"One random Saturday, one of my more spontaneous friends decided that what her dark brown hair needed was some blond highlights. She bought a box of drugstore color, I put on some grungy clothes, and we set to work. As I was rinsing her hair, I realized things did not look good. Despite my best efforts, I had completely missed the roots and the color had clumped together, leaving her with random, uneven, bright-blond splotches all over her head. To be honest, I'm surprised we're still friends, but luckily she looks great in hats."
K.C., Medford
Kris Baxter, manager and colorist at Jean-Pierre Salon (116 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.262.4660), is matter-of-fact when we present her with K.C.’s scenario. What would she do? “Foil it,” she says, her tone revealing that, yes, she’s seen situations like this one before. Depending on how much damage has actually been done, she’d need to apply a darker tone through the blond strands to reverse the problem. “Eventually anybody that does home coloring is going to have to end up in a professional chair,” Baxter notes. “I mean, I’ve been at this for 30 years, and we’re correcting color every day that people do at home.”
At-home highlights are particularly difficult for amateurs, she explains. It’s tough to master placement of color using the combs included in most drugstore kits, and gauging how much product to apply is also difficult. “You’re going to get very blotchy, uneven color,” Baxter says. “And if it’s not left on long enough, it’s going to be very orange-y.” It’s also not easy to choose which shade is right for your hair just by looking at a box; what appears dark brown comes out closer to black on most heads, and those looking for blond tend to go lighter than they probably should.