Best Haircolor for Any Budget

Wanna hear a confession? Prepare yourself... It may surprise you just a little bit....

I color my hair A LOT.

OK, maybe that wasn't such a big secret.

But in all seriousness, I have had my hair probably about 20 different colors in my lifetime. I average dying my  hair about every 6 weeks (although lately I've been trying for every month). So if you consider the fact that I've been dying my hair about 8 times a year since I was 16, that means I've gone through about 50 boxes of hair color (yeah, yeah, I know I'm a nerd for taking the time to figure that out). I've used cheap ones, expensive ones, foam ones, powder ones, ones you mix yourself, highlights, all over color, ones made with oil, ones that smell terrible, ones that are "all natural" -- pretty much every kind made.

So most of you must be wondering, why don't you just go to the salon? I have gone to the salon 2 or 3 times for my hair color but I've found that it's overpriced and I can never really communicate to the stylist what I want. I always leave the salon a bit disappointed and $70 poorer.

Since I am a self proclaimed expert at the at home dye job, I thought I would share my favorite cheap, mid priced and higher-end at home dye kits.

Revlon Colorsilk




Image: drugstore.com
 First I'll start with my favorite cheap dye.  Revlon Colorsilk comes in three different varieties, the Original, the Luminista and the Buttercream formulas. I have tried two out of three (the Luminsta is made for women with a very dark natural hair color) and I must say, you can't get a better color for price. The Original runs about $3-4 a box and the Buttercream is around $5-6. AND there are often coupons in the Sunday paper for Revlon haircolor. With coupons I've gotten the original formula for as cheap as free at Walmart. The Buttercream formula is a little richer and is great for those who have very dry or damaged hair. Both come with a very good deep conditioner.


Garnier Olia

 Image: drugstore.com
My favorite mid-priced dye is a newbie that has received tons of attention in magazine and blogs. Garnier Olia boasts that it is a new kind of hair color made primarily of oils so that it actually make your hair healthier while you color it. I found that after using Olia my hair did feel softer and was shinier. Olia has a good range of colors and runs about $8-10. There are usually coupons for Olia in the Sunday paper or at coupons.com.  I also like that it has cool name. Just say it: OLIA. hehe.


John Freida Precision Foam 
 
Image: drugstore.com

Now for my favorite higher-end at home hair color. The term higher-end might be a bit misleading because you can buy this dye at the drugstore/Wal-Mart/Target/etc. However, John Freida Precision Foam haircolor is AMAZING quality. The color selection is not as broad as some other brands but the colors are very unique and come out very rich and vibrant. I also like that this haircolor is a foam. If you've never used a foam hair dye before, they are actually lots of fun! The foam also allows you to get better coverage than you do with most cream or liquid dyes. Precision Foam costs about $13-15 a box. There are very rarely manufacturer coupons for John Freida, but Rite Aid usually runs sales on John Frieda and puts out great coupons for the Precision Foam.