending on the client’s hair, they also can see things that you cannot. A “simple” touch up at home is really hard to do on your own. Not only is it hard for a client to know how to color from the regrowth to the demarcation line. The demarcation line can be a blurry line for someone without a hairstylist background and education. This can result in hair that looks splotchy or has a prominent band of color. The other option is applying the color all over the hair every time. This can also cause patchiness or a band of color because of the color going onto the many different stages the hair has been through. Not to mention this will also dry out and damage your hair.

Lightening at home. Please don’t do it! Not only is there box color but now there is also lightening box dye. And then, thanks to the fun hair color trend, there are also box dyes claiming to give you lavender or pink hair. The reality of this hair transformation is that it will likely require at least two different processes. Unless your hair is already pretty light, the stylist will lighten your hair as much as she/he can and then ask you to come back for the second lightening and coloring, or take at least 6 hours working on your hair. In order for these box dyes to achieve that, they will cause damage your hair. Therefore, to achieve these colors and maintain soft, shiny, healthy hair, you will need to see a professional hairstylist.

Removing box dye is nearly impossible. Once you get tired of that hair color and want to change it, the box color that you have used will block your chances for anything lighter. A professional stylist will inform you of your options but they are usually very slim. The thing is, once that box dye deposits into your hair, it is not going anywhere. It cannot be removed. Now I am not saying this will be the case for everyone, but in most cases a stylist will apply bleach and the hair color will not lift. If they try to cover it with another color, they cannot predict what your hair will do or what color it will turn. If the stylist does not know how the previous color was formulated, it becomes tricky for them to be able to predict the results. One of the most common things that can occur is that the hair will turn an odd shade of green or purple. This could cause for you to be stuck with that color until you grow it out and cut it off or spend more money than if you had originally gone to a stylist in the first place. When you go see a stylist, make sure to let them know your previous color experience, no matter how long it has been. This can help them help you.

Hairstylists are continuously getting education on color and cuts. Color is constantly evolving and new trends continue to appear. Therefore stylists are constantly paying to learn about the new trends, how to give you the best results, and how to keep your hair healthy and vibrant. If you would like to have healthy, luscious, soft hair, call and book a consultation with any of our wonderful hairstylists. All of our stylists offer free consultations in which they can address all questions and concerns you may have.