Should I dye my hair at home or go to a salon? An expert helps you decide

girl applies dye to her hair

There are advantages and disadvantages to coloring your hair at a salon or at home:

When you color your hair at home, you save time and money.
You can also do different activities during the process (cleaning, watching a series, working, etc.) However, the result will be less professional.
On the other hand, when you dye your hair at a salon, you cannot do much more than read a magazine or have a cup of coffee in the meantime.
It may also be more expensive.
Nevertheless, when you color your hair at a salon the results are excellent. You can profit from the salon by getting also a mani-pedi, reshaping your eyebrows, etc.

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Are you planning to change your look and don’t know whether to dye your hair at the salon or at home?

I hear you. Sometimes, it can be hard to trust someone with a task as important as coloring your hair.

You may find it better to color your hair at home. That’s why in this article, we’ll look at all the pros and cons of coloring your hair at the salon or at home.

I’ll help you make the best decision for you. Let’s go!

Advantages and disadvantages of coloring your hair at home

woman dyes her hair at home

Advantages

You save time on travel and transfers.
You can freely choose which dyes to use.
It’s more comfortable to wait at home (you can watch TV or study in the meantime)
It gives you economic peace of mind. You know you won’t spend a fortune.

Disadvantages

You can make a mistake in the tone choice.
You lack the technical knowledge to apply the dye.
You may have unexpected expenses if you make mistakes while dyeing your hair yourself.
You dirty your home.

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Pros and cons of coloring your hair at the salon

young girl looks at a magazine while having her hair done at the hairdresser

Advantages

You can choose the time according to your schedule.
Professional dyes are of better quality than box dyes.
The hairdresser has technical knowledge that guarantees you a successful result.
You can optimize your waiting time by hiring other services (waxing, manicure, etc.)

Disadvantages

It’s more expensive.
You’ll have to move from your home to the salon (spend time and money on transportation).
Sometimes the salon doesn’t have enough availability or it doesn’t match your schedule.
You waste time waiting for the dye to process.

With this little breakdown of the pros and cons of going to the salon or coloring your hair at home, we can evaluate which option is best for you. You may end up concluding that it’s always better to color your hair at the salon rather than at home.

What’s your level of expectation about the outcome of the hair color?

Woman in glasses with a smug gesture

Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of in-salon or at-home hair coloring that we have just seen, you must now answer honestly:

What level of expectations do you have regarding the outcome of the coloring session?

How easy or difficult is the job you are about to do?

Why is it better to dye your hair at the salon than at home?

From the answers to these questions, we’ll start to figure out whether you’re better off coloring your hair at the salon or at home.

Your level of expectation is low (easy job)

If your level of expectation is low, you’re likely to be able to color your hair at home.

Your intention is probably to darken the tone of your hair or simply to cover gray hair, or modify the tone a little.

In other words, this is a “simple hair styling job.” What do I mean by “simple job?”

These are hairdressing jobs that don’t represent major risks because success is practically a given.

Perhaps the most complex part is knowing how to apply the dye and respecting the exposure time.

In such cases, you could apply the dye yourself at home.

To cover your gray hair or darken your tone, you don’t need a great knowledge of colorimetry or very sophisticated technical skills.

If this is your case, go ahead. Your hair will be safe: you can color your hair at home without any problems.

Your level of expectation is high (complex work)

On the other hand, if your level of expectation is very high, you’ll definitely have to go to a salon to have your hair colored.

The job you’re looking for will probably include more than one shade or involve bleaching your hair. In that case, you’ll need someone who’s an expert in the field.

Having your hair colored at the salon will give you peace of mind and guarantee that the job will be successful.

A professional hairdresser knows different techniques, product technologies, and colorimetry.

Also, the hairdresser knows about exposure times of the different products. That’s what will make the difference between a high-quality job and a messy one.

If I color my hair at home, I save money: myth or fact?

At first glance, you may think that coloring your hair at home is cheaper than doing it in a salon, but how true is that?

The truth is that boxed hair dyes aren’t as cheap as you think. The top brands on the market have not much lower values than professional dyes.

The hairdresser knows about exposure times of the different products, which will make the difference between a high-quality job and one that is a real mess.

On the other hand, if you apply the dye at home and, for whatever reason, it fails, you’ll have no choice but to buy a new dye to fix the problem.

Won’t you have invested far more than if you had gone to a salon?

If you compare a box dye cost with a professional dye, you won’t find such a big difference.

Now you know it’s a myth that you save money by coloring your hair at home.

But let’s continue to evaluate whether you should color your hair at home or at the salon. If you prefer to dye your hair at home, check out these tips on how to dye your hair at home and get it right.

Dye exposure time: a waste of time?

Another recurring topic when weighing the pros and cons of coloring your hair at home is the exposure time of the hair dye.

If you apply the dye at home, you can profit from the exposure time by working on your computer or watching an episode of your favorite series, for example.

However, nowadays, 99% of female clients bring their smartphones with them to the salon. So, except for household chores, everything else can be solved from your cell phone.

Moreover, (if you aren’t worried about the economic factor) you can optimize that waiting time inside the salon on other services: manicure, pedicure, skin treatments, waxing, eyelash perm, and many other services that are compatible with the exposure time of the dye.

Coloring your hair at the salon: pleasure or hassle?

There are people who love visiting a salon to color their hair or have other treatments because they feel they are pampering themselves.

They feel that they gain time because of the quality of the service, the attention, and the good result of having their hair colored in the salon. These people love to have their hair washed and to be cared for.

They appreciate everything from the kindness in the treatment to the coffee we offer them. They feel like divas when they color their hair at the salon.

Do you feel like a diva when you go to the salon to color your hair?

On the other hand, there are other people for whom coloring their hair is a punishment: an absolute waste of time. These people are uncomfortable coloring their hair, both at home and at the salon.

People who hate coloring their hair often think of the salon as an unnecessary waste of time and money.

Which of the two descriptions fits you best?

Do you love going to the salon, or do you find it a waste of time and money?

Conclusion

In this article, we have seen that depending on the type of work you need to do on your hair, you might be better off doing it at the salon (in case it’s complex) or at home (if you’re just planning to dye your roots or cover gray hair).

We have seen that in terms of the economic factor, there’s not a big difference, so it’s simply up to you to color your hair in the comfort of your own home or in the hands of a professional hairdresser at the salon.

Only you know which option suits you best – GO FOR IT!