Color is tricky; it's a science. You don't just pick out a color and apply it and expect to look like the woman on the box. Well, you could try, but there's a good chance that you will end up having to correct your color. If you don't understand the science behind basic hair color, you will be in a world of hurt if you try to correct color that has gone bad. There are so many pitfalls. You may end up only exacerbating your problem. It's best to leave it up to the pros, so you can avoid these common mistakes that will make your color worse. 

Trying to Lift Brass

When lightening hair, you will notice several stages of lift, including red, orange, gold and yellow. Being stuck in one of these stages can result in an unattractive, brassy color. If you have too much brass, you may think that you can simply apply more color and wait longer, but you can't. You will likely end up with more brass as you continue to advance through the brassy lift stages. Instead, you need to tone or counteract the warm color. 

Depositing Color Multiple Times

Each time you try to deposit color, your hair will end up going darker. For example, if you have a dark blonde color, it will appear dark blonde the first time you apply it. However, if you keep applying it to the same sections of hair, the sections will gradually darken until you end up with brown hair. You can't keep applying the same color hoping for different results. It just doesn't work that way. 

Not Using the Color Wheel

As mentioned, hair color correction is a science. You may want to refer to is as an art since you have to utilize color theory and the color wheel. Color correction requires paying special attention to the color wheel. Just like art, if you want to get rid of ash or brass, you have to use the color opposite the color wheel. 

Not Formulating for Each Section

In color correction, you will rarely have an entire hair shaft that's the same color. If you have different levels of color among the shaft, you must formulate hair color for each section. You cannot put the same formula on all of the hair and expect even color. 

Coloring hair is a tricky, scientific process. Hair color correction is even more technical. If you don't understand color theory and everything that can go wrong, leave your color for professionals like Town and Country Salon to do.