boxed hair color
 

Okay - sort of a strange question I imagine?

I am traveling for a little over 5 weeks with my dd in the fall. I color my own hair on average every 3 weeks because I NEED to. I will look like the witched witch of the west if I do not. I will be VERY gray if I elect NOT to color it during the time in Europe and while I am sure some would say "no biggie" that won't work out for me.

Now - I would bring my own boxed color - no issue but I am trying to do carry on and that will kill me on the liquids.

I believe I will be in Italy - Florence or Venice by the time I must color - or Salzburg.

So - can you just purchased boxed color in these areas?

Thanks for your time on a rather foolish sounding question. :-)

If it is that important to you (which it sounds like it is), I would check a bag and put the colour in your suitcase. Other places will indeed have hair colour, but you might not be able to find your exact brand or colour.

Wouldn't you also need to bring an extra towel? I haven't coloured my hair since I was about 20, but I do remember that hair colour and white hotel towels probably won't mix very well!

Where are you travelling from?

What brand of hair coloring do you use? What color name or number?

The popular brand hair colors are available throughout Europe and are available in Salzburg at the DM stores and similar. I see L'Oreal, Clairol and Garnier hair coloring ranges all over Europe.

Unless you're using something unusual, you can probably find your own brand without much trouble while you're traveling.

Yes you can find boxed hair color in Europe. but whether it will be exactly your own brand/color, maybe not. Would you consider going to a professional salon and letting someone do it for you, just this once? Seems like that would be a lot easier.

I honestly do not care as much about the brand but just that it is an easy mix etc. I have switched brands and am happy to - I have dark hair and it has always worked out okay. Just brown :-)

Thanks for the feedback. I know it seems very vain to some but I will be miserable with a ton of gray hair at 40.

Suze - I thought what fun that might be :-) All depends on the cost really. As you know it is a long trip and I am watching the $$$.

I know :-)

I'm just thinking of the mess and trying to DIY in a hotel bathroom. And possibly the box will have instructions not in English?

Other idea, is you give in and check one suitcase.

I hear you, Mom. This isn't something some of us can just blow off for a few weeks.

While I think there are plenty of grooming habits where European women, in general, are noticeably better than US women, in general, hair color isn't one of them.

Women in Europe seem to enjoy having wackier hair color than their US sisters: oranges, purples, reds not usually seen in nature.

I'm in a similar boat to yours this fall with an extended trip. But I'm checking luggage.

Go ahead and buy a similar brand in Europe; just make sure it isn't a permanent variety.

I'm with phyllis in observing that in the places in Europe I most often go to, hair color on middle aged women is startling. Rusty orange and bluish fuschia seem to be the most popular shades, but recently I've been seeing lots of streaks of hot pink and dirty white, some royal blue.

I don't color my hair, but I think the last thing I would do is go to a professional salon - unless I was willing to go native.

Sounds to me like (a) you are definitely going (b) your hair has a mind of its own (c) you can buy some kind of hair color and (d) --?

Hope it works out but hats are chic if it doesn't and DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.

hummm... hats might work... and I may break down and have to check my bag. I wonder how funny it would be to mail a box in advance to my apartment!!!???

Don't check your bag.

Go ahead and mail a box to your apartment (or your landlord). What have you go to lose except a box of hair color?

PS: Send it regular mail, not FedEx or something. FedEx would mean somebody has to be there to sign for it. Just a nuisance. (I live in Italy. I find packages sent to me by regular post arrive more often on time and with less hassle.)

So Zeppole - you in Florence? LOL
Watch out for mail ;-)

I will send it to the B&B where we are staying in Venice - I am good at not making a mess - have been doing it myself long enough.


Love this board..not sure why I did not think of that in the first place :-)

I've had my hair colored in Italy and France on different occasions. It was not expensive, they colored the way I wanted it and it was a nice experience relating to the ladies in the salon. I would go to a salon if your boxed color doesn't make it to your destination.

I have also taken boxes of color but I always check a bag.

I too have to dye my hair while on vacation. I am also a hairdresser so I hope that I can help..

Yes, as stated above, they sell box color. Look at the color you use at home and see if there is a # that coincides with the color name. They use the number system in Europe for professional colors, not sure about over the counter.
The first # will be the level, the second and third # will be the secondary colors. Levels are 1-10 one being the darkest and 10 the lightest, 5 is light brown, 6 is dark blond. The next # will tell you what color it actually is: 2 will be ash, 4,5,6, reds, examples: sometimes it will be(502) 02, very ash,(545) 45 will be an orange red...you just want to stay with a pretty natural color, a 503 or 54 should work for a warm brown, level 4 if you are darker.

There is also a color stick that helps me extend the time between colors, I wouldn't leave home without it:
http://www.amazon.com/Roux-Tween-Tim.../dp/B000AAAVS6

I forgot to say, bring a disposable pair of gloves and a few paper towels so you don't have to use their towel. You should have two bottles that you mix together, but if you don't, use the plastic cup in the bathroom, never use metal. Timing is almost always 30 mins. If in dought about the color matching perfect just do a partial which is your part and about an inch on each side of it, the very top back crown, the hairline continuing to the front of the ear...this usually what I do on vacation.

susanna - that helps a lot. I actually use to be a rep for TIGI (one of my 100 careers) and I reped a line called Logics at the time.

My hair is a level 4 and it pulls red.. I went a little darker for my son's wedding - but as I said -I am fine as long as the gray is colored.

Happy to read I am not the only one out there that HAS to do this.. :-)

Someday I will be a stunning older woman (I wish! LOL ) with gray hair - at 40? I just look like a hag.

Wacky! Startling! I got so used to seeing grown women with the colors in their hair (in Europe) that I talked my hair stylist into putting a bright blue streak in my white hair. Just a streak (like a wave) on one side. I love it but it has caused quite a stir. People either love it or hate it. I have had some wonderful conversations with young people and other strangers. Everyone has some variation of the question - why? It has been there since January and I've gotten very used to seeing it. It's fun! CJ

"Bring a disposable pair of gloves and a few paper towels so you don't have to use their towel."

They sell these in Italia.

MomDDTravel,

I'm in Liguria. Sorry! But I like CarolJean's idea of just doing as the Romans - or in your case -- the Tuscans do.

Why not buy a pair of magenta gloves in Firenze and get a streak to match?;)

"I don't color my hair, but I think the last thing I would do is go to a professional salon - unless I was willing to go native." - I've done this several times. I think (lol) my hair is a grey/brown mix, but ever since I had it hennaed in India in '01 I've kept it red/orange. At home I have it hennaed, but on long trips I have it dyed. I usually find an expensive hotel and ask if they have a salon - if they don't they'll recommend somewhere. Results have varied from excellent (Yalta) to way too bright (Beijing). I look on it as a cultural experience.

Dawn--I can relate...I am totally white and only a couple years older than you. Course noone SEES my white;) I think it is a great idea to mail it ahead of time. Be sure to find out how long it will take to arrive. You don't want to find out too late that it won't be there when you are.

I buy boxed hair colour here in France, and I suspect most of the products are the same in Italy. I don't know that the number system works- it doesn't seem to relate to what I buy (22 for dark red, 23 for chataigne, a little more brown). There are certainly a lot of colours which I've finally decided are not really meant to look natural, but some of us still try to look more 'normal.'

Box comes with plastic gloves and mix, takes 15 minutes, then into the shower to rinse off the excess and use the conditioner/colour set, whatever it is. Although the directions will almost certainly be in the language of the country you are in, there are usually diagrams, and if you're used to doing it regularly, you shouldn't have any difficulty with the colouring.

I have to admit I usually take mine with me, out of the box, but in several zip lock bags just in case. I know most other people really don't care how I look, but I agree that I don't want to see myself grey quite yet. But if you're prepared to take a (slight) chance you shouldn't have any difficulty finding a product you could use in the supermarket.

Hi Mom,

if what you use is a product from a standard company, why not e-mail them and see if they sell it in italy and what they call it there?

most companies wil give you a list of stockists.

then you'll have a back up if your package goes astray.

regards, ann

IF you were a rep for TIGI you will do fine...I love to look at all the over the counter stuff in Europe.

Carlux: thanks, very different numbering system on over the counter color.

Everyone who colors should get the color stick, I give it to all my clients. You wet it with water and rub it into your part/hairline or whatever is showing, it works great...except in the rain!

If you have substantial gray it's unlikely that 15 minutes will be long enough to "take". I would try to find if a brand you're familiar with is available is Switzerland or Italy.

If not - I would go and have it done professionally - to be sure you're using the right amount of time and steps in the process etc.

Also - hotels - as well as being an issue with towels might be one with water. If you're used to a strong fixed shower to wash your hair you may find the hotels in europe have those little toy showers you have to hold with one hand - as well as a small tickle of water only. Not so bad for just washing - but for coloring can be a problem.

This discussion reminds me of why I don't color my hair.

I, too, must color my hair every 3 weeks so I buy a product wherever I am. I would be afraid to pack a color kit for fear of breakage/leakage and a suitcase full of ruined clothes. At home I use either Clairol or L'Oreal and one of these is usually available in most European cities, although the color number is usually different and the name may or may not be the same (if you can read the foreign language.) I go by the color pictured on the box and so far have hit it right. Last time, I was in Athens when I needed color and neither of my brands was available at a large WalMart-type store. I just looked at the picture on the box (which was all in Greek and a brand I had never heard of) and guessed it would work. At the hotel, I had to ask the desk lady to read the instructions for me since there was an additional bottle of "something" in the box. After a quick briefing I successfully colored my hair with the strange product and it worked perfectly. I always pack 3 or 4 HandiWipes to use during and after coloring since a little color sometimes comes off onto the towel.
I wouldn't think of going to a salon for color after seeing the colors a lot of European women wear. Besides, it's time consuming and more expensive than I would like. I have successfully colored in Italy, Ireland, UK, France, Germany and Greece with very good results, so you needn't be afraid to give it a try.

For me it was more time consuming trying to find hair coloring. I kept searching and wasting time so I asked a hotel for a recommendation and my hair came out perfectly. Just tell them you want them to match your own hair and it won't come out blue or orange!

Once I was on a river trip in France and had all the fixings to do my hair and then I just thought of all the trouble in the tiny bathroom with the weak water pressure and I went into a local salon. I had the best time with the ladies and it took half the time that it takes in the salon in the US.

Lots of good information here. Susanna - I was a rep for TIGI about 17 years ago! But I do understand hair color and have colored my own on and off for the last 25 years :-).

No way does 15 minutes cover the gray in my hair... I will let you all know what happens.

Can you not open the hair color and put it in 2 containers so it will pass the 3 oz rule? That seems like a possibility??

Once the hair color is opened it goes bad. At least that is what I have always been taught.

<<you may find the hotels in europe have those little toy showers you have to hold with one hand - as well as a small tickle of water only.>>

That is a very good point. I've had trouble just shampooing with those hand-held shower heads.

Be adventurous and go to a salon, it will probably be a fun experience. RE the towel issue if you do decide on do it yourself, just bring an old one from home and throw it out.

<<This discussion reminds me of why I don't color my hair.>>

It's not a big deal, takes an hour or less.

<<This discussion reminds me of why I don't color my hair.>>

It's not a big deal, takes an hour or less.

---
There is simply NO way, unless I am like Tom Hanks in Castaway that I am NOT going to color my hair. I stopped going to the salon for budget reasons and have found I prefer to color it at home anyway. I was tired of sitting in a salon for hours on end every month.

You might be able to get away with using a product called Colormark. It's a non-permanent liquid hair color that comes in a tube the size and shape of mascara. The applicator is like a mascara wand only it's spongy on the end. It does good job of touching up roots between coloring.

You have to reapply every time you shampoo, but it doesn't take long. I'd only recommend it if your roots are gray or if the haircolor you're using isn't too far from your natural color. In other words, if you're blonde and you roots are black, it won't work.

I've had 680 hours (and counting) to do something else! Now to count up the money I've saved...

Or wear a scarf...when we travel, my hair is the least of my worries. I usually cut it short, and wear caps, etc. Can't be bothered fussing with it en route. Anyway, as others have said, they got it all in their stores, just the same as we do.

The funny part about liquid carry ons is, they only ask or look about 1/3 of the time. DH never gets asked, perhaps because he has other issues that make him suspect, like some metal somewhere in his body that always (almost always) catches their attention, so they don't care what's in the bottles and tubes in his little ditty bag.

Mare that is not a bad idea. I have used a wand type product in the past.

In case it helps, my hair is very light brown with a lot of premature gray, and I use the dark ash blonde in Colormark. Good luck!

In case it helps, my hair is very light brown with a lot of premature gray, and I use the ash blonde in Colormark. Good luck!

..color your hair at home just before you go..find a product called "Tween Time". It is a stick that you use to cover your roots where you part your hair. It will be fine for the last two weeks.