Boxed hair color -- brands?

[yby1]

I'm looking into coloring my own hair. I'm starting to get a few grays and I want to cover them up, so I'm going to color my hair something close to my natural color.

Was this process easy to do? How long does it take? I looked at the Loreal site for directions and they make it look so easy, but I have a feeling I'm going to be a disaster.

[AmandaLeigh]

I've found it to be pretty easy. since my hair is only about chin length, I try to work the color though pretty evenly using the applicator bottle. once i think I have decent coverage, I really try to work it in as if I'm lathering with shampoo. I usually try to rinse in my stainless steel kitchen sink...I had one time were the hair coloring left a stain on my older bathroom tub due to some scratches in the tub surface.

[Baxter78]

I prefer all of the Loreal hair color products. Currently, I use Loreal Feria, because it has the deep red color that I am currently into.

I find it very easy to color my hair by myself.

[yby1]

I tried the Loreal Excellence Creme over the weekend. It was easier than I thought it was going to be. It was hard to get the nape of the neck and back of the end, but not impossible. I went a shade lighter than my natural color and it came out great!

[ShelbyMay]

I'm pretty sure that the one I use is Garnier (a yellow and green box). It's less a brand preference than it is that I found a shade I like and am afraid to stray from it. My natural color is a medium mousy brown, and I dye it "Dark Natural Blonde" which turns out more like a light brown. I have learned that, at least with this brand, shades with "Natural" in the name give a look like my hair used to get in the summer (blonde highlights), whereas shades with "Golden" or "Warm" in the title give it a reddish tint.

[looch]

Bumping up, as I need to start thinking about what to do with the grays I have popping up. My hair is medium brown and I really don't want to go down the route of salon color if I can help it. I would like a semipermanent color, close to my natural shade. Right now, I go to a salon where I love the cuts but not the colors I have been getting. I kind of need to tell my stylist, he's great and should understand (he doesn't do color) but still, I feel kind of weird about the whole thing. I mean, I pay over $100 for a haircut, so why am I having such issues paying for the color?