How To: Color your hair at home simply

Watch this video tutorial to learn how to color your hair at home. You'll save a bundle using a coloring kit instead of heading to the salon every six weeks. Plus, dyeing your tresses at home has never been simpler.

You Will Need

* A hair coloring kit that includes:
* Colorant
* Developer
* Plastic gloves
* Conditioner
* Old clothes and a towel
* Petroleum jelly

WARNING: Hair dye can cause allergic reactions. Be sure to complete the allergy test as indicated in the coloring kit directions

Step 1. Choose shade and product

Choose a shade and product. Try to stay in the same basic color family as your current color.

Step 2. Wear old clothes or use towel

Colorants can stain. Wear old clothes, and use a towel you don't mind getting dirty. Wipe up any floor drips immediately; the solution can stain ceramic tiles.

Step 3. Mix colorant

Put on the kit's plastic gloves, mix the colorant with the developing solution, and shake vigorously.

Step 4. Apply petroleum jelly along neck and hairline

Apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly along the neck and hairline before coloring to prevent skin from staining.

Step 5. Apply color mixture

Apply the color mixture according to package directions. Use smooth strokes and work from the front toward the back of the head.

Step 6. Wait

Leave the mixture on your hair for as long as the package directs. If re-coloring, apply color to the root area and wait 20 minutes.

Step 7. Rinse

Rinse your hair thoroughly with cool or lukewarm water.

Step 8. Apply conditioner

Apply the conditioner that came with the coloring kit, and rinse according to directions.

Step 9. Shampoo less

To maintain your new color, limit shampooing to every three days and use cool water, which keeps hair cuticles smooth and locks in color.

FACT: Assyrian hair dye recipes dating to 2177 B.C. included cassia, a member of the cinnamon family, and leeks.