Why do hairdressers hate box dyes so much?

[MissyMoz]

Are they really so different?

Is it better to go to those hair shops and get the tubes and developer?

But aren't they just the same things as in a box dye set?

I have often wondered this myself. Supposeduly they're not great for your hair, but I've certainly never had a problem. I think also there's definitely a sense that bad hair dye jobs are bad. I have had 3 separate hair dressers comment that my box dye efforts are actually very good which makes me wonder if they spend alot of time working with customers who box dye efforts are bad?

I have a feeling it’s when people have been box dying their hair for ages. Then the hairdressers have no idea what their hair will lift to and the whole thing becomes difficult.

I vastly prefer the results I get from a box dye. If you’re going for an all-over colour, it feels like a waste of time and money paying someone to do it. I’ve had highlights etc done professionally in the past, but tbh I prefer my hair when I run my own fringe and dye it myself!

I usually box dye my hair myself.

But grew my hair out and had virgin hair and decided to go to go to the hairdressers and get it done 'properly ' and it faded WAY quicker than box dye ever did

No they are not the same thing. Hairdressers mix custom shades for each client, sometimes multiple colours. They can adjust for grey coverage, hair that fades quickly, hair that goes warm or brassy and lots of other things.
Box dye is like a one size fits all approach, though the biggest issue with home hair colouring is poor application.
Quite often the colour will be applied to the whole head, meaning you get a huge build up of colour and the colour will be vastly different from the roots to the ends, whereas a hairdresser applies very carefully and precisely.
Often people will over process their hair, bleaching multiple times, stripping with harsh colour removers.

The pigments and chemicals used in box dye are of a lower quality compared to some salon products, and can leave a stain on the hair that doesn’t come out like salon dyes. It’s also easier for a hairdresser to predict outcomes of salon products. So it’s not really the outcome of the box dyes, or application, it’s also the composition/chemicals used

My hair looks better and more natural when I get it done at a salon but it costs 250% more and still goes brassy in between appointments. Once your hair is over 50% grey, it usually starts needing roots done every 3-4 weeks which is a ridiculous expense if you are going to a salon and, for me, takes an unbearable amount of time.

My hairdresser (who I see maybe 3 times a year for a cut) says she can always see overlapping colour when people box dye but she also criticizes people for going grey because it's so aging and mocks her older clients who try hairstyles "meant for younger people".

I think you can't really win, you just do what works best for you and ignore the hairstylist's opinion.

She sounds like a judgemental cow and I'd struggle to put any more money in her pocket.

It couldn't possibly be because people using box dyes aren't paying hairdressers, could it?

There's a few hairdresser places round me where you can take in a box dye and they'll do it for you!

I agree on build up, can end up looking quite flat and blocky.

I know but she is really good at cutting curly hair. She saves me money because my hair grows out really nicely after she cuts it and I can go a lot longer between cuts compared to other hairstylists I've had in the past.

I've given up on hairdressers after being ripped off by one, and prior to that, having to re-dye my hair myself as the colour wasn't what I wanted, and the experience of being at the hairdressers being a long afternoon of being bored, in pain and freezing or too hot🤣
Box dye probably isn't great for one's hair and of course can go wrong but I much prefer the experience of doing it myself so that's me done with hairdressers for now.

Because the hairdressers don't make any money when people box dye? I paid for highlights for 15 years and then switched to box dyes after having DC as couldn't fit any more. Barely any noticeable difference, to me anyway. Have loads of grey in my hair which means it's not all one shade. Must have saved thousands of pounds over the years and my hair doesn't seem in any worse condition.

I think it’s because they can’t trust how their products will react.

I’m surprised that people think they get as good a result with box dye as in the salon. It always looks much flatter and dull to me.

They are hardly going to advocate box dye when cutting & colouring hair is how they make a living. I wouldn't expect a barber to advocate buying a set of clippers and doing your own buzz cut either.

There's a world of difference between a professionally done, individually mixed colour created by a stylist (to suit the client's undertones, hair type and preferences) and a box dye, which would never look half as good as professional techniques e.g. Airtouch.

I'm surprised it took this long for someone to say this! Money is the reason - and the hairdresser won't get it if everyone dyes their hair at home

Most of them use metallic salts which makes than last aaaaaaaaaages by putting permanent pigment molecules in the hair shaft. So when you want your hairdresser to bleach it colour your hair they have absolutely no idea what is going to happen.

I had to grow out my permanent box dye (Live XXL) to be able to have mine bleached because the metallic salts wouldn’t shift.

Because it looks shit

Surely they hate them as it loses them business..

Why do hairdressers hate box dyes so much?

well... why do you think someone who dyes hair for a living hates stuff that enables potential customers to dye their hair themselves?

I wonder...

I can’t think either why the PP’s hairdresser is so critical of women who let their hair go grey. It’s a mystery for sure.

Ummm... I can't imagine!

For the same reason they hate the shampoos, conditioners and other products they don't happen to sell.

I’ve not had a regular hairdresser for years, so had lots of different hairdressers and they’ve all been v complimentary on my home dying with a couple asking if natural. None has ever then said anything disparaging about box dyes. i have had it dyed professionally every few years and I found it would take hours and looked very shinny and dyed with people complimenting me on it and noticing my dyed hair, v thinking my own efforts are natural. (TBF I got balayage, which doesn’t look natural) overall I’m not convinced and I reckon you’re more reliant on their skill for mixing and applying and judging by many women’s hair. I don’t think many hairdresssers are that good at it