Why box color is not your friend
You might know someone who loves a good DIY hair adventure and there’s no shame in that! They go to the store and pick out their favorite shade of dark brown, jet black, or cherry red. They actually pull the whole thing off pretty well, until one day they decide they want change once again, and this time it involves going to PRISM Hair in Richmond, Virginia to have one of our stylists work their foiling or hand-painting magic to create the perfect blonde for them, but there is only one problem that lies right on the surface: that box color on their head from a few weeks or months ago.
So why is this a problem? Well, to put it simply, box color and salon color are not friends with each other. When you put a dark box color on your hair, what you're actually putting on your hair is harsh chemicals such as metallic salts or textile dyes, which stick to the hair too strongly and end up drying your hair out as well. So, when stylists try to use salon color or lighten over hair that has been boxed colored, it doesn’t lift properly like it should, and this causes risks of your hair being compromised and turning a color that neither you or your stylist want. Box or at home color also doesn’t ever truly go away even if it says it does. If you colored your own hair at home 3 years ago, unless you keep your hair short, that color is still there and can cause banding when lifting and unevenness in your color.
Companies that make at home or box color use cheap ingredients, hence why it is so inexpensive! They usually contain high amounts of ammonia, PPDs, nitro dyes, metallic salts, textile dyes and even unclean henna. These are harsh chemicals that can be extremely damaging to the hair as well as cause reactions to sensitive skin and allergies. When you apply box dye, the hair is permanently altered, and it probably won’t feel as soft as it used to for awhile. Deep conditioning will need to be your BFF!
Box color is also progressive, which means over time and with continued use, your hair color will continue to get darker and darker, and build on itself. It becomes extremely difficult to lift and break through. Also, your base (roots) will always look lighter than the rest of your hair.
We are professionals for a reason, we go through 3000+ hours of training before getting licensed and then continue our education throughout our careers as hairstylists. We can formulate your color to exactly what you’re looking for (99% of the time, we are not perfect!), we can apply it professionally, and we can choose what is best for your and your hair type! Not to mention, a color correction to remove box color is way more expensive than the cost of the original service if the at home color had been skipped altogether.
So what is the solution? We would say just avoid box color all together, but if that isn’t the case, we can help you and will not shame you at all! Your first step should be booking a consultation with a stylist of your choosing at PRISM Hair in Richmond, Virginia. There you will discuss your hair needs and goals, and be honest about your past use of box color. This ensures transparency between you and your stylist so they know how to proceed going forward. Then, a strand test will be done to evaluate what your hair is able to do in a particular session. After that it will require time, patience, and care to achieve your hair’s perfect condition and style!
Don’t know where to start? Try taking our online survey located at the home page of our website so see which of our stylists is exactly the right fit for you based on your hair type, goals, personality and likes outside of the salon! We can’t wait to meet you for your own #prismglowup.
