Taking it into my own hands: My search for salon quality hair color to use at home.
I don’t know if this ever happens to you but every so often my colorist decides that I’m his personal Tressy doll and gets all experimental with my hair color. Remember last year’s mess where Gad taught us the 3C’s of corrective color? He saved me too from the chopping block and shared tips on how to prevent a bad haircut.
You may have noticed that in the past several months my what should be chestnut hair with a few well-placed caramel highlights has gone from almost black, to deepest brown, to MAJOR ashy beige streaks (I called that one my Palomino look), to a nice brown gloss to even out the mess which then quickly faded into something both dull and brassy.
Oy.
In an effort to stop spinning my wheels and spending a fortune on yuck color while being YOUR hair color testing guinea pig, I decided to find something that I can use myself until all this grows out a bit while I’m keeping my hair healthy and report back to you.
Problem solved!
I discovered eSalon on the Interwebs which boasts “salon-grade color crafted for you by experts, as if you’re in their chair.”
Turns out, it truly is customized & personalized hair color expertly matched for you… without having to leave your house. Ah ha, you can color your hair in your undies if you like!
Let the process begin..
First, I met up with their East Coast Style Ambassador and colorist AJ Lordet of the Pierre Michel Salon for the initial step in correcting my faded Palomino highlights and learning more about eSalon.
Watch AJ in her video below:
The eSalon process to custom color matching is rather genius.
You’re asked a batch of relevant questions about your hair on their intake form. AJ says, “the service form asks the right questions that you should ask yourself but wouldn’t know to ask.”
Then submit photos of yourself, and voilà your color needs, permanent or demi-permanent are suggested, and even variations to suit your needs. “Over the counter colors comes in one box, one shade and do only root color. I feel as a colorist when I’m correcting over the counter hair color, it’s because people don’t realize you need one product for roots and one for ends, says AJ. eSalon can customize that.
If you would like color consultation or tweak to your color, “You can email the people creating color and they will tweak it for you. It’s turnkey custom color,” AJ adds.
Once your service form is submitted, the colorist team at eSalon crafts your personalized color from thousands of color variations and it is sent off to you in a personalized box. I tried the demi-permanent color on my own for a touch up when I couldn’t get back to the salon– the color was terrific and on the mark.
AJ suggests that if you have highlighted hair, you can save your highlights by applying e-Salon just to the roots. She has many highlighting clients who see her every three months and use eSalon for touch ups. “They offer a nice clear gloss for ends if you’d like to save your highlights so your ends can get freshened without getting too dark,” she adds.
It’s great when you travel and don’t want to test out a local salon or live in an area where finding the perfect colorist isn’t so easy. Plus, it’s a way to save money. Ah, did I mention that it’s $19.95 too? Pretty good for salon quality hair color at home.
SPECIAL ESALON DEAL: As of this writing, eSalon has a special 50% off deal for first time customers, where you can get a complete hair profile and custom color kit delivered to your door for just $9.95 (plus s&h) with a satisfaction guarantee or your money back.
What’s your experience with home hair color or salon color gone wrong? Tell me in the comments below.