The 8 Best At-Home Hair Color Products, According to a Colorist

The time has come. You've been in self-isolation for who knows how many days and your hair color is not exactly ideal.

But for professional hairstylists—who have spent years fixing botched DIY hair jobs—boxed dye is their biggest grievance in the world of hair color. Because of these errors, Stephanie Brown, master colorist at IGK salon, suggests contacting your colorist before reaching for the box dye. "Colorists don’t want to fix your hair when you come back to the salon and we are out of work right now, and we need something to do," explains Brown. "Also offer to pay your colorist; this is how we make money, and to give formulas away makes it hard for us to make money during this hard time and possibly in the future."

Now, if you must dye your hair at home, Brown says to make sure you read the box carefully and thoroughly. "Stay with a neutral color, unless you are a redhead, then obviously look at the warmer colors," she says. "If you are unsure of a lighter or darker color, choose the darker one or mix the boxes."

It’s better to be slightly darker than have your roots be lighter. The telltale sign of a botched dye job is when the result is too black, too red, or too orange. “The biggest mistake is straying too far from your natural base color,” says Amy Mrkulic, colorist at Vu salon. “When you do at-home hair color, you should only go half a shade to full shade, either lighter or darker than your natural color. Bad things start to happen the second you come out of your natural zone."

Brown and Vu also offered a few pro tips to keep in mind before you dye:

1. Wear gloves!
2. Take small sections, so you apply as evenly as possible and don’t miss as many spots.
3. Try putting a gentle conditioner on your ends to prevent overlapping.
4. Do a patch test 24 hrs before you color your hair to make sure you’re not allergic.
5. Leave the dye on for an extra few minutes if you’re gray.

Below, eight colorist-approved hair dye products to try right now.