Color Your Hair Beautiful!

The Latest Technology in Hair Color

When you color your hair, do you ever wish the results could be even brighter and shinier? Thanks to new technology -- so new, we can't even tell you its name -- you can get what you pray for. Experts at Procter & Gamble have developed new agents for permanent formulas that allow more pure color to penetrate the hair shaft. (With old-style formulas, some of the color just sat on the surface of the hair and was quickly washed away.) The first at-home coloring kit to contain these new agents is Clairol's Nice 'n Easy ($7.99) -- available in 40 fabulous shades. We tried it and were absolutely thrilled with the even, shiny results and by how well it hid every strand of gray. Look for the new Nice 'n Easy in stores in February.

Blonds don't have all the fun. In fact, shades of brown and red are hot-sellers.

Until now, if your hair was dark and you wanted to add reddish glints with permanent hair color, the results were disappointing. Reddish tones faded quickly -- if they showed up much at all -- because they didn't contain enough pigment to deposit in the hair shaft.

L'Oreal's latest launch, Feria Power Reds Permanent Haircolour Gel ($9.99), available in Blowout Burgundy (a deep wine tone), Ruby Rush (a rich auburn), and Flaming Red (bright copper), has been formulated with traditional dyes and a special color-booster that allows more intense color to penetrate the hair shaft. One of our staffers tested Blowout Burgundy. It gave her hair, which is naturally the color of black coffee, a glossy, reddish finish.