Color processing at a salon can cost anywhere from $75 to more than $500 — which can be worth it if you want to completely change your look, but for those who just want to add subtle highlights or touch up those pesky grays for $10 or less, you can absolutely do it at home. Today’s at-home hair color options are easy to use and offer a quick and inexpensive way to update your look without the cost and hassle of a trip to the salon. The best at-home hair dyes from tried-and-true hair color brands last throughout regular shampooing, sun exposure and regular hot tool usage to remain shiny, healthy and vibrant.
But which boxed hair dye is best? To find out, GH Beauty Lab scientists rigorously test at-home hair color kits and products both in the Lab using technical instruments and on consumer testers to gauge their ease of use and effects, including color vibrancy, fading when exposed to water and UV, shine, the look and feel of hair after use and more.
Here, the GH Beauty Lab’s best-tested at-home hair color products you can buy, plus top-rated editor and consumer picks, including boxed drugstore dyes for professional results and gray coverage on all hair shades.
- Great value
- Covers evenly and resists fading
- Leaves hair shiny
Numerous shades — especially dark hair like browns and reds — from Clairol’s popular demi-permanent drugstore color impressed the GH Beauty Lab in evaluations. In Lab testing, the ammonia-free at-home dye offered even coverage, left hair visibly shiny, and was fade-resistant when used to cover up gray.
- Ammonia-free
- Complete gray coverage
- Maintains shine
You can’t beat this bargain: The GH Beauty Lab was especially impressed by Revlon’s ammonia-free formula and the boxed dye earned perfect scores across the board in all categories. It covered grays completely, retained shine and didn’t fade after four weeks. Great for dark hair colors (brunettes, black) and redheads, its auburn shade, Burgundy, was a top performer in Lab tests, covering grays well. The real hair samples it was tested on on kept their shine after multiple washes. “I have used other products with similar results but I would say that this product’s color last longer without fading and covered the gray hair also for a longer period of time,” a tester reported. Another called it “one of the best hair colors I have used.”
