About three weeks ago I was wandering aimlessly around Target with my friend, Natalie when we stumbled upon a little thing called the hair care aisle. I had originally wandered down this aisle in search of a new headband, but we ended up on the other side—the hair-color section.

Natalie picked up a box and said, “What would you say if I dyed my hair?” I replied, “I’ll do it if you do it!” and the next thing I knew, we were walking out of Target, laughing nervously, with two bags filled with stuff we didn’t need, including two boxes of hair-color. One for me and one for her because best friends always keep their word.

The experience turned out to be a positive one. I’ve watched my mother dye her hair for years so I knew how to avoid disastrous shades of red and which ones smelled foul or would wash out. I am now sporting a very deep, dark chocolate brown and Natalie’s hair is a dark strawberry blonde. I’m not going to lie, we look fab! (as if we didn’t already!)

However, dying your hair from a box can be incredibly intimidating and can yield pretty disastrous results. There are a couple of things to look for if you decide to forego the salon for a more DIY approach-

1.) Don’t dye your hair too far from your natural color: If you want a dramatic look, go to the salon. Otherwise, stay one to two shades away from your natural color. It will blend better if things go bad.

2.) If you have natural red in your hair, stay away from red tones: Unless you want to look like Ronald McDonald, don’t go for colors such as Auburn or any name that may hint at red. The pigment will pick up your natural red and your hair will never be the same (just ask my mother). Instead, look for colors with “ash” or “velvet” in the name.

3.) Don’t over-process your hair I am already anxiously awaiting my next dye job. It can be addicting, but it will kill your lovely locks. If you need a touch-up, I recommend going to a salon.

4.) Follow the directions on the box carefully and use products designed for colored hair. Whose hair is actually their natural color these days? There are about a million products out their for colored hair. Use them. They will sustain your color and nourish your do.

5.) No matter what color your hair is, BE GORGEOUS!