A reported 75 percent of American women color their hair, and a growing number of men are becoming more comfortable with visiting salons and playing up their features with hair color. Unless your hair is very damaged or dry, coloring your hair is a great way to experiment with a new look. Coloring your hair can change the way you feel, dress and interact with people, and on the same token, you may notice the way people react to you is different.

Depending on your type of hair, original hair color or new hair color, coloring your hair may be easy to maintain or more difficult. For some, coloring your hair may require a lot more maintenance than regular hair care routines in the past, but finding a skilled hair colorist can help to identify colors that blend more naturally and using high end products that will make the color last.  

In addition, coloring your hair can require time to adjust to. For women, they might want to experiment with new makeup colors and wearing their hair in a different style. If after coloring your hair you do not like the way it looks, definitely speak with your colorist about having it fixed. Often times, people unhappy with their new hair color will try to fix it by using an at-home hair coloring kit and can end up with an even more undesirable color, in addition to damaging their hair.

If choosing to grow out the color and return to your natural look and you do not want to keep coloring your hair, your hair colorist can help you with the best course of action.  There are products that can help cover up ends, in addition to personalized hair care shampoos and conditioners that can help blend the old color with the natural color. 

Depending on what your goals are will depend on products used for coloring your hair.  Temporary hair color will last for just one shampoo, semi-temporary hair color lasts up to 4-6 shampoos and permanent color will change the natural hair color, requiring maintenance to touch up roots after four to six weeks.   

After coloring your hair, make sure you maximize the results by taking steps to minimize fading. The use of color enhancing products and using a daily protecting spray with SPF in it will help protect against one of the biggest color zappers – exposure to the sun.  Avoid using harsh shampoos that will strip the color from your hair. Your hair stylist can recommend appropriate products for hair texture and color.